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UC.SB    LIBHAhr 


CHURCH    OF    THE    HOLY    SEPULCHRE. 


HISTORY 


Ancient   and    Honorable    Fraternity   of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 


AND    CONCORDANT    ORDERS. 


Illustrateti* 


WRITTEN  BY  A   BOARD    OF  EDITORS; 

HENRY   LEONARD   STILLSON,  Editor-IN-Chief. 
WILLIAM    JAMES    HUGHAN,  EUROPEAN  EDITOR. 


BOSTON    AND    NEW   YORK,    U.S.A.: 
THE    FRATERNITY   PUBLISHING   COMPANY. 

LONDON, ENGLAND: 
GEORGE  KENNING,   i6  Great  Queen  Street,  European  Publisher. 

1895. 


Copyright,  i8go, 
By  lee  C.  HASCALL. 


All  Rights  Reservkd- 


SOLD  ONLY  BY  SUBSCRIPTION. 


Typography  by  J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 
Presswork  by  Berwick  &  Smith,  Boston,  Mass. 


BOARD   OF  EDITORS. 

HENRY   LEONARD   STILLSON,  P.M.,  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. 
WILLIAM   JAMES   HUGHAN,  P.S.G.D.,  EUROPEAN  EDITOR, 


"William  R.  Singleton,  33°,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

William  Stevens  Perry,  32°,  D.D.,  Oxon., 
LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  Bishop  of  Iowa. 

Charles  E.  Meyer,  P.M.,  Melita  Lodge, 
No.  295,  of  Pennsylvania. 

Sereno  D.  Nickerson,  33°,  P.G.M.,  Grand 
Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts. 

Frederic  Speed,  33",  P.G.M.,  Past  Grand 
Commander,  K.T.,  of  Mississippi. 

William  James  B.  MacLeod  Moore  (Lieut.- 
CoL),  Supreme  Grand  Master  {"AdVttaiii"), 
Sovereign  Great  Priory  of  Canada,  etc.i 

JosiAH  H.  Drummond,  33°,  P.G.M.,  of 
Maine. 

Alfred  F.  Chapman,  P.G.G.H.P.  of  G.G.C.  of 
R.A.  Masons,  U.S.A.^ 

Eugene  Grissom,  M.D.,LL.D.,  33°,  P.D.G.M., 
P.G.H.P..  P.G.C.,  of  North  Carohna. 

J.  Ross  Robertson,  Grand  Master,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada. 


Charles  T.  McClenachan,  33°,  Historian, 
Grand  Lodge,  State  of  New  York. 

John  Lane,  P.M.,  P.Z.,  Masonic  Statistician, 
etc. 

John  H.  Graham,  LL.D.,  P.G.M.,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Quebec. 

lESSE  B.  Anthony,  33",  P.G.M.,  of  New 
York. 

Alfred  A.  Hall,  P.G.M.,  etc.,  of  Vermont. 

Charles  E.  Gillett,  33°,  P.E.C.,  Com- 
mandery.  No.  11,  K.T.,  of  Cahfornia. 

Edwin  A.  Sherman,  33°,  Hon.  Ins.-General 
of  the  Supreme  Council,  S.J.,  U.S.A.,  and 
Secretary  of  the  Masonic  Veteran  Asso., 
Pacific  Coast,  etc.,  etc. 

Edward  T.  Schultz,  32°,  P.G.C.G..  G.E., 
U.S.A.,  Historian,  Grand  Lodge  of  Mary- 
land. 

Rev.  Willis  D.  Engle,  P.G.P.,  Past  Gen. 
Grand  Secretary,  General  Grand  Chapter, 
Order  Eastern  Star. 


ADDITIONAL  CONTRIBUTORS. 


MYles  Jefferson  Greene,  M.D.,  P.G.M., 
P.G.H.P.,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of 
Alabama.^ 

George  James  Roskruge,  33°,  Grand  Mas- 
ter, Grand  Lodge  of  Arizona 

Fay  Hempstead,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Arkansas. 

Hy.  Brown,  P.G.M.,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  British  Columbia. 

Alexander  Gurdon  Abell,  33°,  Grand 
Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  California.3 

John  James  Mason,  Grand  Z.,  Grand  Secre- 
tary, Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  Member-elect 
Supreme  Council,  33°. 

Ed.  C.  Parmelee,  Grand  Secretary  and  Grand 
Recorder,  Masonic  Grand  Bodies  in  Colo- 
rado. 

Joseph  Kellogg  Wheeler,  33°,  Grand 
Secretary  and  Grand  Recorder,  Masonic 
Grand  Bodies  in  Connecticut. 3 


W,  H.  Holt,  Secretary  of  Masonic  Bodies  in 
Sioux  Falls,  South  Dakota. 

William  Blatt,  33°,  P.G.M.,  of  Dakota. 

William  S.  Hayes,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Delaware.2 

George  W,  Marshall,  M.D.,  P.G.M.,  of 
Delaware. 

DeWitt  C.  Dawkins,  K.T.,  33°,  Grand 
Secretary  and  P.G.M.,  Grand  Lodge  of 
Florida.  3 

Andrew  Marten  Wolihin,  33°,  Grand 
Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia. 

J.  H.  Wickersham,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Idaho. 

Loyal  L.  Munn,  33O,  p.G.  Com.,  P.G.H.P., 
Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois. 

William  H.  Smythe,  33°,  Grand  Secretary 
and  Grand  Recorder,  Masonic  Grand  Bodies 
in  Indiana. 


'  Deceased.      Vide  "  Introduction,"  and  "  Publishers'  Note,"  introductory  to  Division  XVII. 
2  Deceased  since  this  volume  went  to  Dress.     Died  March  20,  1S91,  lEit..  62. 
2  Deceased  since  this  work  was  completed. 


IV 


ADDITIONAL    CONTRIBUTORS. 


William  Hacker,  33<^,  P.G.M.,  of  Indiana.'^ 

J.  S.  MURROW,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  Indian  Territory. 

T.  S.  Parvin,  P.G.M.,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Iowa. 

John  H.  Brown,  33°,  P.G.M.,  Grand  Secre- 
tary and  Grand  Recorder,  Masonic  Grand 
Bodies  in  Kansas.^ 

Henry  Bannister  Grant,  32°,  Grand  Sec- 
retary, Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky;  Author 
K.T.'lactics,  U.S.A. 

James  Cunningham  Batchelor,  M.D., 
33°,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Louis- 
iana. 

William  George  Scott,  P.D.G.M.,  Grand 
Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Manitoba. 

J.  H.  Medairy,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge 
of  Maryland. 

Sereno  D.  Nickerson,  33°,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  etc. 

William  Power  Innes,  33°,  Grand  Secre- 
tary, Grand  Lodge  of  Michigan. 

Thomas  Montgomery,  P.G.  Com.,  Grand 
Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota,  Dep- 
uty Inspector-General,  A.\  A  .'.  S .".  R. 

A.  T.  C.  PiERSON,  33*^,  Masonic  Author  and 
Historian.i 

J.  L.  Power,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge 
of  Mississippi. 

Cornelius  Hedges,  P.G.M.,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  Montana. 

Arthur  Henry  Bray,  Grand  Secretary, 
United  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales. 

William  R.  Bowen,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Nebraska. 

Chauncey  N.  Noteware,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  Nevada. 

Edwin  J.  Wetmore,  P.D.G.M.,  Grand  Sec- 
retary, Grand  Lodge  of  New  Brunswick. 

Joseph  H.  Hough,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  Jersey .2 

Henry  R.  Cannon,  P.G.M.,  of  New  Jersey. 

Alpheus  a.  Keen,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  Mexico. 


Edward  M.  L.  Ehlers,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

D.  W.  Bain,  32°,  P.G.  Com.,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina,  etc.2 

William  Ross,  P.D.G.M.,  Grand  Secretary, 
Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Rev.  David  C.  Moore,  P.G.M.,  of  Nova 
Scotia. 

J.  H.  Bromwell,  32°,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Ohio. 

F.  J.  Babcock,  Past  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Oregon. 

Michael  Nisbet,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania. 

B.  Wilson  Higgs,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Prince  Edward  Island. 

John  Helder  Isaacson,  32°,  Grand  Secre- 
tary, Grand  Lodge  cf  Quebec. 

Edwin  Baker,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge 
of  Rhode  Island. 

Charles  Inglesby,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  South  Carolina. 

John  Frizzell,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Tennessee. 

W.  F.  Swain,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge 
of  Te.\as. 

Christopher  Diehl,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Utah. 

Warren  G.  Reynolds,  33°,  Grand  Secretary 
and  Grand  Recorder,  Masonic  Grand  Bodies 
in  Vermont. 

Rev.  S.  F.  Calhoun,  D.D.,  32°,  Past  Grand 
Chaplain ;  Member  Correspondence  Circle, 
Quatuor  Coronati  Lodge,  No.  2076,  England. 

William  Bryan  Isaacs,  P.G.  Com.,  Grand 
Recorder,  Grand  Encampment,  K.T.,  U.S.A. 

Thomas  Milburne  Reed,  33°,  Grand  Secre- 
tary, Grand  Lodge  of  Washington. 

John  W.  Laflin,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Wisconsin. 

W.  L.  Kuykendall,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand 
Lodge  of  Wyoming. 

Henry  W.  Mordhurst,  32°,  General  Grand 
Recorder,  General  Grand  Council,  R.  and 
S.M..  IIS.A. 


^  Deceased  since  this  work  was  begun, 
important  Division  of  this  volume. 

2  Deceased  since  this  work  was  completeo. 


Brother  Pierson  had  consented  to  become  the  author  of  an 


©etitrattom 


To  the  memory  of  the   long  line  of  noble   Brethren  in  the  Grand  Lodge 

above,  who  handed    down   unimpaired  the  tenets  of  the   Fraternity 

of   Ancient,    Free,  and   Accepted   Masons,  and  to  the  living 

Craftsmen  who  are  emulating  their  illustrious  example 

—  all  of  whom  posterity  will   rise  up  and  call 

blessed  —  this  volume  is  Fraternally  and 

sincerely  dedicated   by  the  Board 

of   Editors  and   Publishers. 


PREFACE. 


The  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  furnish  an  outHne  History  of  Freemasonry, 
including  many  facts  not  before  pubUshed.  Our  effort  has  been  to  make  an 
attractive  and  comprehensive  volume,  presenting  many  practical  matters  not 
generally  known  to  the  Fraternity.  While  we  have  no  desire  to  underestimate 
other  historic  works  on  Freemasonry,  we  still  claim  that  there  was  need  for 
an  entirely  new  and  popular  work,  which  should  strictly  adhere  to  the  well- 
known  axiom  :  "  In  things  essential,  unity ;  in  things  doubtful,  liberty ;  in  all 
things,  charity."  The  first  step  was  to  secure  the  services  of  well-known  and 
acknowledged  specialists,  each  of  whom  should  give  to  his  work  the  greatest 
care.  This  has  been  successfully  accomplished,  and  the  facsimile  signatures 
of  the  leading  writers  bear  testimony  to  their  willingness  to  stand  sponsors  for 
the  work  which  they  have  done. 

We  feel  that  the  book  merits  the  commendation  received  from  a  promi- 
nent American,  who  is  himself  a  Masonic  historian  of  eminence,  and  whose 
words  we  here  quote  :  "  I  am  glad  that  you  are  about  to  furnish  the  Fraternity 
with  a  History  of  Freemasonry  in  one  volume,  the  cost  of  which  will  enable  a 
large  number  of  the  Craft  to  possess  themselves  of  it.  The  old  Histories,  of 
any  and  everything  save  Masonry,  —  of  the  days  of  Anderson  and  Oliver,  — 
have  led  the  Brethren  astray  for,  lo,  these  many  years,  and  worked  an  infinite 
amount  of  harm."  He  then  refers  to  a  work  in  four  volumes,  and  adds  : 
"This  work  is  so  high  in  price  as  to  preclude  the  larger  number  of  our 
Brethren  from  getting  it.  With  the  data  now  accessible  and  at  hand,  you 
may  furnish,  in  a  single  octavo  volume,  the  cream  of  history,  —  all  that  is 
needed  by  the  majority."  Brother  WiUiam  James  Hughan,  the  eminent 
Masonic  Historian  of  England,  says  that  this  book  is  "  the  American  Masonic 
work  of  the  nineteenth  century."  These  quotations  are  simply  types  of 
many  commendations  which  might  be  given. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  give  any  analysis  of  the  subjects  treated,  as  the 
accompanying  Table  of  Contents  will   show  how  many  and  varied  are  the 


^jij  PREFACE. 

topics  discussed,  and  how  thorough  has  been  the  work  expended  upon  them. 
Myth  here  gives  up  its  underlying  truth.  Research  clears  away  the  rubbish, 
and  discloses  the  sure  foundations  and  majestic  arches  of  a  noble  structure. 
In  this  work  some  idols  are  destroyed,  but,  in  their  destruction,  nothing  is 
lost  but  the  fables  with  which  degenerate  men  have  sought  to  embellish  a 
truth,  the  beauty  of  whose  simplicity  they  could  not  discern.  Under  the 
leadership  of  these  writers  we  ascend  the  rugged  steeps,  until  we  stand  above 
all  clouds  and  look  forth  upon  a  majestic  landscape  of  history,  whose  varied 
lights  and  shades  blend  to  make  one  grand  picture  of  God-loving,  man-serving 
fraternity. 

The  several  writers  have  endeavored  to  make  this  book  absolutely  accurate 
in  its  statements.  One  of  them,  speaking  of  the  "  Capitular  Rite,"  says  :  "  I 
hold  this,  the  second  half  of  Division  XIII.,  to  be  the  foundation  for  an 
enlarged  history  of  every  Grand  Chapter  in  the  United  States."  Another, 
writing  of  the  Grand  Lodge  Divisions,  remarks,  "  I  have  herein  given  you  the 
best  work  of  my  life."  These  words  give  expression  to  the  motive  actuating 
each  one  of  the  entire  Board  of  Editors. 

The  numerous  and  beautiful  engravings  which  adorn  this  work,  and  its 
mechanical  excellence,  bear  testimony  to  the  earnest  desire  of  the  Publishers 
to  spare  no  effort  or  expense  necessary  to  the  production  of  a  book  which 
should  prove  in  every  way  satisfactory  to  those  interested  in  the  subject 
treated. 

It  would  be  absurd  to  claim  that  the  work  is  without  faults ;  yet  we  believe 
that  with  this  volume  in  hand,  the  Masonic  student  has  at  his  command  the 
best  thoughts  of  the  largest  corps  of  contributors  ever  engaged  upon  such  a 
work.  He  certainly  has  full  Statistical  Tables  never  before  compiled.  The 
book  as  a  whole  is  a  vast  mine  of  information,  indispensable  to  every  Mason 
who  desires  to  be  well  informed  upon  the  history  of  this  the  oldest  and  most 
honorable  of  all  secret  fraternities,  and  the  basis  of  all  that  have  followed  it. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 
Supplemental  of  the  Divisions  in  this  Work is 

PART   I. 

Ancient  Masonry. —  The  Ancient  Mysteries,  Cognate  Orders  of  Chivalry, 
AND  THE  "Old  Charges"  of  Freemasons.  (Introductory  to  the  Perfected  Organi- 
zation of  Modern  Times.)     Complete  in  three  Divisions. 


INTRODUCTION. 
The  Six  Theories  of  the  Mysteries 


37 


DIVISION    I. 

The  Ancient  Mysteries. 

A  Treatise  on  the  Eastern  European,  African,  and  Asiatic  Mysteries ;  the  Occultism  of  the 
Orient ;  the  Western  European  Architects  and  Operative  Masons  in  Britain,  commonly 
called  the  Antiquities  and  Legendary  Traditions  of  the  Craft  to  the  close  of  the  Operative 
Period  in  1717.     Complete  in  four  chapters 41 

DIVISION    II. 

The  Cognate  Orders. 

A  comprehensive  History  of  the  Knights  Templars  and  the  Crusades;  their  patronage  by 
the  See  of  Rome  and  subsequent  anathema;  the  connection  of  these,  if  any,  with  the 
present  Degrees  of  Knights  Templar  in  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain ;  the  Exe- 
cution of  Jacques  de  Molai,  Grand  Master,  and  Supplemental  Historic  Notes.  Complete 
in  two  chapters iig 

DIVISION    III. 

The  Documentary  Early  History  of  the  Fraternity. 

The  Ancient  British  MSS. ;  Kalendar  of"  Old  Charges,"  and  comments  thereon  ;  the  Regius 
MS.,  or  Halliwell  Poem;  Legend  of  "The  Four  Crowned  Martyrs";  the  Cooke  MS.,  as 
annotated  by  G.  W.  Speth ;  the  Grand  Lodge  MS.  of  1583,  with  various  readings  of 
"  Old  Charges  "  ;  the  "  Additional  Articles,"  etc.     Complete  in  three  chapters 157 


PART   II. 

Cosmopolitan   Freemasonry. —  Craft,  Capitular,  Cryptic.    ("Masonry  without 
Respect  to  Creed,  Clime,  or  Color.")     Complete  in  twelve  Divisions. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  American  Rite  of  Freemasonry 197 

ix 


X  CONTEXTS. 

PACE 

DIVISION    IV. 

North,  Central,  and  South  America. 

Lodges  in  America  under  the  English  Constitution,  1733-1889.     Complete  in  three  chapters,  199 

DIVISION    V. 

First  Meridian. 

History  of  the  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Period  and  Atlantic  Slope :  The  Grand  Lodges 
o<  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  District  of  Columbia,  Virginia, 
West  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida.  Complete  in  two 
chapters , 217 

DIVISION   VI. 

Second  Meridian. 

I.   History  of  the  Eastern  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Lakes :  The  Grand  Lodges  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Mississippi, 

and  Louisiana 307 

11.    History  of  the  Western  Mississippi  Valley:    The   Grand    Lodges  of  Texas,   Arkansas, 
Minnesota,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Dakota,  North  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  the  Indian 

Territory   341 

Each  part  complete  in  one  chapter. 

DIVISION   VII. 

Third  Meridian. 

History  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  Rocky  Mountains  to  Mexico :  The  Grand  Lodges  of  Cali- 
fornia, Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  Montana,  Nevada,  Utah,  Wyoming,  Arizona,  Colorado, 
New  Mexico ;  Freemasonry  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  Alaska,  Mexico,  and  Central  Amer- 
ica.   Complete  in  one  chapter 385 

DIVISION   VIII. 

Early  American  Masonic  History. 

The  First  Glimpses  of  Freemasonry  in  North  America.     Complete  in  one  chapter 439 

DIVISION    IX. 

British  America. 

Outline  history  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  in  the  Province  of  Ontario.  Freemasonry  in 
the  North,  — the  Grand  Lodges  of  Quebec,  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward 
Island,  Manitoba,  and  British  Columbia.     Complete  in  two  chapters 457 

DIVISION   X. 

Other  Countries. 

Outline  History  of  Freemasonry  in  Continental  Europe.  Freemasonry  in  Australasia  and 
New  Zealaiid,  —  Grand  Lodges  of  the  Southern  Sun.     Complete  in  two  chapters 489 

DIVISION   XI. 

The  Morgan  Excitement. 

An  exhaustive  Account  of  that  Historic  Affair  in  the  United  States,  treating  of  its  Civil,  Social, 
Political,  and  Masonic  Aspects,  as  well  as  of  the  Deportation  of  William  Morgan  ;  written 
from  a  Masonic  stand-point.     Complete  in  two  chapters 5°7 


CONTENTS.  xi 

PAG6 

DIVISION   XII. 

Masonic  Jurisprudence. 

A  comprehensive  History  of  the  Origin  and  Development  of  Masonic  Law :  The  relation  of 
Governing  Bodies  to  one  another;  the  relation  of  Grand  Lodges  to  their  Constituent 
Lodges,  and  to  individual  members  of  the  Craft;  the  relation  of  Lodges  to  one  another, 
to  their  members,  and  of  Masons  to  one  another;  the  Origin  and  Use  of  public  Masonic 
Forms  and  Ceremonies ;  and  the  customs  and  peculiarities  of  the  Craft  in  general.  Com- 
plete in  one  chapter 537 

DIVISION   XIII. 

The  Capitular  Degrees. 

The  Royal  Arch  as  a  Separate  Degree  in  England  and  other  parts  of  the  British  Empire. 
The  Mark  Master  Mason's  Degree  as  evolved  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  several 
Grand  Chapters,  and  the  Royal  Arch  systems  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  including 
Mark  Masonry,  Mason's  Marks,  and  Past  Master's  Degree.  The  Grand  Chapters  of  Canada, 
Nova  Scotia,  Quebec,  and  New  Brunswick.  The  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  its 
origin,  powers,  and  jurisdiction.  State  Grand  Chapters,  including  the  Independent  Grand 
Chapters  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  West  Virginia ;  separately  considered,  and  in 
alphabetical  order,  together  with  all  Chapters  holding  charters  from  the  General  Grand 
Chapter.    The  Order  of  High  Priesthood.     Complete  in  three  chapters 553 

DIVISION   XIV. 

The  Cryptic  Degrees. 

The  Council  of  Royal,  and  Select,  and  Super-Excellent  Masters;  together  with  a  compre- 
hensive sketch  of  its  rise  and  organization;  Government  by  a  General  Grand  Council, 
Grand  Councils,  and  Councils;  including  the  Independent  Grand  Councils,  and  those  of 
Canada  and  England.     Complete  in  two  chapters 643 

DIVISION   XV. 

EULOGIUM   OF  THE  ANCIENT  CRAFT. 

The  relation  of  the  Symbolic,  Capitular,  and  Cryptic  Degrees  to  one  another  and  to  Ancient 
Craft  Masonry;  comprising  the  Foundation,  the  Superstructure,  and  Ornaments  of  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

I.   The  Physical,  the  Spiritual,  the  Celestial,  these  three  intertwining,  ever-blending  in  per- 
fect harmony 673 

II.   Freemasonry,  the  Conservator  of  Liberty  and  of  the  Universal  Brotherhood  of  Man  ..  693 
Each  part  complete  in  one  chapter. 


PART   III. 

Concordant  Orders.  —  The  Chivalric  Degrees.    Complete  in  two  Divisions. 

DIVISION   XVI. 

Knights  Templar  and  Allied  Orders. 

The  Knights  Templar  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  Government  by  a  Grand 
Encampment,  Grand  Commanderies,  and  Commanderies.  The  Ethics  and  Ritual  of 
American  Templary.  Complete  in  three  chapters ;  to  which  is  added  "  In  Memoriam," 
MacLeod  Moore 699 

DIVISION   XVII. 

British  Templary. 

A  history  of  the  Modern  or  Masonic  Templar  Systems,  with  a  Concise  Account  of  the  Origin 
of  Speculative  Freemasonry,  and  its  Evolution  since  the  Revival,  A.D.  1717.  Complete  in 
%even  chapters 74^ 


xii  CONTENTS. 


PART   IV. 

Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  and  The  Royal  Order  of 
Scotland.     Complete  in  two  Divisions. 

DIVISION   XVIII. 

Scottish  Degrees,  4^  to  33°,  Inclusive. 

History  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry;  its  Government  by 
Supreme  Councils,  Consistories,  Chapters  of  Rose  Croix,  Councils  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem, 
and  Lodges  of  Perfection.    Complete  in  one  chapter 795 

DIVISION   XIX. 

The  Royal  Order  of  Scotland. 

I.   The  History  and  Government  of  the  Society  in  Europe  and  America;  copies  of  Patents,  and 

other  particulars 829 

II.   The  Royal  Order  of  Heredom  of  Kilwinning 851 

Each  part  complete  in  one  chapter. 


PART  V. 

Miscellaneous  Rites  and  Orders,  and  Statistical  Division.    Complete  in  two  Divisions. 

DIVISION   XX. 

Other  Rites  and  Orders. 

I.   The  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  comprising  a  sketch  of  its  origin,  rise,  teachings,  and 

present    condition 857 

II.   The  Rosicrucian  Society 869 

Each  part  complete  in  one  chapter. 
III.   Masonic  Dates,  and  Abbreviations,  used  in  this  work 874 

DIVISION   XXI. 

Statistics  of  Freemasonry. 

These  are  shown  in  the  Craft  Department  by  tables,  as  full  as  it  has  been  possible  to  compile 
them.  In  some  cases  the  Grand  Lodge  records  have  been  lost  by  fire  and  war,  and  in 
others  the  books  were  not  kept  with  tables  like  these  in  view.  The  Capitular  Statistics  are 
all  of  late  date,  the  records  prior  to  i860  having  been  destroyed 875 

Masonic  Record 897 

Index 899 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

♦ 

PAGE 

Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  (^Frontispiece)  o 

Masonic  TeiMple,  Boston,  Mass 438 

Masonic  Temple,  Philadelphia,  Pa 279 

Masonic  Temple,  New  York,  N.Y 263 

Masonic  Temple,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 309 

Masonic  Temple,  Indianapolis,  Ind 313 

Masonic  Temple,  Chicago,  III 325 

Masonic  Temple,  Minneapolis,  Minn 355 

Masonic  Temple,  Duluth,  Minn 351 

Proposed  Masonic  Temple,  Kansas  City,  Mo 361 

Masonic  Temple,  Denver,  Col 427 

Masonic  Home,  Louisville,  Ky 329 

Masonic  Home  of  Pennsylvania 283 

Masonic  Home,  Utica,  N.Y 267 

Masonic  Home,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich 317 

Masonic  Home,  Chicago,  III 321 

Egyptian  Room,  Masonic  Temple,  Philadelphia,  Pa 287 

Masonic  Library,  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa 367 

RosLYN  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  Scotland 797 

Melrose  Abbey,  Melrose,  Scotland 831 

Interior  Temple  Church,  London,  England 787 

The  "  Genius  of  Masonry  "  {by  Bartolozzi),  A.D.  1784-86 687 

Freemasons'  Hall,  London,  England 456 

York  Minster,  York,  England 191 

Scottish  Rite  Patent,  A.D.    1789  {reduced  facsimile) 719 

Patent  of  Prov.  G.  M.,  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Scotland 848 

Green  Dragon  Tavern,  Boston,  Mass 245 

Portrait  of  Colonel  W.  J.  B.  MacLeod  Moore 740 

Virginia  City,  Nevada,  showing  Mount  Davidson 411 

xiii 


xiv  LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


Arms  of  the  "Ancients,"  and  "Moderns,"  Gi^vnd  Lodge  of  England 36 

Hughan's  Engraved  List  of  Lodges,  A.D.  i  734  211 

Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter  Seals 672 

Dermott's  Royal  Arch 557 

Montague  Charter,  A.D.  1732  118 

Map  of  the  Ancient  World,  following  the  Noachian  Period 59-60 

Chronological  Table 61 

Plate  I.  and  Plate  IL,  Illustrations  of  the  Ancient  Mysteries 111-115 

Collection  of  Masons'  Marks 569 


Illustrations  by  Dore  (arranged  expressly  for  this  loork)  :  — 

Freemasonry  in  Practice 519 

A  Heroine  of  the  Crusades 125 

Templars'  Enginery  at  Damietta 133 


Templars  in  Naval  Engagement 


777 


EVERARD   DE  BaRRIS   LEADING   SECOND   CrUSADE 1 29 

Children's  Processional  during  the  Crusades 856 

Christian  Women  numbered  with  "  Safed's  Martyred  Host  " 141 

Templar  Captives  entering  the  Moslem  Capital 137 

Knights  Templars  marching  through  Judean  Mountains 153 

The  Wife's  Blessing.  —  Templar  Knights'  Departure  to  the  Holy  Land.  121 


INTRODUCTION. 


There  is  no  Society  so  widely  known,  and  yet  really  so  little  known,  as 
that  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  Even  many  of  the  members  of  that 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Fraternity  are  strangely  uninformed  respecting  its 
eventful  past,  and  although  proficiency  is  attained  in  regard  to  what  may  be 
termed  the  ritualistic  portion  of  its  deeply  interesting  ceremonies,  —  nowhere 
more  so  than  in  the  United  States,  —  yet,  somehow  or  other,  the  actual  his- 
tory of  the  Craft,  extending  over  a  period  of  some  six  centuries,  and  that  of 
its  grand  structures,  which  eloquently  speak  of  its  greatness  during  ages  now 
fittingly  described  by  the  term  "  time  immemorial,"  appears  to  have  been 
relegated  to  a  back  seat,  and  frequently  entirely  overlooked. 

Now  this  unfortunate  result  has  been  due  as  much  to  the  lack  of  suitable 
material  for  study  as  to  the  absence  of  interest  in  the  matter ;  for  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  a  work  brought  down  to  the  present  time,  dealing  critically 
and  impartially  with  the  traditions,  records,  and  degrees,  —  not  too  bulky,  and 
yet  sufficiently  large  to  treat  of  all  subjects  which  would  naturally  be  looked 
for  in  such  a  volume,  —  could  not  fail  to  be  extensively  read  and  become 
most  useful  to  the  Brotherhood. 

Such  a  book  is  herewith  available,  through  the  spirited  action  of  "  T]ie 
Fraternity  Publishing  Company'''' ;  for,  in  the  following  pages,  our  ideal  of 
a  handy,  condensed  history  of  the  Society  is  fully  realized,  and  all  that 
any  wishful  Masonic  student  could  reasonably  desire  in  one  volume,  — • 
covering  the  whole  period  of  Masonic  activity,  —  is  amply,  clearly,  and 
accurately  set  forth,  by  eminent,  zealous,  and  competent  Craftsmen,  who 
have  signed  the  chapters  for  which  they  are  alone  responsible. 

It  has  been  their  constant  aim,  as  with  the  painstaking  and  indefatigable 
Editor-in-Chief,  Brother  H.  L.  Stillson,  to  secure  accuracy,  variety,  and  brevity, 
without  sacrificing  aught  of  general  importance  to  the  Fraternity,  for  whom 
they  have  all  so  ardently  and  so  conscientiously  labored.  No  work  was  so 
popular,  1 772-1846,  as  William  Preston's  "Illustrations  of  Masonry,"  because 
rigidly  condensed  and  published  in  a  handy  form.  It  is  the  confident  antici- 
pation of  the  Editors  and  Publishers  of  this,  "  The  History  of  Freemasonry 
and  Concordant  Orders,"  that  its  reception  by  the  Craft  will  be  equally  hearty, 
sustained,  and  still  more  wide-spread  ;  and  its  conspicuous  merits,  as  they 
become  known  and  appreciated,  should  make  it  the  most  popular  book 
relating  to  the  Craft  throughout  the  continent. 


X  vi  INTR  OD  UC  TION. 

Neither  is  the  work  necessarily  for  Freemasons  alone  ;  for  not  a  few  of  the 
chapters  furnish  excellent  and  suggestive  reading  for  those  who  would  like  to 
know  somewhat  of  the  Brotherhood,  either  prior  to  seeking  to  join  its  ranks, 
or  because  of  this  eligible  opportunity  to  peruse  a  reliable  account  of  so  vener- 
able and  preeminently  respectable  an  Organization,  whose  name  and  fame 
have  been  the  common  property  of  all  enlightened  communities  for  so  many 
generations. 

It  seems  to  me  impossible  for  any  one,  free  from  prejudice,  and  possessing 
the  necessary  intelligence,  to  rise  from  the  study  of  this  volume  without  becom- 
ing desirous  to  still  farther  investigate  the  history  of  this  wonderful  Society, 
which  has  been  so  loved  and  cherished  by  millions  of  the  human  race,  and 
which  increases  in  vitality  and  usefulness,  as  the  years  come  and  go,  through- 
out the  civilized  world. 

Some,  however,  object  to  secret  societies,  and  maintain  that  if  they  are 
what  they  claim  to  be,  they  should  not  thus  be  restricted  as  to  membership 
and  thus  narrow  their  influence.  At  the  outset,  therefore,  it  is  well  to  point 
out  that  the  Masonic  Fraternity  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  secret  society,  for 
it  has  neither  secret  aims  nor  constitutions.  Everywhere  its  laws  may  be 
perused  by  "  friend  and  foe  "  alike,  and  its  objects  are  exclusively  those  which 
are,  and  always  have  been,  published  to  the  world.  It  is  private  rather  than 
secret ;  for,  unless  it  be  our  esoteric  customs,  which  relate,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, to  our  universal  and  special  modes  of  recognition,  we  have  no  secrets, 
and  even  as  to  these  needful  ceremonies,  all  "  good  men  and  true  "  are  welcome 
to  participate  in  them,  on  petitioning  for  initiation,  followed  by  an  approved 
ballot. 

But  while  a  few  object  to  the  Fraternity  wholly  (and  unreasonably),  because 
of  its  secrecy,  others  deny  its  claim  to  antiquity,  and  assert  that  the  Free- 
masons of  to-day  date  from  the  second  decade  of  the  last  century,  thus  having 
no  connection  whatever  with  the  old  Society  which  was  entirely  Operative. 
This  second  objection,  urged  against  the  continuity  of  the  Organization,  par- 
ticularly from  the  sixteenth,  throughout,  to  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  is 
one  that  must  be  met  by  the  production  of  facts  which  can  be  authenticated 
by  competent  critics,  whether  members  of  the  "  Mystic-tie,"  or  otherwise. 

During  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years,  special  attention  has  been  directed 
to  this  point  by  a  few  of  us,  in  Great  Britain  and  Germany,  particularly,  the 
result  being  that  we  have  accumulated  an  immense  mass  of  evidence,  which 
had  hitherto  either  eluded  detection  or  had  not  been  investigated  ;  enabling 
us  to  demonstrate  the  continuity  of  the  Fraternity,  Speculative  as  well  as  Oper- 
ative, throughout  the  period  in  question,  and  entirely  overlapping  what  is  known 
as  the  "  Revival,"  or  reconstruction  period  of  a.d.  171 7. 

We  can  now  take  our  stand  on  actual  minutes  of  lodges,  beginning  as  early 
as  the  year  1599,  and  presenting  an  unbroken  series  of  records  to  the  present 
year  of  Grace  ;  supported  on  the  one  hand  by  copies  of  the  "  Old  Charges," 


INTRODUCTION. 


XVII 


and  laws,  dating  from  the  fourteenth  century,  and  on  the  other,  by  special 
regulations  of  the  Craft  of  some  two  centuries  later.  Reproductions  and 
fac-swiiles  of  many  of  these  invaluable  and  venerable  documents  will  be  found 
herewith,  or  in  certain  works  specified  in  this  volume,  and  which  can  be 
examined  and  tested  by  those  interested  in  tracing  the  intimate  connection 
existing  between  Operative  and  Speculative  Freemasonry,  especially  during 
the  seventeenth  century,  which  has  been  the  real  crux  to  elucidate.  Practi- 
cally, therefore,  our  readers  are  placed  in  the  same  position,  and  share  the 
advantages,  of  those  of  us  who  have  seen  and  copied  the  precious  originals, 
about  which  a  few  brief  words  will  now  be  said,  so  far  as  the  hmited  space 
will  permit. 

It  will  be  no  part  of  my  duty  to  exhaustively  treat  of  the  "  Ancient  Mys- 
teries," though  Freemasonry,  undoubtedly,  has  adopted  and  absorbed  not  a 
few  of  the  usages  and  customs  of  antiquity.  For  this  reason  many  have  looked 
upon  the  two  as  continuous  developments  of  one  and  the  same  society,  but 
erroneously  so.  Unless  we  are  prepared  to  admit  that  imitation  and  adapta- 
tion necessarily  involve  continuity,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  ancient 
mysteries  are  so  far  removed  in  point  of  time  from  all  that  is  known  of  Free- 
masonry, that  it  is  simply  impossible  to  construct  or  discover  a  bridge  of 
history  or  theory  that  can  unite  the  two. 

Still,  so  much  have  they  in  common  that  Brother  W.  R.  Singleton's  ably 
condensed  and,  withal,  exhaustive  summary  will  be  welcomed  by  all  Masonic 
students,  because  containing  all  that  is  essential  to  the  subject,  culled  from 
reliable  sources  and  originally  and  carefully  treated.  His  views  as  to  degrees, 
however,  may  require  some  slight  modification  in  view  of  recent  pronounce- 
ments by  some  of  the  prominent  Craftsmen  alluded  to,  but  substantially  we 
are  in  full  agreement  with  him  as  to  their  modern  character,  comparatively 
speaking. 

As  respects  age  and  value,  the  most  important  documents  relating  to  our 
Society  are  what  are  known  by  the  title  of  the  "  Old  Charges,"  ranging,  as 
regards  date,  over  some  five  centuries ;  and  are  peculiar  to  the  Fraternity. 
For  years  they  lay  neglected  in  Masonic  chests  and  muniment  rooms,  and  it 
was  only  on  the  advent  of  the  realistic  school  of  Masonic  investigators  that 
they  were  brought  out  from  their  hiding-places  and  their  contents  made  public. 

Thirty  years  ago  not  a  dozen  of  these  invaluable  scrolls  had  been  traced, 
so  little  had  their  evidence  been  esteemed  ;  whereas  now,  over  fifty  are  known, 
through  the  well-directed  efforts  of  diligent  Craftsmen,  and  many  of  these 
have  been  published  by  myself  and  others. 

Their  testimony  varies  in  regard  to  trivial  matters,  but  the  oldest  version, 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  placed  side  by  side  with  a  roll  used  by  a  Lodge 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  exhibit  together  so  many  points  of  resem- 
blance as  to  demonstrate  their  common  origin  and  purpose,  and  prove  that  they 
are  practically  one  and  the  same. 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

I  have  fully  explained  my  position  in  relation  to  these  extraordinary  MSS. 
in  my  "  Old  Charges  of  the  British  Freemasons  "  (1872)  ;  and  Brother  H.  L. 
Stillson  has  devoted  so  much  time  and  attention  to  their  careful  study  and 
description  in  Part  I.  (Division  III.),  that  a  very  brief  reference  to  them  now 
is  all  that  can  be  permitted.  Brother  Stillson's  most  interesting  and  accurate 
obser\^ations  and  particulars,  so  usefully  abridged  and  epitomized  from  the 
latest  works  on  the  subject,  cannot  fail  to  prove  exceedingly  helpful  to  our 
readers,  especially  when  it  is  noted  that  nothing  of  vital  consequence  to  a 
right  and  comprehensive  glance  at  the  subject  has  been  omitted  by  the  inde- 
fatigable Editor-in-Chief;  and  the  particulars  given  are  down  to  date  of 
publication. 

Now,  the  precise  value  of  these  Rolls  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  were 
employed,  generally,  by  our  Masonic  ancestors  of  some  two  to  five  and  more 
centuries  ago,  during  the  Ceremony  of  Initiation.  In  fact,  their  being  read 
to  the  apprentices,  together  with  what  esoteric  information  may  have  been 
afforded,  constituted  then  the  whole  ceremony  of  reception,  which  was  simple 
though,  withal,  impressive  in  character.  All  known  copies  are  directly  or 
indirectly  of  English  origin,  even  those  used  in  Scotland  apparently  being 
derived  from  that  source.  They  are  likewise  of  a  markedly  Christian  type, 
and  of  themselves  are  powerful  witnesses  in  favor  of  the  earliest  versions  being 
derived  from  a  prototype,  arranged  and  promulgated  under  ecclesiastical 
supervision  and  composition. 

As  time  went  on,  it  will  be  seen  that  while  the  legendary  portion  was 
virtually  fossilized,  the  part  which  recited  the  Rules  for  the  government  of 
the  Fraternity  was  gradually  added  to,  until,  in  like  manner,  the  Regulations 
became  fixed  and  practically  traditional  also.  Then  they  were  simply  read 
as  according  to  ancient  usage,  but  not  for  present-day  practice ;  as,  for 
example,  in  the  lodges  of  early  last  century,  whose  members,  while  unable 
to  accept  these  "  Old  Charges  "  as  their  every-day  guides,  nevertheless,  sought 
to  understand  their  significance  as  moral  standards,  and  "  time  immemorial  " 
indications  of  the  spirit  which  should  animate  them  in  all  their  transactions, 
as  trade  and  fraternal  organizations.  Their  influence  thus  remained,  even 
long  after  they  ceased  to  provide  the  current  laws  and  regulations  of  the 
Brotherhood. 

They  do  not  throw  much  light  on  the  inner  workings  of  the  old  lodges, 
but  without  their  evidence,  all  would  be  veritable  darkness  down  to  the  six- 
teenth century ;  and  hence  Brother  Stillson  has  acted  wisely  in  devoting  so 
much  space  to  their  examination,  and  discreetly  in  choosing  as  aids  such  trusty 
authorities  as  Brothers  Robert  Freke  Gould,  George  William  Speth,  and  others. 

It  does  not  appear  to  me  that  the  text  of  the  oldest  of  these  MSS.  warrants 
the  belief  that,  at  the  period  of  its  usage,  the  Fraternity  was  in  the  habit  of 
employing  certain  "  signs,  tokens,  and  words,"  such  as  was  the  custom  later 
on,  to  secure  due  recognition  as  a  body  wherever  its  members  might  travel.  It 


INTR  OD  UC  TION.  xix 

may  have  been  so,  but  apprentices  in  any  trade  were  just  as  much  obhgated 
to  keep  its  mysteries,  or  privities,  within  their  own  circle,  as  was  the  Masonic 
organization.  It  is  only  as  we  come  down  to  more  modern  times  that  we  can 
positively  afifirm  that  esoteric  privileges  and  customs  were  connected  with 
Masonic  initiation,  wholly  distinct  and  different  from  that  of  all  other  trades. 
The  "Melrose  MSS.,"  however,  of  a.d.  1581,  or  earlier  (known  to  us  in  the 
transcript  of  1674),  contains  clear  intimation  of  secrets  confined  to  the  Free- 
masons, such  as  "  Ye  priviledge  of  ye  compass,  square,  levell,  and  ye 
plum-rule."      {^Vide  Kalendar  of  MSS.,  No.  17.) 

That  the  Lodge  from  the  first  was  exclusively  used  by  the  brethren  seems 
equally  clear,  and  undoubtedly  was  kept  sacred  to  the  Fraternity,  because  all 
the  members  were  bound  to  preserve  the  art  of  building  as  a  monopoly 
among  themselves.  The  secret  then  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  was  the  way 
to  build ;'^  and  the  ty led  lodges  contributed  to  the  preservation  of  such  trade 
mysteries,  while  and  wherever  the  monopolizing  tendencies  of  the  "  Old 
Charges  "  were  respected  and  followed.  So  long  as  their  injunctions  were 
obeyed,  cowans  were  unknown ;  but,  as  the  regulations  became  relaxed  and 
less  stringent  laws  were  permitted,  there  gradually  grew  up,  side  by  side  with 
the  regularly  obligated  Brotherhood,  another  body  of  operatives,  who,  in  spite 
of  bitter  opposition  and  lack  of  prestige,  without  "  Old  Charges  "  or  "  Mason's 
word,"  contrived  to  hold  their  own,  and  eventually  broke  down  the  monopoly, 
thus  paving  the  way  for  the  purely  Speculative  Society  of  modern  days. 

That  Speculative  Freemasonry  existed  as  far  back  as  the  oldest  "  Charges  " 
preserved,  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  reference  to  their  text,  especially  that 
of  the  second  oldest  MS. ;  but  it  is  not  likely  that  the  gentlemen  and  trades- 
men who  were  initiated  then,  and  subsequently,  contributed  to  the  overthrow 
of  the  Masonic  monopoly.  To  my  mind,  they  were  among  its  strongest 
supporters,  and  became  the  means  of  providing  funds  for  the  promotion  of 
strictly  lodge  work  and  customs,  by  payment  of  increased  initiation  fees. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  introduction  of  "Speculative"  membership,  that 
is,  the  initiation  of  gentlemen  and  others  who  were  not  Freemasons,  or  those 
who  had  no  intention  of  becoming  such,  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  —  during 
the  seventeenth  century,  especially,  —  it  looks  as  if  the  Ancient  Fraternity  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons  would  have  ceased  to  exist  long  ere  this,  and  its 
history,  generally,  would  well-nigh  have  been  forgotten. 

The  preservation,  therefore,  of  our  time-honored  Institution,  at  a  period 
when  the  "Old  Charges"  almost  wholly  ceased  to  be  influential  as  trade 
rules  and  authoritative  guides,  is  due  more  to  the  Speculative  than  to  the 
Operative  portion  of  the  Fraternity,  and  proves  the  wisdom  of  our  Masonic 
forefathers,  in  providing  for  the  introduction  of  other  elements  than  those 

1  "  We  may  conclude  that  the  Craft  or  mystery  of  architects  and  Operative  Masons  was  involved 
in  secrecy,  by  which  a  knowledge  of  their  practice  was  carefully  excluded  from  the  acquirement 
of  all  who  were  not  enrolled  in  their  Fraternity."  —  Rev,  James  Dallaway,  i8jj. 


XX  I^^TR  OD  UC  TION. 

originally  contemplated,  by  which  the  permanency  and  continuity  of  the  Fra- 
ternity have  been  secured  to  this  day. 

Unfortunately  there  are  extant  no  records  of  actual  lodge  meetings  prior 
to  the  year  1599,  so  that  the  exact  proportion  that  the  Speculative  bore  to 
the  Operative  element,  in  such  assemblies,  before  that  period,  is  more  or  less 
a  matter  of  conjecture,  though  of  its  Speculative  character,  in  part,  there  is 
no  doubt. 

It  has  long  been  the  fashion  to  credit  certain  Church  dignitaries  with 
the  honor  of  designing  works  erected  in  England  during  the  period  under 
consideration,  but  that  opinion  has  received  its  quietus  from  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Wyatt  Papworth,  who,  in  his  "  Notes  on  the  Superintendents  of  Eng- 
lish Buildings  in  the  Middle  Ages"  (1887),  has  demonstrated  that  "The 
Master  Masons  were,  generally,  the  architects  during  the  mediaeval  period  in 
England,"  and  that  it  is  to  them  we  owe  those  noble  structures  which  are  the 
admiration  of  the  world. 

The  Reverend  James  Dallaway  enforced  a  similar  view  in  1833,  in  his 
remarkable  "  Historical  Account  of  Master  and  Free  Masons,"  wherein  he 
notes  that "  The  honor,  due  to  the  original  founders  of  these  edifices,  is  almost 
invariably  transferred  to  the  ecclesiastics,  under  whose  patronage  they  rose, 
rather  than  to  the  skill  and  design  of  the  Master  Mason,  or  professional 
architect,  because  the  only  historians  were  monks." 

Any  remarks  of  mine,  about  the  importance  and  spread  of  Speculative 
Freemasonry,  are  not  intended  to  detract  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the 
high  estimation  in  which  we  should  hold  the  original  patrons  and  preservers 
of  the  art,  while  it  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  an  exclusively  operative 
combination  of  builders,  composed  of  apprentices,  journeymen  (or  Fellow 
Crafts),  and  Master  Masons. 

The  name  or  title  "  Free-Mason  "  is  met  with  so  far  back  as  the  fourteenth 
century,  its  precise  import  at  that  period  being  a  matter  of  discussion  even  at 
the  present  time.  The  original  statute,  of  a.d.  1350,  reads  "  Afestre  de  franche- 
peer,"  and  thus  points  to  the  conclusion  that  a  Freemason  then  was  one  who 
worked  in  free-stone,  and  assuredly  a  superior  artisan  to  another  class,  who,  as 
less  skilled  masons,  were  employed  on  rough  work  only. 

It  may  fairly  be  assumed  that  such  interpretation  applied  to  the  name  at 
that  period,  whenever  used,  and  soon  became  the  favored  term,  in  lieu  of  the 
older  designations  "  cementarms'''  or  "  lathonius"  etc. 

During  the  following  century  the  Freemasons  are  frequently  referred  to 
in  contracts,  statutes,  etc. ;  and  indeed,  as  Mr.  Papworth  states  (who  cites 
numerous  instances) ,  "  No  later  examples  need  be  given,  for  thereafter  Mason 
and  Freemason  are  terms  in  constant  use  down  to  the  present  time." 

The  purely  fanciful,  though  ingenious  suggestion,  that  Free-mason  is  derived 
ixomfrere  matron  {i.e.,  Brother  Mason),  does  not  commend  itself  to  my  judg- 
ment, for  there  is  not  an  old  record  or  minute  of  any  lodge  which  supports 


INTRODUCTION.  xxi 

such  a  derivation  or  illustrates  such  a  usage,  and  so  it  is  wholly  destitute  of 
confirmation. 

It  will  be  manifest,  as  the  evidence  of  the  lodge-records  is  unfolded,  that 
though  Freemason  originally  signified  a  worker  on  free-stone,  it  became  the 
custom,  farther  on,  to  apply  the  term  to  all  Craftsmen  who  had  obtained  their 
freedom  as  Masons  to  work  in  lodges  with  the  Fraternity,  after  due  apprentice- 
ship and  passing  as  Fellow  Crafts.  "  Cowans,"  no  matter  how  skilful  they  may 
have  become,  were  not  ^;r^- masons,  and  the  Scottish  Crafts,  especially,  were 
most  particular  in  defining  the  differences  that  existed  between  "freemen  "  and 
"  «/2-freemen,"  in  regard  to  all  the  trades  then  tmder  stringent  regulations. 

The  "Schaw  Statutes,"  Scotland,  of  a.d.  1599,  provided  that  "Na  Cowains" 
work  with  the  Masons ;  the  Masters  and  Fellows  being  sworn,  annually,  to 
respect  that  exclusive  rule.  Many  of  the  meetings  of  the  old  lodges,  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  were  mostly  taken  up  with  resisting  the  gradual  but  per- 
sistent encroachments  of  these  cowans,  who,  though  the  civil  guilds  and 
Masonic  authorities  were  all  in  league  against  them,  managed  to  live  amid 
their  foes,  and,  though  not /;r^- Masons  were  still  Masons.  The  earhest  known 
minute  of  the  Lodge  of  Edinburgh  notes  an  apology  for  employing  a  cowan 

(July  31.  1599)- 

The  merchant  tailors  of  Exeter,  a.d.  1466,  had  a  regulation  in  force,  that 
no  one  was  to  have  a  "  board,"  or  shop,  unless  free  of  the  city,  and  in  the 
ordinances  they  are  called  '^  ffree  Saweres,"  and,  likewise,  "ffree  Bro/herys." 
There  were  three  classes,  viz.:  master  tailors, /;r^  sewers  (or  journeymen), 
and  apprentices. 

The  "Freemen  of  the  Mystery  of  Carpenters,"  in  the  city  of  London 
obliged  all  non-Freemen  of  their  Craft  to  take  up  their  freedom,  or  fines  were 
imposed.  On  Novembers,  1666,  we  meet  with  the  suggestive  term  "Free 
Carpenters,"  and  in  1651  "Free  Sawiers,"  and,  on  June  24,  1668,  a  female 
was  "made  free^'  of  the  guild  or  mystery.  On  September  5,  1442,  the 
"  Unfree  as  ffreemen  "  were  called  upon  to  defend  the  "  town  of  Aberdeen." 
The  "  Seal  of  Cause  "  of  the  "  Hammermen  "  of  the  same  city,  April  12,  1496, 
recited  that  no  one  should  "  sett  up  Buth  to  wyrk  within  the  said  Burgh  quhill 
he  be  maid  an  Freeman  thairof,"  and  the  "  Chirurgeons  "  and  other  profes- 
sions and  trades  "  receiv'd  //7>-men"  as  approved  candidates,  who  were  thus 
"  ^nV- Burgesses  "  accordingly. 

The  venerable  Melrose  Lodge,  in  its  first  preserved  minute,  of  December 
28,  1674,  enacted:  "  yt  w"  ever  a  prentice  is  mad //7>  Mason  he  must  pay 
four  pund  Scotts "  ;  hence  we  subsequently  frequently  read  in  the  records 
that  various  men  were  "  entered  and  received  fr[free]  to  y*  trade,"  and 
"pastfrie  to  y*"  trade,"  and  similar  entries. 

No  matter  what  the  trade,  provision  was  made  in  olden  time  "  That  every 
man  that  is  to  be  \-n3.d&fne-man  be  examined  and  provet  on  their  Points,"  etc., 
as  illustrated  in  the  "  Regius  MS.,"  and  other  "  Old  Charges  "  ;r  Masons. 


xxii  INTRODUCTION. 

So  that,  whether  they  were  the  "  Masownys  of  the  luge  "  (as  noted  on 
June  27,  1483,  at  Aberdeen),  or  members  of  other  guilds,  "the  great  aithe 
sworne  "  in  those  days  induced  them  alike  most  carefully  to  provide  that  their 
Crafts  be  exclusively  confined  to//r^-men  and  brothers,  and  "to  be  leile  trew 
on  all  pontis"  (Aberdeen,  November  22,  149S). 

It  would  be  tedious  to  detail  at  more  length  the  available  evidence  respect- 
ing the  application  of  the  prefix  free  to  the  purposes  aforesaid,  but  certainly 
the  explanation  offered  as  to  free  Mason,  free  Carpenter,  free  Sewer,  etc., 
has  the  merit  of  being  an  easy  and  rational  solution  confirmed  by  ancient 
records.  Suffice  it  to  state  that  even  down  so  late  as  the  year  1763,  the 
"  Rules  and  Orders  of  the  Lodge  of  Free-Masons  in  the  Town  of  Alnwick," 
provide  that  "  if  any  Fellows  of  the  Lodge  shall,  without  the  cognizance  and 
approbation  of  the  Master  and  Wardens,  presume  to  hold  private  Lodges  or 
Assemblies  with  an  Litent  to  make  any  Person  free  of  this  honourable  Lodge, 
they  shall  each  forfets  to  the  Box  the  sum  of  3^  ds.  8c/."  This  lodge,  long 
extinct,  has  records  preser\-ed  from  the  year  1 701,  and  never  joined  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England.     {Kakndar  of  MSS.,  No.  27.) 

From  the  year  1600  (June  8),  when  a  non-operative^  or  Speculative  Free- 
mason was  present  as  a  member,  and  attested  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  by 
his  i?iark  (as  the  operatives),  the  records  are  so  voluminous  and  important 
of  the  "  Lodge  of  Edinburgh  "  (Mary's  Chapel),  and  of  other  old  Ateliers  in 
Scotland,  that  it  is  with  extreme  difficulty  a  brief  selection  can  be  made  with 
any  satisfaction,  the  wealth  of  minutes  being  quite  embarrassing.  Brother 
D.  Murray  Lyon's  great  work,  and  numerous  volumes  besides  by  other  breth- 
ren,—  especially  the  Transactions  of  the  "  Quatuor  Coronati "  Lodge,  London, 
— are  brimful  of  invaluable  and  trustworthy  accounts  of  the  Fraternity,  extending 
back  nearly  three  centuries. 

The  Lodge  of  Edinburgh,  No.  1,  was  regulated  in  part  by  the  statutes  of 
1598,  promulgated  by  William  Schaw,  "  Principal  Warden  and  Chief  Master 
of  Maso7is"  to  King  James  VL  of  Scotland,  who  succeeded  Sir  Robert  Drum- 
mond  as  Master  of  Works,  in  1583,  and  died  in  1602.  There  are  twenty-two 
"Items"  or  clauses,  and,  being  given  in  full  by  Brother  Lyon,  187 1,  and 
"Constitutions"  Grand  Lodge  of  1848,  mention  now  need  only  be  made  of 
one  or  two  of  the  more  remarkable. 

The  rules  are  based  on  the  "  Old  Charges,"  but  altered  to  suit  that  period. 
They  were  for  all  Scotland,  and  received  the  consent  of  the  "  Maisteris  efter 
specifeit."  Apprentices  were  to  serve  seven  years  at  the  least,  and  their  being 
"  maid  fallows  in  Craft "  was  dependent  on  passing  an  examination  as  to  their 
operative  skill,  and  Masters  were  created  in  like  manner,  save  as  to  honorary 
members.     It  was  enacted  :  — 

"  That  na  maister  or  fallow  of  craft  be  ressauit  nor  admittit  w'out  the  names  of  sex  maisteris 
and  twa  enterit  prenteissis,  the  wardene  of  that  ludge  being  ane  of  the  said  sex,  and  that  the  day  of 

1  John  Boswell,  Esq.,  of  Auchinleck. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXlll 


the  ressavyng  of  the  said  fallow  of  craft  or  maister  be  orderlie  buikit  and  his  name  and  mark  insert 
in  the  said  buik  vv'  the  names  of  his  sex  admitteris  and  enterit  prenteissis,  and  the  names  of  the 
intendaris  that  salbe  chosin." 

An  "  assay  and  sufficient  tryall  of  skill  "  was  a  sine  qua  non  of  promotion  ; 
just  as  in  modern  days,  the  examinations  in  open  lodge,  preparatory  to  a  higher 
degree  being  conferred,  are  obligatory,  and  are  the  counterparts  of  the  opera- 
tive essays  of  by-gone  days.  The  Masters  were  "  sworne  be  thair  grit  aith  " 
[great  oath'\  to  truly  respect  the  statutes  which  were  officially  issued. 

From  1600  to  1634,  the  records  of  No.  i  are  silent  as  to  the  admission  of 
speculatives,  but  contain  entries  of  apprentices,  and  admissions  of  Fellow  Crafts 
by  the  "  friemen  and  burgesses  "  of  the  lodge. 

Apprentices  were  members,  and  exercised  their  privileges  as  such,  just  as 
the  Craftsmen  and  Masters  ;  and  even  attested  the  elections  of  members,  being 
present  in  lodge,  and  thus  consenting  to  and  acknowledging  the  receptions  of 
Craftsmen  and  Masters.  This  proves  that  the  passing  to  superior  grades  could 
not  have  required  any  esoteric  ceremonies  that  apprentices  were  ineligible  to 
witness. 

Special  care  was  exercised  in  registering  the  names  of  the  proposers  or 
"  admitters,"  and  of  the  "  intendaris  "  or  instructors.  An  officer  called  "  Eldest 
Entered  Prentice,"  even  officiated  at  the  passing  of  Fellow  Crafts.  The  Dea- 
con of  the  lodge  was  President  (called  " Freses,''  in  1710),  and  the  Warden 
was  Treasurer ;  but  the  officers  were  not  uniform  in  lodges,  as  in  some  the 
Master  is  mentioned  from  1670. 

On  July  3,  1634,  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Alexander  was  "  admitit  folowe 
off  the  Craft,"  and  also  Sir  Alexander  Strachan.  On  December  27,  1636,  an 
apprentice  was  duly  made,  "  with  the  heall  consent  of  the  heall  masters,  frie 
mesones  of  Ednr  "  ;  there  being  but  this  one  lodge  in  the  city  at  that -time. 

Lord  Alexander,  Viscount  Canada,  so  Brother  Lyon  tells  us,  "  was  a  young 
man  of  great  expectations ;  but  he  dissipated  a  fortune,  and  endured  great 
personal  hardships,  in  establishing  a  colony  on  the  River  St.  Lawrence.^''  He 
and  his  brother,  admitted  on  the  same  day  (July  3,  1634),  were  sons  of  the 
first  Earl  of  Stirling ;  Sir  Anthony  Alexander  being  Master  of  Work  to  King 
Charles  I.,  and  so  noted  in  the  minutes.  Another  brother,  Henrie  Alexander, 
was  "admittet  ane  falowe  "  on  February  16,  1638,  and  succeeded  to  the  office 
of  General  Warden  and  Master  of  Work.  He  became  third  Earl  of  Stirling  in 
1640,  and  died  ten  years  later. 

General  Hamilton  was  initiated  on  May  20,  1640,  as  "fellow  and  M''-  off 
the  forsed  Craft,"  and  Dr.  William  Maxwell  was  received  July  27,  1647.  A 
remarkable  entry  of  March  2,  1653,  calls  for  mention,  as  it  concerns  the 
election  of  a  "Joining  member." 

"  The  qlk  day,  in  presence  of  Johne  Milln  deacon,  Quentein  Thomsone,  wardeine,  and  remnant 
brethrene  of  maisones  of  the  Lodge  of  Ednr.,  compeired  James  Neilsone,  maister  Sklaitter  to  his 
majestic,  being  entered  and  past  in  the  Lodge  of  Linlithgow,  the  said  James  Neilsone  humblie 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION. 

desyring  to  be  receiued  in  to  be  a  member  of  our  Lodg  off  Edn.,  which  desire  the  wholl  companie 
did  grant  and  received  him  as  brother  and  fellow  of  our  companie ;  in  witness  qrof  we  the  wholl 
freemen  have  set  our  hands  or  marks." 

Doubtless  this  application  was  to  enable  Brother  Neilsone  to  work  for  his 
living  in  the  city,  fortified  with  the  good  will  and  fellowship  of  the  lodge. 

Sir  Patrick  Hume,  Bart.,  "  was  admited  in  as  fellow  of  craft  (and  Master) 
of  this  lodg,"  on  December  27,  1667 ;  and,  three  years  later,  the  Right  Hon- 
orable William  Morray  [Murray],  Justice  Depute  of  Scotland,  Walter  Pringle, 
Advocate,  and  Sir  John  Harper  were  admitted  "  Brothers  and  fellow  crafts." 

The  Scottish  army,  having  defeated  the  Royalists  at  Newburn,  in  1640, 
advanced  and  took  possession  of  Newcastle  (England),  where  it  remained 
for  some  months,  during  the  deliberations  of  the  Commissioners.  In  the 
army  were  several  members  of  this  Lodge  of  Edinburgh,  who,  on  May  20, 
1 64 1,  convened  an  emergency  meeting  and  admitted  or  initiated  General 
Quartermaster  Robert  Moray  [Murray].  On  returning  to  the  city  some  time 
afterward,  the  extraordinary  circumstance  was  duly  reported,  and  as  duly 
entered  on  the  records,  being  attested  by  General  Hamilton  aforesaid,  James 
Hamilton,  and  "Johne  Mylnn." 

The  John  Mylne  thus  noted  represented  a  family  of  Craftsmen  whose  con- 
nection with  this  lodge  extended  over  two  hundred  years.  The  third  John 
Mylne  (of  Masonic  fame),  came  to  Edinburgh  in  1616,  and  belonged  to  the 
lodge.  He  was  Master  Mason  to  Charles  I.,  and  resigned  that  office  in  favor 
of  his  eldest  son,  John,  who  was  "  made  a  Fellow  craft "  in  the  lodge  in  Octo- 
ber, 1633,  and  was  with  the  Scottish  army  1 640-1 641.  He  was  Deacon  of  the 
lodge,  and  Warden  in  1636,  and  frequently  reelected  to  the  former  ofifice. 

His  brother  Alexander  was  "  passed  fellow  craft  "  in  1635,  ^^^  ^^^  nephew, 
Robert;  was  "  entered  prentice  "  to  him  December  27,  1653,  and  passed  as 
a  Fellow  Craft  on  September  23,  1660. 

Robert's  eldest  son,  William,  was  a  member  from  December  27,  1681, 
"  passed  "  in  1685,  and  died  in  1728.  His  eldest  son,  Thomas,  was  admitted 
an  apprentice  December  27,  1721,  and  was  "crafted"  in  1729,  being  the 
Master  of  No.  i,  on  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  in  1736. 
William  Mylne,  second  son  of  this  brother,  was  "  receaved  and  entred  appren- 
tice in  the  ordinary  forme"  on  December  27,  1750,  and  was  "passed  and 
raised  operative  master,"  after  exhibiting  his  due  qualifications,  on  December 
20,  1758.     He  died  in  1790. 

Thomas,  his  brother  and  eldest  son  to  the  Thomas  Mylne  before  noted, 
became  an  "apprentice  as  honorary  member,"  on  January  14,  i  754.  He  died 
in  181 1,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  having  been  its  surveyor  for 
some  fifty  years.  Thus  terminated  that  family's  connection  with  this  vener- 
able lodge,  which  had  extended  through  five  generations,  beginning  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century  through  the  representative  of  the  third  generation  of 
t-hat  famous  family,  whose  distinguished  Masonic  career  is  recited  in  the  Perth 
charter  of  a.d.  1658. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

In  1688  a  schism  occurred  in  No.  i,  by  a  number  of  members  starting  a 
separate  lodge  for  themselves  in  the  "Canongate  and  Leith,"  by  which  name 
it  has  since  been  known,  and  is  now  No.  5  on  the  Scottish  Roll.  The 
"Mother  "  was  most  indignant  at  such  conduct,  and  tried  every  means  in  her 
power  to  thwart  the  movement,  but  in  vain. 

Another  swarm,  but  involving  much  more  serious  consequences,  occurred 
in  1709,  and  was  still  more  objectionable  to  No.  i,  because  the  seceders, 
generally,  were  not  Masters,  but  "  Journeymen^  This  peculiarity  led  to  the 
second  offshoot  being  so  named,  now  well  known  by  that  title,  as  No.  8  on 
the  Register.  Two  of  its  members  were  imprisoned  (who  had  been  admitted 
as  apprentices  in  1694),  and  all  that  officialism  could  do  to  crush  the  recalci- 
trants was  cruelly  employed,  but  utterly  failed.  Arbitration  eventually  led  to 
a  suspension  of  hostilities,  and  on  January  8,  1715,  the  "Decreet  Arbitral" 
was  made  known  and  certified.  By  this  award  the  Journeymen  were  empow- 
ered "  to  meet  together  by  themselves  as  a  society  for  giving  the  Mason's 
word'\-  and  thus  was  forever  broken  down  the  monoply  of  the  "  Incorpora- 
tion of  Wrights  and  Masons  "  of  Edinburgh,  of  a.d.  1475,  origin,  whose 
Master  Masons  had  so  long  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  thus  admit  Appren- 
tices, pass  Fellow  Crafts,  and  elect  Masters  in  the  ancient  Lodge  of  that  city. 

"  Mother  Lodge  Kilwinning,  No.  0,"  is  universally  known  and  respected 
throughout  the  Masonic  world.  Unfortunately  its  earliest  records  are  lost, 
and  have  been  so  for  many  years,  the  oldest  preserved  ranging  from  Decem- 
ber 20,  1642,  to  December  5,  1758.  Its  meetings  were  held  in  Kilwinning, 
Scotland,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  lodge  extending  even  so  far  as  Glasgow,  in 
the  year  1599.      {Kalendar  of  MSS.,  No.  14.) 

Schaw's  Supplementary  Code  of  1599  (only  discovered  in  quite  recent 
times),  refers  to  three  "  held  Ludges  "  in  Scotland,  "  the  first  and  principal  " 
being  that  of  Edinburgh,  the  second  Kilwinning,  and  the  third  Stirling ;  so 
that  notwithstanding  the  present  position  of  "  Mother  Lodge  Kilwinning  "  as 
head  of  the  Scottish  Roll  as  No.  o,  some  three  hundred  years  ago,  it  was  the 
second  Si's,  respects  seniority,  according  to  the  decision  of  Schaw.  Moreover, 
his  official  award  is  declared  to  have  been  based  on  evidence  "  notourlie 
manifest  in  our  awld  antient  writers." 

The  Earl  of  Cassilis  was  Master  of  the  Lodge  of  Kilwinning  in  1 6  70,  though 
only  an  apprentice,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  Alexander  Cunninghame.  After 
him,  the  Earl  of  Eglintoune  occupied  the  Chair,  but  was  simply  an  apprentice, 
and,  in  1678,  Lord  William  Cochrane  (son  of  the  Earl  of  Dundonald),  was  a 
Warden.  No  surprise  need  be  felt  at  apprentices  being  thus  raised  to  the 
highest  position  in  the  lodge,  seeing  that  members  of  the  first  grade  had  to 
be  present  at  the  passing  or  making  of  Craftsmen  and  Masters,  a  rule  also 
enforced  and  minuted  in  this  lodge  December  20,  1643,  when  the  brethren 
assembled  "  in  the  upper  chamber  of  the  dwelling  house  of  Hugh  Smithe." 
This  most  significant  fact  appears  to  me  to  be  a  permanent  barrier  against  the 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION. 

notion  that  there  were  separate  and  independent  Masonic  degrees  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  as  there  were,  say,  from  a.d.  171 7.  Three  grades  or 
classes  are  clearly  exhibited,  just  as  with  other  trades,  then  and  now,  but  not 
esoteric  degrees  at  the  reception  of  Craftsmen  (or  Journeymen),  and  Masters, 
as  some  excellent  authorities  confidently  claim. 

The  uhraseology  of  the  records  of  each  lodge  is  peculiar  to  itself,  though 
having  much  in  common.  Lodge  No.  o,  for  example,  December  19,  1646, 
minute,  states  that  certain  Masons  were  accepted  as  "  fellow-brethren  to  ye 
said  tred  quha  bes  sworne  to  ye  standart  of  the  said  ludge  ad  vitamT  The 
Warden  is  mentioned  first  on  the  list  of  officers  present,  and  the  Deacon 
next,  whereas  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  the  records  of  No.  i.  Great  care  was 
exercised  in  the  appointment  of  officers,  and  even  the  Clerk,  in  1643,  ^oo^  his 
"  oath  of  office,"  and  others  were  obligated  in  like  manner. 

The  popularity  of  this  organization,  designated  "The  Ancient  Lodge  of 
Scotland,"  in  1643,  '^^s  been  wide-spread  and  continuous,  consequent  mainly 
upon  its  granting  so  many  charters  for  subordinates.  Its  earliest  child,  still 
vigorous  and  healthy,  is  the  "  Canongate  Kilwinning,"  No.  2,  which  originated 
from  the  permission  given  by  the  venerable  parent,  December  20,  1677,  for 
certain  of  its  members,  resident  in  Edinburgh,  "To  enter  receave  and  pase  any 
qualified  persons  that  they  think  fitt  in  name  and  behalf  of  the  Ludge  of 
Kilwinning." 

According  to  custom,  the  pendicles  of  this  old  lodge  in  Ayrshire,  generally 
added  the  name  "  Kilwinning  "  to  their  designations  or  titles,  and  hence  the 
description  "  St.  John's  Kilwinning,"  which  lodge  was  started  by  the  same 
authority  in  167S,  and  is  now  No.  6,  "Old  Kilwinning  St.  John,"  Inverness. 
The  Hon.  William  Mcintosh  was  the  first  Master,  and  the  lodge,  on  Decem- 
ber 22,  1737,  received  a  warrant  of  confirmation  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Scotland,  in  which  it  is  asserted  {respecting  Master  Masons^,  without  any  evi- 
dence whatever,  that  the  members  from  1678"  received  and  entered  apprentices, 
past  Fellow  Crafts,  and  raised  Master  Masons.''^  The  petition  of  1737  is 
extant,  as  agreed  to  by  the  lodge,  and,  I  need  scarcely  state,  no  such  prepos- 
terous claim  was  made  by  the  brethren  at  that  time,  or  since,  for  there  was 
in  1678,  no  Third  degree.  In  1737  there  were  some  fifty  members,  mostly 
Speculative,  so  we  are  informed  by  Brother  Alexander  Ross,  in  1877. 

Brother  Robert  Wylie  gives  a  list  of  the  charters  he  has  been  able  to  trace 
(and  copies  thereof  as  far  as  possible),  in  his  "  History  of  Mother  Kilwinning 
Lodge,"  some  thirty-five  in  number,  —  without  exhausting  the  roll,  —  down  to 
1807  (for  during  a  portion  of  its  career  my  esteemed  Scottish  "Mother" 
acted  as  a  Grand  Lodge,  and  rival  to  that  at  Edinburgh),  including  Tappahan- 
nock  Kilwinning  Lodge,  Virginia  (a.d.  1758),  and  Falmouth  Kilwinning 
Lodge  (a.d.  1775),  Virginia,  America;  as  also,  the  "High  Knights  Templars" 
Lodge,  Dublin,  a.d.  1779.^ 
1  Colonel  Moore's  remarks  as  to  this  Irish  lodge  (Division  XVII.),  should  be  carefully  noted. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXVll 


Other  Old  Lodges  in  Scotland,  all  of /;-<?-Grand  Lodge  origin,  that  ought 
to  be  noted  are  :  — 

{a)  No.  3,  "  Scone  and  Perth  "  (its  oldest  preserved  document  being  of 
date  December  24, 1658,  subscribed  to  by  the  "  Maisters,  Friemen  and  Fellow 
Crafts  off  Perth,  "  the  lodge  being  the  "prin'''  [principal]  within  the  Shyre"). 

{b)  No.  3  bis,  St.  John's,  Glasgow  (which  is  noted  in  the  Incorporation 
Records  so  early  as  1613,  but  did  not  join  the  Grand  Lodge  until  1849-1850), 
the  lodge  possibly  being  active  in  155 1  when  no  Craftsman  was  allowed  to 
work  in  that  city  unless  entered  as  a  Burgess  atid  Freemati,  and  membership 
of  the  lodge  was  conditional  on  entering  the  Incorporation,  its  exclusively 
Operative  character  remaining  intact  until  some  fifty  years  ago. 

(<:)  No.  9,  Dunblane,  is  credited  with  having  originated  in  1696,  accord- 
ing to  the  Scottish  Register,  but  it  certainly  existed  prior  to  that  year,  though 
that  is  the  date  of  its  oldest  minute  preserved.  It  was  chiefly  Speculative 
from  the  first.  Viscount  Strathalane  was  the  Master  in  1696,  Alexander 
Drummond,  Esq.,  was  Warden;  an  "Eldest  Fellow  Craft,"  Clerk,  Treasurer, 
and  an  "  Officer  "  were  also  elected. 

{d)  Some  lodges  lower  down  on  the  Scottish  Roll  go  much  farther  back 
than  No.  9  ;  e.g.,  Haddington  ("St.  John's  Kilwinning"),  No.  57,  dating  from 
1599,  but  the  evidence  for  that  claim  is  not  apparent,  the  oldest  MS.  extant 
being  of  the  year  1682,  and  another  is  of  1697,  both  referring  to  the  lodge  of 
that  town. 

(<?)  One  of  the  most  noteworthy  and  most  ancient,  with  no  lack  of  docu- 
mentary testimony  in  its  favor,  is  the  old  lodge  at  Aberdeen,  No.  34,  with 
its  "  Mark  Book"  of  a.d.  1670,  and  a  profusion  of  actual  minutes  and  records 
from  that  year.  Its  comparatively  low  position  on  the  register  says  more  for 
the  unselfish  spirit  of  its  members,  last  century,  than  for  the  justice  of  the 
authorities  in  settling  the  numeration. 

Out  of  forty-nine  members,  whose  names  are  enrolled  in  the  "Mark  Book," 
only  eight  are  known  to  have  been  Operative  Masons,  and  for  certain,  the 
great  majority  were  Speculative  Freemasons.  Four  noblemen  and  several 
clergymen  and  other  gentlemen  were  members.  Harrie  Elphingston,  "Tutor," 
and  a  "  Collector  of  the  King's  Customs,"  was  the  Master  when  these  extraor- 
dinary records  were  begun,  and,  save  as  to  two,  all  have  their  marks 
regularly  registered}  The  "  names  of  the  successors  "  are  also  duly  noted, 
and  a  list  of  the  ^^  Entered  Prenteises,"  with  their  marks,  is  also  inserted, 
dating  from  1670.  The  Earl  of  Errol,  one  of  the  members,  died  at  an 
advanced  age,  in  1674.  The  three  classes  of  Apprentices,  Fellow  Crafts  and 
Master  Masons  were  recognized,  the  statutes  of  December  27,  1670,  being 
compiled  on  the  customary  lines,  only  that  the  Code  is  more  than  usually 
comprehensive  and  interesting.  Provision  was  made  for  "  Gentlemen  Meas- 
sons,'^  as  well  as  "Handle  Craftes  prenteises  "  being  initiated,  in  these  old 

1  Vide  plates  of  Marks  from  old  lodge  registers,  etc. 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION. 

rules,  and  special  care  for  the  due  communication  of  the  "  Mason-word." 
"Fees  of  No  )i  our,"  on  the  assumption  of  office,  were  also  payable  in  some  of 
the  old  lodges. 

(/)  "Peebles  Kilwinning,"  No.  24,  seems  to  have  started  on  October  18, 
1 716,  by  its  own  act  and  deed,  for  who  was  to  say  nay  ?  The  minute  of  the 
event  begins  with  the  declaration  that,  in  consequence  of  the  great  loss  "  the 
honorable  company  of  Masons  .  .  .  have  hitherto  sustained  by  the  want  of  a 
lodge,  and  finding  a  sufficient  number  of  brethren  in  this  burgh,  did  this 
day  erect  a  lodge  among  themselves  "  A  Deacon,  Warden,  and  other  officers 
were  then  elected,  and,  on  December  27,  "  after  prayer,''  the  several  members 
present  were  duly  examined.  It  was  Speculative  as  well  as  Operative  in  its 
constitution. 

{g)  "Dumfries  Kilwinning,"  No.  53,  though  only  dated  1750,  in  the 
Official  Register,  possesses  records  back  to  1687,  and  was  not,  even  then, 
wholly  Operative.  Different  fees  were  payable  by  mechanics,  and  by  "  no 
mechanicks,"  on  initiation,  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

A  noteworthy  title  occurs  in  an  "Indenture  betwix  Dunde  and  its  Masou?i," 
of  the  year  1536,  which  is  the  earUest  known  instance  of  a  Scottish  lodge 
being  named  after  a  Saint,  viz. :  "  Our  Lady  \_i.e.,  St.  Mary's]  Loge  of  Dunde." 
The  document  is  exceedingly  curious  and  valuable,  as  illustrating  the  "  aid  vss 
of  our  luge,"  and  another  of  March  1 1,  1659,  is  of  still  more  interest,  as  it  con- 
tains the  rules  then  agreed  to  by  the  "  Frie-Masters"  (with  the  concurrence 
of  the  town  authorities),  which  are  mostly  in  accordance  with  the  older  laws  of 
the  Craft,  and  framed  with  due  regard  to  the  privileges  of  the  sons  of  Freemen. 

(Ji)  Other  old  lodges  might  be  enumerated  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
such  as  Atcheson-Haven,  with  its  valuable  MS.  of  a.d.  1666.  {Kalendar  of 
MSS.,  No.  15.) 

(/)  Banff,  with  many  important  minutes  of  early  last  century. 

(/)  Brechin,  with  rules  and  records  from  1 714.  (No.  6  enacts  that  men  not 
freemen,  who  desire  to  work  in  the  lodge,  shall  pay  a  fee ;  No.  8  arranges  for 
"  Joining  members  "  ;  No.  9,  Marks  to  be  registered  ;  and  "  Frie-Masters  "  are 
noted  as  well  2iS  free  apprentices.)  These  all  (though  of  a  most  interesting 
character),  must  be  passed  over,  but  the  following  should  be  briefly  described, 
because  of  their  relevancy  to  the  subject  under  consideration  :  — 

{k)  The  Lodge  of  Kelso,  No.  58,  was  resuscitated  in  18 78,  after  many 
years  of  dormancy.  When  it  was  originally  formed  cannot  now  be  decided, 
but  the  earliest  preserved  minutes  begin  December  27,  1701,  when  "  the  Hon- 
orable Lodge  assembled  under  the  protection  of  Saint  John."  The  ALaster,  in 
1702,  was  George  Faa,  his  death  as  such  being  then  noted,  who  was  succeeded 
by  "  Sir  John  Pringall,"  an  ancestor  of  the  present  Sir  Norman  Pringle,  Bart., 
who  is  a  Past  Master  of  No.  92,  London. 

Brother  Vernon's  History  contains  many  gems  well  worth  reproduction 
herein,  if  feasible,  but  not  being  practicable,  I  can  only  hope  they  will  be  care- 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXIX 


fully  studied  when  opportunities  arise.  This  lodge,  Speculative  as  well  as 
Operative  from  the  year  1701,  continued  its  eventful  career  down  to  some 
fifty  years  since,  when  it  fell  through  for  some  time.  The  members  obtained 
a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  in  1754,  in  which  year  (June  18), 
it  was  discovered  "  That  this  lodge  had  attained  only  to  the  two  degrees  of 
Apprentice  and  Fellow  Craft,  and  know  nothing  of  the  Master'' s  party  This 
defect  was  there  and  then  remedied  by  the  formation  of  a  Master's  lodge, 
but  it  is  curious  to  note  the  fact. 

(/)  The  ancient  lodges  at  Melrose  and  Haughfoot  are  the  last  of  the  Scot- 
tish series  to  be  referred  to  now,  the  preserved  records  of  the  former  dating 
from  January  ij,  16 jo  !  The  members  have  remained  independent  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  down  to  this  year,  but  arrangements  are  in  progress 
for  its  union  with  that  body  as  No.  i  bis,  being  the  third  in  reality,  as  it 
will  be  preceded  by  No.  o,  and  No.  i,  already  described.  This  happy 
event  was  consummated  February  25th,  of  this  year  (1891),  the  Grand  Lodge 
and  the  lodge  being  agreed. 

In  none  of  the  records  are  there  to  be  found  any  references  to  three 
degrees,  until  very  recent  times,  the  only  secret  ceremony  being  at  the  initia- 
tion. The  lodge  was  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively.  Operative,  and  its  records  are 
mainly  taken  up  with  the  entering  of  Apprentices,  and  "  Receiving  Free  to  the 
Tread"  all  eligible  members  accepted  by  the  brethren. 

{ni)  The  lodge  at  Haughfoot  described  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Secretary 
(Brother  R.  Sanderson),  though  not  of  the  age  of  some  of  the  previous 
lodges,  possesses  records  from  1702,  the  first  of  which,  at  page  11  of 
December  22,  1702,  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion.  It  reads  exactly  as 
follows,  so  Brother  Sanderson  certifies  to  me  :  — 

"Of  entrie  as  the  apprentice  did  leaving  out  (the  Common  Judge).  Then  they  whisper  the 
word  as  before,  and  tlie  Master  Mason  grips  his  hand  after  the  ordinary  way." 

I  foil  to  find  in  this  excerpt  any  proof  that  two  or  more  degrees  were 
worked  at  that  time  ;  and  if  the  minute  refers  to  the  reception  or  "  passing ' 
of  a  Fellow  Craft,  or  Master  (then  simply  official  or  complimentary  positions), 
assuredly  Apprentices  might  have  been  and  possibly  were  present,  for  the 
"  entrie "  was  not  different  to  what  theirs  had  been,  the  word  being  "  as 
before^''  and  \}i\t  grip  was  in  the  "  ordinary  way." 

On  the  same  day  Sir  James  Scott  and  five  others  were  "  orderly  admitted 
Apprentices  and  Fellow  Craft,"  in  what  was  termed  "  the  said  Society  of 
Masons  and  Fellow  Craft."  No  references  occur  to  two  or  more  degrees  in 
any  of  the  old  records. 

England  is  far  behind  Scotland  as  respects  minutes  of  old  lodges,  and 
Ireland  possesses  none  before  the  last  century,  but  the  former  country  is 
very  rich  in  its  collection •  of  the  "Old  Charges." 

Of  actual  lodges  in  South  Britain,  we  have  to  come  down  to  1701  (save  the 
one  already  noted  at  Newcastle  of  the  former  century),  before  we  meet  with 


XXX  /iVry?  OD  uction. 

any  minute-books.  We  are  not,  however,  without  information  concerning 
English  lodge  meetings  so  far  back  as  1646.  Elias  k'^xaoXt '^  was  made  a 
Freemason  at  Warrington,  in  Lancashire,  with  Coll.  Henry  Mainwaring,  of 
Karnicham,  in  Cheshire,^'  as  he  states  in  his  Diary  (on  October  16,  1646), 
which  was  printed  and  published  in  171 7,  and  again  in  1774. 

Brother  W.  H.  Rylands  declares  that,  so  far  as  he  is  able  to  judge,  "  there 
is  not  a  scrap  of  evidence  that  there  was  a  single  Operative  Mason  present," 
and,  after  a  thorough  examination  of  the  entry,  that  able  writer  considers  "  the 
whole  of  the  evidence  seems  to  point  quite  in  the  opposite  direction!'^  It  is 
remarkable  that  the  "  Sloane  MS.  No.  3848  "  (which  is  a  copy  of  the  "  Old 
Charges"),  bears  the  same  date  as  this  meeting,  and  it  is  just  possible  was 
used  on  that  occasion.     {Kalendar  of  MSS.,  No.  10.) 

On  March  10,  1682,  Ashmole  received  "a  Sumons  to  app""  at  a  Lodge  to 
be  held  the  next  day,  at  Masons'  Hall,  London."  This  noted  antiquary  duly 
attended  and  witnessed  the  admission  "  into  the  Fellowship  of  Free  Masons  " 
of  Sir  William  Wilson,  Knt.,  and  five  other  gentlemen.  He  was  the  "  Senior 
Fellow  among  them,"  and  they  all  "  dyned  at  the  charge  of  the  new-accepted 
Masons."  These  are  the  only  entries  relating  to  the  Craft  in  this  gossipy 
Journal,  but  they  are  of  great  value  and  interest,  as  will  be  seen. 

In  the  "  Harleian  MS.,  No.  2054,"  which  contains  another  copy  of  the 
"Old  Charges"  (at  pp.  33-34),  is  an  extraordinary  lodge  entry  (apparently) 
of  1650  circa,  beginning  with  "  William  Wade  w*  give  for  to  be  a  free  mason,'^ 
and  likewise,  what  is  evidently  a  reproduction  of  the  oath  used  at  that  period, 
to  keep  secret  "the  words  and  signes  of  a  free  mason."    (No.  9,  in  Kalendar.) 

Over  a  score  of  names  are  noted  on  one  of  these  folios,  and  according  to 
Brother  Ryland's  researches  (confirmed  by  my  own),  it  seems  certain  that 
very  few  of  them  were  connected  with  the  Craft  as  operatives,  if  any. 

The  papers  on  this  subject  (a.d.  1882),  by  the  brother  just  mentioned,  are 
of  his  best  work  in  behalf  of  historical  Freemasonry,  and  cannot  be  surpassed. 
Randle  Holme  (the  third),  was  the  author  of  the  "Academic  of  Armory," 
1688,  and  as  a  Herald,  Deputy  to  Garter  King  of  Arms  for  Chester,  etc.  His 
name  is  one  of  the  twenty-six  noted  in  this  unique  MS.;  and  he  (Brother 
Rylands  points  out  for  the  first  time),  in  the  work  aforesaid,  speaks  of  the 
antiquity  of  "  the  Fellowship  of  the  Masons,"  and  acknowledged  his  member- 
ship of  the  Society  so  late  as  1688.  The  references  are  too  numerous  to  be 
mentioned  now,  but  they  are  all  of  a  most  important  character. 

Although  Bacon  (Lord  Verulam),  died  in  1626,  and  Ashmole  was  not 
initiated  until  twenty  years  later,  it  has  long  been  a  favorite  notion  with  many 
that  to  the  " Rosicrucians "  of  1614,  etc.,  and  Bacon's  "New  Atlantis,"  the 
Freemasons  are  mainly  indebted  for  many  portions  of  their  modern  rituals. 
There  is  certainly  much  more  to  be  said  in  support  of  this  view  than  in  regard 
to  any  connection  with  the  Knights  Templars  down  to  the  early  part  of  last 
century.    The  latter  fancy  is  really  not  worth  consideration  \  but  two  works  by 


INTRODUCTION.  xxxi 

Mr.  W,  F.  C.  Wigston,  published  recently,  on  "Bacon,  Shakespeare,  and  the 
Rosicrucians,"  etc.,  and  "  Francis  Bacon,  Poet,  Prophet,  and  Philosopher," 
contain  a  mass  of  facts  and  arguments,  all  tending  in  the  direction  of  Rosi- 
crucian  and  Baconian  ideas  influencing  the  Masonic  Revivalists  of  171 7.  The 
inquiry  is  not  one  that  can  be  settled  off-hand,  or  in  the  limits  of  a  few  pages ; 
but  it  strikes  me  that  there  is  still  light  to  be  thrown  on  the  origin  of  modern 
Masonic  degrees,  by  a  careful  study  of  the  evidence  accumulated  by  such 
diligent  investigators  as  Mr.  Wigston  and  others,  whose  labors  surely  need  not 
be  discredited  simply  because  of  the  Shakespearian  controversy  in  relation  to 
Francis  Bacon,  about  which  there  is,  naturally,  a  difference  of  opinion. 

On  this  point  I  have  ventured  so  far  as  to  declare  that  the  "  New  Atlantis 
seems  to  be,  and  probably  is,  the  key  to  the  modern  rituals  of  Freemasonry." 
There  for  the  present  the  question  must  be  left,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  con- 
cerned.    It  opens  up  a  very  suggestive  field  of  inquiry. 

To  whom  we  owe  modern  Freemasonry  of  "  three  degrees  "  and  their  addi- 
tions, such  as  the  Royal  Arch,  we  know  not.  I  am  inclined  to  credit  Drs. 
Desaguliers  and  Anderson  with  the  honor  of  the  first  trio,  but  Brother  Gould 
is  not,  and  certainly  evidence  is  lacking  as  to  the  point. 

The  transactions  at  the  inauguration  of  the  premier  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
world,  at  London,  in  171 7,  were  not,  unfortunately,  duly  recorded  at  the  time, 
and  hence  the  "Book  of  Constitutions,"  a.d.  1723,  and  the  earliest  minutes 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that  year,  with  Anderson's  account  of  the  meeting  in 
the  second  edition  of  1738,  are  practically  all  we  have  to  guide  us. 

"Four  Old  Lodges"  for  certain,  zxid. probably  more,  took  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  that  eventful  gathering,  and  from  that  body,  so  formed,  has 
sprung,  directly  or  indirecdy,  every  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  working  three  degrees,  in  the  universe.  When  these  lodges  originated 
is  not  known,  but  some  of  them,  possibly,  during  the  seventeenth  century. 
There  were  several  other  old  lodges  working,  in  their  own  prescriptive  right, 
in  England  during  the  second  decade  of  last  century,  though  they  took  no 
part  in  the  new  organization  at  first. 

Of  these,  one  in  particular  may  be  noted,  which  assembled  at  Alnwick 
from  an  early  date,  and  whose  preserved  rules  and  records  begin  1701- 
1703.  I  gave  a  sketch  of  this  ancient  lodge  in  the  Freemason  (London), 
January  21,  1871,  as  its  regulations  of  170 1  are  of  considerable  value,  its  copy 
of  the  "  Old  Charges  "  is  still  treasured,  and  its  minutes  were  kept  down  to 
the  seventh  decade  of  last  century,  as  already  noted.     (No.  27,  in  Kalendar.) 

The  Grand  Lodge  was  also  petitioned  to  constitute  or  regularize  many 
lodges  in  London  and  in  the  country,  but  as  these  all  took  date  from  their 
recognition,  we  know  lamentably  little  of  their  previous  career.  The  one  at 
York,  like  its  fellow  at  Alnwick,  never  joined  the  new  body,  but  preferred 
independence,  even  if  it  involved  isolation.  The  records  of  this  old  lodge 
exist  from  the  year  1712,  but  a  roll  from  1705  was  noted  in  the  inventory  of 


xxxii  INTRODUCTION. 

1779.  When  it  was  inaugurated  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  it  maybe  a 
descendant  of  the  lodge  which  we  know  was  active  at  York  Minster  in  the 
fourteenth  century. 

The  York  brethren  started  a  "Grand  Lodge  oi all  England,"  in  1725,  and 
kept  it  alive  for  some  twenty  years.  After  a  short  interval  it  was  revived,  in 
1 761,  and  continued  to  work  until  1792,  when  it  collapsed.  Prior  to  this 
date,  several  subordinates  were  chartered.  One,  possibly,  at  Scarborough,  of 
1705,  was  held  under  its  auspices,  and  much  work  was  done,  but  all  confined 
to  England.  The  serious  error  of  calling  the  "  Aiholl "  brethren  of  America 
"  York  Masons,"  has,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  long  ceased  to  be  used  or  tolerated  in 
the  United  States. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland,  at  Dublin,  was  formed  1 728-1 729  ;  but  there 
was  one  held  previously  at  Cork,  as  the  '•'  Grand  Lodge  for  Munster,"  cer- 
tainly as  early  as  1725.  The  Scottish  brethren  did  not  follow  the  example 
set  by  England  until  1 736,  and  then  managed  to  secure  Brother  William 
St.  Clair,  of  Roslin,  as  their  Grand  Master,  whose  ancestors  by  deeds  of 
A.D.  1600-1628  circa,  had  been  patrons  of  the  Craft  but  never  Grand  Masters, 
though  that  distinction  has  been  long  claimed  as  hereditary  in  that  Masonic 
family.     Brother  E.  Macbean  is  now  writing  as  to  these  points. 

From  this  Trio  of  Grand  Lodges,  situated  in  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland, 
have  sprung  all  the  thousands  of  lodges,  wherever  distributed,  throughout 
the  "wide,  wide  world."  Through  their  agency,  and  particularly  that  of  the 
"  Military  lodges  "  of  last  century,  the  Craft  has  been  planted  far  and  wide. 
Though  there  is  evidence  to  prove  that  brethren  assembled  in  America,  and 
probably  elsewhere,  in  lodges,  prior  to  the  formation  of  either  of  these  Grand 
Lodges,  or  quite  apart  from  such  influence,  as  in  Philadelphia  in  1731,  or 
earlier,  and  in  New  Hampshire,  soon  afterward  (the  latter  apparently  having 
their  manuscript  copy  of  the  "Old  Charges"),  nothing  has  ever  been  dis- 
covered, to  my  knowledge,  which  connects  such  meetings  with  the  working  of 
the  historic  "  three  degrees  "  of  last  century  origin,  and  post-Gxzxid  Lodge  era. 
There  were,  however,  some  connecting  links  between  the  old  regime  and  the 
new,  to  enable  visitations  and  reciprocal  changes  of  membership  to  be 
indulged  in. 

Some  seven  years  after  the  premier  Grand  Lodge  was  launched,  authorities 
to  constitute  Lodges  were  issued  for  Bath  and  other  cities  and  towns,  and  a 
few,  later,  for  abroad ;  especially  through  the  medium  of  Provincial  Grand 
Masters,  first  appointed  in  1725  circa,  as  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  the 
year  1733.  On  this  most  interesting  topic,  as  respects  America,  I  dare  not 
dwell,  and  am  unable  to  offer  any  opinion  on  the  manner  in  which  it  is  treated 
(owing  to  the  exigencies  of  printing),  by  doubtless  most  competent  Craftsmen, 
in  Divisions  V.  to  X. 

My  able  coadjutor.  Brother  John  Lane,  the  authority  on  all  such  matters, 
has,  in  Division  IV.,  presented  an  excellent  summary  and  table  of  all  the 


INTRODUCTION'.  xxxiii 

lodges  constituted  in  America,  by  either  the  regular  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
(^sometimes  known  as  the  '■'■  Aloderns''^),  or  the  rival  Grand  Lodge,  also  held 
in  London  (of  1751  origin,  and  frequently  but  absurdly  styled  ^'Ancients'') 
from  1733  to  the  formation  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge,  in  December,  1813, 
and  from  that  period  down  to  the  year  1889.  The  Grand  Lodges  of  Ireland 
and  Scotland  likewise  participated  in  the  honor  of  making  Freemasonry  known 
on  the  great  continent  of  America,  but  only  slightly  so  compared  with  either 
of  the  two  rival  Grand  Lodges  in  England. 

The  cosmopolitan  basis  of  the  Society  thus  inaugurated  in  171 7  does  not 
appear  to  have  wholly  satisfied  the  Brotherhood.  Initiation  and  membership, 
without  regard  to  creed,  color,  or  clime,  was  an  extraordinary  departure  from 
the  previous  Christian  foundation  of  the  Society.  Even  at  the  present  time 
some  Grand  Lodges  select  all  their  members  from  professing  Christians  only 
(though  no  such  condition  was  laid  down  on  their  origin),  and  many  are  the 
differences  between  the  several  governing  bodies,  while  they  have  sufficient  in 
common  to  permit  of  reciprocal  visitation. 

I  am  very  much  of  the  opinion  of  Brother  E.  T.  Carson  (of  Cincinnati), 
that  to  the  dislike  of  the  unsectarian  character  of  the  Fraternity  from  1 7 1 7, 
is  due  the  origination  and  spread  of  Masonic  degrees  for  professing  Chris- 
tians only,  from  about  1735,  °^  before.  The  Knights  Templars,  the  "Royal 
Order  of  Scotland,"  and  some  of  the  degrees  of  the  "  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Rite,"  owe  much  of  their  vitahty  to  their  rituals  being  wholly  based  on  the 
New  Testament,  and  thus  exclusively  Christian.  I  regret  my  inability,  from 
the  cause  previously  mentioned,  to  offer  at  this  time  any  opinion  on  Divisions 
XII.  to  XV.,  but  the  names  of  the  writers  are  a  complete  guarantee  of  their 
excellence,  value,  and  reliability. 

The  comprehensive  "  History  of  the  Knights  Templars  and  the  Crusades," 
by  Bishop  Perry,  will  be  eagerly  welcomed  by  the  many  thousands  of  brethren 
who  patronize  the  "  additional  degrees,"  and  forms  a  most  attractive  feature 
of  Division  II.  His  deliverance  respecting  the  connection  existing  between 
the  modern  and  ancient  Knights  Templars  should  be  carefully  studied  by 
those  who,  like  myself,  believe  it  is  impossible  to  bridge  over  the  "  Interreg- 
num "  referred  to. 

Division  XVII. ,  by  my  lamented  friend.  Colonel  McLeod  Moore  (/lis  last 
essay  and  his  best),  is  an  able  treatise  on  "British  Templary,"  by  a  brother 
whose  knowledge  of  Chivalric  Masonry  was  unsurpassed  ;  and,  with  the  pre- 
ceding division  by  Brother  Frederic  Speed,  is  of  absorbing  interest  to  the 
tens  of  thousands  of  Masonic  Knights  Templars  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  where  that  degree  is  so  extremely  popular. 

So  far  as  my  experience  has  gone,  I  have  not  found  that  the  attention  paid 
to  these  extra  degrees  has,  in  any  way,  diminished  the  interest  taken  in  tlie 
foundation-ceremonies  of  the  Craft ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  zealous 
in  the  one  class  is  generally  seen  to  be  the  most  devoted  in  the  other ;  though 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION. 

I  much  wish  the  number  of  degrees  was  lessened,  and  the  cost  of  the  special 
regalia  and  jewels  considerably  reduced  in  price.  How  far  it  has  been 
desirable  to  add  to  the  number  of  Masonic  degrees  (so-called)  of  late  years, 
opens  up  a  most  important  question,  and  one  about  which  some  of  us  hold 
very  strong  opinions.  The  Editor-in-Chief  has  thought  it  necessary  to  admit 
a  chapter  on  "The  Eastern  Star."  Assuredly  if  this  Order  is  admitted  it  is  in 
safe  hands  when  entrusted  to  Brother  Willis  D.  Engle  ;  and  so  also  as  to  the 
article  on  "  The  Rosicrucian  Society,"  by  the  gifted  writer,  Brother  McClena- 
chan,  which  is  found  in  rather  strange  company  (Division  XX.). 

The  "Cryptic  Degrees"  (Division  XIV.),  by  Dr.  E.  Grissom,  has  been 
perused  by  me  with  considerable  pleasure,  and  of  that  treatise,  as  with  the 
others,  generally,  I  can  affirm  without  hesitation  that  the  most  reliable  author- 
ities have  been  consulted,  the  result  being  the  presentation  of  able  digests, 
written  with  great  pains  and  scrupulous  fidelity,  relating  to  the  Fraternity  in 
one  form  or  other,  —  legendary,  ritualistic,  historic,  —  which  cannot  fail  to  be 
invaluable  to  the  American  Brotherhood  in  particular,  and  wherever  the  Society 
is  rightly  appreciated  and  duly  valued. 

Not  the  least  important  contributions  to  the  tout  ensemble,  are  Brother 
Stillson's  preliminary  observations  to  many  of  the  Divisions,  which  should  be 
diligently  perused,  as  effective  introductions  and  aids  to  their  critical  study. 

Three  questions  naturally  fall  to  be  answered  by  inquirers  anxious  to  know 
somewhat  of  our  great  beneficent  Society,  i.  Whence  came  Freemasonry? 
2.  What  is  it?  3.  What  is  it  doing?  This  splendid  volume  furnishes  replies 
to  the  first  and  second  of  these  queries,  but  the  third  must  be  lived  to  be 
effective. 

Theories  prevail,  more  or  less,  as  to  the  first  two,  but  in  relation  to  the  last 
of  the  trio,  right  or  wrong  conduct  is  involved ;  and  according  to  the  one  or 
the  other,  the  world  will  judge  as  to  what  Freemasonry  is,  and  care  much 
'or  little  as  to  its  origin. 

If  the  votaries  of  the  Craft  seek  to  become  living,  loving,  and  loyal 
embodiments  of  the  humanly  perfect  Ideal  set  before  them,  and  each  indi- 
vidual member  acts  as  if  the  honor  of  the  Fraternity  was  specially  entrusted 
to  his  keeping,  the  continued  prosperity  of  our  Brotherhood  is  assured,  and 
wide-spread  and  popular  as  are  its  influence  and  philanthropic  work  of  to-day, 
we  are  as  yet  far  from  reaching  the  limits  of  this  organization,  either  as 
respects  numbers  or  usefulness. 


THE    ARMS    OF   THE    "MODERNS,"    GRAND    LODGE    OF    ENGLAND 


3efs  to  Uie 


ITie.  Arms  off  moft  Afvcie-rht  &  Honorable-  I'ratern.Lty 
of  FreC'  and^  Accepted  Ma/bns 

■■ANCIENTS,"    GRAND    LODGE   OF    ENGLAND. 

36  (From  Riley's  "  Yorkshire  Lodges,"  Edinburgh,  Jack  &  Sons.) 


Part    I. 

ANCIENT   MASONRY.  — THE  ANCIENT   MYSTERIES,  COGNATE 

ORDERS  OF  CHIVALRY,  AND  THE  ''  OLD  CHARGES  " 

OF  FREEMASONS. 


(Introductory  to  the  Perfected  Organization  of  Modern  Times.) 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Six  Theories  of  "The  Mysteries." 

Professor  Fisher,  of  Yale  University,  says  :  "  The  subject  of  history  is 
man.  History  has  for  its  object  to  record  his  doings  and  experiences.  It 
may  then  be  concisely  defined  as  a  narrative  of  past  events  in  which  men 
have  been  concerned.  .  .  .  History  has  been  called  'the  biography  of  a 
society.'  Biography  has  to  do  with  the  career  of  an  individual.  History  is 
concerned  with  the  successive  actions  and  fortunes  of  a  community;  in  its 
broadest  extent,  with  the  experiences  of  the  human  family.  It  is  only  when 
men  are  connected  by  the  social  bond,  and  remain  so  united  for  a  greater  or 
less  period,  that  there  is  room  for  history." 

This  is  emphatically  true  of  Freemasonry,  defined  by  Brother  Rudolph 
Seydel  (quoted  by  Findel),  as  a  union  of  all  unions,  an  association  of  men, 
bound  together  in  their  struggles  to  attain  all  that  is  noble,  who  desire  only 
what  is  true  and  beautiful,  who  love  and  practise  virtue  for  its  own  sake,  — 
this  is  Freemasonry,  the  most  comprehensive  of  all  human  confederacies. 
From  whence  came  this  unique  society?  It  is  one  of  the  purposes  of  this 
work  to  give  an  intelligent  reply  to  the  question ;  and  yet  the  way  is  beset 
with  difficulty,  because  the  truth  of  its  history,  the  story  of  its  growth  to  the 
present  acknowledged  grand  proportions,  is  so  mixed  with  legend,  with 
dubious  and  contradictory  statements,  that  even  Chevalier  de  Bonneville 
contended  that  the  lives  of  ten  men  were  none  too  long  a  period  in  which  to 
accomplish  the  undertaking.  The  labors  of  many  talented  authors,  to  which 
reference  is  made  in  the  body  of  this  book,  have  now  paved  the  way  so  that 
in  this  evening  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  is  possible  to  give  a  reasonable 
assurance  of  the  truth  of  the  facts  quoted ;  in  other  words,  the  rich  materials 

37 


3S 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


accumulated  by  the  earlier  historians  of  Freemasonry  have  been  so  reduced 
to  order  as  to  bear  the  test  of  sound  and  sober  criticism. 

The  relation  which  the  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  bears  to 
the  Ancient  Mysteries  has  been  classified  by  Dr.  Mackey,  in  his  Encyclopaedia, 
into  five  principal  theories,  viz. :  — 

"The  first  [to  quote  his  words]  is  that  embraced  and  taught  by  Dr. 
Oliver,  that  they  are  but  derivations  from  that  common  source,  both  of  them 
and  of  Freemasonry,  the  Patriarchal  mode  of  worship  established  by  God 
himself.  With  this  pure  system  of  truth,  he  supposes  the  science  of  Free- 
masonry to  have  been  coeval  and  identified.  But  the  truths  thus  revealed  by 
divinity  came  at  length  to  be  doubted  or  rejected  through  the  imperfection  of 
human  reason ;  and,  though  the  visible  symbols  were  retained  in  the  mysteries 
of  the  Pagan  world,  their  true  interpretation  was  lost. 

"There  is  a  second  theory,  which,  leaving  the  origin  of  the  mysteries  to  be 
sought  in  the  patriarchal  doctrines,  where  Oliver  has  placed  it,  finds  the 
connection  between  them  and  Freemasonry  commencing  at  the  building  of 
King  Solomon's  Temple.  Over  the  construction  of  this  building,  Hiram,  the 
architect  of  Tyre,  presided.  At  Tyre  the  mysteries  of  Bacchus  had  been 
introduced  by  the  Dionysian  Artificers,  and  into  their  fraternity,  Hiram,  in 
all  probability,  had,  it  is  necessarily  suggested,  been  admitted.  Freemasonry, 
whose  tenets  had  always  existed  in  purity  among  the  immediate  descendants 
of  the  Patriarchs,  added  now  to  its  doctrines  the  guard  of  secrecy,  which, 
as  Dr.  Oliver  remarks,  was  necessary  to  preserve  them  from  perversion  or 
pollution. 

"A  third  theory  has  been  advanced  by  the  Abb6  Robin,  in  which  he 
connects  Freemasonry  indirectly  with  the  mysteries,  through  the  intervention  of 
the  Crusaders.  In  the  work  already  cited,  he  attempts  to  deduce,  from  the 
ancient  initiations,  the  orders  of  chivalry,  whose  branches,  he  says,  produced 
the  institution  of  Freemasonry. 

"A  fourth  theory,  and  this  has  been  recently  [1873]  advanced  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  King  in  his  treatise  '  On  the  Agnostics,'  is  that  as  some  of  them, 
especially  those  of  Mythras,  were  extended  beyond  the  advent  of  Christianity, 
and  even  to  the  commencement  of  the  Middle  Ages,  they  were  seized  upon 
by  the  secret  societies  of  that  period  as  a  model  for  their  organization,  and 
that  through  these  latter  they  are  to  be  traced  to  Freemasonry. 

"  But  perhaps,"  continues  Dr.  Mackey,  "  after  all,  the  truest  theory  is  that 
which  would  discard  all  successive  links  in  a  supposed  chain  of  descent  from 
the  mysteries  to  Freemasonry,  and  would  attribute  their  close  resemblance  to 
a  natural  coincidence  of  human  thought.  The  legend  of  the  Third  degree, 
and  the  legends  of  the  Eleusinian,  the  Cabiric,  the  Dionysian,  the  Adonic,  and 
all  the  other  mysteries,  are  identical  in  their  object  to  teach  the  reality  of  a 
future  life  ;  and  this  lesson  is  taught  in  all  by  the  use  of  the  same  symbolism, 
and  substantially  the   same   scenic    representation.     And   this,  not   because 


INTR  OD  UC  TION. 


39 


the  Masonic  Rites  are  a  lineal  succession  from  the  Ancient  Mysteries,  but 
because  there  has  been  at  all  times  a  proneness  of  the  human  heart  to  nourish 
the  belief  in  a  future  life,  and  the  proneness  of  the  human  mind  is  to  clothe  this 
belief  in  a  symbolic  dress.  And  if  there  is  any  other  more  direct  connection 
between  them,  it  must  be  sought  for  in  the  Roman  Colleges  of  Artificers,  who 
did,  most  probably,  exercise  some  influence  over  the  rising  Freemasons  of 
the  early  ages,  and  who,  as  the  contemporaries  of  the  mysteries,  were,  we  may 
well  suppose,  imbued  with  something  of  their  organization." 

To  these  five  theories  we  would  add  a  sixth,  unless,  indeed,  it  may  be  said 
that  ours  is  but  an  enlargement  of  Dr.  Mackey's.  Concisely  stated  it  is  this  : 
The  fundamental  principle  of  Freemasonry  is  a  belief  in  God.  Those  who 
believe  in  the  Supreme  Architect  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Dispenser  of  all 
good  gifts,  and  the  Judge  of  the  quick  and  the  dead  (as  denominated  in 
Masonic  Monitors),  trace,  from  the  creation,  a  Divine  Providence  directing 
the  destiny  of  man,  both  in  the  spiritual  and  secular  domain.  From  a  study 
of  history,  written  as  well  as  legendary,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  in  the  latter, 
taking  on  the  form  of  fraternity,  this  agency  has  exercised  a  most  potent 
influence  —  following  in  temporal  matters  the  guidance  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment in  the  spiritual  affairs  of  the  universe.  The  changes  that  have  taken 
place  since  the  creation  of  the  world,  whether  we  reckon  time  by  the  eras 
Patriarchal,  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian,  or  by  periods  Prehistoric,  Ancient, 
the  Medieeval  and  Modern,  have  all  been  under  the  direction  of  a  Divine 
dispensation  working  out  for  humanity  its  noblest  attainments,  as  well  for 
"the  life  that  now  is,  as  for  that  which  is  to  come."  This  great  conserva- 
tional  force  is  well  expressed  as  a  recognition  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and 
the  Brotherhood  of  Man.  It  was  not  the  sole  motive  of  man,  in  ages  past,  to 
seek  the  future  life ;  there  was  brotherhood  here,  whether  it  existed  as 
"  mysteries,"  "  societies,"  or,  as  later,  fraternal  organizations  among  men.  In 
support  of  this  theory,  the  late  Dean  Stanley  said  :  "  Whatever  tended  to 
break  down  the  barriers  of  national  and  race  antipathy,  and  to  produce  unity, 
and  a  sense  of  unity  among  men,  paved  the  way  for  a  just  appreciation  of 
enlightened  civilization,  and  a  highly  cultured  state  of  society,  when  they 
should  appear,  and  would  serve  to  help  on  their  progress."  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  in  some  form  the  fundamentals  which  we  call  fraternity  have 
always  existed  in  a  more  or  less  imperative  organism. 

If  this  is  true,  we  account  for  or  explain  the  theories  of  Anderson,  Oliver, 
and  other  early  historians,  who  claim  Freemasonry  to  have  been  coeval  with 
creation,  and  afford  at  the  same  time  a  reconciliatory  foundation  upon  which 
to  plant  the  Fraternity  of  modern  times ;  for,  this  principle  once  admitted, 
the  evolution  of  degrees  in  the  English,  American,  Scottish,  and  other  rites, 
proves  that  the  mind  of  the  Craft  was  in  a  transitionary  stage  until  a  very  late 
date.  Transitional,  indeed,  but  natural  and  following  the  Divine  impulse  ; 
for,  to  repeat,  the  Ancient  Mysteries  were  aids  to  progress  and  civilization, 


40  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

and  sources  of  moral  life.^  The  ideal  became  actual,  and,  in  process  of  time, 
the  inception  of  the  equality  of  man,  his  dignity  and  destiny,  became  incarnate 
and  fixed  and  permanent  institutions.  The  social  idea,  connected  with 
religious  ideas,  became  embodied  in  organisms,  established  for  human 
instruction,  for  growth  and  development.  The  governments  of  nations  have 
passed  through  all  these  phases  until  we  now  possess  the  Enghsh  Constitutional 
Monarchy  (placed  first,  because  the  oldest),  and  the  American  RepubHc,  as 
examples  of  the  most  advanced  and  beneficent  systems. 

An  ethnological  point  of  view  will  divide  this  subject  into  "  Eastern  "  and 
"  Western,"  —  the  Orient  and  the  Occident,  —  and  the  chronological  arrange- 
ment will  coincide  with  the  epochs  when  extraordinary  changes  took  place,  by 
turning-points  in  the  course  of  events,  rather  than  to  any  definite  quantities  o{ 
time,  to  determine  the  dividing  lines. 

The  Editor-in-Chief. 

1  It  will  be  seen  that  many  of  their  customs  are  ours  to-day  in  Church,  State,  and  society. 


DIVISION   I. 


THE  ANCIENT  MYSTERIES. 


4  Treatise  on  the  Eastern  European,  African,  and  Asiatic  Mysteries ;  the 
Occultis?n  of  the  Orie?it ;  the  Western  European  Architects  and  Operative 
Masons  in  Britain,  comtnonly  called  the  Antiquities,  and  Legendary 
Traditions  of  the   Craft  to  the  Close  of  the  Operative  Period  in  i^ij. 

By  Wm.  R.  Singleton,  33°, 
Grand  Secretary,  M  :.  W :.  Grand  Lodge,  District  of  Columbia, 


CHAPTER   I. 
The  Divine  Plan.  —  Mythology. 

Preface.  —  The  compiler  of  the  following  pages  on  the  "  Mysteries  "  has 
made  free  use  of  notes  accumulated  by  him  in  the  past  twenty-five  years,  in 
connection  with  extracts  from  such  authors  as  were  within  his  reach  for  the 
last  four  months.  Many  extracts  from  his  notes  are  not  credited  to  their 
proper  authors,  because  the  writers  consulted  had  neglected  to  mention  the 
original  authors,  and,  in  many  instances,  their  information  had  been  derived 
from  very  ancient  sources. 

There  is,  therefore,  no  claim  made  for  originality  in  these  chapters ;  for,  as 
has  been  well  said  by  another,  in  archaeology,  "  what  is  new  is  not  true,  and 
what  is  true  is  not  new." 

The  compiler  has  endeavored  to  condense  as  much  as  possible  all  that  is 
essential  in  the  treatment  of  this  subject,  and  yet  he  has  far  exceeded  the 
limit  assigned  to  him,  and  much  valuable  matter  had  to  be  omitted. 

Our  main  purpose  in  complying  with  the  invitation  to  write  on  the  subject 
of  the  Ancient  Mysteries  has  been  to  communicate  such  information  as  the 
writer  had  accumulated  for  himself,  in  the  many  years  which  he  had  devoted 
to  this  study ;  and  to  collate,  as  it  were,  the  thoughts  and  conclusions  of  those 
who  were  best  qualified  to  write  upon  the  subject,  and  who  had  published 
many  volumes,  which  are  to  be  found  in  all  of  our  pubhc  libraries. 

41 


.2  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

The  Divine  Plan. — 

"  A  survey  of  Nature,  and  the  observation  of  her  beautiful  proportions,  first  determined  man  to 
imitate  the  Divine  plan  and  study  symmetry  and  order.  This  gave  rise  to  societies,  and  birth  to 
every  useful  art."  —  Masonic  Monitor. 

The  survey  or  observation  of  Nature  shows  us  that  all  objocts  within  our 
immediate  knowledge  belong  to  one  or  other  of  the  three  natural  kingdom:;, 
—  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal. 

When,  in  the  beginning,  by  the  fiat  of  the  great  Creator,  matter  was  called 
into  existence,  the  elements  of  these  three  kingdoms  were  then'  created,  or 
they  had  existed  from  all  eternity. 

To  us  it  is  evident  that  they  do  exist  now.  The  student  "  may  curiously 
trace  Nature  through  her  various  windings  to  her  most  concealed  recesses, 
and  may  discover  the  power,  the  wisdom,  and  the  beneficence  (wisdom, 
power,  and  harmony),  of  the  Grand  Artificer  of  the  Universe,  and  view  with 
delight  the  proportions  which  connect  this  vast  machine  ;  he  may  demonstrate 
how  the  planets  move  in  their  different  orbits  and  perform  their  various 
revolutions."  All  those  worlds  around  us  which  can  be  seen  by  the  naked 
eye,  as  also  the  myriads  of  others  only  to  be  discovered  by  the  most  powerful 
telescopes,  "  v/ere  framed  by  the  same  Divine  Artist,  which  roll  through  the 
vast  expanse,  and  are  all  conducted  by  the  same  unerring  law  of  Nature." 

By  the  revelations  of  science,  the  student  has  learned  that  the  bodies  which 
give  us  their  light  are  composed  of  the  same  primitive  elements  as  the  one  on 
which  we  dwell,  the  component  parts  of  which  can  be  subjected  to  analysis, 
and  by  which  we  have  been  enabled  to  reduce  all  known  matter  to  about 
sixty-four  elementary  substances. 

These,  when  thus  reduced,  belong  to  the  mineral  kingdom,  and  are  inert 
of  themselves.  From  them  are  derived  all  the  varieties  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom  by  the  forces  of  natural  laws  operating  upon  them. 

From  the  substances  thus  produced  in  the  vegetable  kingdom  are  derived 
all  those  elements  that  enter  into  the  matter  which  constitutes  the  animal 
kingdom. 

These  substances,  —  viz. :  the  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal,  —  when  in  a 
primary  condition,  are  all  inert  matter,  and  can  be  acted  upon  integrally  by 
forces  differing  from  themselves  in  very  essential  particulars. 

To  certain,  if  not  all,  mineral  substances  the  laws  of  afiinity  and  repulsion 
can  be  applied,  whereby  the  very  nature  of  each  can  be  diametrically  altered. 
An  acid  substance  and  an  alkali,  when  combined,  at  once  change  their 
conditions  and  form  a  third  substance  differing  from  either ;  and  so  on  in  all 
chemical  analyses  and  syntheses. 

In  the  vegetable  v.-orld  there  is  a  force  of  Nature  by  which  the  mineral 
substances  are  converted  into  vegetable  fibre. 

The  substances  which  constitute  animal  tissues  would  never  be  thus 
converted  without  the  force  of  vitality. 


THE  DIVINE  PLAN.  .^ 

The  vegetable  product,  after  living  and  growing,  ceases  to  grow  and  to  live 
when  the  vital  force  decays  and  leaves  it,  and  it  becomes  resolved  into  its 
original  mineral  element. 

The  body  of  an  animal  when  deprived  of  its  vitality  soon  dissolves,  becomes 
disintegrated,  and  these  particles  pass  into  the  air  or  earth,  and  as  minerals 
enter  into  new  combinations. 

Has  any  scientist  ever  discovered  the  ultima  ratio  of  the  chemical  law  of 
affinity  in  the  mineral,  or  of  the  law  of  vitality  in  the  vegetable  and  animal 
worlds?  Yet  they  are  there,  acting,  and  have  been  ever  since  these  several 
substances  were  created  or  existed. 

Man  belongs  to  the  animal  kingdom ;  is  said  to  be  at  the  summit  of  that 
kingdom,  and  the  most  perfect  in  his  structure  of  all  created  or  existing 
things. 

A.  He  is  composed  of  a  series  of  dualisms :  — 

a.  He  is  an  organized  being. 

b.  He  has  vitality,  whereby  his  organisms  may  perform  their  proper  functions,  and  without 

which  they  could  not. 

B.  a.   He  is  a  being  having  vital  organs  in  full  operation. 
b.    He  has  a  spiritual  nature. 

C.  His  spiritual  nature  is  divided  into :  — 
fl.  Reason. 

b.  Sentiment. 

a.  He  has  reasoning  faculties  whereby  he  is  able  to  judge  as  to  facts,  and  draw  legitimate 

conclusions  therefrom  for  his  guidance  in  all  matters  of  moment  to  his  existence. 

b.  He  has  an  instinctive  sense  of  social  relations,  whereby  he  manifests  certain  qualities 

distinct  from  his  reason,  which  govern  him  in  his  conduct  toward  his  fellows,  and 
also  in  regard  to  himself,  which  all  writers  on  ethics  divide  into 

r  I.  To  his  Creator. 
Duties:  —  \  2.  To  his  neighbor. 

I  3.  To  himself. 

It  is  a  self-evident  proposition,  that  within  man  there  are  two  positive 
forces  stimulating  him  to  action,  viz. :  the  physical  and  the  spiritual.  The 
spiritual  is  manifestly  separable  into  intellectual  or  reasoning  faculties,  and  the 
moral  or  sentimental  faculties. 

If  we  admit,  as  we  most  certainly  must,  that  there  was  a  Creator  of  all 
things,  that  Creator  must  be  the  governor  of  all,  and  consequently  infinite  in 
all  the  attributes  necessary  for  the  administration  of  his  government.  This 
implies  his  spirituality,  and  with  it  the  supervision  of  both  branches  of  the 
spirituality  of  man,  —  his  reason  and  his  sentiment. 

Consequently,  we  have  no  right  to  atrophy  either  one  of  these.  In  the 
exercise  of  our  faculties  we  are  naturally  obligated  to  conserve  the  one  as  well 
as  the  other. 

When  we  consider  the  laws  by  which  each  set  of  these  is  governed,  we 
discover  them  to  be  opposite  to  each  other,  or  antinomian  in  character,  yet 
not  necessarily  antagonistic.  They  appertain  to  the  same  axis,  but  are  at 
opposite  poles ;  so  that  when  any  one  shall  attempt  to  occupy  his  mind  upon 


44 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


spiritual  matters,  and  confine  himself  to  the  purely  argumentative  questions, 
and  deny  every  proposition,  unless  logically  proven,  he  atrophies  all  the 
sentimental  or  moral  phases,  which  necessarily  must  enter  into  every  spiritual 
question.  On  the  other  hand,  this  is  also  true  of  those  who  confine  their 
examination  entirely  to  the  sentimental  or  moral  end  of  such  investigation. 

The  following  arrangement  will  demonstrate  more  clearly  what  has  just  been 
slated  as  a  proposition :  — 

ANTINOMIES 

OF  THE 

SPIRITUALITY  OF  MAN. 


REASON 

WISDOM 

PHILOSOPHY 

POWER 

DEMONSTRATION 

HARMONY 

FINITE 


SENTIMENT 

SUPERSTITION 

RELIGION 

SERVITUDE 

SUPERNATURAL 

DIVERSITY 

INFINITE 


INDEFINITE 

IN 

MAN 

To  Acknowledge  GOD  an  Act  of  WILL  To  Love  GOD  an  Act  of  SENTIMENT 

All  of  these  ANTINOMIES  are  Conciliated 

IN 

FAITH 


LIBERTY                        Cont 

GOD   ABSOLUTE 

Immutable,  Immultipliable 

UNITY 

Square 

Invariable,  not  Engendered 

of 

*C 

JUSTICE 

REASON 

u 
a 

REASON 

and 

w  ■ 

MONAD 

Virtue 

,      ,      1 

Integrity 


AUTHORITY 
MAN    CONTINGENT 


DiVEPSITY 

Expansion 


Variability 
Engendered 

Compasses 

of 

MERCY 

and 
FAITH 


Good,  Beautiful,  True,  represent  GOD  who  is  the  Focus  of  all  Perfections. 


DEDUCTIVE 


INDUCTIVE 


The  junction  of  the      1  ,.    ^      TTviirN^T        j^  i. 

MONAD  with  the  DUAD  1  constitutes  UNION,  and  Generation  results. 

The  different  positions  of  Points  of  Compasses  give 

Light,  More  Light,  Perfect  Light. 

UNION  of  the  Compasses  of  FAITH,  above  the  Square  of  REASON,  on  the  HOLY  BIBLE, 

GENERATES 


The  Compasses 

of 

Mercy 

above 

SQUARE  of  JUSTICE 


Demonstrate 

The  Promises  of 

GOD 

to  all  who  TRUST 

in  HIM. 


THE  DIVINE  PLAN. 


45 


The  Square,  Compasses,  and  the  Holy  Bible  may  be  said  to  represent  the  Three  Revela- 
tions, viz. :  of  Nature,  of  the  Old  Dispensation,  and  of  the  New.  The  Square  indicates  the  religion 
of  Nature,  wherein  the  Justice  of  the  Almighty  Creator,  without  respect  of  persons,  required  the 
fulfilment  of  every  duty,  and  is  represented  by  the  Square  covering  the  Compasses,  and  indicates 
the  natural  law.  The  Square  covering  only  one  point  shows  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  wherein  the 
law  given  at  Sinai  provided  for  a  partial  atonement ;  whereas,  the  two  points  being  above  the 
Square,  indicates  that  the  Compasses  of  Mercy  have  been  extended  to  the  perfect  angle ;  and  by 
the  revelation  in  full,  contained  in  the  Bible,  we  discover  perfect  light,  in  the  great  ATONE- 
MENT made  for  all  MANKIND,  and  the  MERCY  of  GOD  prevailing  over  and  satisfying  his 
Justice,  indicates  the  full  accomplishment  of  his  promises  to  Adam. 

The  following  sentiments  from  J.  B.  Gould  have  been  arranged  in  a  tabular  form  for 
convenience :  — 

RELIGION,   SYNTHESIS 

OF 

THOUGHT   AND   SENTIMENT. 

Representation  of  a  Philosophic  Idea; 

Reposes  on  some  Hypothesis : 

First,  full  of  vigor,  and  is  on  the  alert  to  win  converts. 

The  Hypothesis  is  acquiesced  in,  and  received  as  final. 

The  signification  evaporates. 

Priests  were  anciently  Philosophers ; 

Philosophy  alone  is  not  Religion ; 

Sentiment  alone  is  not  Religion. 

Religion  is  based  on  intelligible  principle. 

It  teaches  that  principle  as  Dogma,  and  exhibits  it  in  Worship,  applies  it  in  Discipline : 

MIND  SPIRIT  BODY 

OF 

RELIGION. 

The  Philosophers  were  not  always  capable  of  preserving  their  intellectual  superiority ;  their 
doctrine  became  meaningless  and  a  pure  speculation,  which  gradually  cut  its  way  out  of  religion 
and  left  it  an  empty  shell  of  ritual  observances,  void  of  vital  principles. 

RELIGION. 
"  Expression  of  an  idea " ;    "  Notion  of  a  great  cause."     Man  conceives  an  IDEAL,  which 
becomes  an  object  of  devotion;  hence, — 

Originally  El-Elohim,  GOD,  Javeh  or  Jehovah. 

If  Reason  {Thought)  and  AFFECTION  {Sentiment) 

be  not  Coordinated 

I 
RELIGION 

I 
becomes 

Philosophy  or  Mysticism 

{Speculation)  or  f  Emotionalism 

I  \  Seiitimentalism 

Agnosticism  or  [    Superstition 


Idealism  I 

Positivism  | 

Any  other  ISM  to  atrophy  personal  j 

responsibility  J 


sometimes 

Extravagant  Mysticism 

or 

Abject  Terrorism 

when  all  reason  is  atrophied 


The  Aspirations  of  the  HEART  must  be  controlled 
by 
Reason  and  Intelligence  HUMANIZED  by  the  Affections. 


46 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


From  the  known  history  of  mankind,  extending  back  into  the  earUest  ages, 
when  man  was  yet  in  a  semi-barbarous  state,  there  are  evidences  that  he  was 
constantly  reaching  out  of  himself,  if  happily  he  could  find  a  somewhat  upon 
which  he  could  rely,  to  relieve  him  of  the  oppressive  load  he  was  constantly 
bearing  in  this  life,  however  happily  situated  he  might  be  in  his  worldly  and 
social  relations.  From  the  daily  observation  of  himself  and  his  fellow-man  he 
was  confident  that  there  must  be  somewhere  some  one,  or  a  something,  vastly 
superior  in  all  particulars  to  himself  or  his  race. 

Primal  man  formed  an  idolon,  predicated  upon  the  best  qualities  of  man- 
kind as  demonstrated  to  him,  and  magnified  those  qualities  to  the  n\h.  power, 
and  then  he  made  a  god  and  bowed  down  to  kirn  or  to  //. 

This  was  fetichism  —  a  very  natural  religion.  It  prevails  extensively  at  the 
present  day  throughout  the  world ;  and,  in  the  Christian  church  now,  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  Christians  are  constantly  engaged  in  fetich  worship, 
unwittingly  indeed,  but  nevertheless  too  true.  It  is  not  confined  to  any  one 
church,  as  it  was  at  one  time,  but  its  influence  has  so  spread  abroad  that  every 
church  is  more  or  less  tinctured  with  it. 

Accepting  the  "  Great  Light,"  which  all  Masons  do,  as  the  revealed  will  of 
God  to  man,  and  his  inestimable  gift,  it  is  a  legitimate  reference,  in  any  history 
which  may  be  written,  to  trace  the  connection  of  the  Masonic  Association  of 
the  modern  era  with  those  institutions  from  the  earliest  ages,  which  were  of 
a  secret  character,  and  which  were  designed,  as  modern  Masonry  is,  not  only 
for  the  benefit  of  the  immediate  members  thereof,  but  mediately  for  all 
mankind. 

Therefore,  considering  the  first  five  books  of  the  Old  Testament  as  having 
been  written  by  the  authority  of  the  G.'.A.-.O.'.T.'.U.*.,  the  account  therein 
given  of  the  disobedience  of  the  first  pair,  commonly  known  as  the  parents 
of  the  human  race,  must  be  received  as  correct.  This  disobedience  was  brought 
about  at  the  solicitation  of  the  serpent,  as  it  is  translated  in  all  the  versions 
of  the  Bible. 

The  curse,  so-called,  against  all  parties  was  then  pronounced,  as  found  in 
Genesis,  chapter  iii.,  verses  14  to  19,  inclusive. 

In  the  fifteenth  verse  God  said  :  "  And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and 
the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and 
thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel." 

From  the  incidents  thus  graphically,  though  briefly,  stated  in  chapter  iii,  of 
Genesis  have  sprung  all  the  religions  and  mysteries  of  the  world;  and  the 
Tree  of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  and  also  the  Tree  of  Life,  with  the 
Serpent,  have  been  the  foundation  of  the  Tree  and  Serpent  worship  which 
have  prevailed  more  extensively  over  every  part  of  the  world  than  any  other 
form  of  false  worship. 

The  fall  of  man  and  his  reinstatement  are  the  germs  of  all  the  religious 


THE  DIVINE  PLAN.  .- 

superstitions  in  every  part  of  the  earth,  and  the  object  of  this  treatise  is  to 
demonstrate  the  following  propositions  :  — 

First.  "  Man  lost  his  first  estate,  and  it  was  necessary  that  a  Divine  Mediator  and  Saviour  should 
come  on  earth,  and,  by  his  death,  restore  man  to  his  pristine  condition,  and  reconcile  him  to 
his  Creator." 
Second.  No  other  possible  plan  could  reconcile  man  to  God  than  by  a  Mediator  of  divine  and 
HUMAN  nature  COMBINED,  who  is  represented  in  all  the  ancient  religious  rites,  as  well  as  in 
Christianity,  by  the  name  of  Christos,  the  Anointed  One,  in  some  form  or  other. 
From  the  genealogy  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  Genesis  we  learn  the  following  emphatic  statement 
in  the  Hebrew  names  of  the  first  ten  patriarchs,  whose  names  we  translate  into  English:  — 

Adam Man 

Seth Placed 

Enos (z«  a) Wretched 

Cainan Condition 

Ma-ha-la-le-el {the) Blessed  God 

Jared (descending  or) . . .  .Fhall  descend 

Enoch Teaching 

Methuselah {that) His  death  produces 

Lamech {to  the) Poor,  debased  or  stricken 

Noah Rest  and  c.  ..solation. 

It  will  be  our  effort  to  demonstrate  the  above  two  propositions  from  the 
history  of  initiation  of  all  the  ancient  nations  in  every  part  of  the  world,  and 
that  Christianity,  established  by  the  coming  of  Christ,  his  death,  and  his 
resurrection,  were  the  perfection  of  the  Divine  Plan,  an-^  culmination  of  all 
the  mysteries  which  had  preceded  the  advent,  death,  and  restoration  of  the 
Perfect  Christos,  promised  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  which  had  been 
attempted  to  be  represented  in  all  of  those  preceding  mysteries ;  and  which,  in 
the  case  of  the  true  Christos,  was  a  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  and  a  verification 
of  the  successive  names  of  the  Patriarchs  from  Adam  to  Noah.  The  arrange- 
ment of  these  names  we  dare  not  consider  as  being  fortuitous. 

Max  Miiller  in  his  "  Chips  "  says  (Vol.  II.  pp.  4,  5) :  — 

"What  then  gives  life  to  the  study  of  antiquity?  What  compels  men,  in  the  midst  of  these 
busy  times,  to  sacrifice  their  leisure  to  studies  apparently  so  unattractive  and  useless,  if  not  the 
conviction  that  in  order  to  obey  fie  Delphic  commandment  (know  thyself),  in  order  to  know 
what  man  is,  we  ought  to  know  what  man  has  been? 

"  This  is  a  view  as  foreign  to  the  mind  of  Socrates  as  any  of  the  principles  of  inductive  phi- 
losophy by  which  men  like  Columbus,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Copernicus,  Kepler,  Bacon,  and  Gallileo 
regenerated  and  invigorated  the  intellectual  life  of  modern  Europe.  If  we  grant  to  Socrates,  that 
the  chief  object  of  philosophy  i3,  that  man  should  know  himself,  we  should  hardly  consider  his 
means  of  arriving  at  this  knowledge  adequate  to  so  high  an  aim.  To  his  mind,  man  was  preem- 
inently the  individual,  without  any  reference  to  its  being  but  one  manifestation  of  a  power,  or  as 
he  might  have  s.-.id,  of  an  idea,  realized  in,  and  through,  an  endless  variety  of  human  souls. 

"  He  is  ever  seeking  to  solve  the  history  of  human  nature  by  brooding  over  his  own  mind,  by 
watching  the  secret  workings  of  the  soul,  by  analyzing  the  organs  of  knowledge,  and  by  trying  to 
determine  their  proper  linits ;  and,  thus  the  last  result  of  his  philosophy  was,  that  he  knew  but 
one  thing,  and  this  was,  that  he  knew  nothing.  To  us  man  is  no  longer  this  solitary  being,  com- 
plete in  itself  and  self-sufficient;  man,  to  us,  is  a  brother  among  brothers,  a  member  of  a  class,  of 
a  genus,  or  a  kind,  and  therefore  intelligible  only  with  reference  to  his  equals. 

"  Where  the  Greek  saw  barbarians,  we  see  brethren  ;  where  the  Greek  saw  heroes  and  demi- 
gods, we  see  our  parents  and  ancestors;  where  the  Greek  saw  nations  (69fr)),we  see  mankind, 


48 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


toiling  and  suffering,  separated  by  oceans,  divided  by  language,  and  severed  by  natural  enmity, — 
yet  evermore  tending,  under  a  divine  control,  towards  the  fulfilment  of  that  inscrutable  purpose 
for  which  the  world  was  created,  and  man  placed  in  it,  bearing  the  image  of  GOD.  History, 
therefore,  with  its  dusty  and  moldering  pages,  is  to  us  as  sacred  a  volume  as  the  book  of  nature. 
In  both  we  read,  or  we  try  to  read,  the  reflex  of  the  laws  and  thoughts  of  a  Divine  Wisdom." 

According  to  Wilkinson,  th  Monad  or  Single  Deity  was  placed  above  and 
apart  from  the  Triads,  and  the  great  gods  of  the  Egyptian  Pantheon  were  the 
deified  attributes  of  the  "  ONE." 

The  same  idea  of  a  Monad,  even  of  a  triple  Deity,  was  admitted  by  some 
of  the  Greeks  into  their  system  of  philosophy ;  and  Amelius  says :  The 
Demiurge  (or  Creator),  is  triple,  and  the  three  "Intellects"  are  the  three 
kings ;  he  who  exists,  he  who  possesses,  and  he  who  beholds.  These  three 
Intellects,  therefore,  he  supposes  to  be  the  Demiurge,  the  same  with  the 
three  kings  of  Plato,  and  with  the  three  whom  Orpheus  celebrates  under  the 
names  of  Phanes,  Ouranus,  and  Cronus,  though  according  to  him  the  Demiurge 
is  more  particularly  Phanes. 

The  Orphic  trinity  consisted  of  Metis,  Phanes  or  Eros,  Ericapasus. 

Light  or 
Love 


Ether 

Tartarus 

Spirit  or  air 

Cloudy-darkness 

The  Egg 

Ether 
Ether 


Life 

Will  or 

Life  Giving 

Counsel 

From  Acusilaus, 

Metis 

Eros 

From  Hesiod, 

Earth 

Eros 

From  Pherecydes 

of  Lyros, 

Fire 

Water 

Love 


Chusorus 


From  Sidonians, 

Cronus 
From  Phoenicians, 

Ulomus 
From  Chaldean  and  Persian,  —  Oracles  of  Zoroaster, 

Fire  Sun 

Fire  Light 

From  Later  Platonists, 

Power  Intellect 


Father,  Soul,  or  Spirit  • 

By  ancient  theologists,  according  to  Macrobius,  the  sun  was  invoked  in  the 
mysteries  as 


Power  of                             Light  of                           Spirit  of 
the  World                           the  World                        the  World 

And  to  this  may  be  added,  from  Sanconiatho,  the  three  sons  of 

Fire                                     Light                                Flame 

Plutarch  gives 

Intelligence                         Matter 
The  First  being  the  same  as  Plato's 
IDEA 
Exemplar 

or 
Father 

Kosmos,  B 

Second 
■  Mother 

Nurse 

Receptacle  of 
.  Generation 

eauty.  Order,  or  World 
Third 

Offspring 
Production 

THE  DIVINE  PLAN.  ^g 

Of  these  three,  Intelligence,  Matter,  and  Kosmos,  he  says :  Universal 
nature  may  be  considered  to  be  made  up,  and  there  is  reason  to  conclude 
that  the  Egyptians  were  wont  to  liken  this  nature  to  what  they  called  the 
most  beautiful  and  perfect  triangle,  ^  the  same  as  Plato  himself  does  in 

the  nuptial  diagram  h:  has  intro-  'X  duced  into  his  "  Commonwealth." 
Now  in  this  triangle,  which  is  *  V  rectangular,  the  perpendicular  is 
imagined  equal  to  4,  the  base  to  I   ■  '^  ■  ^  be  3,  and  hypothenuse  to  be  5. 

In  which  scheme  the  perpendicular  represents  the  masculine  nature,  the 
base  the  feminine,  and  the  hypothenuse  the  offspring  of  both.  Accordingly 
the  first  will  apply  to  Osiris,  or  prime  cause ;  the  second  to  Isis,  the  receptive 
power ;  and  the  last  to  Orus,  or  effect  f  the  other  two.  For  three  is  the  base 
number  composed  of  even  and  odd ;  four  is  a  square,  whose  side  is  equal  to 
the  even  number  two ;  but  five,  being  generated  as  it  were  out  of  both  the 
preceding  numbers,  two  and  three,  may  be  said  to  bear  an  equal  relation  to 
both,  as  to  its  common  parents.  So  again,  the  mere  word  which  signifies  the 
"  Universe  of  Being  "is  fa  similar  sound  with  this  number,  Travra,  TrcVre,  as 
to  count  five  is  made  use  of  for  counting  in  general.  Hence  the  square  of  the 
hypothenuse  is  equal  to  the  squares  of  the  others  added  together. 

The  word  "  ireixTrdcraa-Oai.  "  is  taken  for  counting  by  the  five  fingers.    The 
Egyptians  sometimes  represented  the  number  five  by  a  star  having  five  rays, 
because  HoropoUo  pretends  that  it  is  the  number  of  the  planets. 
»  This  star  represents  God,  all  that  is 

/\  pure,  virtuous,  and  good,  when  repre- 

7    \_^ -7  sented   with   one   point   upward :    but 

^s/  \^     when  turned  with  one  point  down  it 

represents  Evil,  all  that  is  opposed  to 
the  good,  pure,  and  virtuous ;  in  fine, 
it  represents  the  Goat  of  Mendfs. 
Systems  of  Philosophy  and  Religion.  —  The  belief  in  a  Supreme  Power 
is  inherent  in  every  human  being ;  and,  so  thoroughly  interwoven  with  our 
nature  is  this  sentiment,  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  one,  at  any  period  of  life, 
wholly  to  divest  himself  of  it. 

When  the  reflecting  man  looks  around  upon  all  the  objects  about  him,  the 
question  naturally  arises  :  "  What  has  called  this  world  into  existence  ?  Why 
does  it  exist,  and  what  is  its  ultimate  destiny?  Nay,  why  do  I  exist,  and  what 
will  become  of  me  after  death  ?  " 

The  answers  to  these  questions,  if  possible,  can  only  be  given  by,  and 
through,  a  long  course  of  philosophical  investigation.  These  questions  have 
been  the  study  of  the  ablest  men  from  the  earliest  ages,  and  have  given  rise 
to  all  the  various  systems  of  philosophy  and  religion,  which  have  prevailed  in 
all  time,  beginning  with  the  first  man,  and  coming  down  to  our  own  day  and 
generation. 

As  soon  as  mankind  recognized  the  relations  between  themselves  and  a 


CO  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

Creator,  and  acknowledged  moral  responsibility  to  a  Supreme  Moral  Gov- 
ernor, then  Religion  became  a  pertinent  fact,  and  systems  of  religion  were 
introduced,  whereby,  in  an  objective  form,  their  subjectivity  could  be  outwardly 
made  manifest. 

These  systems  are  divided  into  Monotheism  and  Polytheism  :  the  latter 
includes  Dualism  and  Tritheism.  The  lowest  grade  of  Polytheism  is  Fetich- 
ism,  or  idolatry,  which  teaches  the  worship  of  inanimate  nature,  stocks  and 
stones,  and  the  work  of  the  hands  of  men.  Next  is  Pyrolatry,  or  worship  of 
fire ;  and  Sabseism,  or  worship  of  the  stars  and  other  heavenly  bodies. 

The  first  step  of  the  legislator  would  be  to  pretend  a  mission  and  revela- 
tion from  some  God  :  thus  —  Amasis  and  Mneves,  lawgivers  of  the  Egyptians, 
pretended  to  receive  their  laws  from  Mercury  (Thoth)  ;  Zoroaster  of  the 
Bactrians,  and  Zamolxis,  lawgiver  of  the  Getes,  from  Vesta;  Zathraustes 
of  the  Aramaspi,  from  a  good  Spirit  or  Genius  :  and  all  propagated  the 
doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments. 

Rhadamanthus  and  Minos,  Lawgivers  of  Crete,  and  Lycaon  of  Arcadia, 
pretended  to  an  intercourse  with  Jupiter ;  Triptolemus  of  Athens  affected  to 
be  inspired  by  Ceres ;  Pythagoras  and  Zaleucus,  for  the  Crotonians  and 
Locrians,  ascribed  their  institutions  to  Minerva ;  Lycurgus  of  Sparta  acted  by 
direction  of  Apollo  ;  and  Romulus  and  Numa  of  Rome  put  themselves  under 
the  guidance  of  Consus  and  the  goddess  Egeria.  The  same  method  was 
followed  in  the  great  outlying  empires. 

The  first  of  the  Chinese  monarchs  was  called  "  Fag- Four  "  —  "  The  Son  of 
Heaven."  The  Royal  Commentaries  of  Peru  inform  us  that  the  founders  of 
that  empire  were  Manco  Copac  and  his  wife  and  sister,  "  Coya  Mama,"  who 
proclaimed  themselves  to  be  the  son  and  daughter  of  the  Sun,  sent  to  reduce 
mankind  from  their  savage  and  bestial  life  to  one  of  order  and  society.  (How 
like  the  myths  of  Osiris  and  Isis  —  Sun  and  Moon.)  Tuesco,  the  founder  of 
the  German  nations,  pretended  to  be  sent  upon  the  same  message,  as  appears 
from  his  name,  which  signifies  the  "interpreter  of  the  gods."  Thor  and 
Odin,  the  lawgivers  of  the  Western  Goths,  laid  claim  to  inspiration  and  even 
to  divinity,  and  they  have  given  the  names  to  two  of  the  days  of  the  week. 

The  revelations  of  Mahomet  are  well  known.  The  race  of  inspired  law- 
givers seems  to  have  ended  with  Genghis  Khan,  the  founder  of  the  Mogul 
Empire,  until,  in  our  day,  the  Nauvoo  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  found  his  plates 
and  started  the  Latter  Day  Saints.^  Such  was  the  universal  custom  of  the 
ancient  world,  —  to  make  prophets,  and  then  gods,  of  their  first  leaders. 

Plato  makes  legislation  to  have  been  derived  from  God ;  and  the  constant 
epithets  to  kings  in  Homer  are  Dio-geneis,  "born  of  the  gods,"  and  Dio- 
trepheis,  "  bred  or  tutored  by  the  gods." 

1  It  may  be  of  interest  in  a  work  on  the  history  of  Masonry  to  state  that  he  became  a  Mason,  and 
with  others  obtained  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois,  and  at  Nauvoo  initiated  nearly 
all  of  the  Mormons;  and  it  became  necessary  for  the  Grand  Lodge  to  arrest  the  charter  in 
consequence  of  the  great  irregularities  in  that  lodge. 


THE  DIVINE  PLAN. 


51 


Plutarch,  in  "  Isis  and  Osiris,"  says  :  "  It  was  a  most  ancient  opinion, 
derived  as  well  by  lawgivers  as  divines,  that  the  world  was  not  made  by 
chance,  neither  did  one  cause  govern  all  things  without  opposition." 

This  was  the  doctrine  of  Zoroaster,  in  which  were  taught  the  two  opposite 
principles  by  which  the  world  was  governed.  In  the  "  Oriental  Religions," 
by  Samuel  Johnson,  volume  devoted  to  Persia,  the  author  gives  a  thorough 
examination  of  this  particular  subject. 

Zeleucus  of  Locria  says,  in  the  preface  to  his  laws,  that  — 

"  Every  one  should  be  firmly  persuaded  of  the  being  and  existence  of  the  gods,  which  he  will 
be  readily  induced  to  entertain  when  he  contemplates  the  heavens,  regards  the  world,  and  observes 
the  disposition,  order,  and  harmony  of  the  universe,  which  can  neither  be  the  work  of  blind  chance 
or  man ;  and  these  gods  are  to  be  worshipped  as  the  cause  of  all  the  real  good  we  enjoy." 

Charondas,  Plato,  and  Cicero  introduced  their  laws  with  the  sanction  of 
religion. 

The  Ancient  Sages,  as  well  as  lawgivers,  were  unanimous  that  the  doctrine 
of  rewards  and  punishments  was  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  society. 

The  Atheists,  from  the  vastness  of  the  social  use  of  religion,  concluded  it 
to  be  an  invention  of  State  ;  and  the  Theist,  from  that  confessed  utility,  labored 
to  prove  it  of  divine  origin. 

"To  give  a  detail  of  the  discourses  would  be  to  transcribe  antiquity;  for  with  this  begins 
and  ends  everything  they  teach  and  explain,  of  morals,  government,  human  nature,  and  civil 
policy." 

It  is  supposed  by  most  authors  that  the  First  and  Original  Mysteries  were 
those  of  Isis  and  Osiris  in  Egypt.  Zoroaster  brought  them  into  Persia ;  Cad- 
mus and  Inachus,  into  Greece  at  large ;  Orpheus,  into  Thrace ;  Melampsus, 
into  Athens. 

As  these  Mysteries  were  to  Isis  and  Osiris  in  Egypt,  so  they  were  to  My- 
thras  in  Asia ;  in  Samothrace,  to  the  Mother  of  the  Gods  \  in  Boeotia  to 
Bacchus ;  in  Cyprus  to  Venus ;  in  Crete  to  Jupiter ;  in  Athens  to  Ceres  and 
Proserpine ;  in  Amphura  to  Castor  and  Pollux ;  in  Lemnos  to  Vulcan,  etc. 

The  most  noted  were  the  Orphic,  Bacchic,  Eleusinian,  Samothracian, 
Cabiric,  and   Mithriac. 

It  was  agreed  by  Origen  and  Celsus  that  the  Mysteries  taught  the  future 
life,  as  also  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  eternal  punishment  of  the  wicked. 

It  was  taught  that  the  initiated  would  be  happier  than  other  mortals.  Their 
souls  winged  their  flight  directly  to  the  happy  islands  and  the  habitations  of 
the  gods.  This  doctrine  was  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  Mysteries,  as 
they  were  for  the  doctrine. 

Plato  says  it  was  the  design  of  initiation  to  restore  the  soul  to  that  state 
from  whence  all  fell,  as  from  its  native  seat  of  perfection. 

Epictetus  said  :  "  Thus  the  Mysteries  become  useful ;  thus  we  seize  the 
true  spirit  of  them,  when  we  begin  to  apprehend  that  everything  therein  was 
instituted  by  the  ancients  for  instruction  and  amendment  of  Ufe." 


52 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


All  persons  who  were  candidates  for  initiation  into  any  of  these  Mysteries 
were  required  to  produce  evidence  of  their  fitness  by  due  inquiry  into  their 
previous  Hfe  and  character,  the  same  as  the  Roman  Catholic  Confessional, 
which  was  derived  from  it. 

The  Eleusinian  stood  open  to  none  who  did  not  approach  the  gods  with 
a  pure  and  holy  worship,  which  was  originally  an  indispensable  condition 
observed  in  common  by  all  the  Mysteries,  and  instituted  by  Bacchus  or  Osiris, 
himself  the  inventor  of  them,  who  initiated  none  but  virtuous  and  pious  men  ; 
and  it  was  required  to  have  a  prepared  purity  of  mind  and  disposition,  as  previ- 
ously ordered  in  the  sacrifices,  or  in  prayers,  in  approaching  the  Mysteries. 

Proclus  says  that  "The  Mysteries  drew  the  souls  from  a  material  and 
sensual  life,  and  joined  them  in  communion  with  the  gods." 

Pythagoras  had  been  initiated  into  the  Cretan  Mysteries  and  had  contin- 
ued in  the  "Idean  cave  three  times  nine  days." 

"  The  wisest  and  best  of  the  Pagan  world  invariably  held  that  the  Mysteries  were  instituted 
pure,  and  proposed  the  noblest  end  by  the  worthiest  means." 

We  now  refer  to  Isaiah  xlv.  15  :  "Verily  thou  art  a  God  that  hidest  thyself, 
O  God  of  Israel,  the  Saviour."  This  was  said  with  great  propriety  of  the  Creator 
of  the  Universe,  the  subject  of  the  Aporrheta  or  "  Secret "  in  all  the  Myste- 
ries throughout  the  Gentile  world,  and  particularly  of  those  of  Mythras  in  that 
country  which  was  the  scene  of  the  prophecy. 

God  addresses  himself  to  the  Jewish  people:  "I  have  not  spoken  in  secret, 
in  a  dark  place  of  the  earth ;  I  said  not  unto  the  seed  of  Jacob,  Seek  ye  me 
vn.  vain." 

He  was  taught  among  them  in  a  different  manner  from  participation  of  his 
nature  to  a  few  select  Gentiles,  in  the  Mysteries  celebrated  in  secret  and  dark 
subterranean  places. 

Eusebius  says  that  for  the  Hebrew  people  alone  was  reserved  the  honor 
of  being  initiated  into  the  knowledge  of  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things,  and 
of  being  instructed  in  the  practice  of  true  piety  towards  him. 

This  leads  to  the.  explanation  of  those  oracles  of  Apollo,  quoted  by  Euse- 
bius from  Porphyry  :  "  The  way  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Divine  Nature  is 
extremely  rugged,  and  of  difficult  ascent ;  the  entrance  is  secured  by  brazen 
gates,  opening  to  the  adventurer,  and  the  winding  roads  to  be  passed  through, 
impossible  to  be  described.  These  to  the  vast  benefit  of  mankind  were  first 
marked  out  by  the  Egyptians."  (We  here  discover  the  rough  and  rugged  road 
of  the  R.  A.) 

The  Second  :  True  Wisdom  was  the  lot  of  the  Chaldeans  and  Hebrews, 
who  worshipped  the  Governor  of  the  World,  the  self-existent  Deity,  with  pure 
and  holy  rites.  He  who  proclaims  himself  to  be  HliT,  "  Existence  Absolute," 
which  is  the  Infinite  itself,  is  incomprehensible  to  the  finite  mind. 

The  Truth  :  "  Truth  and  general  Utility  coincide  ;  i.e.,  Truth  is  productive 


MYTHOLOGY.  53 

of  Utility,  and  Utility  is  indicative  of  Truth,  and  this  from  the  nature  of  the 
case.  The  observing  of  Truth  is  acting  as  things  are ;  disappointments  pro- 
ceed from  acting  as  things  are  not.  Whenever  we  find  general  Utility,  we  may 
know  it  for  the  product  of  Truth,  which  it  indicates.  The  consequence  is  that 
Religion,  or  the  idea  of  relation  between  the  Creature  and  the  Creator,  is  true." 

"  There  is  in  heaven  a  light 
Whose  goodly  shine  makes  the 
Creator  visible  to  all  created, 
That  in  seeing  him  alone 
Have  peace ;  and  in  a  circle 
Spread  so  far  that  the 
Circumference  vi'ere  too  loose 
A  zone  to  girdle  in  the  Sun."  —  Dante. 

Advent  of  Mythology.  —  In  the  earliest  ages,  men  were  accustomed  to 
speak  of  the  phenomena  of  nature  as  they  appeared  to  them ;  and,  as  their 
language  in  common  conversation  was  almost  invariably  tropical,^  the  figures 
used  by  them,  having  a  well-known  allusion  to  common  events,  in  process  of 
time  became  the  myths  and  fables  which  prevailed  among  all  the  peoples  who 
derived  their  descent  from  the  original  stock,  and  finally  spread  over  the 
whole  race  of  man. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  students  of  philology  and  ethnology  for  our 
present  knowledge  of  the  philosophy  in  the  mythologies  of  all  the  Eastern 
nations  of  antiquity  ;  and,  from  the  great  originals  in  the  countries  which  were 
occupied  by  the  descendants  of  the  three  sons  of  Noah,  we  have  been  enabled 
to  explain  most  of  the  myths  which  gave  rise  to  the  names  so  well  known  and 
recognized  in  classic  Greece  and  Rome.  Nearly  all  of  the  principal  names 
can  be  traced  back,  philologically,  to  the  first  inhabitants  of  that  country,  now 
designated  as  Arya  Varta,  and  which  has  given  rise  to  the  term  Aryan  as 
applied  to  one  of  the  three  principal  races  into  which  ethnologists  now  divide 
all  the  descendants  of  Noah. 

At  the  present  day  we  say  the  sun  rises  and  the  sun  sets,  although  we  well 
know  that  these  are  terms  only  and  not  true.  Those  ancient  men  said,  "  Our 
friend  the  sun  is  dead;  will  he  come  back  again?"  and  when  the  next  day 
they  saw  him,  "  they  rejoiced  because  he  brought  back  their  light  and  their 
life  with  him."  Knowing  very  Uttle  about  themselves,  and  nothing  at  all  of  the 
things  which  they  saw  in  the  world  around  them,  they  fancied  that  everything 
had  the  same  kind  of  life  which  they  had  themselves.  In  this  way  they  came 
to  think  that  the  sun  and  stars,  the  rivers  and  streams,  could  see  and  feel  and 
think,  and  that  they  shone  and  moved  of  their  own  accord.  Hence,  every- 
thing around  them  was  alive,  and  instead  of  saying,  "The  morning  comes 
before  the  rising  of  the  sun ;  and  evening  twilight  follows  sunset ;  "  they  said, 
"  The  sun  is  the  lover  of  the  dawn,  and  was  longing  to  overtake  her ;  and  is  kill- 
ing her  with  his  bright  rays,  which  shone  like  spears." 

1  Tropos,  a  figure. 


r^  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

Of  the  clouds,  which  move  along  the  sky,  they  said  "they  were  the 
cows  of  the  sun,  which  were  driven  by  the  children  every  morning  to  their 
pastures  in  the  blue  fields  of  heaven."  At  sunset  they  said  "  the  dawn,  with 
its  soft  and  tender  light,  had  come  to  soothe  her  son,  or  her  husband,  in  his 
dying  hour."  The  sun  to  them  "  was  the  child  of  darkness,  and  in  the  morn- 
inc^  he  wove  for  his  bride  in  the  heavens  a  fairy  net-work  of  clouds,  which 
reappeared  when  she  came  back  to  him  in  the  evening."  They  spoke  of  him 
as  a  "  friend  of  man,"  when  he  shone  with  a  pleasant  warmth  ;  when,  by  his 
great  heat,  he  brought  a  drought,  "  the  sun  was  slaying  his  children,"  or  that 
some  one  else  "  was  driving  his  chariot."  When  dark  clouds  rested  over  the 
earth  without  giving  rain,  the  terrible  being  called  "  the  serpent  or  dragon  was 
confining  the  waters  in  a  prison  house."  When  they  heard  the  thunder  roll, 
this  "hateful  monster  was  uttering  his  hard  riddles"  ;  and  when  the  rain  came, 
the  bright  sun  had  slain  his  enemy,  and  brought  a  stream  of  life  for  the  thirsty 
earth.  For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  what  we  have  above  written,  a  few 
examples  will  be  p'-oduced. 

Mythology.  —  A  collection  of  the  various  tales,  or  properly  legends,  which 
referred  to  gods,  heroes,  demons,  and  other  beings  whose  names  were  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation,  and  passed  from  tribes  to  nations,  is 
called  mythology. 

Every  nation  has  had  its  myths  and  legends,  even  down  to  the  present  day 
in  various  parts  of  the  earth,  and  a  very  close  resemblance  is  found  among 
them  in  their  principal  gods  and  heroes.  As  stated  above,  our  best  scholars 
have  traced  out  by  philology  the  principal  names  in  all  of  these  myths,  and 
have  located  their  origin  in  the  land  where  the  various  nations  of  Europe, 
the  North  of  Africa,  and  Western,  Middle,  and  Southern  Asia,  were  once  con- 
gregated under  the  roof-trees  in  Arya  Varta,  and  from  which  centre  the 
various  waves  of  emigration  started  to  people  all  those  countries.  It  is  not 
surprising,  therefore,  that  even  in  the  nineteenth  century  and  in  America  we 
find  in  our  English  and  other  modern  languages  the  identical  household 
words  which  were  used  in  that  distant  land  thousands  of  years  ago.  Max 
Miiller  tells  us  in  his  Preface  to  the  Lectures  on  the  Vedas  :  — 

"  In  the  language  of  mankind,  in  which  everything  new  is  oM,  and  everything  old  is  new,  an 
inexhaustible  mine  has  been  discovered  for  researches  of  this  kind.  Language  still  bears  the 
impress  of  the  earliest  thoughts  of  man ;  obliterated,  it  may  be,  buried  under  new  thoughts,  yet 
here  and  there  still  recoverable  in  their  sharp  original  outline.  The  growth  of  language  is  contin- 
uous, and  by  continuing  our  researches  backward  from  the  most  modern  to  the  most  ancient 
strata,  the  very  elements  and  roots  of  human  speech  have  been  reached,  and  with  them  the  ele- 
ments and  roots  of  human  thought.  What  lies  beyond  the  beginnings  of  language,  however 
interesting  it  may  be  to  the  physiologist,  does  not  yet  belong  to  the  history  of  man,  in  the  true 
and  origmal  sense  of  that  word.  Man  means  the  thinker,  and  the  first  manifestation  of  thought 
is  speech. 

"  But  more  surprising  than  the  continuity  of  the  growth  of  language  is  the  continuity  in  the 
growth  of  religion.  Of  religion,  too,  as  of  language,  it  may  be  said  that  in  it  everything  new  is  old, 
and  everything  old  is  new,  and  that  there  has  been  no  entirely  new  religion  since  the  beginning  of 
the  world.    The  elements  and  roots  of  religion  were  there  as  far  back  as  we  can  trace  the  history 


MYTHOLOGY.  e^ 

of  man  ;  and  the  history  of  religion,  like  the  history  of  language,  shows  us  throughout  a  succession 
of  new  combinations  of  the  same  radical  elements.  An  intuition  of  God,  a  sense  of  human  weak- 
ness and  dependence,  a  belief  in  the  divine  government  of  the  world,  a  distinction  between  good 
and  evil,  and  a  hope  of  a  better  life,  —  these  are  some  of  the  radical  elements  of  all  religions. 
Though  sometimes  hidden,  they  rise  again  and  again  to  the  surface.  Though  frequently  distorted, 
they  tend  again  and  again  to  their  perfect  form." 

St.  Augustine  himself,  in  accordance  with  this  idea,  said  :  "  What  is  now- 
called  the  Christian  religion  has  existed  among  the  ancients,  and  was  not 
absent  from  the  beginning  of  the  human  race,  until  Christ  came  in  the  flesh ; 
from  which  time  the  true  religion,  which  existed  already,  began  to  be  called 
Christian."     [August.  Retr.  i.  13.] 

Christ  himself  said  to  the  Centurion  of  Capernaum  :  "  Many  shall  come 
from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

By  the  recovery  of  the  canonical  books  of  three  of  the  principal  religions 
of  the  ancient  world  —  viz. :  the  Veda,  the  Zend-Avesta,  and  Tripitika — access 
has  been  gained  to  the  most  authentic  documents,  whereby  to  study  the  relig- 
ions of  the  Brahmans,  Zoroastrians,  and  Buddhists,  and  a  discovery  made 
of  the  real  origin  of  the  Greek,  Roman,  Teutonic,  Slavonic,  and  Celtic  mythol- 
ogy ;  and,  as  Miiller  says,  "  It  has  become  possible  to  separate  the  truly 
rehgious  elements  in  the  sacred  traditions-  of  these  nations  from  the  mytholog- 
ical crust  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  and  thus  to  gain  a  clearer  insight 
into  the  real  faith  of  the  Aryan  world." 

In  the  proper  study  of  comparative  mythology  we  are  forcibly  impressed 
with  the  close  resemblance,  in  all  the  most  important  features,  in  the  various 
nations  of  Greece,  Rome,  India,  Persia,  Scandinavia,  Germany,  etc.,  and  we 
must  conclude  that  they  were  derived  from  one  common,  original  source,  and 
that  it  was  their  habit  of  speaking  of  all  the  natural  phenomena  in  the  words 
and  phrases  used  by  these  ancient  tribes  ;  and,  in  course  of  time,  from  gen- 
eration to  generation,  the  meanings  of  these  words  and  phrases  which  were 
common  nouns  being  entirely  lost,  they  came  to  represent  persons  supposed 
to  have  existed  and  acted  as  described,  and  this  has  been  proved  by  the  fact 
that  many  names  in  Greek  and  Latin  have  no  meaning,  but  are  perfectly  intel- 
ligible in  the  languages  originally  used.  Such  names  as  Argynnis,  Phoroneus, 
Erinys,  have  no  meaning  in  Greek.  In  India  they  are  explained  :  Erinys 
means  the  dawn  as  it  creeps  along  the  sky ;  Argynnis,  the  morning  brilliance ; 
and  Phoroneus,  the  god  of  fire,  Bhuranyu. 

In  the  myth  where  Selene  visits  Endymion,  Selene  is  the  moon,  which 
appears  in  the  west  just  at  sunset,  Endymion  being  the  name  of  the  sun  as 
he  plunges  into  the  sea.  It  was  said  Endymion  was  a  young  man  on  whom 
the  moon  looked  down  lovingly. 

Phoebus  is  lord  of  light  or  of  life ;  Delos,  where  he  is  said  to  have  been 
born,  means  the  bright  land.  He  is  called  Lykegenes,  sprung  from  light.  His 
mother  was  Leto,  which  means  the  night,  from  which  the  sun  appears  to  come 


56 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


as  it  rises.  Endymion,  setting  sun,  sleeps  in  Latmos,  the  land  of  forgetfulness. 
Telephassa,  mother  of  Gadmus  and  Europa,  means  she  who  shines  frotn  far. 
Telephus  is  a  child  of  Auge,  the  light. 

Europa,  Eurytus,  Eurymedon,  Euryanassa,  Euryphassa,  with  many  others, 
all  denote  a  broad,  spreading  light,  like  the  dawn  as  it  spreads  across  the 
morning  sky. 

In  a  large  number  of  legends  the  incidents  resemble  each  other  as  closely 
as  the  names,  as  in  the  cases  of  Perseus,  CEdipus,  Cyrus,  Romulus,  Paris.  The 
parents  of  these  having  been  warned  that  they  will  be  destroyed  by  their  sons, 
expose  them,  and  they  are  saved  by  wild  beasts,  and  are  discovered  by  the 
dignity  of  their  bearing  and  splendor  of  their  countenances.  "  Perseus  kills 
Acrisius,  CEdipus  kills  Laios,  Cyrus  slays  Astyages,  Romulus  kills  AmuHus  and 
Paris  brings  about  the  ruin  of  Priam  and  the  city  of  Troy." 

"  These  heroes  have  a  short  but  brilliant  life,  and  have  to  labor  for  others,  not  for  themselves. 
Heracles  is  a  slave  to  Eurystheus ;  Achilles  goes  to  Troy  for  no  quarrel  of  his  own  ;  and  Perseus 
has  to  toil  at  the  bidding  of  Polydectes.  They  are  all  of  them  slayers  of  monsters,  and  in  other 
ways  help  men.  Bellevophon  kills  Belleros  and  Chimaera;  Perseus  destroys  the  Gorgon  Medusa; 
Theseus  kills  the  Minotaur ;  CEdipus  slays  the  Sphinx ;  and  Phoebus  Apollo,  the  serpent  Python. 

"  In  other  countries  these  stories  are  repeated.  In  the  Indian  tales,  Indra  kills  the  dragon 
Vritra;  and  in  the  Old  Norse  legend,  Sigurd  kills  the  great  snake  Fafnir.  In  the  Persian  story, 
Rustem  is  as  brave  and  mighty  as  Hercules,  and  his  exploits  are  of  the  same  kind.  All  of 
them  have  invisible  spears  or  swords,  and  can  be  wounded  only  in  one  spot,  or  by  one  kind  of 
weapon.  They  all  have  fair  faces,  and  golden  locks  flowing  over  their  shoulders;  they  all  sacrifice 
their  own  ease  for  the  good  of  others,  and  yet  are  all  tempted  to  forsake  or  leave  the  brides  of 
their  youih.  Hercules  goes  away  from  lolS;  Paris  forsakes  CEnone ;  Theseus  leaves  Ariadne; 
and  Sigurd  deserts  Brynhild." 

The  Ancient  Mysteries.  —  It  is  to  be  presumed  that,  when  the  minds  of 
men  were  directed  to  the  subject  of  the  mysterious  things  of  nature  which 
they  could  not  apprehend,  they  were  forced  to  conceal  their  ignorance  of  the 
ultifnate  causes  for  all  the  phenomena  by  which  they  were  constantly  sur- 
rounded, and  as  constantly  called  upon  to  explain,  that  then,  as  well  as  at 
present,  their  inventive  talents  were  exercised  to  conceal  their  ignorance  by 
systems  of  terminology :  all  the  writers  upon  this  subject  concur  in  the 
opinion  that  wherever  and  whenever  the  first  ceremonies  were  introduced, 
they  were  very  few  and  unostentatious. 

It  has  been  conceded  that  the  rites  and  ceremonies  were  originally  of  a 
pure  character  and  had  a  tendency  to  impress  the  minds  of  the  initiates  with 
a  suitable  feeling  of  awe  and  reverence  for  the  society,  and  to  benefit  their 
lives  in  all  particulars. 

It  is  impossible  to  definitely  assert  in  what  country  the  Mysteries  were  first 
introduced.  Authors  differ  very  materially  upon  that  question.  It  is,  how- 
ever, very  certain  that  while  there  are  various  changes  to  be  found  in  the 
Mysteries  of  the  different  nations  of  the  Orient,  it  is  also  as  certain  that  there 
was  a  great  similarity  in  them  all ;  so  much  so  that  we  may  conclude  that 
either  they  were  all  independent  copies  from  a  great  original  system,  or  that 


ANCIENT  MYSTERIES. 


57 


they  were  propagated  one  from  another,  until  they  were  spread  over  the 
whole  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  that  part  of  Africa  peopled  from  Asia  and  in  con- 
stant intercourse  therewith. 

For  a  proper  review  of  this  important  subject  we  must  refer  to  the  spread 
of  that  branch  of  the  human  race  descended  from  Japheth,  from  the  great 
centre,  after  the  Noachian  flood,  when  it  became  necessary  for  the  numerous 
population  to  find  subsistence  for  themselves,  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
increasing  so  rapidly  that  they  could  not  find  the  necessary  food  for  so  great 
a  multitude. 

The  first  wave  from  that  region,  now  known  as  Arya  Varta,  was  to  the 
south-east,  and  across  the  great  rivers,  and  into  that  part  of  India  where  they 
found  a  people  descended  from  the  Turanian  families,  who  had  come  from  the 
north  and  north-east.  We  are  informed  that,  where  the  Aryans  entered  the 
country  of  India,  they  carried  with  them  their  traditions,  manners,  and  customs, 
and  religious  ideas,  which  differed  very  materially  from  those  possessed  by  the 
first  inhabitants,  who  were,  no  doubt,  of  Turanian  descent. 

We  are  not  to  suppose  that  mankind  at  that  remote  period  of  time  was  by 
any  means  in  a  savage  or  a  barbarous  stage,  ^^■hile  there  are  no  positive 
remains  of  an  advanced  state  of  civilization,  yet  we  are  confidently  advised,  by 
our  best  and  most  impartial  investigators,  that  the  works  which  are  extant,  and 
which  can  be  traced  back  to  a  very  remote  period  prior  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  era,  give  evidence  of  a  perfect  language,  older  than  the 
Sanskrit,  in  which  those  works  were  written ;  which  original  language  is  the 
mother  of  nearly  all  that  we  should  call  grammatical  languages,  and  which 
have  been  known  to  scholars  familiar  with  the  science  of  philology,  by  which 
the  important  science  of  ethnology  has  been  so  improved  that,  v/ith  almost 
certainty,  the  various  nationalities  and  their  intimate  relationships  have  been 
traced  out,  and  their  emigrations //-^//^  certain  countries,  and  immigrations  into 
others,  have  been  clearly  defined.  From  the  various  authors,  who  have  pursued 
these  subjects  in  a  scientific  manner,  we  are  enabled  to  give  a  map  showing 
the  movements  of  the  various  emigrations,  and  also  a  chronological  table  to 
indicate  approximately  the  synchronism  of  all  the  principal  nations  of  antiquity, 
and  trace  them  down  to  the  present  century. 

Those  writers  who  very  recently  have  undertaken  to  prove  the  development 
of  the  human  race  from  the  ape,  and  claim  that  when  the  ape  became  man 
the  man  was  a  savage,  and  has  gradually  developed  into  a  high  state  of  civili- 
zation, have  been  completely  answered  by  reference  to  the  intellectual  devel- 
opment of  mankind  in  the  very  remotest  period  prior  to  written  history,  as 
shown  in  the  remains  of  those  ancient  days,  which  our  limits  do  not  permit  us 
to  specify.  "  The  Origin  of  Nations,"  a  recent  work  by  George  Rawlinson, 
M.A.,  will  answer  all  arguments,  or  assertions  rather,  as  to  the  original  savagery 
of  prehistoric  man. 

By  reference,  first,  to  the  map  of  the  ancient  world  from  the  78th  meridian 


58 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


east  of  London  to  the  Atlantic  io°  west,  and  from  the  25th  parallel  to  the 
58th  north,  we  have  the  ancient  world,  which  was  supposed  to  be  all  there 
was  of  it,  and  was  calculated  to  have  been  east  and  west,  just  double  the  dis- 
tance north  and  south,  and  in  accordance  with  the  Ptolemaic  system. 

The  great  diversity  of  authorities  in  chronology  is  such  that  the  student  of 
history  finds  himself  in  doubt,  in  the  centuries  beyond  1500  B.C.,  and  when  he 
endeavors  to  trace  the  history  of  any  nation  prior  to  2000  B.C.,  he  is  entirely 
lost  in  the  mists  of  legends  and  myths.  Hence,  in  the  accompanying  chrono- 
logical table,  we  have  not  gone  beyond  2300  b.c. 


EXPLANATION   OF  THE   MAP. 

The  map  shows  the  distribution  of  the  descendants  of  Noah  as  they  have  been  located  by 
recent  authors,  and  as  being  in  strict  accord  with  the  various  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  reference 
is  made  to  them,  and  which  will  demonstrate  the  ethnic  affinities  of  the  human  races.  The  gene- 
alogies of  Scripture  are  not  only  of  "great  importance  historically,  as  marking  strongly  the  vital 
truth  that  the  entire  framework  and  narrative  of  Scripture  is  in  every  case  real,  not  ideal ;  plain 
and  simple  matter  of  fact,  not  fanciful  allegory  evolved  out  of  the  author's  consciousness";  but, 
in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  find  the  object  of  the  author  was  to  give,  "  not  a  personal 
genealogy,  but  a  sketch  of  the  interconnection  of  races.  Shem,  Ham,  Japheth,  are  no  doubt  per- 
sons, the  actual  sons  of  the  patriarch  Noah  ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  there  is  another  name 
in  the  series  which  is  other  than  ethnic.  The  document  is  in  IacX  the  earliest  ethnographical  essay 
that  has  come  down  to  our  time." 

The  marks  beneath  the  names  in  the  map  denote  the  family  to  which  the  same  belong :  — 

Shem Japheth 

Gomer Western   Scythia,   spread    over 

Northern  Europe  and  Isles  of 
Britain. 

Magog Eastern    Scythia,  Georgia,   and 

Circassia. 

Tiras Tliracia,  Bithynia. 

lavan Macedonia,  Asia  Minor, 

Elishah Greece  and  Isles. 

Rodanim Isles  of  Greece. 

Tarshish Cilicia. 

Kittim Cvpress. 

Tubal Pontus. 

Ashkenaz ....  Cappadocia, 

Togarmah  . .  .Armenia. 

Madai Media. 


Lud Mesopotamia. 

Asshur Assyria. 

Elam Persia. 

Eber Amalekites  (Egypt). 

Huz Arabia  (Deserta). 

Jerah South-east  Arabia. 

Kazarmaveth S.  Arabia  Felix. 

Sheleph South-west  Arabia. 

Uzal South-west  Arabia. 

Ophir South-west  Arabia. 

Ham 

Hamath Ccelesyria. 

Sidon Sidon,  N. 

Canaan Palestina. 

Philistim Palestina,  S.W. 

Nimrod Chaldea. 

Lehabim Libya,  N.  Africa. 

Naphtuhim Mareotic  Nome, 

Mizraim Goshen. 

Caphtorim Middle  Egypt. 

Pathrusim Memphis. 

Ludim  ")  ( 

Phut      \ \  Upper  Egypt. 

Seba     J  [  Meroe  Ethiopia. 

S-ibtah S.  Arabia  Sea-coast. 

Sabtechah  S.E. 

Dedan Havilah  on  Per.  Gulf. 


Mixed  — Japheth  and  Shem. 
Meshech Bith)aiia,  Paplagonia,  Galatia, 

Mixed  — Shzm  and  Ham. 

liavilah N.W.  part  of  Yemen,  Arab.  Felix. 

Sheba S.E.  Arabia,  on  the  coast. 


52  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

From  all  that  we  can  gather,  the 

"  Iranic  civilization,  or  that  of  the  Medes,  the  Persians  (perhaps  we  should  add  the  Bactrians), 
is  supposed  by  some  moderns  to  have  originated  as  early  as  B.C.  3784.  Others  assign  it  to  the 
comparatively  modern  date  of  B.C.  2600-2500.  ...  Dr.  Martin  Haug  does  not  think  it  necessary 
to  postulate  for  the  Iranians  nearly  so  great  an  antiquity.  Haug  suggests  the  fifteenth  century 
B.C.  as  that  of  the  most  primitive  Iranic  compositions,  which  form  the  chief,  if  not  the  sole, 
evidence  of  Iranic  cultivation  prior  to  B.C.  700. 

"  The  question  is  one  rather  of  linguistic  criticism  than  of  historic  testimony.  The  historic 
statements  that  have  come  down  to  us  on  the  subject  of  the  age  of  Zoroaster,  with  whose  name 
the  origin  of  Iranic  cultiv?tion  is  by  general  consent  regarded  as  intimately  connected,  are  so 
absolutely  conflicting  that  they  must  be  pronounced  valueless.  Eudoxus  and  Aristotle  said  that 
Zoroaster  lived  six  thousand  years  before  the  death  of  Plato,  or  B.C.  6348.  Hermippus  placed 
him  five  thousand  years  before  the  Trojan  war,  or  B.C.  6184.  Berosus  declared  of  him  that  he 
reigned  at  Babylon  towards  the  beginning  of  the  twenty-third  ceniury  B.C.,  having  ascended  the 
throne,  according  to  his  chronological  views,  about  B.C.  2286.  Xanthus  Lydus,  contemporary  of 
Herodotus,  and  \h&  first  Greek  writer  who  treats  of  the  subject,  made  him  live  six  hundred  years 
only  before  the  invasion  of  Greece  by  Xerxes,  B.C.  1080.  The  later  Greeks  and  Romans  declared 
that  he  was  contemporary  with  Darius  Hystaspis,  B.C.  520-485.  Between  the  earliest  and  the 
latest  dates  assigned  by  these  authorities  the  difference  is  nearly  six  thousand  years." 

Modern  criticism  doubts  whether  Zoroaster  ever  lived  at  all,  and  regards 
his  name  as  designating  a  period  rather  than  a  person.  We  have  been  thus 
particular  in  copying  the  above  statements  from  Rawlinson's  "  Origin  of 
Nations,"  because  we  wish  to  trace  "  Zoroastrianism  "  from  the  great  centre 
of  civilization,  as  it  was  in  our  opinion  the  starting-point  and  period  of  the 
Ancient  Mysteries. 

When  we  refer  to  the  mysteries  of  India,  we  find  that  after  the  initiate  had 
passed  through  all  the  trials,  dangers,  lustrations  by  fire,  water,  air,  and  earth, 
he  was  accepted  as  being  worthy  of  the  completion  of  these  ceremonies, 
which  was  accomplished  by  the  Hierophant  himself  communicating  to  him,  in 
a  mysterious  manner,  the  letters  A.  U.  M.,  which,  we  are  informed  by  the  best 
scholars,  was  pronounced  dm.  Several  explanations  have  been  advanced  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  meaning  of  this  which  is  not  a  word,  but  more  than  a 
word.  Whatever  meaning  may  be  now  given  to  it,  we  must  conclude  that  it 
was  a  very  important  secret,  and  not  to  be  communicated  to  every  one  of 
those  initiated,  but  was  a  subject  of  deep  contemplation  to  all  those  who  were 
entitled  to  be  put  in  possession  thereof. 

In  the  mysteries  of  Egypt,  the  word  dm  held  the  same  relation  thereto,  and 
was  as  sacred  to  the  Egyptian  priests.  Passage  after  passage  of  the  Jewish  Script- 
ures indicate  that  a  "  name  "  of  God,  very  peculiar  in  itself,  was  placed  first  in 
the  "  Tabernacle  of  Congregating,"  and  afterward  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem. 
God  said  in  various  passages  that  he  would  "place  his  name  there."  To 
Moses  he  communicated  his  "name  "  at  the  Burning  Bush,  as  he  who  had  sent 
him  to  the  children  of  Israel  as  I  AM ;  and  again  when  Moses  told  him  that 
Pharaoh  would  not  let  the  children  of  Israel  go,  he  declares  that  by  his 
"name"  (HliT)  JEHOVAH  he  was  not  known,  but  by  his  name  "God 
Almighty  "  [El-shadai]  was  he  known. 


PRIMITIVE  RITES.  53 

We,  of  course,  have  no  certain  data  whereby  we  may  be  guided  as  to  these 
peculiar  "  names,"  which  were  held  so  sacred.  We  must  only  conjecture  that, 
as  in  all  these  Sacred  Mysteries,  the  final  rite  was  to  communicate  a  particular 
word,  and  as  that  word  in  Hebrew  was  the  "  name "  given  by  the  Lord 
Almighty  to  Moses,  the  word  must  have  been,  in  all  cases,  such  a  sacred 
word  as  to  command  the  reverence  and  respect  of  all ;  and  we  have  always 
interpreted  the  third  commandment,  "  Thou  shall  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain,"  to  refer  to  the  "Tetragrammaton,"  because  the  Jews 
became  so  much  afraid  of  violating  that  commandment  that  none  but  the 
high  priest  ever  dared  to  use  it,  until  at  last  the  very  pronunciation  became 
unknown  to  all  except  the  high  priest,  and  he  only  used  it  once  in  each  year, 
when,  on  the  day  of  expiation,  he  entered  the  Sanctum  Saticlorum,  and  there 
pronounced  it  aloud,  to  keep  it  in  his  memory. 

We  think,  therefore,  that  all  the  Mysteries  led  up  to,  and  were  completed 
in  learning  the  "  name,"  which  became  to  each  postulant  a  "  sacred  treasure.'^ 

We  shall  next  enter  into  a  history  of  each  of  the  prominent  characters  who 
formed  the  bases  of  all  the  primitive  rites. 


CHAPTER   IL 
Personal  and  National. 


Ormuzd  (Ahura-Mazda). — The  supreme  deity  of  the  ancient  Persians. 
He  is  the  god  of  the  firmament ;  the  representative  of  goodness  and  truth, 
and  the  creator  of  the  universe  and  of  the  beneficent  spirits  who  have  charge 
of  the  well-being  of  man  and  all  created  things.  According  to  Zoroaster  an 
incomprehensible  being  called  Zeruane  Akerene  (or  Zrvan  Akarana),  existed 
from  all  eternity.  From  him  emanated  primal  light,  and  from  the  latter 
sprung  Ormuzd  and  Ahriman.  Ahriman  became  jealous  of  his  elder  brother, 
and  was  condemned  by  the  eternal  one  to  pass  three  thousand  years  in  a 
region  of  utter  darkness.  On  his  release,  he  created  a  number  of  evil  spirits 
to  oppose  the  spirits  created  by  Ormuzd ;  and  when  the  latter  made  an  egg 
containing  good  genii,  Ahriman  produced  another,  full  of  evil  demons,  and 
broke  the  two  together ;  so  that  good  and  evil  became  mixed  in  the  new  crea- 
tion. The  two  great  opposing  principles  are  called  the  "  King  of  Light  "  and 
the  "  Prince  of  Darkness."  Ormuzd  is  described  as  "  sitting  on  the  throne  of 
the  good  and  the  perfect,  in  the  regions  of  pure  light,"  or  as  a  venerable  man 
seated  on  a  bull,  the  emblem  of  creation. 

A  later  doctrine,  still  professed  by  the  Guebres  and  Parsees,  reduces 
Ormuzd  from  a  great  creator  to  a  mere  demiurge,  or  organizer  of  a  universe 
previously  created. 


64 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


Syrian  Ashtaroth.  —  No.  6  shows  this  goddess  with  the  long  cross  in  her 
hand,  and  the  sacred  calathus,  or  bushel,  on  her  head.  Astarte  was  the  same 
as  Venus.  This  is  a  medal  of  Sidon,  the  antiquity  of  which  city  is  well 
known,  and  it  agrees  well  with  the  antiquity  and  history  attributed  to  Askelon  : 
it  agrees  also  with  the  opinion  of  St.  Ambrose,  who  said  that  Venus  is  the 
Mitram  of  Persia.  Although  worshipped  under  different  names,  she  is  con- 
stantly the  same  power. 

Venus  and  her  dove  have  been  referred  to  Askelon,  and  yet  in  No.  5  we 
have  a  proof  that  Egypt  had  her  Venus  and  dove.  This  medal  was  from 
Tentyra  in  Egypt.  Strabo  mentions  a  temple  of  Venus  at  Tentyra.  This  is  a 
reverse  of  a  medal  of  Adrian ;  it  represents  Venus  holding  the  dove  in  one 
hand  and  a  staff  in  the  other. 

Venus  is  represented,  on  various  medals,  in  a  car  or  chariot,  drawn  by 
tritons,  one  male,  the  other  female  :  the  male  holds  a  branch  of  palm,  perhaps, 
in  one  hand  ;  with  the  other  he  embraces  his  consort,  who  returns  the  embrace 
with  one  arm  :  in  the  other  she  holds  a  pipe,  which  she  sounds  in  honor  of  the 
goddess.  The  goddess  herself  is  in  the  attitude  of  triumph,  and  holds  in  her 
hand  the  famous  apple  which  she  won  from  her  rivals  on  Mount  Ida,  —  a  story 
which  has  not  been  interpreted  according  to  what  perhaps  is  its  true  signification. 
All  these  instances  strongly  connect  the  goddess  with  maritime  affairs.  These 
are  Corinthian  medals,  and  show  that  the  idea  of  Derketos  was  not  abandoned 
when  her  worship  was  transferred  from  Syria  into  Greece. 

Astarte  or  Ashtaroth  {plural').  —  In  Scripture  this  word  is  often  plural, 
which  signifies  flocks  of  sheep  or  goats  (Deut.  xii.  13)  ;  sometimes  Asera, 
the  grove,  Aseroth  or  Aserim,  woods,  because  she  was  goddess  of  woods  and 
groves  ;  where,  in  her  temples  in  groves,  consecrated  to  her,  such  lasciviousness 
was  committed  as  rendered  her  worship  infamous.  She  was  also  called 
"  queen  of  heaven,"  and  sometimes  her  worship  is  described  by  that  of  the 
"  host  of  heaven."  She  is  almost  always  joined  with  Baal,  and  is  called  "  gods  "  ; 
Scripture  having  no  particular  word  for  expressing  "  goddess."  It  is  believed 
that  the  moon  was  thus  adored.  Her  temples  generally  accompanied  those 
of  the  sun ;  and  while  bloody  sacrifices  and  human  victims  were  offered  to 
Baal,  bread,  liquors,  and  perfumes  were  presented  to  Astarte.  Tables  were 
prepared  for  her  on  the  flat  terrace  roofs  of  houses,  near  gates,  in  porches,  and 
at  cross-ways,  on  the  first  day  of  every  month,  which  the  Greeks  called 
"  Hecate's  supper." 

St.  Jerome  translates  the  name  Astarte  by  Priapus,  as  if  to  denote  the 
licentiousness  committed  in  her  groves.  The  Eastern  people,  in  many  places, 
worshipped  the  moon  as  a  god,  representing  its  figure  with  a  beard  and  in 
armor.  The  statue  in  the  temple  at  Heliopolis,  in  Syria,  was  that  of  a  woman 
clothed  like  a  man  (Plin.  lib.  v.  cap.  23).  Solomon  introduced  her  worship 
in  Israel ;  but  Jezebel,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  wife  to  Ahab,  principally 
established  her  worship. 


PRIMITIVE  RITES. 


65 


St.  Austin  assures  us  that  the  Africans  (descendants  from  the  Phoenicians) , 
maintained  Astarte  to  be  Juno ;  but  Herodian  says  the  Carthaginians  call  the 
heavenly  goddess,  the  moon,  Astroarche  (Chief  Star). 

The  Phoenicians  asserted  confidently,  says  Cicero,  that  their  Astarte  was 
the  Syrian  Venus,  born  at  Tyre,  and  wife  to  Adonis ;  very  different  from  the 
Venus  of  Cyprus.  Lucian,  who  wrote  particularly  concerning  the  goddess  of 
Syria  (Astarte),  says  expressly  that  ^he  is  the  moon,  and  no  other;  and  it  is 
indubitable  that  this  luminary  was  worshipped  under  different  names  in  the  East. 

On  the  medals  she  is  sometimes  represented  in  a  long  habit;  at  other 
times  in  a  short  habit ;  sometimes  holding  a  long  staff  with  a  cross  on  its  top 
(No,  6)  ;  sometimes  she  has  a  crown  of  rays ;  sometimes  she  is  crowned  with 
battlements,  or  by  a  Victory.  In  a  medal  of  Caesarea  Palestinas  she  is  in  a 
short  dress,  crowned  with  battlements,  with  a  man's  head  in  her  right  hand, 
and  a  staff  in  her  left.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  man's  head  mentioned  by 
Lucian,  which  was  every  year  brought  from  Egypt  to  Byblus,  a  city  of  Phoenicia. 
[We  refer  to  our  comments  on  Adonis  in  connection  with  this.] 

Sanconiathon  says  she  was  represented  with  a  cow's  head,  the  horns 
describing  royalty,  and  the  lunar  rays. 

Macrobius  says  the  moon  was  both  male  and  female ;  and  adds  one  par- 
ticular from  Philocurus,  that  the  male  sex  sacrificed  to  him  in  the  female 
habit,  and  the  female  sex  in  the  male  habit.  Though  Spartian  speaks  of 
Carhse  as  a  place  famous  for  the  worship  of  Lunus,  the  worship  was  not  con- 
fined to  that  place  and  to  Mesopotamia,  for  it  was  spread  over  all  the  East. 
The  god  Malach-belus  is  represented  on  a  marble,  with  all  the  marks  of  the 
god  Lunus,  so  as  to  make  it  appear  unquestionable  that  it  is  Lunus  (No.  3), 

Baal.  —  As  this  personage  is  so  often  mentioned  in  Scripture,  and  the 
name,  as  a  part  of  compound  names,  is  so  repeatedly  used,  we  must  give  some 
account  of  him  as  one  of  the  principal  gods  in  the  western  part  of  Asia,  accom- 
panied by  representations  of  him  copied  from  ancient  medals. 

The  word  Baal  or  Bel,  in  Hebrew,  means  he  that  rules  and  subdues  ;  ??ias- 
ter,  lord,  or  husband  (governor,  ruler). 

As  before  stated,  Baal  and  Ashtaroth  being  commonly  mentioned  together, 
and  as  it  is  believed  Ashtaroth  denotes  the  moon,  it  is  concluded  that  Baal 
represents  the  sun  (see  Nos.  i  and  2).  The  name  Baal  is  generically  used 
for  the  superior  god  of  the  Phoenicians,  Chaldeans,  Moabites,  and  other  parts 
of  Western  Asia.  No  doubt,  under  the  different  names  peculiar  to  their  dif- 
ferent languages,  as  for  instance,  Chamosh  or  Shemesh  (Heb.),  for  the  sun  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere  in  Palestine,  Baal  is 
certainly  the  most  ancient  god  of  the  Canaanites,  and  perhaps  of  the  East. 

It  has  been  asserted  by  some  learned  men  that  Baal  was  the  Saturn  of 
Greece  and  Rome ;  and  there  was  a  great  conformity  between  the  rites  and 
sacrifices  offered  to  Saturn  and  what  the  Scriptures  relate  of  the  sacrifices 
offered  to  Baal. 


66 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


Others  are  of  the  opinion  that  he  corresponded  with  Hercules,  who  was  an 
original  god  of  Phoenicia.  Now,  when  at  this  day  we  fully  comprehend  why  cer- 
tain names  were  given  to  certain  gods,  —  and  in  changing  the  countries  where 
they  were  worshipped  they  were  considered  different  individualities,  —  just  so 
many  more  gods  were  added  as  so  many  countries  adopted  the  worship.  Also 
the  name  was  compounded  with  other  names  and  constituted  thereby  other 
gods,  but  evidently  the  one  only,  in  fact :  as  Baal-Peor,  Baal-Zebub,  Baal-Gad, 
Baal-Zephon,  Baal-Berith ;  and  the  Hebrews  called  the  sun  Baal-Shemesh 
(Baal  the  Sun).  The  Persian  Mithra  was  the  same  as  Baal.  The  Scriptures 
call  the  temples  of  the  sun  Chamanim.  They  were  places  enclosed  with 
walls,  wherein  a  perpetual  fire  was  maintained.  They  were  frequent  all  over 
the  East,  particularly  in  that  region  afterwards  called  Persia :  the  Greeks 
called  them  pyreia,  or  pyratheia,  from  pyr,  fire,  or  pyra,  a  funeral  pile. 
Strabo  mentions  them  as  having  in  them  an  altar,  abundance  of  ashes,  and 
a  perpetual  fire.  From  this,  no  doubt,  arises  the  fire-worship  of  the  Parsees, 
which  continues  to  the  present  day. 

Adonis.  —  In  connection  with  the  worship  and  mysteries  of  Venus  we  must 
refer  to  those  of  Adonis.  From  Ezekiel  viii.  14  we  learn  that  that  prophet 
saw  women  sitting  in  the  temple  weeping  for  Adonis ;  but  the  Hebrew  reads 
for  Tamniuz,  or  the  hidden  one.  In  Egypt,  Adonis  was  called  Osiris.  The 
Greeks  worshipped  Isis  and  Osiris  under  other  names,  viz. :  under  that  of 
Bacchus  :  the  Arabians  called  him  Adonis. 

Ogygia  me  Bacchum  canit ; 
Osyrin  ^gyptus  vocat ; 
Arabicus  gens,  Adoneum. 

He  was  called  Ammuz,  or  Tammuz,  the  concealed,  to  denote  the  manner 
of  his  death  or  place  of  burial.  The  Hebrews  sometimes,  in  derision,  called 
him  the  dead,  because  they  wept  for  him  and  represented  him  as  dead  in  his 
coffin ;  sometimes  they  call  him  the  image  of  jealotisy,  because  he  was  the 
object  of  the  jealousy  of  the  god  Mars.  The  Syrians,  Phoenicians,  and 
Cyprians  called  him  Adonis.  In  Amnion  and  Moab  he  was  ng  doubt  called 
Baal-Peor.  The  Mysteries  of  Adonis  were  no  doubt  derived  from  the  East. 
The  Rabbins  say  that  Tammuz  was  an  idolatrous  prophet.  He  having  been 
put  to  death  by  the  king  of  Babylon,  all  the  idols  of  the  country  flocked 
together  about  a  statue  of  the  sun,  which  this  prophet,  who  was  a  magician, 
had  suspended  between  heaven  and  earth  ;  there  they  deplored  his  death  ; 
for  which  reason  a  festival  was  instituted  every  year  to  renew  the  memory  of 
this  ceremony,  at  the  beginning  of  the  month  Tammuz.  In  this  temple  a 
statue  was  erected  to  Tammuz.  The  statue  was  hollow,  the  eyes  were  of 
lead.  Below,  a  gentle  fire  was  kindled,  which  insensibly  heated  the  statue, 
melted  the  lead,  and  caused  the  people  to  believe  that  the  idol  wept.  During 
all  this  time  the  Babylonish  women  who  were  in  the  temple  fell  shrieking, 
and  made  strange  lamentations. 


PRIMITIVE  RITES. 


67 


Adonis  is  said  to  have  been  born  at  Byblus  in  Phoenicia,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  been  killed  by  a  wild  boar  in  the  mountains  of  Libanus,  from  which  the 
river  Adonis  descends.  This  river  once  a  year  changes  the  color  of  its 
waters,  and  appears  as  red  as  blood.  At  this  signal  the  feasts  of  Adonia 
commenced,  and  imitated  all  the  ceremonies  of  a  most  serious  mourning  for 
a  dead  person.  The  next  day  it  was  reported  that  Adonis  was  alive  and  had 
ascended  into  the  air. 

To  show  the  connection  of  Adonis  with  Osiris  we  have  this  account :  — 

The  common  people  were  persuaded  to  beheve  that  the  Egyptians  at  the 
feast  of  Adonis  sent  by  sea  a  box  made  of  rushes  and  fashioned  in  the  form 
of  a  figure,  in  which  a  letter  was  inclosed,  informing  the  inhabitants  of  Byblus 
that  their  god  Adonis,  whom  they  apprehended  to  be  lost,  had  been  discovered. 
The  vessel  always  arrived  safe  at  Byblus  at  the  end  of  seven  days.  Lucian 
says  he  was  a  witness  of  this  event.  It  is  thought  by  some  of  the  Ancient 
Fathers  that  this  is  referred  to  by  Isaiah  xviii.  i  :  "Woe  to  the  land  shadow- 
ing with  wings,  which  is  beyond  the  river  of  Ethiopia,  that  sendeth  ambassadors 
by  the  sea,  even  vessels  of  bulrushes  upon  the  waters."  Some,  as  Bochart, 
translate  "  that  sendeth  images  or  idols  by  sea,"  but  the  Hebrew  signifies 
properly  atnbassadors. 

The  question  has  been  asked.  To  what  did  this  worship  of  Adonis  refer? 
Various  opinions  have  been  given.  Many  have  supposed  that  the  death  of 
Adonis  referred  to  the  diminution  of  the  solar  influence  during  the  winter 
months  ;  but  as  the  time  of  the  year,  viz. :  August  and  September,  i.e.,  fiifth 
day  of  the  sixth  month,  is  not  remarkable  for  any  lessening  of  the  solar  light 
and  warmth,  this  cannot  be  the  reason.  Second,  the  worship  of  the  sun  was 
accidental  and  not  primary.  Third,  other  ceremonies  may  give  light  on  this 
subject,  and  lead  to  a  different  opinion. 

Julius  Firmicus  tells  us  that  on  a  certain  night,  while  the  solemnity  in  honor 
of  Adonis  lasted,  an  image  was  laid  in  a  bed  or  on  a  bier,  as  if  it  were  a  dead 
body,  and  great  lamentation  was  made  over  it ;  but  after  a  time  a  light  was 
brought  in,  and  the  priests  anointed  the  mouths  of  the  assistants,  whispered 
to  them  in  a  soft  voice,  "  Trust  ye  in  God  ;  for  out  of  pain  [distress]  we  have 
received  salvation  [deliverance]." 

These  rites  appear  to  be  the  same  as  those  described  in  the  Orphic  Argo- 
nautica,  where  it  is  said  that  these  awful  meetings  began  first  of  all  by  an  oath 
of  secrecy,  administered  to  all  who  were  to  be  initiated.  Then  the  ceremonies 
commenced  by  a  description  of  the  Chaos,  or  Abyss,  and  the  attending  confu- 
sion. The  poet  describes  a  person  as  a  man  of  justice,  and  mentions  the 
orgies,  or  funeral  lamentations  on  account  of  this  just  person,  and  those  of 
Arkite  Athene,  i.e..  Divine  Providence.  These  were  celebrated  by  night. 
After  the  attendants  had  for  a  long  while  bewailed  the  death  of  this  just 
person,  he  was  at  length  understood  to  be  restored  to  life,  to  have  experi- 
enced a  resurrection,  signified  by  a  readmission  of  light.     On  this,  the  priest 


53  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

addressed  the  company,  saying,  "  Comfort  yourselves,  all  ye  who  have  been 
partakers  of  the  Mysteries  of  the  Deity  thus  preserved,  for  we  shall  now  enjoy 
some  respite  from  our  labors."  To  which  were  added  these  words,  "  I  have 
escaped  a  sad  calamity,  and  my  lot  is  greatly  mended."  The  people  answered, 
"  Hail  to  the  Dove  !  Restorer  of  light !  " 

Let  us  now  consider  what  character  of  ancient  times  would  answer  to  the 
"just  and  upright  person"  (Gen.  vi.  9),  and  "who  shall  comfort  us  concern- 
ing our  work,  and  the  toil  of  our  hands  "  (Gen.  v.  29),  and  "who  was  entombed 
for  a  time."  We  shall  find  Noah  to  have  been  that  person,  who  was  restored 
from  a  bad  to  a  better  condition ;  to  life  and  light,  from  his  floating  grave ; 
and  a  "  dove  "  appears  in  his  history  as  a  restorer  of  hope  and  expectation  of 
returning  prosperity.  Noah,  therefore,  must  have  been  the  original  of  all  these 
ceremonials,  in  which  the  person  dies  \  mourning  and  lamentations  for  his 
death  follow,  and  upon  his  restoration  follow  their  rejoicings. 

Mithras.  — The  highest  of  the  twenty-eight  second-class  divinities  of  the 
Ancient  Persian  Pantheon,  the  Ized  (Zend.  Yazata),  or  genius  of  the  sun  and 
ruler  of  the  universe.  Protector  and  supporter  of  this  life,  he  watches  over 
his  soul  in  the  next,  defending  it  against  the  impure  spirits,  and  transferring  it 
into  the  realms  of  eternal  bliss.  He  is  all-seeing  and  all-hearing,  and,  armed 
with  a  club,  his  weapon  against  Ahriman  and  the  evil  Devs,  he  unceasingly 
"  runs  his  course  "  between  heaven  and  earth.  The  ancient  monuments  repre- 
sent him  as  a  beautiful  youth  dressed  in  Phrygian  garb,  kneeUng  upon  an  ox, 
into  whose  neck  he  plunges  a  knife  ;  several  varying  minor  allegorical  emblems 
of  the  sun  and  his  course  surrounding  the  group.  At  times,  he  is  also  repre- 
sented as  a  lion  or  the  head  of  a  lion.  The  most  important  of  his  many 
festivals  was  his  birthday,  celebrated  on  the  25th  of  December,  the  day  subse- 
quently fixed  —  against  all  evidence  —  as  the  birthday  of  Christ.  The  worship 
of  Mithras  {^Hierocoracica,  Coracica,  Sacra),  which  fell  in  the  spring  equinox, 
was  famous  even  among  the  many  Roman  festivals.  The  ceremonies  observed 
in  the  initiation  to  these  mysteries  —  symbolical  of  the  struggle  between  Ahri- 
man and  Ormuzd  (the  Good  and  the  Evil)  —  were  of  the  most  extraordinary, 
and  to  a  certain  degree,  even  dangerous  character. 

Baptism  and  the  partaking  of  a  mystical  liquid,  consisting  of  flour  and 
water,  to  be  drank  with  the  utterance  of  sacred  formulas,  were  among  the 
inaugurative  acts.  The  seven  degrees  —  according  to  the  number  of  the 
planets  —  were:  i.  Soldiers;  2.  Lions  (in  the  case  of  men),  or  Hyenas  (in 
that  of  women)  ;  3.  Ravens;  4.  Degree  of  Perses ;  5.  of  Oromios ;  6.  of 
Helios  ;  7.  of  Fathers,  —  the  highest,  —  who  were  also  called  Eagles  and  Hawks. 
At  first,  of  a  merry  character,  —  thus  the  king  of  Persia  was  allowed  to  get 
drunk  only  on  the  Feast  of  the  Mysteries,  —  the  solemnities  gradually  assumed 
a  severe  and  rigorous  aspect.  From  Persia,  the  cultus  of  Mithras  and  the 
Mysteries  were  imported  into  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Palestine,  etc.,  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  in  some  parts  human  sacrifices  were  connected  with  this  worship. 


PRIMITIVE  RITES. 


69 


Through  Rome,  where  this  worship  was  finally  suppressed,  a.d.  378,  it  may 
be  presumed  it  found  its  way  into  the  West  and  North  of  Europe  ;  and  many 
tokens  of  its  former  existence  in  Germany,  for  instance,  are  still  to  be  found, 
such  as  the  monuments  at  Hedernheim,  near  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  at 
other  places.  Among  the  chief  authorities  on  this  subject  are  Anquetil  du 
Perron,  Creuzer,  Silvestre  de  Sacy,  Lajard,  O.  Miiller. 

Osiris,  Asiris,  or  Hysiris  (Many-eyed).  —  The  worship  of  Osiris  was 
universal  throughout  Egypt.  This  name  appears  as  early  as  the  fourth 
dynasty,  in  the  hieroglyphic  texts,  and  is  expressed  by  a  throne  and  an  eye. 
At  a  later  period  (nineteenth),  a  palanquin  is  substituted  for  the  throne ;  and 
under  the  Romans  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  for  the  eye  itself.  In  the  ritual 
and  other  inscriptions  he  is  said  to  be  the  son  of  Seb,  or  Saturn,  and  Nu,  or 
Rhea ;  to  be  the  father  of  Horus  by  Isis,  who  is  also  called  sister  of  Osiris. 
The  mystic  notions  connected  with  Osiris  seem  to  connect  him  with  Bacchus, 
or  they  both  were  derived  from  some  original  god,  who  benefited  mankind  by 
travelling  over  the  various  countries  and  teaching  them  the  arts  of  life. 

Osiris  was  said  to  be  the  son  of  Ra  (the  sun),  or  of  Atum  (the  setting 
sun),  and  the  Bennu  or  Phoenix ;  also  to  be  uncreated  or  self-engendered,  and 
is  sometimes  identified  with  the  sun,  or  the  creator,  and  Pluto,  or  judge  of 
hades.  When  born,  Chronos  (Saturn)  gave  him  in  charge  to  Pamyles. 
When  he  became  king  of  Egypt,  he  is  said  to  have  civilized  the  Egyptians, 
and  to  have  taught  them  agriculture,  the  cultivation  of  the  vine,  and  the  art  of 
making  beer.  He  afterwards  travelled  over  the  earth,  and,  by  his  persuasion, 
overcame  the  people  everywhere  and  induced  them  to  practise  agriculture. 
Compare  this  with  the  sketch  of  Bacchus. 

The  myth  of  his  destruction  by  his  brother,  Typhon,  ij  so  well  known  that 
we  will  not  repeat  it  here.  Typhon  and  Osiris  represent  the  evil  and  good 
principles  by  which  mankind  are  governed,  and  correspond  with  iVhriman  and 
Ormuzd  of  the  Persian  system,  —  with  the  two  principles  in  India. 

The  pentalpha,  or  five-pointed  star,  with  the  one  point  upward,  and  in  its 
middle  the  face  of  the  sun  or  an  eye,  represents  Osiris. 

There  existed  amongst  the  ancients  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  real 
intention  or  meaning  of  the  myth  of  Osiris.  Plutarch  says  he  represented  the 
inundation  of  the  Nile  ;  Isis,  the  irrigated  land  ;  Horus,  the  vapors  ;  Buto,  the 
marshes ;  Nephthys,  the  edge  of  the  desert ;  Anubis,  the  barren  soil ;  Typhon 
was  the  sea ;  the  conspirators,  the  drought ;  the  chest,  the  bank  of  the  river. 
The  Tanaitic  branch  of  the  river  was  the  one  which  overflowed  unprofitably ; 
the  twenty-eight  years,  the  number  of  cubits  which  the  Nile  rose  at  Elephantine  ; 
Harpocrates,  the  first  shootings  of  the  corn.  Such  were  the  interpretations 
of  Plutarch.  There  appear,  however,  to  be  in  it  the  dualistic  principles  of 
good  and  evil,  represented  by  the  benefits  derived  from  the  influence  of  the 
daily  sun,  and  the  opposition,  by  night,  which  hides  the  sun.  This,  as  it  is 
said  by  some,  no  doubt  was  the  original  significance  of  the  myth ;  but  time 


JO 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


caused  additions  to  the  first  elements,  and  hence  the  blending  of  Osiris  with 
other  deities,  especially  Ptah-Socharis,  the  pigmy  of  Memphis,  and  the  bull 
Hapis,  or  Apis,  the  Aratar  of  Plato.  Osiris  was  the  head  of  a  tetrad  of 
deities,  whose  local  worship  was  at  Abydos,  where  his  coffin  floated  and 
was  recovered. 

In  form,  Osiris  is  represented  swathed,  in  allusion  to  his  embalmment ;  a 
net-work,  suggestive  of  the  net  by  which  his  remains  were  fished  out  of  the  Nile, 
covers  this  dress ;  on  his  head  he  wears  the  cap,  Aif,  having  at  each  side  the 
feathers  of  truth,  of  which  he  was  the  lord.  This  is  placed  on  the  horns  of  a 
goat.  His  hands  hold  the  crook  and  whip,  to  indicate  his  governing  power ; 
and  his  feet  are  based  on  the  cubit  of  truth.  A  panther's  skin  on  a  pole  is 
often  placed  before  him,  and  festoons  of  grapes  hang  over  his  shrine,  con- 
necting him  with  Dionysos.  He  wears  the  white  or  upper  crown  as  the 
"good  being,"  or  Ounophris,  the  meek-hearted,  the  celestial  king.  His  wor- 
ship extended  over  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  Rome,  and  at  an  early  day  had 
penetrated  into  Phcenicia,  traces  of  it  being  found  on  coins  of  Malta  and 
other  places. 

Orpheus.  —  Supposed  to  be  the  Vedic  Ribhu,  or  Arbhu,  an  epithet  both  of 
Indra  and  the  Sun.  This  is  a  semi-mythic  name,  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
ancient  Greek  lore. 

The  early  legends  call  him  a  son  of  Apollo  and  the  muse  Calliope,  or  of 
Oleagrus  and  Clio  or  Polymnia,  His  native  country  is  Thracia,  where  many 
different  localities  were  pointed  out  as  his  birthplace,  —  such  as  the  mounts 
of  Olympus  and  Pangrgeus,  the  river  ?>upeus,  the  promontory  of  Serrhium, 
and  several  cities.  Apollo  bestows  upon  him  the  lyre  which  Hermes  invented, 
and  by  its  aid  Orpheus  moves  men  and  beasts,  the  birds  in  the  air,  the  fishes 
in  the  deep,  the  trees  and  the  rocks.  He  accompanies  the  Argonauts  in  their 
expedition,  and  the  power  of  his  music  wards  off  all  mishaps  and  disasters, 
rocking  monsters  to  sleep,  and  stopping  cliffs  in  their  downward  rush.  His 
wife,  Eurydice  ( ?  =  Sanskrit  Uru,  Dawn),  is  bitten  by  a  serpent  (  ?  =  night)  and 
dies.  Orpheus  follows  her  into  the  infernal  regions,  and  so  powerful  are  his 
"golden  tones  "  that  even  stern  Pluto  and  Proserpina  are  moved  to  pity,  while 
Tantalus  forgets  his  thirst,  Ixion's  wheel  ceases  to  revolve,  and  the  Danaides 
stop  in  their  wearisome  task.  He  is  allowed  to  take  her  back  into  the  "  light  of 
heaven,"  but  he  must  not  look  around  while  they  ascend.  Love,  or  doubt, 
however,  draw  his  eyes  towards  her,  and  she  is  lost  to  him  forever  (  ?  =  first 
rays  of  the  sun  gleaming  at  the  dawn  makes  it  disappear  or  melt  into  day). 
His  death  is  sudden  and  violent.  According  to  some  accounts,  it  is  the 
thunderbolt  of  Zeus  that  cuts  him  off,  because  he  reveals  the  Divine  Mysteries  ; 
according  to  others,  it  is  Dionysus,  who,  angry  at  his  refusing  to  worship  him, 
causes  the  Menades  to  tear  him  to  pieces,  which  pieces  are  collected  and 
buried  by  the  Muses  in  tearful  piety  at  Leibethra,  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Olympus,  where  a  nightingale  sings  over  his  grave.     Others,  again,  make  the 


PRIMITIVE  RITES.  yj 

Thracian  women  divide  his  limbs  between  them,  either  from  excessive  madness 
of  unrequited  love,  or  from  anger  at  his  drawing  their  husbands  away  from 
them. 

The  faint  glimmer  of  historic  truth  hidden  beneath  these  myths  becomes 
clearer  in  those  records  which  speak  of  Orpheus  as  a  divine  bard  or  priest  in 
the  service  of  Zagreus,  the  Thracian  Dionysus,  and  founder  of  the  Mysteries. 
As  the  first  musician,  he  was  the  inaugurator  of  the  rites  of  expiation  and  of  the 
mantic  art,  the  inventor  of  letters  and  the  heroic  metre,  of  everything,  in  fact, 
that  was  supposed  to  have  contributed  to  the  civilization  and  initiation  into  a 
more  humane  worship  of  the  deity  among  the  primitive  inhabitants  of  Thracia 
and  all  Greece, —  a  task  to  which  he  was  supposed  to  have  devoted  his  life 
after  his  return  with  the  Argonauts.  A  kind  of  monastic  order  sprang  up  in 
later  times,  calling  itself  after  him,  which  combined  a  sort  of  enthusiastic  creed 
about  the  migration  of  souls  and  other  mystic  doctrines  with  a  semi-ascetic 
life.  Abstinence  from  meat  (not  from  wine),  frequent  purifications,  the 
wearing  of  white  garments  and  similar  things,  —  not  unlike  some  of  the 
Essenic  manners  and  customs,  —  were  among  their  fundamental  rules  and 
ceremonies.  But  after  a  brief  duration,  the  brotherhood  having  first,  during 
the  last  days  of  the  Roman  Empire,  passed  through  the  stage  of  conscious 
and  very  profitable  jugglery,  sank  into  oblivion,  together  with  their  Orpheo- 
telistic  formulas  and  sacrifices,  and  together  with  the  joys  of  the  upper,  and 
the  never-ending  punishments  of  the  infernal  regions,  which  they  held  out  to 
their  rich  dupes,  according  to  the  sums  they  grudged  or  bestowed  upon  them. 

The  Orphic  Hterature  and  mysteries  are  derived  from  Orpheus,  the  real 
origin  of  which,  however,  according  to  O.  Miiller,  is  like  his  own  history, 
"  unquestionably  the  darkest  point  in  the  entire  history  of  early  Greek  poetry." 
Orpheus  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  pupil  of  Apollo,  as  was  Olen,  Linus, 
Philammon,  Eumolpus,  Musgeus,  and  other  legendary  singers  of  prehistoric 
Greece,  and  to  have  composed  certain  hymns  and  songs  used  in  the  worship 
of  a  Dionysus,  dwelling  in  the  infernal  regions,  and  in  the  initiations  into  the 
Eleusinian  Mysteries.     He  was  placed  anterior  to  Homer  and  Hesiod. 

Herodotus  and  Aristotle  combated  the  supposed  antiquity  of  the  so-called 
Orphic  myths  and  songs  of  their  day,  yet  the  entire,  enormous  Orphic  literature, 
which  had  resulted  from  them,  retained  its  ancient  authority,  not  only  with 
both  the  Hellenists  and  the  Church  Fathers  of  the  third  and  fourth  centuries 
A.D.  (who  for  their  individual,  albeit  opposite  purposes,  referred  to  it  as  the 
most  authentic  primitive  source  of  Greek  religion,  from  which  Pythagoras, 
Heraclitus,  Plato,  had  drawn  their  theological  philosophy),  but  down  almost 
to  the  last  generation,  when  it  is  irrefutably  proved  to  be  in  its  main  bulk,  as 
far  as  it  has  survived  the  production  of  those  very  centuries,  raised  upon  a  few 
scanty  primitive  snatches.  The  theogony  is  mainly  based  upon  that  of 
Hesiod,  with  allegorizing  and  symbolizing  tendencies,  and  to  simplify  the 
Olympic  population  by  compressing  several  deities  into  a  single  one. 


>j2  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

Bacchus.  — The  God  of  wine  ;  — in  Greek  Bakchos,  Dionysos ;  and  in  the 
Mysteries,  lakchos,  the  son  of  Zeus  and  Semele.  When  young  he  was  carried 
to  Nysa  in  Thrace,  and  given  in  charge  to  the  Nymphs.  Here  he  taught  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine  and  other  products  of  horticulture.  Intoxicating  drinks 
are  attributed  to  his  invention.  In  consequence  of  being  smitten  with  mad- 
ness by  Here,  he  wandered  through  many  countries  attended  by  the  Nymphs, 
who  were  crowned  with  ivy  and  vine  leaves  and  bore  in  their  hands  the  thyrsus, 
a  pole  bound  round  with  leaves  and  fruit.  Wherever  he  came,  in  his  wide 
progress,  there  is  a  Nysa.  His  worship,  coming  originally  from  the  East,  was 
introduced  into  Greece  by  Malampus,  and  spread  over  the  whole  known  earth, 
and  was  modified  by  each  people,  among  whom  it  was  practised,  to  suit,  per- 
haps, their  own  former  ideas  of  religious  rites  and  mysteries ;  consequently  he 
received  a  great  many  surnames.  He  was  called  Lenseos,  from  the  wine-vat, 
lenos ;  Bromius,  from  the  shouting  in  his  worship,  bromos;  Euios  (Latin  Evius), 
from  the  exclamation  Euoi,  etc. 

The  worship  of  Bacchus  was  accompanied  with  noisy  rites,  games,  and  dra- 
matic entertainments,  wherein  there  were  excessive,  joyful  manifestations  and 
merriment ;  in  fact,  they  degenerated  in  time  into  noisy,  drunken  orgies  of 
the  most  extravagant  character.  The  festivals  deserving  notice  were  :  i .  The 
Attic  Dionysia ;  the  Minor  or  Country  Dionysia  were  celebrated  in  the  coun- 
try, in  the  month  Poseideon,  at  the  time  of  the  grape-gathering.  This  was 
followed,  in  the  month  Gametion,  by  the  Lensea,  which  was  peculiar  to  Athens. 
After  the  Lengea  came  the  Anthesterion,  when  the  new  wine  was  first  drunk. 
Last  came  the  Great  Dionysia,  which  were  celebrated  in  the  month  Elaphe- 
bolion.  2.  The  Triateric  Dionysia — celebrated  every  third  year  in  midwinter. 
These  were  celebrated  by  women  and  girls,  and  the  orgies  were  held  at  night 
on  the  mountains,  with  torches  and  wildest  enthusiasm.  This  mystic  solem- 
nity came  from  Thrace,  and  its  institution  is  referred  to  Orpheus.  It  cannot 
be  determined  when  it  was  adopted  in  Greece.  3.  The  Bacchanalia,  whose 
foundation  was  laid  in  Athens,  during  the  Peloponnesian  War,  by  the  intro- 
duction of  foreign  rites.     From  Greece  they  went  to  Italy. 

As  early  as  496  B.C.  the  Greek  worship  of  Bacchus  was  carried  to  Rome 
with  that  of  Ceres ;  Ceres,  Liber,  and  Libera  were  worshipped  in  the  same 
temple.  The  Liberalia  were  celebrated  on  the  17th  of  March,  and  were  of  a 
simpler  and  ruder  kind  than  the  Dionysia  of  Athens. 

These  rites  finally  were  accompanied  with  such  licentiousness  as  to  threaten 
the  destruction  of  morality,  and  even  of  society  itself.  Celebrated  at  first  by 
women  only,  men  were  afterward  admitted,  and  were  made  the  occasion  of 
most  unnatural  excesses.  About  B.C.  186,  the  government  instituted  an  inquiry 
into  these  rites,  and  finally  suppressed  the  Bacchanalia. 

After  the  vintage  a  poem  was  acted  at  the  festival  of  Bacchus,  to  whom 
a  goat  was  then  sacrificed  as  being  the  destroyer  of  the  vines,  and  therefore  it 
was  called  tragodia,  the  goat's  song  (Serv.  ad  Verg.  G.  II.  381).  Hence  the 
derivation  of  "  tragedy  "  :  tragos,  a  goat ;  and  oda,  song. 


HISTORY  OF  INITIATION.  -^ 


CHAPTER   III. 

History  of  Initution  by  Countries  and  Systems. 

Origin  of  Initiation.  —  Dr.  Oliver,  in  his  history  of  initiation,  says  :  — 

"  The  universal  deluge  would  produce  a  tremendous  effect  on  the  minds  of  the  survivors,  and, 
as  a  knowledge  of  this  terrible  event  was  propagated  amongst  their  posterity,  it  would  naturally  be 
accompanied  by  a  veneration  for  the  piety,  and  afterward  for  the  persons  of  the  favored  few  who 
were  preserved  from  destruction  by  the  visible  interference  of  the  Divinity.  This  veneration 
increasing  with  the  march  of  time,  and  with  the  increasing  oblivion  of  the  peculiar  manner  in 
which  their  salvation  was  accomplished,  at  length  assumed  the  form  of  an  idolatrous  worship, 
and  Nimrod,  the  first  open  apostate,  instituted  a  service  of  divine  honors  to  Noah  and  his  triple 
offspring,  who  were  identified  with  the  Sabian  worship  and  gave  the  original  impulse  to  the 
helioarkite  superstition. 

"  Hence  the  sun  and  Noah  were  worshipped  in  conjunction  with  the  moon  and  the  ark,  which 
latter  subsequently  represented  the  female  principle,  and  was  acknowledged  in  different  nations, 
under  the  various  appellations  of  Isis,  Venus,  Astarte,  Ceres,  Proserpine,  Rhea,  Sita,  Ceridwen, 
Frea,  etc.;  while  the  former,  or  male  principle,  assumed  the  name  of  Osiris,  Saturn,  Jupiter, 
Neptune,  Bacchus,  Adonis,  Hu,  Brahma,  Odin,  etc.,  which  by  degrees  introduced  the  abomina- 
tions of  the  phallic  worship.  When  Venus  represented  the  ark  itself,  Minerva  the  divine  Wisdom 
and  Justice,  which  produced  the  deluge  and  preserved  the  ark  upon  its  waters.  Iris  was  the  rain- 
bow, and  Juno  the  arkite  dove. 

"  On  these  rude  beginnings  the  whole  complicated  machinery  of  the  Mysteries  was  formed, 
which  completely  banished,  from  the  political  horizon  of  idolatry,  the  true  knowledge  of  God  and 
of  a  superintending  providence.  Each  of  these  deities  had  legitimate  and  appropriate  symbols 
which  ultimately  became  substituted  for  the  antitype,  and  introduced  among  mankind  the  worship 
of  animals  and  the  inanimate  objects  of  creation." 

Faber  said  :  "  The  ancient  mythologists  considered  the  whole  frame  of  the 
heavens  in  the  light  of  an  enormous  ship.  In  it  they  placed  the  sun,  as  the 
fountain  of  light  and  heat,  and  assigned  to  him,  as  the  acknowledged  represent- 
ative of  the  Great  Father,  the  office  of  pilot "  (Pag.  Idol.,  Vol.  I.  36). 

In  the  several  systems  of  initiation  there  were  involved  all  the  confused 
and  complicated  mechanism  of  their  mythologies.  After  the  candidate  had 
passed  through  all  preliminary  rites  and  ceremonies,  he  was  subjected  to  a 
representation  of  a  mystical  death ;  thereby  signifying  an  oblivion  of  all  the 
stains  and  imperfections  of  a  corrupted  and  an  evil  life ;  as  also  a  descent  into 
hades,  where  every  pollution  was  to  be  purged  by  the  lustrations,  by  purifica- 
tions of  fire,  wafer,  and  air,  after  which  the  Epopt,  considered  to  have  been 
regenerated,  or  new  born,  was  restored  to  a  renovated  existence  of  life,  light, 
and  purity,  and  placed  under  divine  protection. 

The  inteUigent  Mason  will,  from  this,  discover  the  origin  of  the  rites  in  the 
3d  degree  of  Symbolic  Masonry,  and  the  5th  and  31st  degrees,  A.'.  A.-.S.-.R.*. 

The  ceremony  of  the  Taurobolium  and  Criobolium,  or  the  bloody  baptism 
of  the  Bull  and  Ram,  are  said  to  have  originated  from  this  regeneration. 

The  Mysteries,  in  all  their  forms,  were  funereal.     They  celebrated  the 


74 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


mystical  death  and  revivification  of  some  individual,  by  the  use  of  emblems, 
symbols,  and  allegorical  representations. 

It  is  said  by  some  that  the  original  legend  of  initiation  was  as  follows  : 
Osiris,  who  was  the  king  of  Egypt,  left  the  government  of  his  kingdom  to  his 
wife  Isis,  while  he  travelled  among  the  nations  around  him,  to  confer  benefits 
upon  them  by  instructing  them  in  the  arts  and  agriculture.  Upon  his  return 
he  was  invited  to  a  grand  entertainment  given  by  his  brother  Typhon,  in 
November,  when  the  sun  appears  in  Scorpio.  Typhon  produced  a  valuable 
chest  inlaid  with  gold,  and  promised  it  to  any  one  present  whose  body  it 
would  most  conveniently  contain.  Osiris  was  induced  to  get  into  it,  and 
immediately  the  cover  was  closed,  and  he  was  fastened  in  it,  and  it  was  thrown 
into  the  river.  This  represented  the  Aphanistn  of  the  Mysteries.  The  chest 
containing  the  body  of  Osiris  floated  into  the  sea  and  was  carried  to  Byblus, 
in  Phoenicia,  and  was  cast  up  at  the  foot  of  a  tamarind  tree.  [The  tamarind 
tree  is  a  species  of  acacia,  and  hence  the  use  of  the  acacia  in  the  burial  of  a 
Mason.] 

Isis,  going  in  search  of  Osiris,  passed  through  many  adventures,  which  are 
very  much  varied  by  different  authors,  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  body  of 
Osiris,  and  returned  to  Egypt,  designing  to  give  it  a  splendid  interment. 
Typhon,  however,  again  got  possession  of  it,  and  severed  it  into  fourteen  parts 
and  secreted  them  in  as  many  different  parts  of  the  country.  Isis  again  set  out 
in  search  of  these  several  parts,  and  succeeded  in  finding  the  scattered  frag- 
ments, and  buried  them  in  the  places  where  they  were  found,  except  one  part. 
It  was  then  proclaimed  that  Osiris  was  risen  from  the  dead ;  this  was  the 
£uresis. 

These  rites  were  celebrated  in  Greece,  in  honor  of  Bacchus  and  Rhea ;  at 
Byblus,  of  Adonis  and  Venus;  in  India,  of  Mahadeva  and  Sita ;  in  Britain, 
of  Hu  and  Ceridwen ;  in  Scandinavia,  of  Woden  and  Frea  ;  etc.  In  every 
instance,  these  divinities  represented  the  sun  and  moon,  the  sources  of  light 
and  heat. 

Bryant  describes  the  emblems  by  which  Rhea  was  designated  as  follows  :  — 

"  She  is  figured  as  a  beautiful  female  personage,  and  has  a  chaplet,  in  which  are  seen  ears  of 
corn,  like  rays.  Her  right  hand  reclines  on  a  pillar  of  stone,  in  her  left  are  spikes  of  corn,  and  on 
each  side  a  pomegranate.  Close  by  her  side  stands  the  beehive,  out  of  the  top  of  which  there 
arise  corn  and  flowers,  to  denote  the  renewal  of  seasons  and  promise  of  plenty.  In  the  centre 
of  these  fruits  the  favorite  emblem,  the  pomegranate,  appears  again,  and  crowns  the  whole." 

COUNTRIES.  Hindoostan.  —  It  is  perhaps  possible  that  in  this  very 
ancient  country  may  be  found  the  origin  of  these  religious  rites  which  spread 
far  and  wide  among  all  the  nations  of  the  Orient. 

From  the  annals  of  India  we  learn  that  it  was  derived  from  the  seven 
Rishis,  or  "  penitents,"  whose  virtues  raised  them  to  the  heavens  and  placed 
them  where  they  have  ever  since  represented  the  constellation  of  the  Great 
Bear,  two  of  which  seven  stars  constantly  point  to  the  North  Star. 


HINDOOSTAN. 


75 


The  word  "  Rishis "  means  the  "  Shiners,"  and  it  also  means  a  Bear, 
because  his  coat  of  hair  shines.  These  seven  are  supposed  to  represent  the 
seven  sons  of  Japheth.  From  Maurice,  Hist.  Hind.  (Vol.  II.  p.  45),  we  learn  : 
"  It  is  related  in  Padmapooraun  that  Satyavrata,  whose  miraculous  preserva- 
tion from  a  general  deluge  is  told  at  large  in  the  Matsya,  had  three  sons,  the 
eldest  of  whom  was  named  Jyapeti,  or  Lord  of  the  Earth ;  the  others  were 
Charma  and  Sharma,  which  last  words  are  in  the  vulgar  dialects  usually  pro- 
nounced Cham  and  Sham,  as  we  frequently  hear  Kishn  for  Chrisna.  The 
royal  patriarch  —  for  such  is  his  character  in  the  Pooraun  —  was  particularly  fond 
of  Jyapeti,  to  whom  he  gave  all  the  regions  to  the  north  of  Himalaya,  or  the 
snowy  mountains,  which  extend  from  sea  to  sea,  a7id  of  which  Caucasus  is  a 
part ;  to  Sharma  he  allotted  the  countries  to  the  south  of  these  mountains ; 
but  he  cursed  Charma,  because  when  the  old  monarch  was  accidentally  inebri- 
ated with  strong  liquor  made  of  fermented  rice,  Charma  laughed ;  and  it  was 
in  consequence  of  his  father's  execration  that  he  became  a  slave  to  the  slaves 
of  his  brothers." 

It  is  supposed  that  originally  the  primitive  inhabitants  practised  a  patri- 
archal religion ;  i.e.,  the  patriarch  or  chief  of  a  family  or  tribe  was  king, 
priest,  and  prophet.  He  ruled  the  commune,  offered  all  the  sacrifices,  and 
instructed  his  people  in  all  religious  matters.  Subsequently,  when  conquered 
by  the  Cuthites  under  Rama,  the  son  of  Cush,  referred  to  in  Genesis  x.  2,  7,^ 
the  Mysteries  of  the  deluge  were  introduced.  The  worship  soon  became  divided 
into  two  sects.  We  are  not  fully  apprised  when  was  first  introduced  the 
Bramanic  system,  —  composed  of  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva,  constituting  the 
Trimurti,  —  nor  do  our  Hmits  permit  us  to  elaborate  on  this  point ;  hence  we 
simply  introduce  this  feature  to  show  that,  in  the  division  referred  to  above, 
one  branch  was  mild  and  benevolent,  and  addressed  to  Vishnu,  the  second 
person  of  the  "Trinity,"  who  was  represented  in  the  system  as  the  "Pre- 
server," and  who  appeared  on  earth  in  the  flesh  —  and  is  supposed  to  have,  in 
the  nine  successive  "  Avatars,"  represented  that  number  of  animal  forms,  and 
accomplished  as  many  miraculous  events  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  Com- 
pare this  feature  with  the  subsequent  acts  of  all  the  heroes,  represented  in  all  the 
myths  as  the  sun.  The  other  system  proclaimed  the  superiority  of  Siva,  whc 
was  called  the  "  Destroyer,"  and  the  representative  of  terror  and  penance, 
barbarity  and  blood  ;  in  Egypt,  represented  by  Typhon. 

These  Mysteries,  whatever  may  have  been  their  origin,  or  for  what  purposes 
they  were  then  instituted,  were  certainly  a  corruption  of  the  original  worship 
of  the  one  Deity.  They  bore  a  direct  reference  to  the  happiness  of  Man  in 
Paradise,  where  he  was  first  placed ;  his  subsequent  deviations  and  transgres- 
sions, and  the  destruction  of  the  race  by  the  general  deluge.  They  used 
subterranean   caverns   and   grottos,  formed   in  the  solid  rocks  or  in  secret 

1  "And  the  sons  of  Cush,  Seba,  and  Havilah,  and  Sabtah,  and  Raamah,  and  Sabtecha;  and 
the  sons  of  Raamah,  Theba,  and  Dedan."     (See  Explanation  of  Map.) 


•jQ  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

recesses  of  their  structures,  erected  for  the  purpose.     The  most  of  these  Mys- 
teries are  unknown  to  us. 

Bryant  says  that  the  earhest  religious  dance  was  a  wild  and  frantic 
movement,  accompanied  with  the  clashing  of  swords  and  shields,  and  called 
Bertarmus,  symbolic  of  the  confusion  which  occurred  when  the  Noachian  family 
left  the  ark.  The  great  cavern  of  Elephanta,  perhaps  the  most  ancient 
temple  in  the  world  made  by  man,  in  which  these  rites  were  performed,  and 
remaining  to  the  present  day,  is  an  evidence  of  the  magnitude  of  that  system. 
This  cavern,  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet 
square  and  eighteen  feet  high,  and  is  supported  by  four  massive  columns.  The 
walls  are  covered  with  statues  and  emblems.     Maurice  (Ind.  Ant),  says  :  — 

"  Some  of  the  figures  have  on  their  heads  a  kind  of  hehnet  of  a  pyramidal  form;  others  wear 
crowns,  rich  with  devices,  and  splendidly  decorated  with  jewels;  while  others  display  only  large 
bushy  ringlets  of  curled  or  flowing  hair.  Many  of  them  have  four  hands,  many  have  six,  and  in 
these  hands  they  grasp  sceptres  and  shields,  the  symbols  of  justice  and  ensigns  of  religion,  the 
weapons  of  war  and  trophies  of  peace." 

The  caverns  of  Salsette,  of  which  there  are  three  hundred,  all  have  within 
them  carved  and  emblematic  characters.  The  different  ranges  of  apartments 
are  connected  by  open  galleries,  and  only  by  private  entrances  could  the  most 
secret  caverns,  which  contained  the  ineffable  symbols,  be  approached,  and  so 
curiously  contrived  as  to  give  the  highest  effect  upon  the  neophytes  when  in 
the  ceremonial  of  initiation.  A  cubical  cista,  used  for  the  periodical  sepulture 
of  the  aspirant,  was  located  in  the  most  secret  recesses  of  the  cavern.  The 
consecrated  water  of  absolution  was  held  in  a  carved  basin  in  every  cavern, 
and  on  the  surface  floated  the  flowers  of  the  lotus.  The  Linga  or  Phallus 
appeared  everywhere  most  conspicuous,  and  oftentimes  in  situations  too 
disgusting  to  be  mentioned.  Dr.  Buchanan  (Res.  in  Asia),  says,  "The  tower 
of  Juggernaut  is  covered  with  indecent  emblems,  which  are  newly  painted 
when  it  is  exhibited  in  public,  and  are  objects  of  sensual  gaze  by  both  sexes'' 

The  increase  and  decrease  of  the  moon  were  the  periods  by  which 
initiations  were  governed.  The  Mysteries  were  divided  into  four  degrees. 
The  Hitopadesa  says,  "  Let  even  the  wretched  man  practise  virtue  whenever 
he  eiijoys  one  of  the  three  or  four  religious  degrees :  let  him  be  even-minded 
with  all  created  things,  and  that  disposition  will  be  the  source  of  virtue." 
Candidates  were  admitted  to  the  lesser  Mysteries  at  the  early  age  of  eight 
years.  This  consisted  in  the  investiture  of  the  Zennar,  a  sacred  cord  of  three 
threads,  supposed  to  refer  to  the  three  modes  of  purification ;  viz. :  earth,  fire, 
and  air :  water  with  them  was  air  in  a  condensed  form. 

Sacrifices  to  the  sun,  to  the  planets,  and  to  household  gods,  were  made, 
accompanied  with  ablutions  of  water,  purifications  with  dung  and  urine  of  the 
cow.  This  last  was  because  the  dung  was  the  medium  by  which  the  soil  was 
made  fertile,  and  reminded  them  of  the  doctrine  of  "  corruption  and  repro- 
duction "  taught  in  the  worship  of  Siva,  that  it  was  necessary  for  man  to  die. 


HINDOOSTAN. 


77 


his  body  to  suffer  corruption  before  it  could  be  clothed  with  immortality  by  a 
resurrection.  It  is  possible  that  their  observation  of  nature  taught  them  that 
the  seed  must  die  or  suffer  fermentation  in  the  ground  before  the  plant  could 
be  produced.  Christ  said  the  same  to  his  disciples  :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 
alone  :  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 

After  the  completion  of  the  ceremonies,  a  lecture  was  given  —  much  too 
difficult  for  the  juvenile  comprehension  —  which  principally  related  to  the 
Unity  and  Trinity  of  the  Godhead,  the  manner  of  using  the  consecrated  fire, 
and  the  rites  of  morning,  noon,  and  evening.  A  linen  garment  without  seam 
was  put  on  him,  a  cord  put  over  the  right  ear  as  a  means  of  purification,  and 
he  was  then  placed  in  charge  of  a  Brahmin  to  be  instructed  for  advancement. 
After  enduring  many  hardships,  trials,  and  rigid  penances,  restricted  from 
all  indulgences,  he  passed  his  time  mostly  in  prayer  and  ablutions  until  the  age 
of  twenty.  He  was  to  preserve  the  purity  of  his  body,  which  was  termed  the 
city  with  nine  gates,  in  which  his  soul  was  a  prisoner  ;  he  must  eat  properly  ; 
was  instructed  in  all  the  minute  ceremonies  which  were  adapted  to  every  act  of 
his  future  life,  and  by  which  he  was  to  be  distinguished  from  the  uninitiated. 
He  was  to  study  the  sacred  books,  that  he  might  have  a  competent  knowledge 
of  the  institution,  ceremonies,  and  traditions  of  religion,  which  would  qualify  him 
for  the  next  degree.  Having  attained  the  suitable  age,  if,  upon  due  examination, 
he  was  found  to  be  quaUfied  by  proper  progress  in  all  the  essentials  of  the  first 
degree,  he  was  permitted  to  enter  upon  the  probationary  ceremonies  of  the 
second.  His  austerities  were  increased.  He  supported  himself  by  begging 
charity.  Prayer,  ablutions,  and  sacrifices  occupied  his  days,  and  the  study  of 
the  heavens  his  nights  ;  and,  for  the  necessary  rest  and  repose  from  his  arduous 
and  almost  exhausting  duties,  the  first  tree  afforded  him  shelter ;  and,  after  a 
short  sleep,  he  arose  to  contemplate  the  constellations  in  the  skies,  which  were 
thought  to  resemble  various  monsters.  Sir  William  Jones  in  his  works  tells  us  : 
"  In  the  hot  season  he  sat  exposed  to  five  fires,  four  blazing  around  him,  with 
the  sun  above ;  in  the  rain  he  stood  uncovered,  without  even  a  mantle,  when 
the  clouds  poured  the  heaviest  showers ;  in  the  cold  season  he  wore  wet 
clothing,  and  went  on  increasing  by  degrees  the  austerity  of  his  devotion." 
Having  finished  this  probation,  he  was  initiated  into  the  privileges  of  the 
Mysteries. 

The  cross  was  marked  on  every  part  of  his  body,  and  he  passed  the  pro- 
bation of  the  Pastos  or  Coffin,  —  which  was  called  the  door  of  Patala  or  hell, 
—  the  Tartarus  of  the  Grecian  Mysteries. 

Having  finished  all  his  purifications,  at  the  dead  hour  of  night  he  was 
conducted  to  the  mysterious  cavern  of  gloom,  duly  prepared  for  his  reception, 
which  shone  with  light  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  sun,  proceeding  from  an 
immense  number  of  lamps.  In  rich  and  costly  robes,  the  three  hierophants 
occupied  the  east,  west,  and  south,  representing  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva. 


78 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


When  the  sun  rises  in  the  east,  he  is  called  Brahma ;  when  in  the  meridian,  he 
is  Vishnu  ;  and  at  his  setting,  he  is  Siva.  The  Mystagogues  were  seated 
around.  The  aspirant  was  conducted  to  the  centre  of  this  august  assembly. 
An  anthem  was  sung  to  the  God  of  Nature,  as  the  Creator,  Preserver,  or 
Destroyer,  and  an  apostrophe  was  addressed  to  the  sun,  viz. :  — 

"  O  mighty  being,  greater  than  Brahma,  we  bow  down  before  thee  as  the  prime  Creator! 
Eternal  God  of  gods !  The  world's  mansion !  Thou  art  the  uncorruptible  Being,  distinct  from  all 
things  transient  1  Thou  art  before  all  gods,  the  ancient  Pooroosh,  and  the  supreme  supporter  o\ 
the  universe !  Thou  art  the  supreme  mansion !  And  by.  thee,  O  infinite  form,  the  universe  was 
spread  abroad !  " 

The  aspirant  is  then  called  upon  to  declare  that  he  will  be  obedient  to  his 
superiors,  that  he  will  keep  his  body  pure,  keep  a  tongue  of  good  report, 
passively  obey  and  receive  the  doctrines  and  traditions,  and  maintain  the 
strictest  secrecy  as  to  the  abstruse  Mysteries.  Having  assented  to  this 
declaration,  he  was  sprinkled  with  water,  an  incantation  was  pronounced  over 
him  or  whispered  in  his  right  ear,  he  was  then  divested  of  his  shoes  and  was 
made  to  circumambulate  the  cavern  three  times,  and  was  made  to  exclaim,  "  I 
copy  the  example  of  the  sun,  and  follow  his  benevolent  course."  He  was 
again  placed  in  the  centre,  and  enjoined  to  practise  the  religious  austerities,  to 
prepare  his  soul  for  ultimate  absorption.  He  was  informed  that  the  merit  of 
such  works  deserved  a  splendor  which  makes  man  superior  to  the  gods,  and 
renders  them  subservient  to  his  wishes.  He  was  then  given  in  charge  to  a 
spiritual  guide,  and  required  to  maintain  a  profound  silence  during  the 
succeeding  ceremonies,  and  should  he  violate  this  injunction  the  presiding 
Brahmin  could  instantly  strike  him  dead.  The  bewailings  for  the  loss  of  Sita 
then  began.  The  aspirant  was  conducted  through  seven  ranges  of  gloomy 
caverns,  amidst  the  dismal  lamentations,  cries,  and  shrieks,  to  represent  the 
bewailings  of  Mahadeva,  who,  it  is  said,  circumambulated  the  world  seven 
times,  carrying  the  remains  of  his  murdered  consort  upon  his  shoulders.  To 
show  the  coincidences  between  this  rite  of  India  and  Egypt,  we  give  another 
account,  which  states  that  when  Mahadeva  received  the  curse  of  some 
devotees,  whom  he  had  disturbed  at  their  devotions,  he  was  deprived  of  his 
lingam,  which  in  the  end  proved  fatal  to  his  life.  His  consort  wandered  over 
the  earth  and  filled  the  world  with  her  bewailings.  Mahadeva  was  at  length 
restored  under  the  form  of  Iswara,  and  united  once  more  to  his  beloved 
Sita. 

Amidst  all  the  confusion  a  sudden  explosion  was  heard,  which  was  followed 
by  a  dead  silence.  Flashes  of  brilliant  light  were  succeeded  by  darkness. 
Phantoms  and  shadows  of  various  forms,  surrounded  by  rays  of  light,  flitted 
across  the  gloom.  Some  with  many  hands,  arms,  and  legs  ;  others  without 
them ;  sometimes  a  shapeless  trunk,  then  a  human  body  with  the  head  of  a 
bird,  or  beast,  or  a  fish  ;  all  manner  of  incongruous  forms  and  bodies  were 
seen,  and  all  calculated  to  excite  terror  in  the  mind  of  the  postulant. 


HINDOOSTAN.  y^ 

Among  these  he  saw  a  terrible  figure  who  had 

"  A  gorgeous  appearance,  with  unnumbered  heads,  each  having  a  crown  set  with  resplendent 
jewels,  one  of  which  excelled  the  others ;  his  eyes  gleamed  like  flaming  torches,  but  his  neck,  his 
tongues,  and  his  body  were  black ;  the  skirts  of  his  garments  were  yellow,  and  sparkling  jewels 
hung  in  all  of  his  ears ;  his  arms  were  extended,  and  adorned  with  bracelets,  and  his  hands  bore 
the  holy  shell,  the  radiated  weapon,  the  war  mace,  and  the  sacred  lotus.  This  image  represented 
Mahadeva  himself,  in  his  character  of  the  Destroyer. 

"  It  is  said  in  explanation,  that  these  appearances  were  designed  as  a  type  of  the  original  gener- 
ation of  the  gods ;  for  it  was  figured,  that  as  Sita  was  carried  by  Mahadeva,  her  body  burst  open, 
and  the  gods  contained  in  her  womb  were  scattered  over  the  whole  earth,  and  the  places  where 
they  fell  were  called  sacred. 

"  In  the  legend  of  Osiris,  when  his  body  had  been  cut  in  pieces,  and  afterward  each  part  buried 
where  found  by  Isis,  that  particular  locality  was  deemed  sacred.  The  introduction  of  the  lingain, 
in  each  of  these  legends,  no  doubt  refers  to  the  same  original  myth. 

"  Succeeding  to  this,  the  candidate  was  made  to  represent  the  god  Vishnu,  and  imitate  his 
several  Avatars ;  and,  following  Dr.  Oliver's  conjecture,  he  was  first  plunged  into  the  waters  to 
represent  the  fish-god,  who  descended  to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  to  recover  the  stolen  Vedas. 
This  was  called  the  Matse  Avatar,  and  gives  an  account  of  the  general  deluge.  The  Vedas  were 
stolen  by  the  demon  Hayagriva,  who  swallowed  them,  and  retired  to  a  secret  place  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sea;  these  books  being  lost,  mankind  fell  into  vice  and  wickedness,  the  world  was  destroyed 
by  a  flood  of  waters,  except  a  pious  monarch  with  his  family  of  seven  persons,  who  were  pre- 
served in  a  vessel  built  under  the  direction  of  Vishnu. 

"When  the  waters  had  attained  their  greatest  elevation  this  god  plunged  into  the  ocean, 
attacked  and  slew  the  giant,  who  was  the  cause  of  this  great  calamity,  and  recovered  three  of  the 
books  from  the  monster's  abdomen,  the  fourtli  having  been  digested.  Then  emerging  from  the 
waves,  half  man,  half  fish,  he  presented  the  Vedas  to  Brahma;  and  the  earth,  resuming  its  former 
state,  was  repeopled  by  the  eight  persons  who  had  been  miraculously  preserved."  (Maur.,  Ind. 
Ant.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  353.)     (Fig  7.) 

"Another  Avatar  was  also  a  figurative  account  of  the  deluge.  Satyavrata,  a  king  of  India, 
was  instructed  by  a  fish,  that  in  seven  days  the  world  would  be  inundated  ;  but  that  a  ship  would 
be  sent  in  which  himself  and  seven  holy  companions  would  be  preserved.  These  persons  entered 
the  vessel,  and  the  waters  prevailed  so  extensively  as  to  destroy  all  created  matter.  The  Soars 
then  held  a  consultation  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Mera  to  discover  the  Amreeta,  or  water  of  im- 
mortality, allusive  to  the  reanimation  of  nature;  and  learned  that  it  could  be  produced  only  by 
the  violent  revolution  of  the  Mountain  Mandar,  which  the  Dewtahs  found  themselves  unable  to 
move.  In  despair,  they  solicited  the  aid  of  Brahma  and  Vishnu,  who  instructed  them  how  to 
proceed ;  the  Serpent  Vasooke  wound  the  folds  of  his  enormous  body  round  the  mountain  like  a 
cable,  and  Vishnu  becoming  incarnate  in  the  form  of  a  tortoise,  took  the  mountain  on  his  back. 
Thus  loosened  from  its  foundation,  Indra  began  to  whirl  the  mountain  about  with  incessant  mo- 
tion with  the  assistance  of  the  Assoors,  who  were  employed  at  the  serpent's  head,  and  the  Soors 
who  were  at  the  tail  (see  Fig.  17).  Soon  the  violence  of  the  motion  produced  a  stream  of  smoke, 
fire,  and  wind,  which  ascending  in  thick  clouds,  replete  with  lightning,  it  began  to  rain  furiously, 
while  the  roaring  of  the  Ocean  was  tremendous.  The  various  productions  of  the  waters  were  torn 
to  pieces;  the  fruits  of  the  earth  were  annihilated,  and  a  raging  fire  spread  destruction  all  around. 
At  length  a  stream  of  the  concocted  juice  of  the  dissolved  matter  ran  down  the  mountain  mixed 
with  molten  gold,  from  whence  the  Soors  obtained  the  water  of  immortality,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  restoration  of  nature  from  the  power  of  the  triumphant  waters."    (Maur.,  Ind.  Ant.,  Vol.  II., 

P-  343-)  ' 

"  Then  the  Soors  and  Assoors  commenced  a  dreadful  battle  for  the  possession  of  this  glorious 
water,  which  at  length  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  Soors,  and  their  opponents  fled  ;  some  rushing 
headlong  into  the  ocean,  and  others  hiding  themselves  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  The  Mountain 
Mander  was  then  carefully  replaced  in  its  former  station  and  the  waters  restored  to  their  primitive 
caverns  and  recesses. 

"The  candidate  was  directed  to  descend  into  a  lower  cavern  on  hands  and  feet,  through  a 
passage  barely  large  enough  to  admit  him.      Here  he  met  an  antagonist,  and  a  mimic  battle 


8o 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


followed,  and  the  aspirant  was  victorious.  Elated  with  his  conquest,  the  gigantic  monster  attacked 
him  and  he  was  again  the  conqueror.  He  was  then  taught  to  take  three  steps  at  right  angles, 
which  referred  to  the  fifth  manifestation  [which  are  now  used  in  3d  degree,  French  rite].  As  a 
diminutive  Brahmin,  Vishnu  demanded  of  the  impious  tyrant  Bali  as  much  ground  for  sacrifice  as 
would  suffice  to  place  three  feet  upon.  The  tyrant  granted  this.  Vishnu,  resuming  his  own  form, 
with  one  foot  covered  the  earth,  with  the  other  he  filled  all  space  between  earth  and  heaven,  and 
with  a  third,  which  sprang  from  his  belly,  he  crushed  the  monster's  head,  and  hurled  him  down  to 
the  infernal  regions. 

"  In  the  remaining  Avatars  he  passed  through  a  series  of  furious  conflicts,  not  without  wounds 
and  bruises.  In  the  sixth  Avatar,  in  the  human  form,  Vishnu  encountered  and  overcame  hosts  of 
giants  and  tyrants.  The  seventh  Avatar  is  a  complete  and  voluminous  romance ;  under  the  name 
of  Rama,  he  is  represented  as  a  valiant  and  successful  warrior.  With  a  vast  army  of  monkeys 
and  satyrs,  in  battle  array,  he  accomplished  many  wonderful  adventures.  In  the  eighth  Avatar 
he  slew  a  host  of  giants,  armed  only  with  an  enormous  serpent,  and  in  the  ninth  he  transformed 
himself  into  a  tree  to  gratify  a  criminal  passion  for  a  king's  daughter.  The  Hindoos  still  expect 
the  tenth  Avatar  with  the  same  impatience  which  the  Jews  manifest  for  their  Messiah.  Sir 
William  Jones  says,  that  in  this  Avatar  '  he  is  expected  to  appear  mounted  (like  the  crowned 
conquerors  in  the  Apocalypse),  on  a  white  horse,  with  a  cimeter,  blazing  like  a  comet,  to  cut 
down  all  incorrigible  and  impenitent  offenders  who  shall  then  be  on  the  earth.'  "  (Asiatic  Rev., 
Vol.  I.,  p.  236.) 

It  was  necessary  that  the  candidate  should  undergo  all  these  dangers  and 
trials  to  make  him  equal  to  the  gods. 

Having  passed  through  the  seven  mystic  caverns,  a  cheerful  sound  of  bells 
was  heard,  which  he  was  told  would  expel  the  evil  demons  who  might  be 
incHned  to  disturb  the  sacred  ceremonies  in  which  they  were  engaged. 

Prior  to  his  introduction  into  the  presence  of  the  holy  altar,  he  was 
informed  that  "  whatever  is  performed  without  faith,  whatever  it  might  be,  is 
not  for  this  world,  or  that  which  is  above."  He  was  admonished  not  to 
commit  five  crimes,  under  heavy  penalties  in  this  life,  and  to  be  punished 
with  eternal  vengeance  in  the  next.  These  particulars  formed  a  part  of  the 
oath  under  which  he  was  now  solemnly  bound,  and  he  sealed  it  by  a  sacred 
ablution. 

The  seven  caverns  bore  an  allusion  to  the  metempsychosis  as  well  as  to  the 
seven  places  of  reward  and  punishment  which  different  nations  have  admitted 
into  their  creeds. 

The  crisis  of  the  ceremony  of  initiation  had  now  arrived,  and  reached  the 
summit  of  interest ;  the  Mystical  conch  was  sounded,  the  folding  doors  were 
thrown  open,  and  the  candidate  was  ushered  into  Callasa  or  Paradise  (this 
was  the  actual  name  of  one  of  the  grottos  in  the  subterranean  temple  of 
Elora,  and  Faber  supposed  it  to  have  been  the  illuminated  sacellum  into 
which  the  aspirants  were  introduced).  This  spacious  apartment  was  lighted 
by  a  thousand  brilliant  lamps.  It  was  ornamented  with  statues  and  emblems, 
scented  with  the  rich  fragrance  of  odorous  flowers,  aromatics,  and  drugs, 
decorated  profusely  with  valuable  gems  and  jewels.  The  figures  of  the 
inhabitants  of  unknown  worlds  were  carved  in  the  ceiling ;  and  the  splendid 
sacellum  thronged  with  priests,  arrayed  in  gorgeous  vestments  and  crowned 
with   mitres   and  tiaras  of  burnished  gold.     He  was  taught  to  expect   the 


HINDOOSTAM.  gl 

descent  of  the  deity  in  the  bright  pyramids  of  fire  that  blazed  upon  the  altar, 
to  which  he  was  to  direct  his  eyes. 

"  The  sudden  sound  of  the  shell  or  trumpet,  the  expansion  of  the  folding  doors,  the  brilliant 
display,  the  instantaneous  prostration  of  the  priests,  and  the  profound  silence  which  ensued,  were 
designed  to  fill  the  mind  of  the  aspirant  with  admiration,  and  inspire  him  with  the  holy  fervor  of 
adoration  ;  and,  in  the  enthusiasm  which  followed,  he  could  almost  persuade  himself  that  he  saw 
the  great  Brahma  seated  on  the  lotus,  with  his  four  heads,  and  having  in  his  hands  the  emblems 
of  eternity  and  omnipotence,  the  circle  and  fire." 

The  circle  or  ring  is  the  symbol  of  the  Ark;  and  as  the  great  Father  was  hidden  within  its 
enclosure  during  the  flood  of  waters,  many  fables  sprang  out  of  this  connection ;  one  of  which 
was  the  "  Ring  of  Gyges,"  which  was  reputed  to  render  the  wearer  invisible.  "  Gyges,"  said  Plato, 
"  found  a  brazen  horse  in  a  cavern.  Within  the  horse  was  hid  the  body  of  a  man  of  gigantic 
stature,  having  a  brazen  ring  on  his  finger.  This  ring  Gyges  took,  and  found  that  it  rendered  him 
invisible."  The  cavern,  the  ring,  and  the  giant  show  pretty  evidently  whence  this  fable  originated. 
The  mare  was  a  form  of  Ceres  or  Hippa,  the  Mystic  nurse  of  the  ark-exposed  Bacchus  or  Noah. 
The  man,  therefore,  was  the  ark;  the  dead  giant  was  the  gigantic  Buddha,  or  the  great  Father, 
during  the  period  of  his  death-like  slumber  while  enclosed  within  the  ark;  and  the  cavern  was 
one  of  those  sacred  grottos,  within  which  the  Mysteries  were  perpetually  celebrated ;  and  from 
which  both  he  and  his  initiated  votaries  were  feigned  to  be  born  again.     (Fab.,  Pag.  Idol.). 

We  cannot  see  clearly  the  above  explanation,  but  give  it  as  we  find  it  in 
Faber's  "  Pagan  Idolatry."  No  explanation  is  given  of  the  ring.  The  mystery 
connected  with  its  power  of  concealment  is  not  explained  ;  yet  the  ring 
appears  in  the  legends  and  myths  of  various  countries,  and  is  constantly  used 
in  the  A.*.  A.".S.".R.".,  and  no  doubt  was  derived  from  the  "  Ring  of  Gyges," 
when  first  adopted  in  the  rite.  In  reference  to  the  fire,  we  find  in  "Asia.  Res." 
Vol.  II,  385,  that  "  Suddenly  a  golden  temple  appeared,  containing  a  chain  of 
wrought  gold.  On  the  summit  of  the  temple  Brahma  alighted,  and  held  a 
canopy  over  the  head  of  Sacya ;  while  Indra,  with  a  fan  in  his  hand,  Naga, 
prince  of  serpents,  and  the  four  tutelary  deities  of  the  four  corners  of  the 
universe,  attended  to  do  him  reverence  and  service." 

The  aspirant,  who  had  become  fatigued  by  all  of  these  tedious  ceremonies, 
was  then  given  a  potation  of  fermented  liquor,  from  a  human  skull. ^  Being  a 
regenerated  being,  a  new  name  was  bestowed  upon  him,  which  indicated  his 
then  purity,  and  was  presented  to  the  Chief  Brahmin,  and  was  received  by 
him  as  a  brother  and  companion.  He  was  then  invested  with  a  white  robe 
and  tiara,  placed  in  an  elevated  seat,  and  instructed  in  the  various  tokens  and 
signs,  and  also  in  the  explanations  of  the  Mysteries.  A  cross,  the  sectarial 
mark  called  Tiluka,  was  placed  on  his  forehead,  and  explained  to  be  the  symbol 
of  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  world.  The  tau  cross  or  inverted  level  was 
inscribed  on  his  breast,  the  badge  of  innocence  and  the  symbol  of  eternal  Ufe, 
to  indicate  his  newly  acquired  dignity,  which  advanced  him  to  the  superior 
order  of  priesthood.  The  sacred  sash  or  belt  was  presented  and  placed  upon 
him.  This  cord  could  be  woven  only  by  a  Brahmin,  and  by  him  with  the 
utmost  solemnity  and  by  many  mystic  rites.  Three  threads,  each  measuring 
ninety-six  hands,  are  first  twisted  together,  then  they  are  folded  into  three  and 

^  Old  Simon. 


82  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

tAvisted  again,  making  nine,  or  three  times  three  threads ;  this  is  folded  again 
into  three,  but  not  twisted,  and  each  end  is  secured  by  a  knot.  This  is  the 
Zennar,  which  is  placed  on  the  left  shoulder,  passes  to  the  right  side,  and 
hangs  down  as  low  as  the  fingers  can  reach  (Ind.  Ant.,  Vol.  IV.  p.  740).  In 
addition,  he  has  the  consecrated  chaplet,  the  Kowsteke-Men  or  Kowstooble, 
and  the  talismanic  tablet  for  the  left  arm.  An  amulet  was  given  to  him, 
which  was  the  "  Salagram  "  or  magical  black-stone,  which  insured  the  pro- 
tection of  Vishnu,  whose  various  forms  he  had  represented  emblematically. 
The  serpent-stone,  as  an  antidote  against  the  bite  of  serpents,  which  is  an 
amulet  similar  to  the  anguinum  of  the  Druids,  was  also  given  to  him.  He  was 
instructed  in  the  art  of  composing  amulets  for  his  own  safety,  and  incantations 
to  injure,  torture,  or  destroy  his  enemies,  and  finally,  when  all  other  things  had 
been  completed,  he  was  solemnly  and  in  a  mysterious  manner  intrusted  with 
the  sublime  NAME,  known  only  to  those  initiated  into  the  higher  Mysteries. 
The  NAME  was  pronounced  OM,  and  was  expressed  by  the  letters  A.  U.  M. 
Niebuhr,  cited  by  Southey,  Thalaba,  says  :  "  The  Mahommedans,  in  common 
with  the  Jews  and  idolaters,  attach  to  the  knowledge  of  this  Sacred  Name  the 
most  wonderful  powers.  They  pretend  that  God  is  the  Lock  of  Islam  Allah, 
or  science  of  the  name  of  God,  and  Mohammed  the  King ;  that  consequently 
none  but  Mohammedans  can  attain  to  it ;  that  it  discovers  what  passes  in 
distant  countries ;  that  it  familiarizes  the  possessors  with  the  genii,  who  are  at 
the  command  of  the  initiated,  and  who  instruct  them  ;  that  it  places  the  winds 
and  the  seasons  at  their  disposal ;  that  it  heals  the  bite  of  serpents,  the  lame, 
the  maimed,  and  the  blind."  In  the  oracles  ascribed  to  Zoroaster  is  a  passage 
which  pronounces  the  sacred  Names  used  in  the  Mysteries  to  be  ineffable,  and 
not  to  be  changed,  because  revealed  by  himself.  Wilkins,  in  his  notes  on 
Bhagvad-Gita,  says :  "  This  mystic  emblem  of  the  deity,  '  OM,'  is  forbidden 
to  be  pronounced  but  in  silence."  The  first  letter  stands  for  the  Creator,  the 
second  for  the  Preserver,  and  the  third  for  the  Destroyer.  Maurice,  "  Indian 
Antiquities,"  says,  "The  perfections  of  God  are  thus  described  in  the  last  book 
of  the  Ramayan,  translated  by  Sir  William  Jones, '  Vishnu  is  the  being  of  beings  ; 
one  substance  in  three for7ns  ;  without  mode,  without  quality,  without  passion; 
immense,  incomprehensible,  infinite,  indivisible,  immutable,  incorporeal,  irre- 
sistible. His  operations  no  mind  can  conceive,  and  his  will  moves  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  universe  as  puppets  are  moved  by  strings.' "  Mr.  Faber 
says  that  this  cypher  graphically  exhibits  the  divine  triad,  Batrama,  Subhadra, 
and  Jagannath.  In  an  old  Purana,  as  we  learn  from  the  Abb6  du  Bois,  the 
following  passage  is  found,  which  shows  the  veneration  displayed  by  the  ancient 
Indians  for  this  tremendous  word  :  "  All  the  rights  ordained  in  the  Vedas,  the 
sacrifices  to  the  fire,  and  all  other  solemn  purifications  shall  pass  away,  but 
that  which  shall  never  pass  away  is  the  word  OM,  for  it  is  the  symbol  of  the 
Lord  of  all  things."  After  the  communication  of  this  word,  the  aspirant,  now 
a  priest,  was  instructed  that  he  must  meditate  upon  it,  "  with  the  following 


HINDOOSTAN. 


S3 


associations,  which  are  the  mysterious  names  of  the  seven  worlds,  or  manifesta- 
tions of  the  power  of  OM,  the  solar  fire.  OM  !  earth,  sky,  heaven,  middle 
region,  place  of  births,  mansion  of  the  blessed,  abode  of  truth." 

The  various  emblems  were  then  explained  to  him  by  the  Chief  Brahmin, 
"  with  the  arcana  of  the  hidden  science  enfolded  under  the  holy  gloom  of  their 
mysterious  veil,  the  names  and  attributes  of  all  the  deities  whose  symbols 
were  sculptured  on  the  walls,  and  the  mythological  figures  were  elucidated." 

The  system  of  symbolic  instruction  used  in  the  Mysteries  was  very 
extensive  and  highly  philosophic,  and  none  but  the  initiated  could  compre- 
hend them. 

Stukely  says  the  first  learning  in  the  world  consisted  chiefly  in  symbols. 
The  wisdom  of  the  Chaldeans,  Phoenicians,  Egyptians,  Jews,  of  Zoroaster, 
Sanconiathon,  Pherecydes,  Syrus,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  Plato,  of  all  the 
ancients  that  is  come  to  our  hand,  is  symbolic.  "  It  was  the  mode,"  says 
Sacranus  on  Plato's  symposium,  "  of  the  ancient  philosophers  to  represent 
truth  by  certain  symbols  and  hidden  images." 

In  the  method  explaining  the  various  symbols,  religion  and  philosophy 
were  veiled  in  allegoric  representations.  To  the  profane  unintelligible,  and 
which  were  calculated  to  lead  them  erroneously,  these  symbols  were  displayed 
openly  in  the  temples ;  and  to  the  profane  altogether  obscure,  but  streaming 
with  beams  of  light  to  the  initiated. 

The  principles,  taught  in  the  lecture  to  the  initiated,  were  :  — 

"  The  first  element  and  cause  of  all  things  was  water,  which  existed  amidst  primordial  dark- 
ness. Brahma  was  the  creator  of  this  globe,  and  by  his  spirit  invigorates  the  seventy-four  powers 
of  nature;  but  the  universe  is  without  beginning  and  without  end.  He  is  the  being  who  was,  and 
is,  and  is  to  come ;  and  his  emblem  was  a  perfect  sphere,  endowed  with  the  attributes  of  omnipo- 
tence, omnipresence,  and  omniscience,  and  was  designated  ;  '  The  great  God,  the  great  Omnipotent 
and  Omniscient  ONE;  the  greatest  in  the  world,  the  LORD.'  " 

Captain  Seely,  "  Wonders  of  Elora,"  says  "there  is  no  idol  in  front  of  the 
great  altar  in  the  temple  of  Ekverah,  or  at  Elora ;  the  umbrella  covering  rises 
from  a  wooden  pedestal  out  of  the  convexity  of  the  altar.  A  Brahmin,  whom 
I  questioned  on  the  subject  of  the  altar,  exclaimed,  in  nearly  the  words  of  our 
own  poet,  'Him  first,  Him  last,  Him  midst.  Him  without  end:  "  In  alluding  to 
the  Almighty,  he  nearly  spoke  as  above  described,  placing  his  hand  on  this 
circular  solid  mass.  He  rejected  all  idea  of  assimilating  Buddha  or  Brahma 
with  the  eternal  God,  who,  he  said,  was  One  alone,  from  beginning  to  end ; 
and  that  the  circular  altar  was  his  emblem. 

Colebrooke,  "  Asiatic  Researches,"  tells  us  this  Being  was  identified  with 
Light  ;  for  the  Brahmins  say  :  "  Because  the  Being  who  shines  with  seven  rays, 
assuming  the  forms  of  time  and  fire,  matures  productions,  is  resplendent,  illumi- 
nates, and  finally  destroys  the  universe,  therefore  he  who  shines  naturally  with 
seven  rays  is  called  Light,  or  the  effulgent  power."  Thus  Brahm  is  Light; 
and  light  is  the  principle  of  life  in  every  created  thing.     "  Light  and  darkness 


84 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


are  esteemed  the  world's  eternal  ways.  He  who  walketh  in  the  former  path 
returneth  not ;  i.e.,  he  goeth  immediately  to  bliss ;  while  he  who  walketli  in 
the  latter  cometh  back  again  upon  the  earth." 

We  have  devoted  much  space  to  Hindooism  because,  in  the  country  of 
India,  the  ideas  concerning  the  creation  of  all  things,  the  deity,  and  religious 
observances,  originated ;  and  from  these  the  Mysteries  sprang  which  were 
disseminated  throughout  the  entire  world.  The  coincidences  are  so  manifest 
that  we  must  conclude  that  from  these  Hindoo  Mysteries  were  propagated  all 
those  in  China  and  Persia,  and  that  they  spread  towards  the  west  of  Asia,  and 
were  carried  into  Egypt,  and  from  thence,  as  the  Mysteries  of  Osiris  and  Isis, 
were  imported  into  Greece. 

A  few  facts  of  great  prominence  may  be  adduced  as  sufficient  to  prove  that, 
in  those  several  countries,  the  rites  were  derived  from  the  same  original 
sources. 

Avatars  of  Vishnu.  —  First.  Matsaya  —  which  is  fabled  to  have  assumed  the  form  of  a  fish, 
to  restore  the  lost  Veda  which  had  been  stolen  from  Brahma  in  his  sleep  by  the  demon  Hayagriva. 
This,  and  the  second  and  third  Avatars,  seem  to  refer  to  the  universal  deluge;  and  the  present 
would  appear  as  the  aimouncement  of  it  to  a  pious  king,  Satyavrata,  who  is  considered  by  some  to 
have  been  Noah.  He  appeared  first  in  the  shape  of  a  minute  fish  to  the  devout  monarch  to  try  his 
piety  and  benevolence,  then  gradually  expanding  himself  ha  became  one  of  immense  magnitude. 
He  subsequently  disclosed  himself  and  finally  announced  the  flood.  "  In  seven  days  from  the 
present  time  the  three  worlds  will  be  plunged  in  an  ocean  of  death ;  but,  in  the  midst  of  the 
destroying  waves,  a  large  vessel  sent  by  me  for  thy  use  shall  stand  before  thee.  Then  shalt  thou 
take  all  medicinal  herbs,  all  variety  of  seeds,  and  accompanied  by  seven  saints,  encircled  by  pairs 
of  all  brute  animals,  thou  shalt  enter  the  spacious  ark,  and  continue  in  it,  secure  from  the  flood, 
on  an  immense  ocean,  without  light,  except  the  radiance  of  thy  holy  companions.  When  the  ship 
shall  be  agitated  by  an  impetuous  wind  thou  shalt  fasten  it  with  a  large  sea-serpent  to  my  horn,  for 
I  will  be  near  thee,  drawing  the  vessel  with  thee  and  thy  attendants.  I  will  remain  on  the  ocean 
until  a  day  of  Brahma  [a  year]  shall  be  completely  ended."    (Maurice). 

When  the  deluge  was  abated  and  mankind  destroyed,  except  Satyavrata  and  his  companions, 
Vishnu  slew  the  demon  Hayagriva  and  recovered  the  lost  Veda,  or  in  other  words,  when  the 
wicked  were  destroyed  by  the  deluge,  sin  no  longer  prevailed,  and  virtue  was  restored  to  the 
world. 

Second.  Vishnu  assumed  the  form  of  an  immense  tortoise,  to  support  the  earth  while  the  gods 
and  genii  churned  with  it  the  ocean.  He  is  represented  as  a  tortoise,  sustaining  a  circular  pillar 
which  is  crowned  by  the  lotus  throne,  on  which  sits  the  semblance  of  Vishnu  in  all  his  attributes, 
A  huge  serpent  encircles  the  pillar,  one  end  is  held  by  the  gods  and  the  other  by  the  daityas  or 
demons.  By  this  churning  the  sea  was  converted  into  milk,  and  then  into  butter,  from  which, 
among  other  things,  was  produced  the  Amrita  or  water  of  life  drank  by  the  Immortals. 

An  extraordinary  belief  prevailed  among  the  Iroquois  Indians,  in  which  the  tortoise  is 
imagined  to  have  acted  an  equally  important  part  in  the  formation  of  the  globe.  They  believed 
that  before  that  period  there  were  six  male  beings  who  existed  in  the  regions  of  the  air,  but  were 
nevertheless  subjected  to  mortality.  Among  them  there  was  no  female  to  perpetuate  their  race, 
but  they  learned  that  there  was  one  in  heaven,  and  it  was  agreed  that  one  of  them  should  under- 
take the  dangerous  task  of  endeavoring  to  bring  her  away.  The  difficulty  was  how  he  should  get 
there;  for  although  he  floated  in  aether,  it  appears  he  could  not  soar  to  the  celestial  realms.  A 
bird,  therefore  (but  whether  the  eagle  of  Jove,  or  the  Garuda  of  Vishnu,  or  of  what  other  kind  we 
are  not  told),  became  his  vehicle,  and  conveyed  him  thither  on  his  back.  He  saw  the  female  and 
seduced  her  by  (what  too  many  ladies  at  the  present  day  are  led  astray  by),  flattery  and  presents, 
but  of  what  kind  we  are  also  unfortunately  left  in  ignorance.  The  Supreme  Deity  knowing  what 
had  taken  place  immediately  turned  her,  like  another  Eve,  out  of  Paradise,  and  she  was  received 


CHINA. 


85 


by  a  tortoise  on  its  back,  when  the  otter  (a  most  important  party  in  North  American  legends),  and 
the  fishes  disturbed  the  mud  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  drawing  it  up  around  the  tortoise, 
formed  a  small  island,  which  gradually  increasing  became  the  earth.  The  female  had,  at  first, 
two  sons  (one  of  whom  slew  the  other),  and  afterwards,  several  children  from  whom  sprung  the 
rest  of  mankind. 

China.  —  In  Maurice,  "  Indian  Antiquities,"  we  learn  that  "  the  Chinese 
practised  Buddhism  in  its  simple  form,  and  worshipped  an  invisible  God,  until 
a  few  centuries  b.c,  after  which  visible  objects  were  adored.  600  b.c.  a  system 
was  introduced  similar  to  that  of  Epicurus,  and  its  followers  were  called 
'  Immortals ' ;  while  the  Chinese  were  materialists,  they  were  nevertheless 
worshippers  of  idols.  In  a  very  short  period  of  time  the  Chinese  became 
as  noted  for  the  multiplicity  of  the  objects  of  adoration  as  any  other  nation." 

Confucius  endeavored  to  introduce  a  reformation  of  the  abuses ;  licentious- 
ness however,  long  continued,  would  not  submit  to  his  system  of  mortifications 
and  an  austere  virtue.  His  admonitions  were  not  regarded  ;  he  was  despised 
by  the  Mandarins  for  instituting  a  reformation  in  their  Mysteries,  which  were 
then,  as  practised,  the  main  source  of  all  their  wealth  and  of  their  power ;  and 
an  attempt,  was  made  to  put  him  out  of  the  way,  and  he  was  forced  to  flee 
from  their  society  to  avoid  their  machinations  to  destroy  him.  He  then,  in 
his  retirement,  organized  a  school  of  philosophy ;  and  all  who  were  in  any 
manner  inspired  with  a  love  of  virtue  and  science,  were  induced  to  follow  him. 
The  effects  of  his  system  were  reserved  for  posterity.  He  made  a  prediction 
on  his  death-bed  that  there  would  come  in  the  West  a  Great  Prophet,  who 
should  deliver  mankind  from  the  bondage  of  error  and  superstition,  and  set 
up  an  universal  religion  to  be  ultimately  embraced  by  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  His  followers  supposed  that  this  was  no  other  than  Buddha  or  Fo 
himself,  and  he  was  accordingly,  with  solemn  pomp,  installed  into  their 
temples  as  the  chief  deity  of  the  Chinese  empire  :  — 

"  Other  idolatrous  customs  were  introduced,  and  ideal  objects  of  worship,  attended  with 
indecent  and  unnatural  rites,  accumulated  so  rapidly  that  China  soon  became  celebrated  for  the 
practice  of  every  impurity  and  abomination. 

"  The  initiations  were  performed  in  a  cavern;  after  which,  processions  were  made  around  the 
Tan  or  altar,  and  sacrifices  made  to  the  celestial  gods.  The  chief  end  of  initiation  was  a  ficti- 
tious immortality  or  absorption  into  the  Deity ;  and,  to  secure  this  admirable  state  of  supreme  and 
never  changing  felicity,  amulets  were  as  usual  delivered  to  the  initiates,  accompanied  by  the  magic 
words,  0-Ml-TO  Fo,  which  denoted  the  omnipotence  of  the  divinity,  and  was  considered  as  a 
most  complete  purification  and  remission  of  every  sin.  Sir  William  Jones  says,  '  Omito  was 
derived  from  the  Sanskrit  Armida,  immeasurable,  and  Fo  was  a  name  for  Buddha.' 

"  Much  merit  was  attached  to  the  possession  of  a  consecrated  symbol  representing  the  great 
triad  of  the  Gentile  world.  This  was  an  equilateral  triangle,  said  to  afford  protection  in  all  cases 
of  personal  danger  and  adversity.  The  mystical  symbol  Y  was  also  much  esteemed  from  its  allu- 
sion to  the  same  Triune-God,  the  three  distinct  lines  of  which  it  is  composed  forming  otje,  and  the 
one  is  three.  This  was  in  effect  the  ineffable  name  of  the  deity,  the  Tetractys  of  Pythagoras,  and 
the  Tetragrammaton  of  the  Jews. 

"  A  ring,  supported  by  two  serpents,  was  emblematic  of  the  world  protected  by  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  the  Creator,  and  referred  to  the  diluvian  patriarch  and  his  symbolic  consort,  the 
ark;  and  the  ark  itself  was  represented  by  a  boat,  a  mouth,  and  number  Q-  '  Tao,  or  reason,  has 
produced  one;  one  hath  produced  two;  two  hath  produced  three;  and  three  hath  produced  sill 
things.' " 


36  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

There  was  a  superstition  for  odd  numbers  as  containing  divine  properties. 
Thus,  while  the  sum  of  the  even  numbers,  2+4  +  6  +  8  +  10=30,  the 
number  of  earth,  the  sum  of  the  odd  numbers,  1+3  +  5  +  7  +  9  =  25,  was 
called  the  number  of  heaven. 

This  we  presume  gave  rise  to  the  name  of  '*  mystic  "  to  the  odd  numbers. 
The  rainbow  was  the  universal  symbol  in  all  the  systems  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge,  and  demonstrates  that  these  Mysteries  must  have  referred  to 
the  deluge.  The  aspirant  represented  Noah ;  the  ark,  which  was  called  his 
mother,  as  well  as  his  wife,  was  surrounded  by  a  rainbow  at  the  time  of  his 
deliverance  or  new  birth  ;  hence  he  was  figuratively  said  to  be  the  offspring  of 
the  rainbow. 

Japan. — "The  Japanese  believed  that  the  world  was  enclosed  in  an  egg  before  the  creation, 
which  floated  on  the  surface  of  the  waters.  At  this  period  a  prickle  appeared  among  the  waves 
which  became  spirit,  from  which  sprang  six  other  spirits,  who,  with  their  wives,  were  the  parents 
of  a  race  of  heroes,  from  whom  proceeded  the  original  inhabitants  of  Japan.  They  worshipped  a 
deity  who  was  styled  the  son  of  the  unknown  god,  and  considered  as  the  creator  of  the  two  great 
lights  of  heaven. 

"The  egg  was  always  esteemed  an  emblem  of  the  earth. 

"There  is  a  pagoda  at  Micoa  consecrated  to  a  hieroglyphic  bull,  which  is  placed  on  a  large 
square  altar  and  composed  of  solid  gold.  His  neck  is  adorned  with  a  very  costly  collar.  The 
most  remarkable  thing  is  the  egg,  which  he  pushes  with  his  horns,  and  he  grips  it  with  his  forefeet. 
This  bull  is  placed  on  the  summit  of  a  rock,  and  the  egg  floats  in  water  which  is  enclosed  in  a 
hollow  space  in  it.  The  egg  represents  the  chaos ;  and  what  follows  is  the  illustration  which  the 
doctors  of  Japan  have  given  of  this  hieroglyphic.  The  whole  world  at  the  time  of  the  chaos  was 
enclosed  within  this  egg,  which  floated  on  the  surface  of  the  waters.  The  moon,  by  virtue  of  her 
light  and  other  influences,  attracted  from  the  bottom  of  these  waters  a  terrestrial  substance  which 
was  insensibly  converted  into  a  rock,  and  by  that  means  the  egg  rested  upon  it.  The  bull  observing 
this  egg,  broke  the  shell  of  it  by  goring  it  with  his  horns,  and  so  created  the  world,  and  by  his 
breath  formed  the  human  species." 

This  fable  may  in  some  measure  be  reconciled  with  truth,  by  supposing 
that  an  ancient  tradition  had  preserved  among  the  Japanese  some  idea  of 
the  world,  but  that  being  led  into  an  error,  in  process  of  time,  by  an  ambiguous 
meaning  of  the  name  of  the  bull,  which  in  the  Hebrew  language  is  attributed 
to  the  Deity,  they  ascribed  the  creation  of  the  world  to  this  animal  and  not  to 
the  Supreme  Being. 

To  the  prickle  among  the  waves 

"  May  be  referred  the  Gothic  idol  Seater,  which  is  thus  described  by  Verstegan  from  Johannes 
Pomarius  ('Restitution  of  Decayed  Intelligence').  First  on  a  pillar  was  placed  2.  perch  on  the 
sharp  prickled  back  whereof  stood  this  idol.  He  was  lean  of  visage,  having  long  hair  and  a  long 
beard,  and  was  bare-headed  and  bare-footed.  In  his  left  hand  he  held  up  a  wheel;  and  in  his 
right  he  carried  a  pail  of  water,  wherein  were  flowers  and  fruits.  His  long  coat  was  girded  on  him 
with  a  towel  of  white  linen.  His  standing  on  the  sharp  fins  of  this  fish  was  to  signify  that  the 
Saxons,  for  serving  him,  should  pass  steadfastly  and  without  harm  in  dangerous  and  difficult 
places. 

"  The  caverns  of  initiation  were  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  temples,  and  generally  in  the 
midst  of  a  grove,  and  near  a  stream  of  water.  They  had  mirrors,  which  were  to  signify  that  the 
imperfections  of  the  heart  were  as  plainly  displayed  to  the  si^ht  of  the  gods,  as  the  worshippers 
behold  their  own  image  in  the  mirror.  Hence  it  became  a  significant  emblem  of  the  all-observing 
eye  of  the  god,  Tensio  Dai  Sin. 

"  The  term  of  probation  for  the  highest  degrees  was  twenty  years ;    and  even  the  hierophant 


'^APAN. 


87 


was  not  competent  to  perform  the  ceremony  until  he  himself  had  been  initiated  the  same  period; 
and  his  five  assistants  must  have  had  ten  years'  experience  from  the  date  of  their  admission  before 
they  were  considered  competent  to  take  this  subordinate  part  of  initiation.  The  aspirant  was 
taught  to  subdue  his  passions,  and  devote  himself  to  the  practice  of  austerities,  and  studiously 
abstain  from  every  carnal  indulgence. 

"  In  the  closing  ceremony  of  preparation,  he  was  entombed  within  the  pastos,  or  place  of  pen- 
ance, the  door  of  which  was  said  to  be  guarded  by  a  terrible  divinity,  armed  with  a  drawn-sword, 
as  the  vindictive  fury  or  god  of  punishment.  During  the  course  of  his  probadon  the  aspirant 
sometimes  acquired  such  a  high  degree  of  enthusiasm  as  induced  him  to  refuse  to  quit  his  con- 
finement in  the  pastos ;  and  to  remain  there  until  he  literally  perished  with  famine.  To  this 
voluntary  martyrdom  was  attached  a  promise  of  never-ending  happiness  in  the  paradise  of 
Amidas.  Indeed,  the  merit  of  such  a  sacrifice  was  boundless.  His  memory  was  celebrated 
with  unusual  rejoicings.  The  initiations,  however,  were  dignified  with  an  assurance  of  a  happy 
immortality  to  all,  who  passed  through  the  rites  honorably  and  with  becoming  fortitude. 

"  Rings  or  circles  of  gold  as  amulets  were  worn  as  emblems  of  eternity,  virtually  consecrated, 
and  were  supposed  to  convey  the  blessing  of  a  long  and  prosperous  life ;  and  a  chaplet  of  conse- 
crated flowers  or  sacred  plants  and  boughs  of  trees,  which,  being  suspended  about  the  doors  of 
their  apartments,  prevented  the  ingress  of  impure  spirits;  and  hence  their  dwellings  were 
exempted  from  the  visitations  of  disease  or  calamity." 

Persia.  —  To  Zerdusht,  or  Zoroaster,  were  the  mysteries  of  Persia  indebted 
for  their  celebrity.  Hyde  and  Prideaux,  in  this  connection,  state  that  Zoro- 
aster was  of  Jewish  birth.  Such  a  person  did  live  in  Persia  some  time  about 
the  latter  end  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  in  Babylon.  The  period  is  very 
uncertain,  but  all  authorities  agree  as  to  the  fact  of  his  existence  in  that  region 
of  the  East,  and  his  great  work  in  the  "  reformation,"  or  change  made  in  the 
religious  worship  of  the  people  in  and  around  Persia, 

Sir  John  Malcolm,  "  History  of  Persia,"  says  :  — 

"  A  Persian  author  has  declared  that  the  religious  among  the  followers  of  Zoroaster  believed 
that  the  soul  of  that  holy  person  was  created  by  God,  and  hung  upon  that  tree  from  which  all 
that  is  celestial  has  been  produced.  ...  I  have  heard  the  wise  and  holy  Mobud  Seeroosh 
declare  that  the  father  of  Zoroaster  had  a  cow,  which  after  tasting  some  withered  leaves  that  had 
fallen  from  the  tree,  never  ate  of  any  other;  these  leaves  being  her  sole  food,  all  the  milk  she  pro- 
duced was  from  them.  The  father  of  Zoroaster  (Poorshasp)  was  entirely  supported  by  this  milk; 
and  to  it,  in  consequence,  they  refer  the  pregnancy  of  his  mother,  whose  name  was  Daghda." 

Another  account  is  that  the  cow  ate  the  soul  of  Zoroaster  as  it  hung  on  the 
tree,  and  that  it  passed  through  her  milk  to  the  father  of  that  prophet.  The 
apparent  object  of  this  statement  is  to  prove  that  Zoroaster  was  born  in  inno- 
cence, and  that  not  even  vegetable  life  was  destroyed  to  give  him  existence. 

When  he  was  born  he  burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  like  the  prince  of  necroman- 
cers. Merlin,  and  such  a  light  shone  from  his  body  as  illumined  the  whole 
room.     Pliny  mentions  this  ancient  tradition  respecting  Zoroaster. 

It  is  said  by  some  that,  being  a  Jew,  he  was  educated  in  the  elements  of 
the  true  worship  among  his  countrymen  in  Babylon,  and  afterwards  became 
an  attendant  upon  the  prophet  Daniel,  and  received  from  him  initiation  into 
all  the  mysteries  of  the  Jewish  doctrine  and  practice.  He  also  studied  magic 
under  the  Chaldean  philosophers,  who  initiated  him  into  their  mysteries.  This 
account  is  from  Hyde  and  Prideaux,  but  Dr.  Oliver  expresses  much  doubt  as 
to  its  probability.     Indeed,  from  the  great  uncertainty  as  to  the  date  of  his 


S8  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

appearance  among  men,  some  authors  placed  him  as  a  contemporary  with 
Abraham,  and  others  again  made  him  to  appear  long  after  the  captivity  had 
ceased.  With  this  uncertainty  as  to  Zoroaster's  true  date,  we  must  receive  all 
accounts  of  his  marvellous  acts,  or  matters  connected  with  him,  with  many 
grains,  if  not  ounces,  of  allowance. 

He  is  after  this  found  at  Ecbatana,  and,  making  himself  appear  as  a  prophet, 
set  about  the  task  of  reforming  the  religion  of  Persia,  which,  like  all  other 
religions,  had  become  subverted  from  the  original  object,  and  by  a  series  of 
gradual  and  imperceptible  changes  its  character  had  degenerated  from  the 
Magian  form  to  the  Sabian  system. 

As  a  professed  Magian,  he  was  soon  surrounded  by  followers  of  every  rank, 
who  joined  with  him  and  gave  support  to  all  his  designs  of  reformation. 

Darius  Hystaspis  accompanied  him  into  Cashmere,  to  aid  in  completing 
his  preparatory  studies,  by  instruction  from  the  Brahmins,  from  whom  he  had 
received  the  rites  of  initiation.  Cashmere  has  been  called  the  terrestrial  para- 
dise and  the  holy  land  of  superstition.  In  the  Ayeen  Akbery  forty-five  places 
are  said  to  be  dedicated  to  Mahadeo ;  sixty-four  to  Vishnu ;  twenty-two  to 
Durga;  and  only  three  to  Brahma  (Maur.  Ind.  Ant.). 

Before  the  time  of  Zoroaster  the  Persians,  like  the  early  Egyptians,  wor- 
shipped in  the  open  air,  long  after  other  nations  had  constructed  temples,  as 
they  considered  the  broad  expanse  of  heaven  as  the  sublime  covering  of  tem- 
ples devoted  to  the  worship  of  Deity.  Their  places  of  sacrifice  were  much 
like  those  of  the  northern  nations  of  Europe,  composed  of  circles  of  upright 
stones,  rough  and  unhewn.  They  abominated  images,  and  worshipped  the 
Sun  and  Fire,  as  representatives  of  the  omnipresent  Deity.  The  Jews  were 
not  exempt  from  the  superstitious  worship  of  fire,  saying,  God  appeared  in 
the  Cherubim,  over  the  gate  of  Eden,  as  z.  flaming  sword ;  and  to  Abraham  as 
a  flame  of  fire ;  to  Moses  as  z.  fire  in  the  bush  at  Horeb;  and  to  the  whole 
assembly  of  the  people  at  Sinai,  when  he  descended  upon  the  mountain 
in  fire. 

Moses  himself  told  them  that  their  God  was  a  consuming  fire,  which  was 
reechoed  more  than  once ;  and  thence  the  Jews  were  weak  enough  to  worship 
the  material  substance,  in  lieu  of  the  invisible  and  eternal  God.  Zoroaster 
succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  enclose  their  sacred  fire  altars  in  covered 
towers ;  because,  being  on  elevated  and  exposed  hills,  the  fire  was  liable  to  be 
extinguished  by  storms.  These  were  circular  buildings,  covered  with  domes, 
having  small  openings  at  the  top  to  let  out  the  smoke.  God  was  supposed  to 
reside  in  the  sacred  flame,  and  it  was  never  permitted  to  be  extinguished. 

We  may  here  pause  in  our  description  of  the  Persian  worship  of  the  flame 
to  recite  the  following  :  — 

"  A  Jew  entered  a  Parsee  temple  and  beheld  the  sacred  fire.  '  What ! '  said  he  to  the  priest, 
'  do  you  worship  the  fire  ? '  '  Not  the  fire,'  answered  the  priest, '  it  is  to  us  an  emblem  of  the  sun 
and  of  his  genial  heat.'    '  Do  you  then  worship  the  sun  as  your  God  ? '  asked  the  Jew.    '  Know 


PERSIA. 


89 


ye  not  that  this  luminary  also  is  but  a  work  of  the  Almighty  Creator  ?  '  '  We  know  it,'  replied 
the  priest,  '  but  the  uncultivated  man  requires  a  sensible  sign  in  order  to  form  a  conception  of  the 
Most  High,  and  is  not  the  sun,  the  incomprehensible  source  of  light,  an  image  of  that  invisible 
being  who  blesses  and  preserves  all  things? '  '  Do  your  people,  then,"  rejoined  the  Israelite, 
•  distinguish  the  type  from  the  original  ?  They  call  the  sun  their  God,  and,  descending  even  from 
this  to  a  baser  object,  they  kneel  before  an  earthly  flame !  Ye  amuse  the  outward  but  blind  the 
inward  eye ;  and  while  ye  hold  to  them  the  earthly,  ye  draw  from  them  the  heavenly  light !  Thou 
Shalt  not  make  unto  thyself  any  Image  or  likeness."  *  How  do  you  designate  the  Supreme 
Being  ? '  asked  the  Parsee.  '  We  call  him  Jehovah  Adonai ;  that  is,  the  Lord  who  is,  who  was, 
and  who  will  be,"  answered  the  Jew.  '  Your  appellation  is  grand  and  sublime,'  said  the  Parsee, 
'but  it  is  awful  too.'  A  Christian  then  drew  nigh  and  said,  'We  call  him  Father! '  The  Pagan 
and  the  Jew  looked  at  each  other  and  said, '  Here  is  at  once  an  image  and  a  reality  ;  it  is  a  word 
of  the  heart.'  Therefore  they  all  raised  their  eyes  to  Heaven,  and  said,  with  reverence  and  love, 
'  Our  Father,'  and  they  took  each  other  by  the  hand,  and  all  three  called  one  another  '  brother."  " 

This  is  Freemasonry  ! 

We  now  resume  our  sketch  of  the  Mysteries. 

The  building,  in  which  was  placed  the  sacred  fire,  represented  the  universe, 
and  the  fire  which  perpetually  burned  in  the  centre  was  the  symbol  of  the  sun. 

Pococke,  "  Specimen  Historiae  Arabicse,"  informs  us  that  Zoroaster  remod- 
elled the  Mysteries ;  and  to  accomplish  this,  he  retired  to  a  circular  cave  or 
grotto  in  the  inountains  of  Bokhara.  This  cave  he  ornamented  with  a  profusion 
of  symbols  and  astronomical  decorations,  and  dedicated  it  to  the  Mediator 
Mithr-As,  sometimes  denominated  the  invisible  Deity.  That  the  knowledge 
of  astronomy,  in  that  region  and  early  date, was  very  extensive  is  well  known 
to  authors  generally.  Pliny  says  that  "  Belus,"  who  was  grandson  of  Ham, 
^^  iiiventor  fiiit  sideralis  scieniice.'" 

That  Mithras  was  considered  by  the  Persians  to  be  the  Supreme  Deity,  we 
have,  "Mithras,  the  first  god  among  the  Persians"  —  from  Hesychius  in 
Greek  (according  to  Cudvvorth's  Intel.  Sys.).  "They  were  so  deeply 
impressed,"  says  Plu.  Isid.  et  Osir,  "  with  this  amiable  characteristic  of  their 
god,  that  they  denominated  every  person  who  acted  as  a  mediator  between 
contending  parties,  MiilirasT 

They  said  he  was  born  or  produced  from  a  rock-hewn  cave.  A  splendid 
gem  of  great  lustre,  which  represented  the  sun,  was  placed  in  the  centre  of 
the  roof  of  the  cavern ;  the  planets  were  also  placed  in  order  around  this  gem 
in  settings  of  gold  on  a  ground  of  azure.  The  zodiac  was  chased  in  gold, 
having  the  constellations  Leo  and  Taurus,  with  a  sun  and  moon  einerging 
from  their  backs,  in  beaten  gold.  We  are  told  by  Diodorus  Siculus  that  "  the 
tomb  of  Osymandyas  in  Egypt  was  surrounded  with  a  broad  circle  of  beaten 
gold,  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  cubits  in  circumference,  which  represented 
the  days  in  the  year."  (Note  this,  and  the  "  starry  decked  heaven  "  of  the 
Masonic  lodge  room.)  The  bull  and  sun  were  emblematic  of  the  great 
father,  or  Noah,  riding  in  safety  in  the  ark ;  for  Noah  was  the  sun,  and  the 
bull  was  the  acknowledged  symbol  of  the  ark.  Hyde  (de  Rel.  vet.  Pers.)  says 
that  the  Mogul  emperors  use  this  device  on  their  coins ;  sometimes  Leo  is 
used  for  the  Bull. 


QQ  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

Our  limits  forbid  any  farther  description  of  this  cave  or  grotto,  which  had 
every  appliance  for  the  workings  necessary  for  initiation,  with  the  most 
elaborate  machinery  imaginable. 

To  give  himself  the  proper  credit  with  the  people,  Zoroaster  professed  to 
have  been  favored  with  a  celestial  vision,  taken  up  into  the  abode  of  the  Most 
High,  —  which  was  evidently  assumed  by  him  in  imitation  of  the  interview 
between  Moses  and  the  Almighty  in  the  Mount  Sinai,  —  and  permitted  to  hold 
converse  with  the  Awful  Being  face  to  face,  who,  he  said,  was  encircled  by  a 
bright  and  perpetual  fire ;  that  a  system  of  pure  worship  had  been  revealed  to 
him,  which  was  ordered  to  be  communicated  only  to  those  who  possessed 
the  virtue  to  resist  the  allurements  of  the  world,  and  would  devote  their  lives 
to  the  study  of  philosophy  and  contemplation  of  the  Deity  and  his  works. 

The  fame  of  Zoroaster  spread  throughout  the  world.  All  those  who 
desired  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  philosophy  taught  by  him  resorted  to 
this  Mithratic  grotto  to  be  initiated.  From  the  most  distant  regions  came 
many  who  wished  to  learn  of  Zoroaster.  Pythagoras,  who  travelled  into  all 
countries  to  learn  philosophy,  is  said  to  have  gone  to  Persia  to  be  initiated 
into  the  Mysteries  of  Mithras. 

"  To  prepare  the  candidate  for  initiation,  many  lustrations  were  required,  with  water,  fire,  and 
honey.  He  passed  forty  days  —  some  say  eighty  days  —  of  probation,  and  ended  with  a  fifty 
days'  fast.  These  were  all  endured  in  the  recesses  of  a  cavern,  in  perpetual  silence,  secluded  from 
all  society,  and  confined  in  cold  and  nakedness,  in  hunger  and  stripes,  and  with  cruel  tortures. 
We  may  be  sure  that  in  some  instances  these  were  attended  with  fatal  effects.  When  one  died 
under  these  cruel  inflictions  and  rigid  penances,  his  body  was  thrown  into  a  deeper  cavern  and  he 
was  never  more  heard  of.  According  to  a  Christian  writer,  in  the  fifth  century  A.D., '  the  Chris- 
tians of  Alexandria,  having  discovered  a  cavern  that  had  been  consecrated  to  Mithras,  resolved  to 
explore  it ;  when,  to  their  astonishment,  the  principal  thing  they  found  in  it  was  a  great  quantity 
of  human  skulls  and  other  bones  of  men  who  had  been  thus  sacrificed.' 

"  Those  who  survived  these  severe  tests  of  endurance  became  eligible  to  the  highest  honors 
and  dignities,  and  received  a  degree  of  veneration  equal  to  that  which  was  paid  to  the  supernal 
deities.  The  successful  probationer  was  brought  forth  into  the  cavern  of  initiation,  where  he 
entered  on  the  point  of  a  siuord  presented  to  his  naked  left  breast,  by  which  he  was  shghtly  wounded, 
and  then  he  was  virtually  prepared  for  the  approaching  ceremony.  He  was  crowned  with  olive 
branches.  The  olive,  in  the  Mysteries,  commemorative  of  the  olive  branch  brought  by  the  dove  to 
Noah,  was  the  propitious  omen  that  the  patriarch  and  family  would  speedily  emerge  from  the 
gloom  of  the  ark  to  the  light  of  day ;  so  to  the  candidate,  that  he  would  be  able  to  exclaim, '  I 
have  escaped  from  an  evil ;  I  have  found  deliverance."  The  priests  of  Mithras,  by  a  like  allusion, 
were  called  Hierocoraces,  or  sacred  Ravens,  and  the  oracular  priestesses  of  Hammon,  Peleiades, 
or  Doves;  while,  in  consequence  of  the  close  connection  of  the  dove  and  olive,  a  particular  species 
of  the  olive  was  called  Columbas, 

"  He  was  anointed  with  oil  of  ban,  which  is  the  balsam  of  Bczoin,  and  clothed  with  enchanted 
armor  by  his  guide,  who  represented  Simorgh,  a  monstrous  grifhn,  whose  name  indicates  that  it  is 
of  the  size  of  thirty  birds,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  species  of  eagle,  and  said  to  correspond  in 
some  respects  with  the  idea  of  the  phoenix.  The  candidate  was  introduced  into  an  inner  chamber, 
where  he  was  purified  with  fire  and  water,  and  then  passed  through  the  SEVEN  Stages  of  Initia- 
tion, which  is  represented  as  a  high  ladder,  with  seven  steps  or  gates.  From  the  top  of  this  ladder 
he  beheld  a  deep  and  dangerous  vault,  and  a  single  false  step  might  dash  him  down  to  instant 
destruction,  which  was  an  emblem  of  those  infernal  regions  through  which  he  was  about  to  pass. 
As  he  passed  through  the  gtoomy  cavern  he  saw  the  sacred  fire,  which  at  intervals  would  flash 
into  its  recesses  and  illuminate  his  path,  sometimes  from  beneath  his  feet,  and  again,  descending 


PERSIA.  g  J 

from  above  upon  his  head  in  abroad  sheet.  Amidst  all  this,  distant  yelling  of  beasts  of  prey,  the 
roaring  of  lions,  howling  of  wolves,  and  barking  of  dogs,  would  greet  his  ears.  Then  being 
enveloped  in  darkness  profound,  he  would  not  know  whither  to  turn  for  safety,  his  attendant  would 
rush  him  forward,  maintaining  an  unbroken  silence,  towards  the  place  whence  the  sounds  pro- 
ceeded, and  suddenly  a  door  would  be  opened  and  he  would  find  himself  in  this  den  of  wild 
beasts  lighted  only  by  a  single  lamp.  Being  exhorted  to  have  courage  by  his  conductor,  he  would 
be  immediately  attacked  by  the  initiated,  who,  in  the  forms  of  the  several  animals,  and  amidst 
great  uproars  and  bowlings,  would  endeavor  to  overwhelm  him  with  alarm,  and  he  would  seldom 
escape  unhurt,  however  bravely  he  might  defend  himself. 

"  Hurried  from  this  scene  into  another  cell,  he  was  again  shrouded  in  darkness.  Silence  pro- 
found succeeded,  and  with  cautious  step  he  was  conducted  onward  to  encounter  other  dangers. 
A  rumbling  noise  is  heard  in  a  distant  cavern,  which  became  louder  as  he  advanced,  when  the 
thunder  appeared  to  rend  the  solid  rocks,  and  the  continued  flashes  of  lightning  enabled  him  to 
observe  the  flitting  shades  of  avenging  genii,  who  appeared  to  threaten  with  summary  destruction 
those  who  invaded  the  privacy  of  their  peculiar  abode.  These  scenes  continued  until  the  strength 
and  endurance  of  the  candidate  being  nearly  exhausted,  he  was  conveyed  into  another  apartment, 
where  a  great  illumination  was  suddenly  introduced,  and  his  strength  permitted  to  recruit,  and 
melodious  music  soothed  his  outraged  feelings. 

"  Resting  for  a  time  in  this  apartment,  the  elements  of  those  secrets  were  explained,  and  all  of 
which  were  more  fully  developed  when  his  initiation  was  completed.  When  sufficiently  prepared 
to  proceed,  a  signal  was  given  by  his  guide,  and  three  priests  immediately  appeared;  one  of  them 
cast  a  serpent  into  his  bosom,  as  a  symbol  of  regeneration.  A  private  door  being  now  opened, 
bowlings  and  lamentations  were  heard,  and  he  beheld  in  every  revolting  form  the  torments  of  the 
damned  in  hades.  He  was  then  conducted  through  other  dark  passages,  and  after  having  suc- 
cessfully passed  the  labyrinth  of  six  spacious  vaults,  connected  by  tortuous  galleries,  each  having 
a  narrow  portal,  and  having  been  triumphantly  borne  through  all  these  difficulties  and  dangers  by 
the  exercise  of  fortitude  and  perseverance,  the  doors  of  the  Sacellum,  or  seventh  vault,  were 
thrown  open,  and  the  darkness  changed  to  light. 

"  In  conformity  with  these  seven  subterranean  caverns,  the  Persians  held  the  doctrine  of  seveit 
classes  of  demons.  First,  Ahriman,  the  chief;  second,  the  spirits  who  inhabit  the  most  distant 
regions  of  the  air ;  third,  those  who  traverse  the  dense  and  stormy  regions  which  are  nearest  the 
earth,  but  still  at  an  immeasurable  distance ;  fourth,  the  malignant  and  unclean  spirits,  who  hover 
over  the  surface  of  the  earth;  fifth,  the  spirits  of  the  '  vasty  deep,"  which  they  agitate  with  storms 
and  tempests ;  sixth,  the  subterranean  demons  who  dwell  in  charnel  vaults  and  caverns,  termed 
Chouls,  who  devour  the  corrupted  tenants  of  the  grave,  and  excite  earthquakes  and  convulsions 
in  the  globe ;  and  seventh,  the  spirits  who  hold  a  solemn  reign  of  darkness  in  the  centre  of  the 
earth  (vide  Maur.  Ind.  Ant.,  Vol.  IV.  p.  642).  From  this  doctrine  probably  emanated  the  Moham- 
medan belief  in  seven  hells,  or  stages  of  punishment,  in  the  infernal  regions ;  and  seven  heavens, 
in  the  highest  of  which  the  Table  of  Fate  is  suspended  and  guarded  from  demons,  lest  they  should 
change  or  corrupt  anything  thereon.  Its  length  is  so  great,  as  is  the  space  between  heaven  and 
earth ;  its  breadth  equal  to  the  distance  from  the  east  to  the  west ;  and  it  is  made  of  one  pearl. 
The  divine  pen  was  created  by  the  finger  of  God;  that  is  also  of  pearls,  and  of  such  length  and 
breadth  that  a  swift  horse  could  scarcely  gallop  round  it  in  five  hundred  years.  It  is  so  endowed 
that  self-moved,  it  writes  all  things,  past,  present,  and  to  come.  Light  is  its  ink ;  and  the  language 
which  it  uses  only  the  angels  can  understand." 

The  seven  hells  of  the  Jewish  Rabbies  were  founded  on  the  seveii  names 
of  hell  contained  in  their  Scriptures. 

"  The  progress  of  the  candidate  through  the  seven  stages  of  initiation  was  in  a  circle,  referring 
to  the  course  of  the  planets  round  the  sun ;  or  more  probably,  the  apparent  motion  of  the  sun 
himself,  which  is  accomplished  by  a  movement  from  east  to  west  by  the  south  ;  "  in  which  course 
every  candidate  in  Masonry  should  be  conducted.  The  candidate  was  then  admitted  into  the 
spacious  cavern  already  described,  which  was  the  grotto  of  Elysium,  which  was  brilliantly  illumi- 
nated and  shone  with  gold  and  precious  stones.     Here  was  seated  the  Archimagus  on  the  east,  on 


Q2  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

a  throne  of  gold,  having  a  crown  decorated  with  myrtle-boughs  and  clothed  in  a  tunic  of  cerulean 
color,  and  around  him  were  arranged  the  Presules  and  dispensers  of  the  Mysteries.  He  was 
received  with  congratulations,  and  having  vowed  to  keep  secret  the  sacred  rites  of  Mithras,  the 
sacred  WORDS  were  given  to  him,  of  which  the  ineffable  Tetractys,  or  name  of  God,  was  the 
chief." 

He  was  now  entitled  to  investiture  and  to  receive  instruction.  Amulets 
and  talismans  were  presented  to  him,  and  he  was  taught  how  to  construct 
them,  that  he  might  be  exempt  from  all  dangers  to  his  person  and  his  prop- 
erty. Explanations  were  made  to  him  of  every  emblem  which  had  been 
displayed,  every  incident  by  which  he  had  been  surprised  ;  and  all  were  turned 
to  a  moral  purpose  by  means  of  disquisitions,  which  tended  to  inspire  him 
with  a  strong  attachment  to  the  Mysteries  and  to  those  from  whom  he  had 
received  them.  He  learned  that  the  benign  influence  of  the  superior  light 
which  was  imparted  by  initiation  irradiates  the  mind  with  rays  of  the  Divinity 
and  inspires  it  with  a  knowledge  which  can  be  given  in  no  other  manner.  He 
was  taught  to  adore  the  consecrated  fire,  which  was  the  gift  of  the  Deity,  as 
his  visible  residence.  The  throne  of  the  Deity  was  believed  to  be  in  the  sun, 
which  was  the  Persian  Paradise ;  but  was  equally  supposed  to  be  in  the  fire. 
In  the  Bhagavad-Gita,  Krishna  says,  "  God  is  in  the  fire  of  the  altar.''  He 
was  taught  the  existence  of  two  independent  and  equally  powerful  principles, 
the  one  essentially  good,  the  other  irreclaimably  evil ;  and  this  was  the  cos- 
mogony :  Ormisda,  the  supreme  source  of  light  and  truth,  created  the  world 
at  six  different  periods.  First,  he  made  the  heavens ;  second,  the  waters ; 
third,  the  earth ;  fourth,  trees  and  plants ;  fifth,  animals ;  sixth,  man,  or  rather 
a  being  compounded  of  a  man  and  a  bull. 

This  newly  created  being  lived  in  a  state  of  purity  and  happiness  for  many 
ages,  but  was  at  last  poisoned  by  the  temptations  of  a  subtle  serpent-genius 
named  Ahriman,  who  inhabited  the  regions  of  darkness,  and  was  the  author 
of  evil ;  and  his  ascendency  on  earth  at  length  became  so  great  as  to  create 
a  powerful  rebellion  against  the  creator,  Ormisda,  by  whom,  however,  he  was 
at  length  subdued. 

To  counteract  the  effect  of  this  renunciation  of  virtue,  another  pure  being 
was  created,  compounded,  as  before,  of  a  man  and  a  bull,  called  Taschter,  or 
Mithras,  by  whose  intervention,  with  the  assistance  of  three  associates,  a  flood 
of  waters  was  produced  to  purify  the  earth,  by  prodigious  showers  of  rain, 
each  drop  as  large  as  the  head  of  an  ox,  which  produced  a  general  lustration. 
A  tempestuous  wind,  which  blew  for  three  days  in  succession  from  the  same 
quarter,  dried  the  waters  ;  and  when  they  were  completely  subsided,  a  new 
germ  was  introduced,  from  which  sprang  the  present  race  of  mankind. 

SYSTEMS.  Therapeutae.  —  A  pious  "  Jewish  "  sect,  who  lived  chiefly 
on  the  Lake  Mareotis,  near  Alexandria,  but  had  numerous  colonies  in  other 
places.  Like  the  Essenes,  they  lived  unmarried,  in  monasteries,  and  were 
very  moderate  with  regard  to  dress  and  food ;  they  prayed  at  sunrise,  having 
their  faces  turned  to  the  east ;  studied  the  Scriptures  —  which  they  explained 


ANCIENT    SYSTEMS. 

allegorically.  They  differed  from  the  Essenes  in  this  :  they  lived  a  contem- 
plative Ufa,  while  the  Essenes  followed  many  occupations,  such  as  agriculture, 
arts,  etc. ;  the  Essenes  lived  together  in  common ;  the  Therapeutge  lived 
separately  in  cells.  The  Therapeutse  knew  none  of  the  divisions  which 
marked  the  several  degrees  of  initiation  of  the  Essenes.  They  held  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem  in  much  higher  veneration  than  did  the  Essenes.  They 
resembled  somewhat  the  Pythagoreans.  Neither  used  animal  food,  and  both 
admitted  women  to  their  assemblies.  They  were,  perhaps,  the  first  to  intro- 
duce monasticism  and  asceticism  into  Christianity. 

Essenes.  —  A  religious  sect  among  the  Jews,  whose  name,  origin,  character, 
and  history  are  involved  in  obscurity.  They  bore  a  very  important  part  in 
the  development  of  Judaism.  It  has  been  asserted  that  John  the  Baptist, 
as  well  as  Jesus  Christ,  originally  issued  from  their  ranks.  More  surprising 
than  this,  out  of  Essenism,  in  the  stage  of  Saboeism,  has  sprung  Islam  itself, 
and  in  this  last  development  of  its  tenets  and  practices  are  still  preserved 
some  of  its  principal  rites. 

Notwithstanding  that  many  writers,  since  the  days  of  the  Fathers,  have 
endeavored  to  throw  light  on  this  association  or  brotherhood,  nevertheless  it 
has  been  far  from  satisfactory.  Josephus,  Philo,  Pliny,  Solinus,  Eusebius,  and 
most  of  the  Church  Fathers  were  the  only  sources  from  which  the  real  history 
of  this  fraternity  could  be  derived.  But  from  strict  examination  into  this 
subject  it  has  been  found  that  only  from  the  j////<9j-^^  writings  of  Philo  and 
the  statements  of  Josephus  is  there  any  reliable  information  to  be  derived. 
Of  the  two  books  of  Philo,  in  which  the  Essenes  are  referred  to,  one  {De  Vita 
Cojitemplativa),  it  has  been  proved,  was  written  three  centuries  after  the 
death  of  Philo.  The  other  ( Quod  Om?iis)  is  of  doubtful  genuineness,  and  is  at 
variance  with  Josephus,  in  whose  account  it  is  generally  allowed  that  the  Essenes 
stand  in  about  the  same  relation  to  the  real  Essenes  as  the  ideal  inhabitants 
of  the  Germania  of  Tacitus  stand  to  the  real  Germans  of  his  times. 

There  were  in  Palestine,  after  the  return  from  Babylon,  three  different 
"sects," — the  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  the  Essenes.  The  Sadducees  were  a 
political  party,  and  in  religious  matters  did  not  accept  the  views  of  their 
opponents,  the  Pharisees.  The  Essenes  appear  to  have  been  similar  to  the 
Pharisees,  but  of  stronger  convictions,  and  more  rigid  in  all  their  observances. 
They  were  not  known  by  the  name  of  Essenes,  which  was  a  late  designation. 
The  Mishna,  Beraitha,  and  Talmud  speak  of  them  as  Chasidim  (pious  men), 
Nazarini  (abstinents),  Toble  Shacharith  (hemero-baptists),  Banai  (builders), 
and  Chaberim  (friends).     The  Arabic  book  of  Maccabees  calls  them  Assidaioi. 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  writers  that  during  the  captivity  in  Babylonia, 
the  Jews  imbibed  the  notions  of  the  Orient  on  all  religious  and  mysterious 
subjects ;  and  also  that  they  became  strongly  tinctured  in  their  philosophical 
speculations,  with  the  then  prevailing  Magism  of  the  Zoroastrians.  Also,  that 
the  asceticism  which  prevailed  so  extensively  among  the  religionists  of  the 


g^  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

Orient  was  adopted  by  the  more  rigid  adherents  of  the  Levitical  law,  and  on 
their  return  to  Jerusalem,  that  these  views  were  propagated  among  the  more 
zealous  adherents  of  that  law.  Those  who  followed  this  course  led  an  ascetic 
life,  and  what  more  natural  than  that  they  should  by  degrees  become  mystical 
enthusiasts  and  fanatics?  They  allegorized  and  symbolized,  and  finally  cul- 
minated in  seeing  the  unseen.  In  their  attempts  to  fathom  the  mysteries  of 
the  nature  of  God,  they  occupied  themselves  in  the  study  of  the  name  of  God  ; 
of  that  ineffable  name  which  the  High  Priest  only  was  permitted  to  pronounce 
once  every  year,  in  the  Sanctuju  Sanctorum,  on  the  great  Day  of  Atonement. 

"They  thought  that  the  knowledge  of  that  name  in  four,  in  twelve,  and  in  twenty-four  letters 
would  give  them  the  power  of  prophecy  and  of  receiving  the  Holy  Ghost." 

They  derived  from  the  Magi  their  ideas  of  angelology.  They  were  sup- 
posed by  the  common  people  to  be  saints  and  workers  of  miracles.  A  book 
of  cures  ascribed  to  Solomon  they  had,  and  with  it  and  various  roots  and 
stones,  and  by  imposition  of  hands,  they  healed  the  sick  and  cast  out  devils. 

It  is  said  that  John  the  Baptist  lived  among  them,  and  that  his  habits 
were  similar  to  theirs. 

Eleusinian.  —  The  Eleusinian  Mysteries  were  celebrated  annually  as  a 
festival  of  Ceres,  at  Eleusis.  Many  traditions  were  given  in  ancient  times, 
to  account  for  their  origin.  The  most  generally  accepted  was  that  Ceres, 
wandering  over  the  earth  in  search  of  her  daughter  Proserpine,  arrived  at 
Eleusis  and  rested  on  the  sorrowful  stone  near  the  well  Callichorus.  In  return 
for  some  act  of  kindness  she  taught  Triptolemus  the  use  of  corn,  and  there 
instituted  the  mystic  rites  peculiarly  known  as  hers.  The  outward  form  of 
these  Mysteries  was  well  known,  but  their  inner  meaning  has  been  variously 
interpreted.  IModern  speculation  has  run  wild  in  attempts  to  explain  them. 
Bishop  Thirlwall  finds  in  them  "  The  remains  of  a  worship  which  preceded  the 
rise  of  the  Hellenic  mythology  and  its  attendant  rites,  grounded  on  a  view 
of  nature,  less  fanciful,  more  earnest,  and  better  fitted  to  awaken  both  philo- 
sophical thought  and  religious  feeling." 

There  were  two  parts  in  this  festival,  —  the  lesser  and  the  greater  Mysteries  ; 
the  less  important  served  as  a  preparation  for  the  greater  and  was  held  at 
Agrae,  on  the  Ilissus.  The  celebration  of  the  Great  Mysteries  began  at  Eleusis, 
on  the  15  th  of  Boedromion,  and  lasted  over  nine  days.  On  the  first  day  those 
initiated  at  the  preparatory  festival  were  instructed  in  their  sacred  duties. 
On  the  second  day  they  purified  themselves.  On  the  third,  sacrifices  were 
offered.  The  fourth  day  was  devoted  to  the  processions  of  the  sacred  basket 
of  Ceres,  containing  pomegranates,  salt,  poppy  seed,  etc.,  drawn  in  a  conse- 
crated cart,  and  followed  by  bands  of  women  with  smaller  baskets,  similarly 
filled.  The  fifth  day  was  known  as  "  the  day  of  the  torches,"  which  symbolized 
the  wanderings  of  Ceres  in  search  of  her  daughter.  On  this  day  the  Mystae, 
led  by  the  "daduchos"  {torch-bearer) ,  \^d!ikii.<X  two  and  two  to  the  temple 


ANCIENT   SYSTEMS.  rtr 

95 

of  the  goddess.  The  sixth  day  was  the  great  day  of  the  feast,  in  honor 
of  lacchus,  the  son  of  Ceres,  whose  statue  was  borne  along  the  sacred 
way  from  the  Ceramichus  at  Athens  to  Eleusis,  where  the  votaries  spent 
the  night  and  were  admitted  to  the  last  Mysteries.  Thus  far  they  had 
been  only  Mysice,  but  on  this  night  they  were  admitted  to  the  innermost 
sanctuary  of  the  temple,  and  were  then  called  "Epoptoe  "  or  "  Ephori " ;  i.e.,  spec- 
tators or  contemplators.  They  were  again  purified,  and  repeated  the  oath  of 
secrecy.  On  the  seventh  day  they  returned  to  Athens  with  mirth  and  music. 
The  eighth  day  was  called  Epidauria,  and  was  added  to  the  original  number 
of  days  for  the  convenience  of  those  who  were  unable  to  attend  the  grand 
ceremonial  of  the  sixth  day.  It  was  named  in  honor  of  ^sculapius,  who 
arrived  from  his  native  city  of  Epidaurus  too  late  for  the  solemn  rites,  and 
being  unwilling  to  disappoint  so  distinguished  a  visitor  and  benefactor  of 
mankind,  this  day  was  added.  On  the  ninth  day  the  ceremony  of  the 
"  Plemochoge  "  took  place,  in  which  two  earthen  vessels  filled  with  wine  were 
turned,  one  towards  the  east,  and  the  other  towards  the  west.  The  priest, 
uttering  some  mystic  words,  then  upset  both  vessels,  and  the  spilt  wine  was 
thus  offered  as  a  libation. 

The  Ethics  of  the  Mysteries.  —  "  The  origin  as  well  as  the  real  purport  of  the  '  Mysteries,' 
which  took  no  unimportant  place  among  the  religious  festivals  of  the  classical  period,  and  which, 
in  their  ever-changing  nature,  designate  various  phases  of  religious  development  in  the  antique 
world,  is  all  but  unknown.  It  does  seem,  indeed,  as  if  the  vague  speculations  of  modern  times  on 
the  subject  were  an  echo  of  the  manifold  interpretations  of  the  various  acts  of  the  Mysteries  given 
by  the  priest  to  the  inquiring  disciple,  according  to  the  light  of  the  former  or  the  latter.  Some 
investigators,  themselves  not  entirely  free  from  certain  mystic  influences  (like  Creuzer  and  others), 
have  held  them  to  have  been  a  kind  of  misty  orb  around  a  kernel  of  pure  light,  the  bright  rays  of 
which  were  too  strong  for  the  eyes  of  the  multitude ;  that,  in  fact,  they  hid  under  an  outward  garb 
of  mummery  a  certain  portion  of  the  real  and  eternal  truth  of  religion,  the  knowledge  of  which 
had  been  derived  from  some  primeval,  or  perhaps  the  Mosaic,  revelation  ;  if  it  could  not  be  traced 
to  certain  (or  uncertain),  Egyptian,  Indian,  or  generally  Eastern  sources. 

"  To  this  kind  of  hazy  talk,  however  (which  we  only  mention  because  it  is  still  repeated  every 
now  and  then),  the  real  and  thorough  investigations  begun  by  Lobeck,  and  still  pursued  by  many 
competent  scholars  in  our  own  day,  have,  or  ought  to  have,  put  an  end.  There  cannot  be  any- 
thing more  alien  to  the  whole  spirit  of  Greek  and  Roman  antiquity  than  a  hiding  of  abstract 
truths  and  occult  wisdom  under  rites  and  formulas,  songs  and  dances;  and,  in  fact,  the  Mysteries 
were  anything  but  exclusive,  either  with  respect  to  sex,  age,  or  rank,  in  point  of  initiation.  It  was 
only  the  speculative  tendency  of  later  times,  when  Polytheism  was  on  the  wane,  that  tried  to 
symbolize  and  allegorize  these  obscure  and  partly  imported  ceremonies,  the  bulk  of  which  had 
undoubtedly  sprung  from  the  midst  of  the  Pelasgian  tribes  themselves  in  prehistoric  times,  and 
which  were  intended  to  represent  and  to  celebrate  certain  natural  phenomena  in  the  visible  crea- 
tion. There  is  certainly  no  reason  to  deny  that  some  more  refined  minds  may  at  a  very  early 
period  have  endeavored  to  impart  a  higher  sense  to  these  wondrous  performances ;  but  these 
can  only  be  considered  as  solitary  instances.  The  very  fact  of  their  having  been  put  down  in 
later  days  as  public  nuisances  in  Rome  herself,  speaks  volumes  against  the  occult  wisdom  incul- 
cated in  secret  assemblies  of  men  and  women. 

"  The  Mysteries,  as  such,  consisted  of  purifications,  sacrificial  offerings,  processions,  songs, 
dances,  dramatic  performances,  and  the  like.  The  mystic  formulas  {^Deiknumerta,  Dromena, 
Legomena,  the  latter  including  the  liturgies,  etc.),  were  held  as  deep  secrets,  and  could  only  be 
communicated  to  those  who  had  passed  the  last  stage  of  preparation  in  the  Mystagogue's  hands. 
The  hold  which  the  nightly  secrecy  of  these  meetings,  together  with  their  extraordinary  worship, 


96 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


must  naturally  have  taken  upon  minds  more  fresh  and  childlike  than  our  advanced  ages  can  boast 
of,  was  increased  by  all  the  mechanical  contrivances  of  the  effects  of  light  and  sound  which  the 
priests  could  command.  Mysterious  voices  were  heard  singing,  whispering,  and  sighing  all 
around ;  lights  gleamed  in  manifold  colors  from  above  and  below ;  figures  appeared  and  disap- 
peared. The  mimic,  the  tonic,  the  plastic,  —  all  the  arts,  in  fact,  —  were  tasked  to  their  very 
utmost,  to  make  these  performances  (the  nearest  approach  to  which,  in  this  country,  is  furnished 
by  transformation  scenes,  or  sensation  dramas  in  general),  as  attractive  and  profitable  (for  the 
priests),  as  could  be.  As  far  as  we  have  any  knowledge  of  the  Mysteries  as  scenic  representa- 
tions, they  generally  brought  the  stories  of  the  special  gods  or  goddesses  before  the  spectator, — 
their  births,  their  sufferings,  deaths,  and  resurrections.  Many  were  the  outward  symbols  used,  of 
which  such  as  the  phallus,  the  thyrsus,  flower  baskets,  mystic  boxes,  in  connection  with  special 
deities,  told  more  or  less  their  own  tale,  although  the  meanings  supplied  by  later  ages,  from  the 
Neo-Platonists  to  our  own  day,  are  various,  and  often  very  amazing.  The  most  important  Mys- 
teries were,  in  historic  times,  those  of  Eleusis  and  the  Thesmophorian,  both  representing,  —  each 
from  a  different  point  of  view,  —  the  rape  of  Proserpina,  and  Ceres's  search  for  her;  the  Thesmo- 
phorian Mysteries  being  also  in  a  manner  connected  with  the  Dionysian  worship.  There  were 
further  those  of  Zeus  at  Crete,  —  derived  from  a  very  remote  period,  —  of  Bacchus  himself,  of 
Cybele,  and  Aphrodite,  —  the  two  latter  with  reference  to  the  Mystery  of  Propagation,  but  cele- 
brated in  diametrically  opposed  ways,  —  the  former  culminating  in  the  self-mutilation  of  the 
worshipper ;  the  latter,  in  prostitution.  Further,  the  Mysteries  of  Oipheus,  who  in  a  certain  degree 
was  considered  the  founder  of  all  Mysteries.  Nor  were  the  other  gods  and  goddesses  forgotten  : 
Hera,  Minerva,  Diana,  Hecate,  —  nay,  foreign  gods,  like  Mithras,  and  the  like, —  had  their  due 
secret  solemnities  all  over  the  classical  soil,  and  whithersoever  Greek  (and  partly  Roman),  colonists 
took  their  Lares  and  Penates  all  over  the  antique  world. 

"  The  beginning  of  the  reaction  in  the  minds  of  thinking  men  against  their  mostly  gross  and 
degenerated  kind  of  veneration  of  natural  powers  and  instincts,  is  marked  by  the  period  of  the 
Hesiodic  poems ;  and  when,  towards  the  end  of  the  classical  periods,  the  Mysteries  were  no  longer 
secret,  but  public  orgies  of  the  most  shameless  kind,  their  days  were  numbered.  The  most  subtle 
metaphysicians,  allegorize  and  symbolize  as  they  might,  failed  in  reviving  them,  and  restoring 
them  to  whatever  primeval  dignity  there  might  have  once  been  inherent  in  them." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Occultism  of  the  Orient  and  Occident. 

Occultism.  —  When  the  Mysteries  of  the  Orient  became  degenerated,  and 
the  priests  for  the  maintenance  of  their  order  perverted  them  so  that  their 
original  purity  was  corrupted,  the  ceremonies  were  so  changed  that  the 
people  at  large  were  led  to  look  upon  them  as  of  divine  origin.  Hierarchal 
governments  were  soon  established,  and,  to  complete  the  subjugation  of  the 
people,  no  individual,  in  Egypt  especially,  could  be  made  a  monarch  unless 
he  belonged  to  the  priestly  caste.  To  keep  up  this  system,  magical  perform- 
ances were  introduced,  whereby  the  populace  were  deceived  into  a  firm 
belief  that  the  gods  were  realities,  and  that  the  archi-magus  was  in  direct 
communication  with  the  celestial,  mundane,  and  infernal  deities. 

As  we  have  shown  in  a  former  part  of  this  treatise,  the  Mysteries  progressed 
from  the  simple  names  for  the  various  phenomena  manifested  in  nature  to 
that  of  a  complete  system  of  a  Pantheon,  predicated  upon  the  various  myths 
which  had  been  handed  down  traditionally  as  realities.     To  show  that  the 


OCCULTISM. 


97 


priests  were  not  at  all  deceived,  it  is  said  one  haruspex  could  not  meet  another 
without  bursting  into  a  loud  laugh. 

The  most  abominable,  disgusting,  and  lascivious  practices  were  introduced, 
and  submitted  to  by  the  people,  because  they  were  informed  that  it  was  by  the 
order  of  the  gods. 

We  believe,  by  all  that  we  can  learn  from  various  ancient  writers,  that 
magical  rites,  incantations,  and  deceptive  practices  were  introduced  earlier 
than  the  days  of  Zoroaster,  and  that  they  spread  far  and  wide  from  the  main 
centre  in  Chaldea,  into  which  country  they  had  been  introduced  from  the 
northern  Turanian  tribes,  who,  in  all  probability,  originated  them  from  their 
natural  fetichism.  As  that  was  prior  to  all  historic  times,  and  those  Turanians 
never  had  any  records  which  have  ever  been  discovered,  we  are  mainly 
dependent  upon  the  remains  of  the  civilization  of  the  Aryan  races,  who 
succeeded  the  Turanians,  by  the  incursions  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 

We  have  not  the  space  to  examine  this  point  as  we  would  wish,  that  our 
reasons  for  this  conclusion  might  be  apparent'  to  all.  We  must  take  for 
granted  that,  in  the  progress  of  these  magical  practices  ascending  to  a  more 
cultivated  and  higher  civilization,  the  priests  naturally  improved  upon  the 
"magic"  of  an  earlier  day,  and  gradually  acquired  such  arts  as  to  astonish 
all  beholders,  and  made  themselves  to  be  considered  as  in  immediate  com- 
munication with  higher  powers,  and  enabled  to  control  the  laws  of  nature  to  a 
very  considerable  extent. 

The  Scriptures  plainly  indicate  that  in  Babylon  itself  there  were  colleges 
of  soothsayers  and  magicians.  In  Egypt  also,  when  Moses  and  Aaron  per- 
formed miracles  in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  he  called  for  his  magicians,  who 
did  the  same  things. 

From  these  remote  days  down  to  our  Era  magical  performances  have  been 
kept  up  in  India  and  in  Egypt.  Prior  to  our  Era  the  learned  men  were  in  the 
practice  of  some  form  of  "  occultism."  What  that  was  we  are  now  ignorant. 
There  have,  however,  come  down  to  us  works  written  by  learned  Hebraists, 
who  tell  us  of  the  Kabala,  and  we  have,  to  some  extent,  gained  a  partial 
knowledge  of  what  Kabalism  was  designed  to  effect.  At  the  present  day 
there  are  no  Kabalists.  Succeeding  to  them  were  learned  scholars,  who 
devoted  nearly  all  of  their  hves  to  the  study  of  occultism,  without  producing, 
directly,  one  atom  of  usefulness  in  the  world.  Like  the  astrologers,  who  were 
to  cast  the  nativities  of  all  men,  their  studies  led,  however,  indirectly,  to  a 
better  comprehension  of  the  valuable  science  of  astronomy.  The  alchemists 
also  were  the  product  of  occultism.  The  search  originally  for  those  things 
thought  so  valuable  by  the  alchemists,  developed  into  the  most  useful  science 
of  chemistry;  nevertheless,  the  physicists  were  in  search  of  that  which 
would  convert  all  metals  into  gold,  and  failed  to  find  it ;  for  that  which  would 
prolong  life  indefinitely,  and  failed ;  yet  they  were  succeeded  by  men  who 
became  philosophers,  and  no  doubt,  under  cover  of  astrological  and  alchem- 


98 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


ical  researches,  were  endeavoring  to  study  out  the  ways  of  life  here,  and 
immortahty,  or  a  future  state. 

We  do  not  doubt  that,  during  the  Middle  Ages,  when  all  the  learning  in 
Europe  was  confined  to  the  monasteries,  and  all  the  manuscripts  of  the  ancient 
world  were  to  be  found  only  within  those  monastic  walls,  the  works  of  the 
ancients  were  closely  studied,  and  literature  was  kept  alive  by  monkish  students 
and  antiquaries. 

Whewell  ("  History  of  Inductive  Sciences,"  p.  211),  on  the  "  Mysticism  of 
the  Middle  Ages,"  says  :  — 

"The  examination  of  this  feature  in  the  history  of  the  human  mind  is  important  for  us,  in  con- 
sequence of  its  influence  upon  the  employments  and  the  thoughts  of  the  times  now  under  our 
notice.  This  tendency  materially  affected  both  men's  speculations  and  their  labors  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge.  By  its  direct  operation  it  gave  rise  to  the  newer  Platonic  philosophy  among  the 
Greeks,  and  to  corresponding  doctrines  among  the  Arabians;  and,  by  calling  into  a  prominent 
place  astrology,  alchemy,  and  magic,  it  long  occupied  most  of  the  real  observers  of  the  material 
world.  In  this  manner  it  delayed  and  impeded  the  progress  of  true  science;  for  we  shall  see 
reason  to  believe  that  human  knowledge  lost  more  by  the  perversion  of  men's  minds  and  the 
misdirection  of  their  efforts  than  is  gained  by  any  increase  of  zeal  arising  from  the  peculiar  hopes 
and  objects  of  the  mystics." 

Upon  the  revival  of  letters,  and  when  the  printing-press  was  set  in  motion, 
books  were  printed,  and  so  multiplied  that  others  besides  the  monks  could 
gratify  their  tastes  for  research ;  then  knowledge  spread  abroad,  the  mind  of 
man  was  hfted  from  its  serfdom  and  servile  attachment  to  old  superstitions, 
and  gradually  there  came  about  a  great  release,  larger  liberty,  and  independent 
inquiry  into  the  causes  of  things.  As  each  succeeding  generation  improved 
mentally,  intellectually,  and  morally  upon  its  predecessor,  so  the  laity  became 
lifted  up  to  a  level  with  the  most  advanced  of  those  who  had  preceded  them. 

The  Crusades  and  Freemasonry.  —  This  progress  was  greatly  accelerated 
by  the  thirst  for  knowledge  which  followed  the  crusades.  The  great  wealth 
of  the  Orientals,  their  manners  and  customs,  were  adopted  by  the  upper-classes 
of  the  pilgrims,  and  brought  back  with  those  who  returned,  so  that  Western 
Europe  was  taught  the  arts  and  the  sciences  of  life. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  last  crusade  the  great  advancement  of 
the  nations  in  the  west  of  Europe  in  civilization  required  great  improvements 
in  all  the  arts,  especially  in  architecture.  The  monks  had  preserved  the  works 
on  architecture,  and  became  the  architects  under  whose  supervision  the  build- 
ing art  was  revived ;  and  hence  resulted  the  magnificent  structures  which  have 
been  the  admiration  of  every  succeeding  generation.  The  societies  of  builders, 
to  whom  the  names  of  Masons  and  Freemasons  have  been  given,  then 
arose,  and  became  the  successors  of  the  old  Roman  "  colleges,"  which  had 
become  extinct  during  the  "  dark  ages,"  as,  in  the  rude  manners  and  rough, 
uncouth  structures  which  followed  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire,  there 
was  no  demand  for  any  other  than  the  ignorant  laborer  for  such  structures  as 
answered  the  purposes  of  northern  hordes,  who  overran  the  middle  and  south 
of  Europe. 


OCCULTISM.  QQ 

We  here  present  a  sample  of  occultism  in  the  following  extracts,  for  which 
we  are  indebted  to  General  Albert  Pike,  T)'^,  Grand  Commander  of  the 
Supreme  Council  A.*. A.-.S/.R.*.,  Southern  Jurisdiction,  who  many  years 
since  loaned  the  writer  the  manuscript  from  which  it  is  a  copy :  — 

"  There  are  in  nature  two  forces  producing  an  equilibrium,  and  the  three  are  but  a  single  law. 
Behold  the  Ternary  summing  itself  up  in  Unity;  and  adding  the  idea  of  Unity  to  that  of  Ternary, 
we  arrive  at  the  Quarternary,  the  first  squared  and  perfect  number,  source  of  all  numerical  combi= 
nations  and  principal  of  all  forms. 

"Affirmation,  negation,  discussion,  solution,  —  such  are  the  four  philosophic  operations  of 
the  human  mind ;  the  discussion  reconciles  the  affirmation  with  the  negative  by  making  them 
necessary  the  one  to  the  other.  So  it  is  that  the  philosophic  Ternary  producing  itself  from  the 
antagonistic  Binary  completed  by  the  Quarternary,  squared  basis  of  all  truth. 

"  In  God,  according  to  the  consecrated  dogma,  there  are  three  Persons,  and  these  Persons  are 
but  a  single  God.  Three  and  one  give  the  idea  of  four,  because  the  Unity  is  necessary  to  explain 
the  three.  Therefore  in  almost  all  languages  the  name  of  God  is  of  four  letters  [Jod,  He  repeated, 
and  Vav],  since  oneof  them  is  repeated;  and  that  expresses  the  WORD  and  the  creation  of  the 
WORD. 

"  Two  affirmations  make  possible  or  necessary  two  corresponding  negations.  Existence  IS," 
means  Noth'aigness  IS  NOT.  The  affirmative,  as  Word,  produces  the  affirmative  as  realization  or 
Incarnation  of  the  Word,  and  each  of  these  affirmations  corresponds  to  the  negation  of  its 
contrary. 

"  So  it  is  that,  according  to  the  expression  of  the  Kabalists,  the  name  of  the  Devil  as  Evil  is 
composed  of  the  letters  upside  down  of  the  very  name  of  the  Deity,  or  the  Good  [»U'LU'] . 

"  This  Evil  is  the  lost  reflection,  or  imperfect  mirage  of  the  Light  in  the  Shadow. 

"  But  all  that  exists,  whether  in  the  Good  or  in  the  Evil,  in  the  Light  or  in  the  Shadow,  exists 
and  is  revealed  by  the  Quarternary. 

"The  Affirmative  of  the  Unity  supposes  the  number  four,  if  this  Affirmative  does  not  resolve 
in  the  Unity  itself,  as  in  the  vicious  circle ;  wherefore  the  Ternary,  as  we  have  already  remarked, 
is  explained  by  the  Binary,  and  is  resolved  by  the  Quarternary,  which  is  the  squared  Unity  of  the 
equal  members  and  the  quadrangular  base  of  the  Cube,  Unit  of  Construction,  Solidity,  and 
Measure. 

"  The  Kabalistic  Tetragram  YODHEVA  expresses  God  in  Humanity,  and  Humanity  in  God. 

"  The  four  cardinal  astronomical  points  are  relatively  to  us  the  Yes  and  No  of  Light,  the  East 
and  the  West ;  and  the  Yes  and  No  of  HEAT,  the  South  and  North. 

"What  is  in  visible  nature  reveals,  as  we  already  know,  by  the  single  dogma  of  the  Kabala, 
that  which  is  in  the  domain  of  invisible  nature,  or  second  causes  at  all  points  proportioned  and 
analogous  to  the  manifestations  of  the  First  Cause. 

"  Wherefore  this  First  Cause  has  always  revealed  itself  by  the  Cross;  the  Cross,  that  unit  com- 
posed of  two,  each  of  the  two  divided  to  form  four;  the  Cross,  that  key  of  the 
mysteries  of  India  and  Egypt,  the  Tau  of  the  Patriarchs,  the  divine  Sign  of 
Osiris,  the  Stanros  of  the  Gnostics,  the  Key-Stone  of  the  Temple,  the  Symbol 

of  Occult  Masonry;  the   Cross,  that  central  point  of  junction  of  the  right  angles      

of  two  infinite  Triangles;  the  Cross,  which  in  the  French  language  seems  to  be 
the  first  root  of  the  verb  croitre  (to  believe,  and  to  grow  or  increase),  thus  unit- 
ing the  ideas  of  Science,  Religion,  and  Progress. 

"  (It  is  an  apt  emblem  and  symbol  of  Infinity;  because  its  four  arms,  each  infinitely  prolonged, 
would  infinitely  diverge,  the  distance  between  them  infinitely  increasing).  The  incommunicable 
axiom  is  Kabalistically  contained  in  the  four  letters  of  the  Tetragram,  thus  arranged :  in  the  let- 
ters of  the  words  AZOTH  and  INRI,  written  Kabalistically,  and  in  the  Monogram  of  Christ, 
as  it  was  embroidered  on  the  Labarum,  and  which  the  Kabalist  Postel  interpreted  by  the  word 
ROTA,  from  which  the  Adepts  have  formed  their  TARO,  or  TAROT,  repeating  the  first 
letter  to  indicate  the  circle,  and  to  give  it  to  be  understood  that  the  word  has  returned. 

"  The  whole  magical  science  consists  in  the  knowledge  of  this  secret.  To  know  it  and  to 
dare  without  serving  is  Human  Omnipotence;  but  to  reveal  it  to  a  profane  is  to  lose  it;  to  reveal 
it  even  to  a  disciple  is  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  that  disciple. 


lOO  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

"  The  perfect  word,  that  which  is  adequate  to  the  thought  which  it  expresses,  always  virtually 
contains  or  supposes  a  Quarternary :  the  idea  and  its  three  necessary  and  correlative  forms;  and 
then  also  the  image  of  the  thing  expressed,  with  the  three  terms  of  the  judgment  which  qualifies  it. 
When  I  say  Being-  exists,  I  impliedly  affirm  that  Nothingness  does  jwt  exist. 

"A  Height,  a  Length,  which  the  Height  geometrically  cuts  in  two;  a  Depth  separated  from 
the  Height  by  the  intersection  of  the  Length,  —  this  is  the  natural  Quarternary,  composed  of  two 
lines  crossing  each  other;  there  are  also  in  nature  four  movements  produced  by  two  forces,  which 
sustain  each  other  by  their  tendencies  in  opposite  directions. 

"  But  the  law  which  rules  bodies  is  analogous  and  proportioned  to  that  which  governs  spirits ; 
and  that  which  governs  spirits  is  the  very  manifestation  of  the  secret  of  God.  That  is  to  say,  of 
the  mystery  of  the  creation."     (De  la  Haute  Magic,  Vol.  L  pp.  66-97.) 

From  the  Book,  D"'^^lL''^  ^'^^,  or  Porta  Ccelorum  of  Rabbi  Abraham 
Cohen  Sura,  of  Portugal,  Dissertation  VII.  cap.  2  :  — 

§  I,  Jod  ['^  or  ''] ,  because  simple  is  a  One  and  Jirst,  somewhat,  and  is  like  unto  the  Unit, 
which  is  prime  to  all  other  numbers,  and  to  a. point,  which  is  the  first  ot  all  bodies ;  a  point  moved 
lengthwise  produces  a  line,  or  Vav,  1  or  f,  and  this  moved  sideways  produces  a  superficies,  and  so 
from  Vav  becomes  Daleth,  '^ ;  formation  tends  from  the  right  toward  the  left,  and  communication  is 
from  the  higher  to  the  lower,  and  this  is  the  full  expression  [plenitude]  of  this  letter,  Jod,  thus : 
nr,  Jod,  Vav,  Daleth,  i.e.,  I  or  J  or  Y,  V  or  U,  and  D,  making  lUD,  YOD,  or  JOD.  But  Vav  and 
Daleth  are  numerically  10,  as  Jod,  xY\e\r principle,  is.  Moreover,  if  Daleth  becomes  more  dense, 
and  to  it  is  added  depth,  then  we  have  a  body  wherein  are  all  the  dimensions ;  thus  ,1,  He,  which  is 
the  symbol  of  profundity  [depth]. 

Thus  Yod  is  the  point  or  unit}',  Vav  the  perpendicular  line,  Daleth  a  superficies,  and  He 
represents  a  square. 

§  3.  Thence,  one  corresponds  to  the  point ;  two  to  the  //«?,  because  a  line  is  extension  between 
two  points ;  three  to  a  superficies,  because  the  first  of  plain  figures  is  a  triangle  formed  by  lines 
connecting  three  points.  Four  points  constitute  the  first  body,  which  is  a  cube.  But  in  the  Quarter- 
nary [4]  10  are  contained,  thus  i,  2,  3,  4  =  10,  and  thus  the  Tetragrammaton  is  in  itself  Unity,  but 
contains  in  itself  2;  that  is,  the  two  letter  "  He"  contains  also  3  {i.e.,  its  three  different  letters,  Yod, 
He,  and  Vav) ;  and  contains  also  4  (i.e.,  the  four  several  letters, ',  ,1,  1,  H).  It  also  contains  in 
itself  5,  of  which  figure.  He  is  the  cypher,  6,  of  which  Vav  is  the  cypher,  7,  in  the  mode  of  writing 
called  ja,  52,  whose  lesser  number  is  (5  +  2)  7 ;  8,  because  the  number  of  the  NAME  is  26,  whose 
lesser  number  is  2  +  6  =  8;  9,  in  the  modes  of  writing,  2^,  72 ;  212,63;  ,"|?i,  45,  and  p ;  the  final 
Nun  denoting  700,  and  Beth  2 ;  and  the  lesser  number  of  702  being  (7  +  0  +  0  +  2)  9 ;  and  10, 
because  in  the  said  Plentitude  [YOD-HE-VAV-HE]  are  ten  letters.  So  that  the  Tetragram- 
maton contains  all  the  numbers ;  and  as  in  10  all  the  numbers  are  contained,  so  in  the  Quarternary 
are  all  bodies  contained  ;  and  these  numbers  are  the  two  symbols  of  Universal  Perfection,  and  by 
them  all  things  are  measured  and  numbered,  they  being  the  similitudes  of  the  Ten  Sephiroth  of 
the  ^nsophic  World,  which  is  the  cause  of  the  other  four  worlds  [.•\ZILUTH,  BriaH,  JEZIRAH, 
and  ASIAH],  ordinarily  expressed  by  the  word  U'^K,  ABLA,  formed  by  their  initials. 

The  Magic  Triangle  ot  the  Pagan  Theosophites  is  the  celebrated 
ABRACADABRA 
ABRACADABR 
ABRACADAB 
ABRACADA 
A  B  R  A  C  A  D 
A  B  R  A  C  A 
A  B  R  A  C  Denary  of  Pythagoras. 

A  B  R  A 
A  B  R 
A  B  ... 

A  .... 

to  which  they  ascribed  extraordinary  virtues,  and  which  they  figured  in  an  equilateral  triangle  as 
above. 


OCCULTISM.  IQj 

Number  of  letters  66  =  6+6=  12=3X4  — 6  +  6+6=  l8  =  9      j]    3; 
666. 

This  combination  of  letters  is  the  Key  of  the  Pentagram.  The  initial  A  is  repeated  in  the  single 
word  five  times,  and  reproduced  in  the  whole  figure  thirty  times,  which  gives  the  elements  and 
numbers  of  the  two  figures  No.  5  and  No.  6.  The  isolated  A  represents  the  Unity  of  the  first 
principle,  or  of  the  Intellectual  or  Active  Agent.  The  A  united  with  the  B  represents  the  fecunda- 
tion of  the  Binary  by  Unity.  The  R  is  the  sign  of  the  Ternary,  because  it  hierographically 
represents  the  effusion  that  results  from  the  union  of  the  two  principles.  The  number  of  letters  in 
the  single  word  (11)  adds  one  (Unity)  of  the  Initiate  to  the  denary  of  Pythagoras;  and  the  whole 
number  of  all  the  letters  added  together  is  66.  Kabalistically  6  +  6  forms  the  number  12,  the  num- 
ber of  a  square  whereof  each  side  is  the  ternary  3,  and  consequently  the  mystic  quadrature  of  the 
Circle.  The  author  of  the  Apocalypse  that of  the  Christian  Kabala  has  made  up  the  num- 
ber of  the  Beast,  that  is  to  say  of  Idolatry,  by  adding  a  6  to  the  double  senary  (66  —  making  666) 
of  the  Abracadabra,  which  Kabahstically  (6+6  +  6)  gives  18,  the  number  assigned  in  the  Jarot  to 
the  hieroglyphic  sign  of  Night  and  of  the  Profane.  The  Moon  with  the  towers,  the  Dog,  the 
Wolf,  and  the  Crab,  —  a  mysterious  and  obscure  number,  the  Kabalistic  Key  of  which  is  9,  the 
number  of  initiation. 

On  this  subject  the  sacred  Kabalist  says :  "  Let  him  who  has  understanding  [that  is  to  say,  the 
Key  of  the  Kabalistic  numbers]  calculate  the  number  of  the  Beast,  for  it  is  the  number  of  a 
Man,  and  this  number  is  666."  [Rev.  xiii.  18.]  This  is  in  fact  the  decade  of  Pythagoras  multi- 
plied by  itself,  and  added  to  the  sum  of  the  triangular  Pentacle  of  Abracadabra ;  it  is  therefore  the 
summary  of  all  the  magic  of  the  ancient  world ;  the  entire  programme  of  the  human  genius, 
which  the  divine  genius  of  the  Gospel  wished  to  absorb  or  supplant. 

These  hieroglyphical  combinations  of  letters  and  numbers  belong  to  the  practical  part  of  the 
Kabala,  which,  in  this  point  of  view,  is  divided  into  Gematria  and  Temurah.  These  calculations, 
which  now  seem  to  us  arbitrary  and  uninteresting,  then  belonged  to  the  philosophic  symbolism 
of  the  Orient,  and  were  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the  teaching  of  the  holy  things  which 
emanated  from  the  occult  sciences.  The  absolute  Kabalistic  alphabet,  which  connected  the 
first  ideas  with  allegories,  allegories  with  letters,  and  letters  with  numbers,  was  what  was  then 
called  the  Keys  of  Solomon.  We  have  already  seen  that  these  keys,  preserved  unto  our 
day,  but  completely  unknown,  are  nothing  else  than  the  game  of  jAROT,  whose  ancient  allegories 
have  been  remarked  and  appreciated  for  the  first  time  in  our  days  by  the  learned  antiquary.  Count 
de  Gebelin. 

The  double  triangle  of  Solomon  is  explained  by  Saint  John  in  a  remarkable  manner :  "  There 
are,"  he  says,  "  three  witnesses  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  three 
witnesses  in  earth,  the  breath,  the  water,  and  the  Word."  He  thus  agrees  with  the  masters 
of  the  Hermetic  philosophy,  who  give  their  sulphur  \he  name  of  ether;  their  mercury  the  name 
of  philosophical  water;  and  style  their  salt  dragon's  blood,  or  menstruum  of  the  earth ;  the 
blood  or  the  salt  corresponding  by  apposition  with  the  Father,  the  aortic  or  mercurial  water 
with  the  Word  or  Logos,  and  the  breath  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  matters  of  lofty  symbolism 
can  only  be  well  understood  by  the  true  condition  of  science.     (De  la  Haute  Magic,  Vol.  II. 

PP-  3I-3S-) 

The  Holy  and  Mysterious  Pentagram,  called  in  the  Gnostic 

schools  the  Blazing  Star  (L'Etoile  flamboyante),  is  the  sign  of  Intel- 
lectual Omnipotence  and  Autocracy. 

It  is  the  star  of  the  Magi ;  it  is  the  sign  of  THE  WORD  MADE 
FLESH,  and  according  to  the  direction  of  its  rays,  this  absolute  symbol 
represents  Good  or  Evil,  Order  or  Disorder,  the  blessed  Lamb  of 
Ormuzd  (Ahur6-Mazda6),  and  Saint  John,  or  the  accursed  Goat  of 
Mendes  (see  p.  49), 

It  is  initiation  or  profanation;  it  is  Lucifer  or  Vesper,  the  morning 
or  the  evening  star. 

It  is  Mary  or  Lilith,  victory  or  death,  light  (day)  or  darkness  (night).  When  the  Pentagram 
elevates  two  of  its  points,  it  represents  Satan,  or  the  goat  of  the  Mysteries ;  and  when  it  elevates 
one  of  its  points  only,  it  represents  the  Saviour,  goodness,  virtue. 


JQ2  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

The  Pentagram  is  the  figure  of  the  human  body,  with  four  limbs  and  a  single  point,  which 
should  represent  the  head. 

A  human  figure,  with  the  head  downward,  naturally  represents  a  demon;  that  is  to  say, 
intellectual  overturning,  disorder,  or  insanity.  But  if  magic  is  a  reality,  if  this  occult  science  is 
the  veritable  law  of  the  three  worlds,  this  absolute  sign,  old  as  history,  and  more  than  history, 
should  exercise,  and  does  in  fact  exercise,  an  incalculable  influence  over  spirits  freed  from  their 
material  envelopes. 

The  sign  of  the  Pentagram  is  also  called  the  sign  of  the  Microcosm,  and  it  represents  what 
the  Kabalists  of  the  book  Sohar  call  Microprosopos. 

The  complete  understanding  of  the  Pentagram  is  the  key  of  the  two  worlds.  It  is  absolute 
natural  philosophy  and  science. 

The  sign  of  the  Pentagram  should  be  composed  of  seven  metals,  or  at  least  be  traced  in  pure 
gold  on  white  marble. 

We  may  also  draw  it  with  vermilion  on  a  lamb-skin  without  spot  or  blemish,  symbol  of  integ- 
rity and  light. 

The  ancient  magicians  drew  the  sign  of  the  Pentagram  on  their  doorsteps,  to  prevent  evil 
spirits  from  entering  and  good  ones  from  going  out.  This  constraint  resulted  from  the  direction 
of  the  rays  of  the  star.  Two  points  directed  outwardly  repelled  the  evil  spirits ;  two  directed 
inwardly  retained  them  prisoners ;  a  single  point  within  captivated  the  good  spirits. 

The  G  which  Freemasons  place  in  the  centre  of  the  blazing  star  signifies  GNOSIS  and  GENERA- 
TION, the  two  sacred  words  of  the  ancient  Kabala.  It  also  means  the  Grand  Architect,  for 
the  Pentagram,  on  whatever  side  we  view  it,  represents  an  A.  All  the  Mysteries  of  Magic,  all  the 
symbols  of  the  Gnosis,  all  the  figures  of  Occultism,  all  the  Kabalistic  keys  of  prophecy,  are  summed 
up  in  the  sign  of  the  Pentagram,  which  Paracelsus  pronounces  the  greatest  and  most  potent  of  all 
signs.  Those  who  heed  not  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  tremble  at  the  sight  of  the  Star  of  the  Micro- 
cosm. The  Magus,  on  the  contrary,  when  he  feels  his  will  grown  feeble,  turns  his  eyes  toward 
this  symbol,  takes  it  in  his  right  hand,  and  feels  himself  armed  with  intellectual  omnipotence,  pro- 
vided he  is  really  a  King  worthy  to  be  led  by  the  Star  to  the  cradle  of  the  divine  realization ; 
provided  he  Knows,  Dares,  Wills,  and  is  SILENT  .  .  .  ;  provided,  in  fine,  that  the  intrepid  gaze 
of  his  soul  corresponds  with  the  two  eyes  which  the  upper  point  of  the  Pentagram  always  presents 
to  him  open.     (De  la  Haute  Magic,  Vol.  II.  pp.  55-62.) 

The  whole  revolutionary  work  of  modern  times  was  symbolically  summed  up  by  the  Napole- 
onic substitution  of  the  Star  of  Honor  for  the  Cross  of  Saint  Louis.  It  was  the  Pentagram 
substituted  for  the  Labarum,  the  reinstatement  of  the  symbol  of  light,  the  Masonic  resurrection  of 
Adon-hiram.  It  is  said  that  Napoleon  believed  in  his  star;  and  if  he  could  have  been  persuaded 
to  say  what  he  understood  by  this  star,  it  would  have  been  found  that  it  was  his  own  genius ;  and 
therefore  he  was  in  the  right  to  adopt  for  his  sign  the  Pentagram,  that  symbol  of  human  sover- 
eignty by  the  intelligent  initiative.     (/<f.,  Vol.  II.  pp.  83,  84.) 

One  of  these  medals  has  become  popular  in  our  times,  so  that  even  those  who  have  no  religion 
hang  it  on  the  necks  of  their  children.  The  figures  on  it  are  so  perfectly  Kabalistic  that  the 
medal  is  really  a  double  and  admirable  Pentacle.  On  one  side  we  see  the  Grand  Initiation,  the 
Celestial  Mother  of  the  Sohar,  the  Isis  of  Egypt,  the  Venus  Urania  of  the  Platonists,  the  Mary  of 
Christianity,  standing  upon  the  world  and  setting  one  foot  on  the  head  of  the  Magic  Serpent.  She 
extends  her  two  hands  so  that  they  form  a  triangle,  whereof  the  head  of  the  woman  is  the  apex; 
her  hands  are  open,  and  emitting  rays,  which  make  of  them  a  double  Pentagram  when  the  rays 
are  all  directed  towards  the  earth,  which  evidently  represents  the  emancipation  of  the  intelligence 
of  labor. 

On  the  other  side  we  see  the  double  Tau  of  the  Hierophants.the  Lingam  in  the  double  cteis  or 
in  the  triple  Phallus  supported  with  the  interlacing  and  double  insertion  of  the  Kabalistic  and 
Masonic  M,  representing  the  square  between  the  two  columns,  lachin  and  Boaz.  Above  are 
placed  on  a  level  two  hearts,  loving  and  suffering,  and  around  twelve  Pentagrams.  {^Id,  Vol.  II. 
pp.  84,  85.) 

The  culmination  of  all  the  Mysteries  of  the  Orient  was  accomplished  in 
the  coming  of  the  "  Messuh  "  ;  Hebrew,  Mdshiah  from  Mashah,  to  Anoint; 


OCCULTISM.  103 

hence  the  Anointed  One  ;  Chrisius,  Latin ;  Christos,  Greek ;  Krishna, 
Sanscrit. 

The  whole  world  of  man  had  come  under  the  domination  of  Rome,  the 
empire  of  which  had  extended  beyond  the  utmost  limits  of  the  known  world 
of  the  Greek  Empire,  which  had  followed  that  of  Persian  kings.  These 
several  empires  had  been  prophesied  by  Daniel  when  the  Jewish  nation  was 
in  captivity  under  the  king  of  Babylon. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Nelson,  who  was  at  one  time  disposed  to  become  an  infidel, 
took  up,  scientifically,  the  examination  of  the  prophecies  to  pro\^e  their 
falsity,  and  he  became  convinced  from  the  known  history  of  all  of  those 
empires  and  the  succeeding  events,  since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
Era,  that  the  book  of  Daniel  did,  most  assuredly  and  incontestably,  foretell 
the  events  connected  with  the  world's  history  from  his  day  down  to  the 
present  century.  This  is  well  shown  in  his  work,  "The  Cause  and  Cure 
of  Infidehty."  In  the  preceding  pages  it  has  been  clearly  set  forth  that, 
from  the  very  earliest  records  of  the  past  ages,  and  from  all  the  sources  of 
our  knowledge  of  the  "  Spirit  History  of  Man,"  it  is  palpably  evident  that 
mankind  acknowledged  their  "lost  estate  "  and  were  relying  upon  the  promise 
made,  that  a  "restoration"  should  come  in  and  through  a"  Divine  Redeemer," 
who  should  be  known  as  the  Anointed  One,  Christos. 

When  it  was  noised  abroad  over  the  Roman  Empire  that  "  Christ  "  had 
been  bom  in  Judea,  heathen  sacrifices  generally  ceased,  and  all  the  learned 
men  and  philosophers  hailed  his  Advent.  What  has  subsequently  occurred  is 
a  matter  of  history,  well  known  to  all  intelligent  men  everywhere. 

When  the  "  Middle  Ages "  became  dark,  and,  through  the  all-prevailing 
religious  and  superstitious  practices  of  the  hierarchy  of  Rome,  learning  was 
driven  from  the  homes  of  the  people  and  strictly  confined  to  the  clergy,  and, 
as  has  been  previously  stated,  all  the  writings  of  the  ancients  were  collected 
into  the  recesses  of  the  monasteries,  the  monks  and  priests  were  the  only 
persons  who  possessed  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  man.  To  them  we  are 
largely,  if  not  wholly,  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  the  Mysteries  of  the 
various  ancient  nations ;  and  when  we  compare  the  philosophy  of  the  "  relig- 
ious idea,"  as  it  existed  during  the  middle  centuries,  and  the  forms  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Roman  rituals,  we  are  convinced  that  they  were  almost 
entirely  derived  from  the  practices  of  Oriental  religious  observances.  A 
French  historian  of  mathematics  says :  "  It  is  impossible  not  to  reflect  that 
all  those  men  who,  if  they  did  not  augment  the  treasure  of  the  sciences,  at 
least  served  to  transmit  it,  were  monks,  or  had  been  such  originally.  Con- 
vents were  during  these  stormy  ages  the  asylum  of  the  sciences  and  letters." 

A  recent  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  says :  "  Christianity  is,  in 
fact,  the  reintegration  of  all  scattered  religious  convictions,  and  this  accounts 
for  the  adoption  by  the  Church  of  so  many  usages  belonging  primarily  to 
Paganism,  and  for  the  doctrines  of  the  creed  resembling  in  so  many  points 


I04 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


the  traditions  of  heathenism."  This  is  said  of  the  Christianity  of  man — not 
of  that  of  the  Gospel  and  the  Apostles  ! 

M.  GilHot  says  :  "  The  use  of  the  temple,  of  churches  dedicated  to  saints 
and  adorned  with  branches  of  trees  on  certain  occasions ;  incense,  lamps, 
tapers,  votive  offerings  made  upon  convalescence,  holy  water,  asylum  festivals, 
and  ember  seasons ;  calendars,  processions,  the  benediction  of  land,  sacer- 
dotal vestments,  the  tonsure,  the  marriage  ring,  turning  to  the  East,  devotion 
to  images,  even,  may  be,  the  strains  of  the  Church,  the  '  Kyrie  eleison,^  —  all 
of  these  customs  and  many  others  are  of  Oriental  origin,  sanctified  by  the 
adoption  of  the  Church."  (Gilhot,  L'Orient,  I'Occident,  etc.)  This  is 
essentially  the  fetichism  of  the  heathen  world  transferred  to  the  Church. 

It  has  been  the  custom  of  modern  writers  on  Masonry  to  claim  that  our 
Speculative  or  Philosophical  Masonry  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  Operative  lodges 
which  existed  partially  down  to  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
that  the  Speculative  system  was  completed  in  171 7,  by  the  organization  of  the 
first  Grand  Lodge.  It  has  been  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  that  at  that  con- 
vention in  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard,  June  24,  1717, "  Speculative  Masonry  "  was 
revived  out  of  the  almost  "  moribund  "  Operative  guilds  of  "  Masons  "  and 
"  Free  Masons,"  who,  with  all  the  other  guilds,  and  the  "  Twelve  Great 
Corporations  "  of  London,  and  all  similar  associations  in  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
and  also  in  France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  derived  their  existence  originally 
from  the  permission  or  charters  granted  by  the  Church  of  Rome  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  religious  houses  of  every  character. 

There  is  a  possibility  that  the  idea  of  such  associations  originated  in  the 
"  Colleges  of  Architects  "  and  "  Colleges  of  Artisans,"  which  had  been  insti- 
tuted in  the  time  of  Numa  Pompilius,  715  B.C.;  and  hence  it  has  been  the 
hypothesis  of  writers  that  modern  Masonic  lodges  are  derived  from  these 
colleges.  It  is  only  hypothetical,  and  has  not  been  proven.  These  colleges 
were  probably  organized  upon  the  plan  of  the  ancient  mystic  associations 
which  we  have  described.  That  "  learning  "  or  a  knowledge  of  the  sciences, 
both  natural  and  applied,  was  kept  alive  by  the  clergy,  we  refer  to  Whewell's 
"  History  of  Philosophy,"  pp.  186-207. 

The  history  of  the  guilds  and  great  corporations  has  been  repeatedly 
published,  and  our  limits  forbid  any  extended  reference  thereto.  That  our 
present  Masonic  lodge  system  is  due  to  these  corporations  is  perhaps  correct, 
but  that  Speculative  or  Philosophical  Masonry,  as  it  has  been  developed  since 
1723,  when  rituahsm  commenced,  derived  any  of  its  principles  from  Opera- 
tive Masonry,  we  cannot  admit.  It  has  never  been  demonstrated  that  in  all 
the  guilds,  corporations,  and  other  associations  of  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth centuries,  there  was  anything  whatever  that  could  serve  as  a  foundation 
for  the  philosophy  of  Masonry,  as  it  has  since  been  understood. 

When  we  critically  examine  the  rituals  of  all  the  degrees,  from  the  Entered 
Apprentice  to  the  Master  in  "  Blue  Masonry,"  and  all  the  succeeding  degrees 


OCCULTISM. 


105 


from  whatever  rite  they  may  have  been  derived,  we  discover  in  the  forms,  the 
language,  and  the  secret  words,  everything  has  been  taken  from  the  Hebrew. 
Every  word  is  Kabalistic.  What,  then,  is  the  inference  ?  The  KabaUsts  were 
the  inventors  of  the  rituals  of  the  original  degrees,  and  Kabahstic  scholars  in 
France  and  Germany  have  multiplied  the  degrees  by  elaborating  upon  the 
"  legends  "  of  the  first  three. 

We  have  no  space  to  devote  to  a  proper  critical  examination  of  this  subject, 
and  must  leave  it  for  future  explorers  to  fully  demonstrate.  Our  own  conclu- 
sion was  long  since  made  :  that  there  was  originally  in  Speculative  Masonry 
but  one  ritual,  which  was  very  simple ;  out  of  that  one  trunk  have  grown  all 
the  branches,  and  the  fruit  from  these  bears  the  resemblance  of  Hermeticism 
and  the  Kabala. 

Every  Mason  who  has  advanced  beyond  the  Third  degree,  if  he  has  paid 
any  attention  to  Masonry  as  a  true  system,  a  science,  or  a  philosophy,  must 
have  discovered  that  those  who  invented  the  succeeding  degrees  were  endeav- 
oring to  teach,  by  emblems,  symbols,  and  allegories,  the  most  important  truths 
which  could  engage  the  attention  of  intelligent  minds. 

It  has  been  well  settled  by  6ur  recent  writers  on  Masonry,  such  as 
W.  J.  Hughan,  A.  F.  A.  Woodford,  R.  F.  Gould,  in  England,  and  D.  Mur- 
ray Lyon  in  Scotland,  that  as  early  as  1723  a  ritual  was  in  use,  but  no 
reliable  evidence,  that  prior  to  a.d.  1717,  there  was  more  than  one  ceremony, 
with  a  word,  or  words,  and  signs.  The  Master  Mason  was  so  called 
after  he  became  the  presiding  officer  of  his  lodge ;  ^  and  when  an  appren- 
tice was  to  be  "  Crafted,'''  two  apprentices  should  be  present  to  witness 
the  ceremony.  Apprentices,  then  as  now,  in  all  countries  but  the  United 
States,  constituted  the  membership  of  lodges,  and  in  that  degree  all  busi- 
ness was,  and  is  yet,  transacted.  About  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  upon 
the  introduction  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree  into  England  from  France  by 
Chevalier  Ramsay,  the  ritual  of  the  Third  degree  was  changed,  and  the  most 
important  secrets  were  placed  in  the  Royal  Arch ;  and  hence,  since  then,  a 
Mason  who  has  only  received  the  Third  degree  is  not  a  Master  until  he  has 
been  elected  to  preside,  and  not  even  then  is  he  a  Master  Mason  proper,  until 
he  shall  have  received  the  secrets  of  the  Royal  Arch,  which  can  only  be  given 
to  a  Past  Master.  Now  the  loss  sustained  in  the  Third  degree  represents  the 
^'Aphanisni"  of  the  Ancient  Mysteries,  and  the  "recovery"  in  the  Royal  Arch 
represents  the  "  Euresis."  "Aphanizo"  means  to  "conceal";  "  Euresis " 
means  a  "  discovery." 

The  Third  degree,  the  Royal  Arch,  and  the  Select  of  27,  are  all  designed  to 
imitate  the  Ancient  Mysteries,  and  from  the  Hebrew  character  manifested  in 
them  we   have  thought  they  were  the  result  of  the  Kabalistic  works  which 

1  Extract  from  "  Constitutions  "  of  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  1847.  "  Ancient  Charges,"  p.  7. 
"  N.B.  In  ancient  times  no  brother,  however  skilled  in  the  craft,  was  called  a  Master  Mason  until 
he  had  been  elected  into  the  chair  of  a  lodge." 


I06  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

were  much  studied  during  the  last  century  in  Europe,  from  the  middle  to  the 
close  of  which  there  were  invented  and  introduced  many  hundred  degrees  to 
elaborate  the  legends.  Of  all  these  degrees  none  have  survived  except  such 
as  could  contribute  to  the  advancement,  intellectually  and  morally,  of  the 
Fraternity. 

The  various  degrees  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite  consisted  of  twenty- 
five  degrees,  or  Rite  of  Perfection,  until  the  organization  of  the  Supreme 
Council  at  Charleston,  S.C.,  in  1802,  after  which  that  rite  was  called  the 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  from  the  Latin  Constitutions,  "  Antiquus 
ScoticHs  Ritas  Acceptus,"  which  were  divided  into  Ineffable,  Knightly,  and 
Philosophic,  all  of  which,  we  presume,  will  be  succinctly  described  in  the 
division  of  this  volume  devoted  to  that  rite. 

Inasmuch  as  the  building  art,  at  its  revival  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  was  due  to  the  progress  of  scientific  ideas,  and  which  was  the  prelude 
to  the  period  of  discovery,  we  may  refer  to  their  practical  architecture  and  to 
the  treatises  of  that  period  :  — 

"The  indistinctness  of  ideas  which  attended  the  decline  of  the  Roman  Empire  appears  in  the 
forms  of  their  architecture,  in  the  disregard  which  the  decorative  construction  exhibits  of  the 
necessary  mechanical  conditions  of  support. 

"  The  original  scheme  of  Greek  ornamental  architecture  had  been  horizontal  masses  resting  on 
vertical  columns;  when  the  arch  was  introduced  by  the  Romans,  it  was  concealed  or  kept  in  a 
state  of  subordination,  and  the  lateral  support  which  it  required  was  supplied  latently,  marked  by 
some  artifice.  But  the  struggle  between  the  mechanical  and  decorative  construction  ended  in  the 
complete  disorganization  of  the  classical  style  (order),  the  inconsistencies  and  extravagancies 
of  which  were  the  results  and  indications  of  the  fall  of  good  architecture.  The  elements  of  the 
ancient  system  had  lost  all  principle  of  connection  and  regard  to  rule.  Building  became  not 
only  a  mere  art,  but  an  art  exercised  by  masters  without  skill  and  without  feeling  for  real  beauty." 

When,  in  the  twelfth  and  succeeding  centuries,  architecture  was  revived  in 
the  beautiful  and  skilful  forms  of  the  Gothic  style,  "  the  true  idea  of  mechan- 
ical relations  in  an  edifice  had  been  revived  in  men's  minds,  as  far  as  was 
requisite  for  the  purposes  of  art  and  beauty." 

Willis,  in  his  "  Remarks  on  the  Architecture  of  the  Middle  Ages,"  says  that 
much  of  the  Alason-craft  of  those  ages  consisted  in  the  geometrical  methods 
by  which  the  artists  wrought  out  of  the  blocks  of  stone  the  complex  forms 
of  their  decorative  system. 

In  view  of  what  has  been  said  upon  the  Mysteries,  and  the  Mystic  asso- 
ciations, we  must  not  be  surprised  to  find  among  the  earliest  treatises  on 
Architecture,  "  besides  the  superstition  and  mistaken  erudition  which  thus 
choked  the  growth  of  real  architectural  doctrines,  another  of  the  peculiar  ele- 
ments of  the  Middle  Ages  comes  into  view,  —  its  mysticism.  The  dimensions 
and  positions  of  the  various  parts  of  edifices  and  of  their  members  are  deter- 
mined by  drawing  triangles,  squares,  circles,  and  other  figures  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  bound  them  ;  and  to  these  geometrical  figures  were  assigned  many  abstruse 
significations.     The  plan  and  front  of  the  Cathedral  at  Milan  are  thus  repre- 


OCCULTISM. 


107 


sented  in  Cesariano's  work,  bounded  and  subdivided  by  various  equilateral 
triangles ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see,  in  the  earnestness  with  which  he  points  out 
these  relations,  the  evidence  of  a  fanciful  and  mysterious  turn  of  thought." 

This  work  of  Cesariano  was  translated  into  German  and  published  in  1548. 

Stuart  (Arch.  Die.)  says  :  — 

"  Those  who  have  seen  the  exact  accounts  in  records  of  the  charge  of  fabrics  of  some  of  our 
cathedrals,  near  four  liundred  years  old,  cannot  but  have  a  great  esteem  for  their  economy,  and 
admire  how  soon  they  erected  such  lofty  structures.  Indeed,  great  height  they  thought  the  greatest 
magnificence;  few  stones  were  used,  but  what  a  man  might  carry  up  a  ladder,  on  his  back, 
from  scaffold  to  scaffold,  though  they  had  pulleys  and  spoked  wheels  upon  occasion ;  but  having 
rejected  cornices,  they  had  no  need  of  great  engines;  stone  upon  stone  was  easily  piled  up  to  great 
heights;  therefore,  the  pride  of  their  works  was  in  pinnacles  and  steeples.  In  this  they  essentially 
differed  from  the  Roman  mode,  which  laid  all  the  mouldings  horizontally,  in  order  to  make  the 
best  perspective ;  and  they  made  their  pillars  of  a  bundle  of  Httle  toruses,  which  divided  when 
they  came  to  the  roof;  and  then  these  toruses  split  into  many  smaller  ones,  and,  traversing  one 
another,  gave  occasion  to  the  tracery  work  (as  it  is  called)  of  which  this  society  were  the  i?iventors 
(Freemasons).  They  used  the  sharp-pointed  arch,  which  would  rise  with  little  centring,  required 
lighter  key-stones,  and  less  butment,  and  yet  would  bear  another  row  of  double  arches  rising  from 
the  key-stone ;  by  diversifying  of  which,  they  erected  structures  of  eminence,  such  as  the  steeples  of 
Vienna,  Strasburg,  and  others  in  different  countries." 

Sir  Christopher  Wren,  who  was  the  last  General  Superintendent,  sometimes 
called  the  Grand  Master,  of  that  wreck  of  Freemasonry  which  had  survived  to 
his  day,  in  his  "  Parentalia,"  says  that  the  practice  of  the  pointed  arch 
exclusively  belonged  to  the  Fraternity  of  the  Freemasons ;  and  yet  there  is  no 
evidence  that  he  had  ever  been  initiated  into  the  Order,  until  long  after  he 
had  ceased  to  superintend  the  great  works  of  that  day.  (  Vide  Gould's  His- 
tory of  Masonry,  Vol.  III.  pp.  5  et  seq.) 

From  all  the  examinations  which  we  have  been  enabled  to  make,  we  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  until  the  organization  of  lodges,  under  the 
revival  in  171 7,  what  were  called  the  "Mysteries  of  the  Craft "  were  the 
peculiar  methods  or  rules  employed  in  ikio.  special  Art,  and  by  which  the  Craft 
was  enabled  to  construct  such  magnificent  buildings,  which  have  survived  for 
hundreds  of  years,  and  have  been  the  admiration  of  succeeding  centuries,  and 
have  also  been  the  models   for  subsequent  architects  to  the   present   day. 

Stuart  says  of  Sir  C.  Wren  ;  "  His  distaste  towards  the  attractive  style  used 
by  this  skilful  association  is  sufficiently  known.  It  would  appear  that  he 
could  not  fathom  the  rules  of  art  by  which  their  work  were  governed,  and 
politicly  affected  to  despise  that  which  he  lacked  invention  to  imitate."  Yet 
he  also  says  of  Wren,  whom  he  calls  "  Surveyor  General,"  and  quoting  from 
Mr.  Hooke,  "that  since  the  time  of  Archimides,  there  scarcely  ever  have  met 
in  one  man,  in  so  great  a  perfection,  such  a  mechanical  hand  and  so  phil- 
osophic a  mind." 

Conclusion.  —  This  treatise  upon  the  Ancient  Mysteries  would  not  be 
complete  without  some  reference  to  the  Mysteries,  involved  in  the  Mosaic 
Dispensation,  which  was  established  by  the  Authority  of  God,  at  Mount  Sinai, 


jQg  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

and  continued  until  the  advent  of  the  promised  Messiah,  as  beheved  by  all 
of  the  Christian  faith,  and  which  personage  is  yet  looked  for  by  the  Jews, 
scattered  as  they  are  among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  at  the  present  day. 
Also,  that  special  reference  should  be  made  to  Christianity,  which  was  estab- 
lished immediately  after  the  Crucifixion  and  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  a 
distinct  form  of  Religion  by  his  Apostles  who  had  received  their  instructions 
from  him  while  they  were  his  Disciples,  including  all  necessary  instructions 
for  the  proper  establishment  of  his  Church  in  every  region  of  the  earth. 

It  was  stated  in  the  introduction  that  there  was  a  remarkable  coincidence 
in  the  names  of  the  first  ten  patriarchs  from  Adam  to  Noah,  which,  being 
interpreted  consecutively  from  the  first  to  the  tenth,  enunciated  the  very 
foundation  of  what  is  called  the  Christian  dogma. 

The  entire  system  of  the  Mosaic  Dispensation  was  designed  to  prepare  the 
peculiar  people  of  God,  the  descendants  of  x\braham,  with  whom  God  made 
the  Solemn  Covenant  that  through  his  seed  "  tlie  whole  world  should  be 
blessed,"  which  was  to  be  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  to  Adam,  that  the 
"  seed  of  the  Woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  Serpent,"  but  that  the 
"  Serpent  should  bite  his  heel."  And  all  of  these  promises  were  completed 
in  the  Crucifixion  of  the  Christ.  Herein  lie  all  Mysteries  of  both  dispensa- 
tions, in  completion  of  the  "  type  "  and  "  anti-type  "  which  had  been  imitated 
in  all  Gentile  Mysteries  which  have  been  detailed  in  the  preceding  pages, 
under  each  distinctive  head. 

It  is  impossible,  in  the  space  left  in  this  treatise,  to  enter  upon  a  com- 
parison ;  suffice  it  that  the  suggestion  be  thrown  out  for  each  one  to  take  up 
the  subject  for  his  own  examination. 

We  cannot,  however,  close  without  stating  that  the  Crucifixion  of  the 
Christos  was  a  realization  of  the  figurative  promise  to  Adam.  Let  us  notice 
the  Antithesis  in  that  promise  —  the  Serpent,  the  symbol  of  all  Evil;  the 
Seed  of  the  Woman,  the  symbol  of  all  Good.  The  Good  should  bruise  the 
head  of  the  Evil  ;  but  the  Evil  should  bite  the  heel  of  the  Good.  The 
Evil  was  not  destroyed,  only  bruised;  the  heel  or  lowest  extremity  of  Good 
was  simply  bitten.  The  Christ  was  sacrificed,  but  rose  again  from  the  dead, 
triumphing  over  all  the  evil  ;  and  in  and  through  hlm,  by  faith,  shall  all  the 
world  be  made  whole  and  cured  from  the  bite  of  the  Serpent ;  as  he,  although 
bitten  by  the  death  of  the  Cross,  survived  and  ascended  to  his  original  place,  so 
shall  all  the  world,  by  the  act  of  faith,  arise  again  from  the  death  of  sin,  and 
ascend  to  the  state  of  innocence,  from  which  Man  fell  when  he  disobeyed  the 
commands  of  God  in  Eden ;  and  each  man  has  since  fallen  by  constant 
disobedience,  which  is  figuratively  represented  by  "  biting  of  the  heel." 

To  those  who  wish  to  proceed  in  such  an  examination  into  the  Mysteries 
involved  in  the  Christianity  which  followed  the  Jewish  Dispensation,  we 
append  the  following  passages  in  the  New  Testament,  that  they  may  read  the 
context  in  each  reference,  and  discover  the  pertinence  thereof,  viz. :  — 


CONCLUSION. 


109 


Mark  iv.  11 :  Mystery  of  the  kingdom. 

Rom.  xi.  25:  Not  to  be  ignorant  of  this  Mystery;  xvi.  25  :  According  to  the  revelation  of  the 
Mystery. 

I  Cor.  ii.  7  :  Speak  of  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  Mystery ;  iv.  i  :  Stewards  of  the  Mystery  of  God  ; 
xiii.  2 :  Prophesy  and  understand  all  Mysteries ;  xiv.  2 :  In  the  Spirit  he  speaketh  Mystery ; 
XV.  51 :  I  shew  you  a  Mystery.    We  shall  not  all. 

Eph.  i.  9 :  Make  known  Mysteries  of  his  will ;  iii.  3,  4 :  My  knowledge  in  Mystery ; 
9 :  Fellowship  of  Mystery ;  v.  32 :  This  is  a  great  Mystery  of  Christ  and  the  Church  ;  v.  19  :  Make 
known  the  Mysteries  of  the  Gospel. 

Col.  i.  26  :  Mysteries  which  have  been  hid,  but;  27:  Glory  in  this  Mystery  among  Gentiles; 
ii.  2:  To  acknowledge  the  Mystery  of  God ;  iv.  3:  Open  a  door  to  speak  the  Mysteries  of  Christ. 

I  Tim.  iii.  9:  Holding  the  Mysteries  of  the  faith ;  16:  Great  is  the  Mystery  of  godliness. 

Rev.  i.  20 :  Write  the  Mystery  of  the  Seven  Stars ;  x.  7  :  The  Mystery  of  God  should  be  finished. 


;;^/rt.a^^  .a-^^/^Ce^e^   ^  e^'  O. 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   PLATES. 

Baal.  —  Numbers  i  and  2  are  human  heads,  with  symbols  derived  from  the  ox  added  to  them. 
Some  of  the  Fathers  thought  the  head  only  of  the  idol  Baal  had  the  bestial  form.  These  figures 
prove  that  they  reasoned  from  what  was  common  in  the  forms  of  idols  in  their  days.  In  No.  i 
the  stars  show  how  the  Israelites  might  "  take  up  the  star  of  their  god  "  ;  i.e.,  portrayed  on  medals, 
etc.,  carried  about  with  them,  as  amulets  for  protection,  as  we  have  shown  was  the  custom  in  all 
the  Mysteries  of  the  Orient. 

The  garland  of  vine  leaves  and  grapes  in  No.  2  shows  that  it  is  allied  to  Bacchus,  with  two 
apples  on  the  head,  whereby  it  is  aUied  to  Ceres  or  to  Pomona;  i.e.,  it  indicates  a  fruit-bearing 
divinity,  perhaps  his  fructifera. 

No.  3  is  from  Montfaucon,  and  the  Greek  inscription  accompanying  it  says  that  this  has  been 
offered  and  consecrated,  at  his  own  expense,  by  Titus  Aurelius  Heliodorus  Hadrian,  to  Aglibolos 
and  to  Malachbelus,  the  gods  of  Palmyra,  with  a  symbol  [or  small  statue]  of  silver,  for  the  preser- 
vation of  himself,  of  his  wife,  and  of  his  children  in  the  year  547,  in  the  month  Peritus  [February], 
A.D.  234. 

These  two  figures  no  doubt  represent  Baal  and  Moloch. 

No.  4  represents  the  head  of  a  four-horned  goat,  and  shows  the  "  Pentalpha  "  reversed. 
No.  S  is  the  Venus  of  Egypt,  with  the  dove  in  the  right  hand  and  a  staff  in  the  other.    The 
dove  was  always  the  insignia  of  Venus.    This  medal  is  from  Tentyra,  Egypt;  Strabo  mentions  a 
temple  of  Venus  at  Tentyra. 

No.  6  is  also  a  medal  of  Venus,  represented  as  Astarte,  having  a  long  cross  in  her  hand  and 
the  sacred  calatlius,  or  bushel,  on  her  head. 

Dag-on,  or  aun  (Fig.  7).  —  The  Hebrew  word  dag  may  be  translated  as  a  "  preserver  of  any 
kind  from  the  dangers  of  the  waters,"  as  in  the  cases  of  Noah  and  Jonah. 
From  "  Asiatic  Researches,"  Vol.  VI.  p.  480  :  — 

"  The  Buddhists  say  that  it  is  Budd'ha  Nar'ayana,  or  Budd'ha  dwelling  in  the  waters ;  but  the 
Hindoos,  who  live  in  that  country,  call  him  Mach'odar  Nath,  or  the  sovereign  prince  in  the  belly 
of  the  fish.  The  title  of  Mach'odar  Natha  properly  belongs  to  Noah,  for  by  the  belly  of  tlie  fish 
they  understand  the  cavity,  or  inside,  of  the  Ark. 

From  Jonah  ii.  i,  we  make  this  extract :  "  And  Jehovah  prepared  a  great  dag  to  include 
Jonah  ;  and  Jonah  was  in  the  internal  parts  of  the  dag,  and  Jonah  prayed  from  the  internal  parts 
of  this  dagah  " ;  viz.:   He  dagah,  W'here  he  is  emphatic  and  demonstrative,  THIS  dagah. 

In  David  Levi's  Lingua  Sacra  we  find  besides  his  first  definition  of  dag,  a  fish,  the  second, 
which  says,  "  a  small  ship,  a  fishing-smack." 

Amos  iv.  2  says,  "  and  your  posterity  in  fishing-vessels."  "  Dr.  Taylor,  in  his  '  Concordance,' 
renders  it  navicula,  a  small  ship,  dagah.  Targ.  Jona.  makes  it,  '  and  your  daughters  in  the  fisher- 
man's ship.'  The  Talmudical  Hebrew  makes  it, '  a  cock-boat,  a  skiff.'  The  Chaldee  makes  it, 
a  small  ship." 

From  the  root,  dg,  dag,  dig,  dug,  thus  variously  spelled,  there  are  two  senses,  each  of  which 
signifies  to  preserve  from  water :  ist,  a  fish,  because  it  is  preserved  under  water ;  2d,  a  ship, 
because  preserved  on  the  water.  Query,  Could  our  words  dig  and  dug  be  original  words  ?  Our 
first  canoes  were  dug  out  of  logs. 

Of  the  figure  of  Dagon  there  is  an  ancient  fable.  The  Cannes,  who  was  half  a  man  and  half 
a  fish,  came  to  Babylon  and  taught  several  arts,  and  afterward  returned  to  the  sea.  ...  "  There 
were  several  of  these  Cannes:  the  name  of  one  was  Odacon,i.e.,  O'Dagon  [the  Dagon].  Berosus 
said  of  him, '  he  had  the  body  and  head  of  a  fish,  and  above  the  head  of  the  fish  he  had  a  human 
head,  and  below  the  tail  of  the  fish  he  had  human  feet."  This  is  the  true  figure  of  Dagon.  Etymo- 
logically,  Dagon  is  composed  of  dag  and  aun.  Ammon  is  also  composed  of  ham  and  aun,  which 
may  refer  to  Noah,  or  Nau,  and  was  originally  ham-nau, — a  transposition  which  is  common  in 
antiquity."  Aun  means  the  generative  power  of  Deity,  Divine  potency  or  energy,  the  original 
creative  principle  of  the  Almighty. 

"  If  Ham-nau  was  in  sense  equivalent  to  Ham  of  Nan  or  Noah,  Dag-nau  might  be  equivalent 
to  the  Dag  of  A'au,  or  Noah,  i.e.,  the  fish,  as  the  Hebrew  word  dag  imports,  of  Nau." 

If  aun  be  taken  as  generative  power,  as  it  means  thus  in  Hebrew,  Gen.  xlix.  3 ;  Deut.  xxi.  17, 


Plate  I. 


Aglibolos. 


Malachbelus. 


No  4 


No.3.      (^    i        ^ 

/ 

1/7/    I   iriJ' 

,.,  Sun  Goo.              Oeus  Lunus. 

Abraxas. 


ILLUSTRATIONS    OF    THE    ANCIENT    MYSTERIES. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PLATES. 


113 


it  will  equally  lead,  personally  understood,  to  the  great  second  progenitor  of  the  human  race,  i.e., 
Noah.  Masons  may  hence  find  a  correct  meaning  of  the  "Substitute,"  if  they  will  remove  the 
initial  of  the  last  word  to  the  end  of  the  second,  and  prefix  the  second  with  H',  instead  of  H 
alone ;  it  will  then  be  "  of  the  Father."  The  meaning  then  will  be  the  same  identically  with  the 
"  True." 

Aun  is  translated  Aven  when  applied  to  Beth-el,  where  one  of  the  "  calves  "  of  Jeroboam  was 
set  up  —  "  House  of  Idols  or  Vanity." 

As  Cannes  came  on  shore,  and  after  teaching  returned  to  the  sea  at  night,  to  what  did  he 
return  but  to  some  vessel  out  of  which  he  came  in  the  morning?  Berosus  represents  Cannes  as 
coming  out  of  the  fish.  As  the  word  dag  implies  a  preservation  from  water,  so  Cannes  coming 
out  and  returning  to  something  which  swam  upon  the  w-aters,  symbolized  by  a  fish,  whose  constant 
residence  is  in  or  upon  the  waters,  and  passes  in  safety  and  is  secure  amid  storms  and  tempests, 
so  the  idea  of  a  structure  containing  persons  who  were  preserved  from  the  boisterous  and  perilous 
waves  became  connected  with  the  idea  of  a  fish,  w-hich  emblematically  denoted  safety  from  the 
waters. 

"  Properly  to  understand  the  import  of  the  figure  of  Dag-aun,  we  must  separate  into  two 
parts  the  ideas  which  compose  it.  ist.  We  must  consider  the  human  part,  aun  or  7iau,  as  '  issuing 
out  of,  and  in  itself  entirely  independent  of,  2d.,  his  protection,  means  of  preservation,  dwelling, 
residence ;  that  which  had  safely  carried  him  through  the  waters  ;  that  from  which  he  could  '  come 
out!  and  to  which  he  could  '  retire ';  that  which  was  symbolized  by  the  form  of  a  fish,  and  was 
denoted  by  the  word  dag.  For  it  follows  evidently,  that  this  dag  was  no  part  of  the  real  person 
of  'Nail ';  as  a  man's  house,  which  he  quits  in  the  morning,  .  .  .  and  to  which  he  returns  in  the 
evening,  is  no  part  of  that  man's  person.  .  ,  .  Accept,  therefore,  the  idea  of  '  the  preserver  of 
Nau,'  as  implied  in  the  compound  word  Dag-aun,  which  word  in  Hebrew  signifies  a  ^s/i,  say  the 
etymologists,  from  its  fertility;  and  c^r«,  from  its  increase.  Dagon  may  also  allude  to /rifj^rwa- 
tion,  as  a  fish  is  preserved  in  the  waters  ;  to  preservation,  as  corn  is  preserved  in  the  earth  ;  both 
in  reference  to  newness  of  life;  for,  indeed,  Dagon  is  called  Siton,\\\Q  god  of  corn.  By  some 
Dagon  was  said  to  be  Saturn ;  others  say  he  was  Jupiter.  Represented  as  part  woman  and  part 
fish,  Venus  was  indicated,  whom  the  Egyptians  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  fish,  because  in 
the  war  of  Typhon  against  the  gods,  Venus  concealed  herself  under  this  shape.  Cvid  and  Diod. 
Sic.  say,  that  at  Askelon  the  goddess  Derketo,  or  Atergatis,  was  worshipped  under  the  figure  of  a 
woman,  with  the  lower  parts  of  a  fish ;  Lucian,  de  Dea.  Syr.,  also  thus  describes  her  under 
this  form." 

The  Scriptures  show  that  the  statue  of  Dagon  was  human  in  the  upper  part,  as  when  that 
image  fell  down  before  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  in  i  Sam.  v.  4,  5.  Sanchoniathon,  apud  Euse- 
bius,  says  that  Dagon  means  Siton,  the  god  of  wheat.  Dagon  in  Hebrew  also  means  wheat. 
Probably  Ceres,  the  goddess  of  plenty,  was  meant.  Elain  says  that  among  the  names  of  Ceres, 
Sito  was  one.  She  is  represented  in  some  medals,  as  those  of  Syracuse,  delineated  with  fish 
around  her. 

Ceres  is  sometimes  described  with  the  attributes  of  Isis,  who  was  the  goddess  of  fertility 
among  the  Egyptians. 

We  can  arrive  at  no  other  conclusion  than  this.  Originally  the  Sun  was  the  great  central 
object  of  worship.  He  was  considered  the  beneficent  creator  of  all  things  earthly;  because  from 
his  light  and  heat  were  produced  all  vegetables  and  animals.  He  arose  from  the  Sea  in  the 
morning;  continued,  during  the  day,  shining  and  warming  all  things,  producing  the  beneficial 
results  experienced  by  man,  and  at  night  retiring  again  to  the  sea. 

Now  the  ideas  of  men,  at  the  earliest  dawn  of  civilization,  were  childlike.  The  theory  of 
Cosmos  was  very  simple.  The  earth  itself  was  an  extended  plain,  much  longer  east  and  west 
than  north  and  south ;  it  was  surrounded  by  the  sea,  so  that  the  sun  came  from  the  sea  in  the 
morning  and  returned  to  it  at  night.  In  time  the  Dag-aun  was  the  result,  manifested  in  some 
form  or  other  in  all  the  Eastern  lands. 

No.  8  is  from  an  Indian  picture,  is  said  to  represent  Bramah  sitting  on  a  lotus  after  the  deluge. 
It  is  supposed  by  Calmet  to  be  Noah  and  his  three  sons. 

Nos.  9,  10,  and  11  represent  Nergal,  who  was  worshipped  under  figure  of  a  cock;  and,  to 
make  a  pair  of  the  species,  Succoth  Benoth,  say  they,  was  worshipped  as  hen  and  chicken. 

Ner  is  light, ^a/ signifies  to  revolve,  a  revolution,  a  circuit;  the  title,  then,  implies  "the  revolv- 


ANCIENT  MASONR  V. 
114 

ing  or  returning  light."  Hence  the  cock,  which  always  announces  the  returning  light,  is  emblematic 
of  the  morning. 

It  is  supposed  that,  as  the  ancients  did  not  confine  themselves  to  one  meaning  in  these  sym- 
bols, but  had  more  remote,  recondite,  or  esoteric  explanations,  this  symbol  may  have  referred  to 
some  latent  principle,  and  "  expected  to  produce  effects  beyond  what  hitherto  it  had  done  or 
was  doing;  i.e.,  they  usually  looked  backward  on  history,  but  sometimes  looked  forward  in 
expectation." 

In  Fig.  9  the  cock  is  holding  in  his  bill  two  ears  of  corn ;  he  is  attended  by  Mercury,  carrying 
his  caduceus  in  one  hand  and  a  bag  of  money  in  the  other,  Montfaucon,  Vol.  I.  p.  128,  says : 
"To  see  Mercury  with  a  cock  is  common  enough;  but  to  see  him  walking  before  a  cock  much 
larger  than  himself  is  what  I  have  never  noticed  except  in  this  representation.  It  may  denote  that 
the  greatest  of  the  qualities  of  Mercury  is  vigilance."  "  The  cock  holding  the  com  in  his  bill  we 
think  has  reference  to  the  fact  that  proper  care  and  vigilance  only  can  produce  the  products  of  the 
earth.  However,  it  may  be  that  there  is  a  more  recondite  meaning,  unknown  to  us.  We  have  no 
space  to  examine  this  very  interesting  question  in  reference  to  the  revivification  which  may  be 
implied  in  the  term  Ner-gal,  '  returning  light,'  and  which  may  refer  to  our  resurrection  after 
death." 

In  Fig.  10,  a  gem  of  the  Florentine  Gallery,  two  cocks  are  yoked  to  the  car  of  Cupid,  and  it  is 
found  by  other  instances  that  Cupid  and  a  cock  are  no  strangers  to  each  other.  Montfaucon  shows 
Cupid  victorious  over  a  cock;  he  overcomes  the  cock  as  he  does  all  other  animals.  "  Imo  et 
gallus  plus  cxteris  avibus  est  amori  addictus." 

Another  Cupid  leads  the  cocks,  as  if  they  had  been  running  in  the  race  and  were  victorious, 
for  the  driving  Cupid  carries  a  palm  branch  as  the  reward  of  victory  obtained  by  these  his 
emblematic  coursers. 

Fig.  II  represents  the  "light"  strongly  connected  with  the  cock.  The  car  is  drawn  by  two 
cocks,  as  in  Fig.  10,  with  a  cock  standing  upon  it  in  the  attitude  of  crowing  and  flapping  his  wings ; 
the  star  is  the  star  of  Venus,  making  the  car  the  consecrated  vehicle  of  that  goddess  of  love  and 
beauty ;  Hymen,  the  god  of  marriage  and  conjugality,  with  his  torch,  and  at  his  feet  is  another 
cock,  crowing,  etc.,  like  the  former. 

This  symbol,  or  allegorical  representation,  no  doubt,  "  imports  the  influence  of  Venus  and 
Hymen,  the  genial  powers  of  vitality,  on  the  renovation  of  life  in  human  posterity."  Socrates, 
before  his  death,  said  to  Crito  :  "  We  owe  a  sacrifice  of  a  cock."  Did  he  hereby  refer  to  a  hope  of 
a  future  existence,  to  a  revivification?  This  would  have  been  coincident  with  his  expectation  of  a 
converse  with  the  illustrious  dead.  Christ  compared  himself  to  a  corn  of  wheat  falling  into  the 
ground,  but  which  afterward  sprang  up  and  produced  much  fruit  (John  xii.  24). 

Succoth  Benoth  (Fig.  12).  —  This  deity  was  companion  to  Nergal,  and  was  the  favorite 
object  of  worship  by  the  Babylonians.  2  Kings  xvii.  30,  "  And  the  men  of  Babylon  made  Succoth 
Benoth,  and  the  men  of  Cuth  made  Nergal,  and  the  men  of  Hamath  made  Ashima."  Ash,  fire, 
Shima,  laid  up ;  "  the  station  0/ fire-worship."  The  Rabbins  describe  Succoth  Benoth  as  being 
t}'pified  by  hen  and  chicken.    (See  description  of  Nergal.) 

Succoth  signifies  a  tent  or  booth  or  temporary  residence ;  Benoth  is  a  Hebrew  word,  and  the 
Greek  word  is  Denos.  0th  is  a  Hebrew  female  termination ;  Os  is  the  Greek.  On  a  medal  of  the 
Emperor  Gordian,  from  Hierapolis,  Syria,  on  one  side  is  his  profile,  and  on  the  other  is  Cybele 
feeding  the  serpent  of  Hygeia.  The  inscription  around  the  emperor's  head  is  Adir  Benos.  "  The 
word  Adir  is  evidently  derived  from  the  Chaldee  dialect  (of  which  the  Syriac  was  a  branch),  in 
which  ader  or  adur  signifies  the  inhabited,  the  dwelling,  the  residence."  Dan.  iv.  12,  "  And  the 
fowls  of  the  heaven  dweit  in  iderun  ;  i.e.,  inhabited  its  branches."  Verse  18,  "  The  beasts  of  the 
field,  tidur,  dwelt  under  it." 

"  The  Benos  of  the  Syrians  was  the  Venus  of  the  Greeks  and  Latins,  as  it  was  also  the  Banu 
or  Benu  of  Eastern  Asia ;  so  that  if  the  Indian  Banu  is  the  original,  then  the  name  may  be  traced 
Banu,  Benu,  Benoth,  Benos,  Venus,  and  together  with  the  name  the  worship  may  be  traced  also ; 
i.e.,  originally,  perhaps,  that  of  a  person,  but  afterward  of  the  prolific  powers.  The  full  translation 
of  the  Adir  Benos,  or  Succoth  Benoth,  would  be, '  the  Venus  of  the  temporary  residence.'  " 

No.  13  is  inserted  to  show  how  the  figure  of  a  woman  was  combined  with  a  fish,  and  to  repre- 
sent the  Syrian  goddess;  and  in  No.  12  we  see  the  representation  of  Venus  rising  from  the  sea, 
attended  by  Tritons.    This  is  not  the  original  Venus ;  it  is  the  story  poetically  represented  and 


Plate  II. 


VISHNU. 


ILLUSTRATIONS    OF    THE    ANCIENT    MYSTERIES. 


"5 


DESCRIPTION  OF  PLATES.  ^IJ 

varied  by  the  imagination  of  the  Greeks  from  the  ancient  emblem,  retaining  the  idea  but  changing 
the  figure,  as  they  did  in  Dagon  and  many  other  idols. 

No.  14  represents  the  Tyrian  Neptune  with  a  trident,  a  medal  of  Phoenicia,  an  old  man  with 
a  long  beard,  clothed  from  head  to  foot,  having  on  his  head  a  bonnet  with  a  high  crown,  not  unlike 
the  calathus  in  Fig.  6.  The  head  is  Alexander  II.  of  Syria.  The  trident  in  his  hand  is  the  proper 
sceptre  of  Neptune,  the  god  of  the  sea,  who  is  always  represented  naked,  neither  bonneted  nor 
clothed.  It  is  certainly  a  Syrian  deity,  but  how  can  it  be  Neptune  ?  Who  was  the  original 
Neptune  ?  Some  suppose  that  this  character  may  be  attributed  to  Japheth,  who  as  Neptune  had 
a  right  to  wield  the  trident.  The  trident  was  a  symbol  appropriated  to  Siva  in  India.  Can  you 
trace  any  resemblance  between  the  attributes  of  Siva  and  those  of  Neptune  ?  As  a  venerable 
patriarch,  his  bonnet  of  honor,  his  ample  clothing,  and  his  long  beard  bespeak  his  dignity. 

Fig.  15  represents  Ashtaroth,  having  the  horns  well  developed,  and  two  "lightnings,"  and 
around  her  are  the  seven  stars,  implying  her  authority  as  regent  of  the  night.     (See  text,  p.  64.) 

No.  16.  This  is  a  medal  from  Sinope,  which  represents  a  man  with  a  Phrygian  bonnet  on  his 
head,  clothed  in  a  short  dress,  a  sword  in  his  right  hand,  in  his  left  a  man's  head,  which  he  has 
just  severed  from  the  body,  the  blood  from  which  spirts  upward.  "  Macrobius  says  the  moon  was 
both  tna/e  and  female,  and  adds  one  particular,  which  we  have  referred  to  in  the  text ;  viz.,  that 
the  male  sex  sacrificed  to  him  in  the  female  habit,  and  the  females  in  the  male  habit,  etc."  (p.  65.) 

No.  17.   Vishnu  in  second  Avatar.     (See  text,  p.  84.) 

No.  18  is  an  "  Abraxas  ";  it  represents  a  man  with  two  faces,  on  his  head  the  sacred  calathus, 
or  bushel,  as  in  Fig.  6,  two  wings  on  his  shoulders,  and  two  on  his  hips,  having  a  scorpion's  tail, 
in  each  hand  a  staff.     Significance  unknown. 

No.  19.   Vishnu  in  the  eighth  Avatar,  referred  to  in  the  text,  (p.  80). 

No.  20  is  another  Abraxas,  which  is  represented  with  more  emblems  than  No.  18.  On  the 
head  is  the  immortal  lotus ;  there  are  four  wings,  and  with  each  wing  is  an  arm ;  in  each  of  its 
four  hands  are  different  destructive  implements  which  will  be  readily  recognized  by  scholars.  In 
his  two  upper  hands  weapons  of  injury,  —  a  whip  with  thongs  and  a  double  battle-axe  in  one  hand ; 
in  the  other  an  axe,  a  dagger,  and  a  hammer,  or  another  axe.  In  his  lower  hands  he  holds  a  rod 
and  a  pair  of  scales,  to  denote  that  he  is  not  to  exceed  the  just  weight  and  measure  of  the  evils  he 
may  inflict.  It  is  supposed  that  this  is  the  ANGEL  OF  PUNISHMENT,  the  agent  of  retributive 
punishment,  whose  office  it  is  to  disti  ibute  battle  and  murder  and  sudden  death  among  the  sons  of 
men.    In  fine,  it  may  possibly  be  the  representation  of  Satan. 


f^mhMsJ 


/ZC^(^(Xif<^  Je^f^i^i-  ncuVecn.tPi^Je.'rx/ed  /o  UJ a(*?i ^/atke^  6i^cvucX(^u//turL/u!iu>c^^ 


^oAn,(2iu.w  3f^ra^  9?7/^^^/^o**^^  ^S^y^  eluMe^  of^A-om.  -h  to*Weruj  oti^  (Qu/Auri  a^  ^bce/<A.^^ 
a<foUJ^*itAc4^u>0<Si^r£^  /^<f^  ^ejJi^on^cl*^  J-^tJ^f^jSh  ffi^CSt^  (^f'^ot  m'^ ^A'om a^ cr^ 

gj^  TflJ^ 0101*^04  9efft^U  lakmq  Jpct^cU Coax,  fdaJ-  tAty  oJi^  tvuu^of  fne*>vA(wc  ^ttnyAjt^u/a,i/u  -mSi* 


-^o 


MONTAGUE   CHARTER,   A.D.   1732. 


DIVISION   II. 


THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 


A  Comprehensive  History  of  the  Knights  Teinplars  and  the  Crusades ;  their 
patrojiage  by  the  See  of  Rome  and  subsequent  anathema ;  the  connection 
of  these,  if  any,  with  the  present  Degrees  of  Knights  Templar  in  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain ;  the  Execution  of  Jacques  de  Molai, 
Grand  Master,  and  Supplejnental  Historic  Notes. 

By  William  Stevens  Perry,  32°,  D.D.  Oxon.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L., 
Bishop  of  Iowa. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Ancient  Templars  and  Orders  of  Chivalry. 

The  Ethics  of  Christian  Knighthood.  —  True  chivalry  has  it  source  and 
spring  of  being  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The 
study  of  the  lessons  of  the  great  biography  —  the  tracing  of  the  foot-prints 
of  Him,  the  Son  of  God,  who  in  loving  lowliness  went  about  doing  good 
when  He  was  incarnate  upon  the  earth  —  won  from  a  quaint  old  English 
writer  the  acknowledgment  that  "Jesus  Christ  was  the  first  true  gentleman." 
We,  mindful  of  the  fact  that  chivalry  is  self-sacrifice  ;  that  true  knighthood 
is  consecration,  the  glad  and  willing  service  of  God  and  man,  founded  on 
faith  in  God,  designed  for  the  sen^ice  of  the  weak,  the  oppressed,  —  may 
reverently  recognize  in  the  Christ,  the  mirror  of  chivalry,  the  pattern  of  all 
irue  knightly,  valiant,  and  magnanimous  life.  In  the  exhibition  of  ineffable 
love,  shown  in  the  taking  of  our  flesh,  the  living  our  life,  the  bearing  our  guilt, 
the  dying  our  death,  —  all  for  us  and  for  our  salvation,  —  there  was  breathed 
into  our  manhood  a  new  breath  of  life ;  there  was  given  to  us  the  high  and 
holy  purpose  of  living  the  life  of  this  Son  of  God,  our  Exemplar,  our  Saviour, 
the  source  of  our  strength.  From  this  period  —  the  coming  of  the  Christ 
into  the  world  —  we  date  anew  the  history  of  humanity.  Gladly  did  the  noble, 
the  valiant,  the  magnanimous  of  our  race  hail  this  exhibition  of  all  that  was 
winning,  true,  and  inspiring  in  the  perfect  manhood  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of 

119 


I20  THE   COGNATE    ORDERS. 

God.  In  the  life  of  loving  service,  in  the  cross-bearing,  in  the  willing  self- 
sacrifice,  in  the  bringing  of  life  and  immortaHty  to  light  by  His  rising  from  the 
dead ;  in  the  triumphing  over  all  that  was  low  and  base,  mean  and  guilty,  and 
hateful  to  God  or  hurtful  to  man  in  our  erring,  sinful  nature,  men  found  new 
strength  for  purity,  perfectness,  and  self-devotion;  new  motives  for  self- 
forgetfulness  and  living  for  others'  good ;  new  incentives  to  elevate  and 
improve  themselves ;  new  strength  in  their  efforts  to  attain  and  realize  the 
highest  good.  It  is  thus  that  chivalry  is  Christian;  that  knighthood  was 
never  known  till  the  Church  and  faith  of  Christ  were  paramount  on  the  earth. 
Inspired  by  longings  for  holiness,  recognizing  its  true  example,  adoring  its 
divine  Founder,  the  chivalric  heart,  the  valiant  soul,  the  knightly  man, 
enlisted,  with  a  burning  enthusiasm,  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross,  to  combat 
all  kinds  of  evil,  to  conquer  all  opposing  forms  of  sin.  The  knightly  life  was 
a  rehgious  life.  The  oath  of  utter  and  complete  self-immolation  was  prefaced 
by  the  vigil  of  prayer.  In  the  dimly  lighted  chamber  of  reflection,  in  silence 
and  solitude,  the  neophyte  was  brought  face  to  face  with  the  dread  realities  of 
life  and  death,  of  time  and  eternity.  The  rough  and  rugged  pathway,  trod 
ere  the  candidate  was  dubbed  and  created  a  knight,  was  meant  to  be  a  faint 
transcript  of  that  via  dolorosa  over  which  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory  passed 
on  His  way  to  Golgotha,  that  place  of  a  skull,  where  He,  our  Immanuel, 
suffered  and  died  for  us.  The  willing  service,  pledged  and  promised  ere  the 
Christian  knight  was  admitted  as  a  pilgrim-warrior  to  share  the  toils,  the 
trials,  and  the  triumphs  of  those  who  fought  with  their  good  swords  to  recover 
the  Holy  Sepulchre,  where  the  dear  Lord  had  lain,  from  Infidel  or  Moslem 
hands,  was  a  perfect  and  entire  devotion  of  mind  and  heart,  of  will  and 
purpose,  of  soul  and  body,  to  Christ  and  God.  "  Half  priest,  half  soldier," 
was  the  Templar's  acknowledged  characteristic.  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord  "  was 
the  rule  and  motive  of  his  actions.  The  defence  of  the  right,  the  punishment 
of  the  wrong,  were  his  bounden  duties  as  a  true,  leal  knight.  With  an 
unfaltering  trust  in  God,  with  humility  and  lowliness  of  heart,  and  the  outward 
expression  of  that  self-abasement  in  which  the  sinful  soul  cannot  but  appear 
beneath  the  all-searching  Eye,  there  was  still  careful  trial  made  ere  the 
applicant  might  wield  his  sword  in  defence  of  the  unprotected  and  assailed, 
and  fight  valiantly  in  the  holy  cause  of  Christ's  religion.  The  old-time  precept 
each  candidate  heard  sounding  in  his  ears  was  this :  "  You  who  desire  to 
become  a  knight  must  pursue  a  new  course  of  life.  Devoutly  you  must  watch 
in  prayer,  avoid  sins  of  pride  and  idleness.  You  must  defend  the  Church, 
widows,  and  orphans,  and  with  noble  boldness  you  must  protect  the  people." 
The  first  lesson  impressed  upon  the  applicant's  heart  was  the  love  and  fear  of 
God.  It  was  thus  that  the  full  acceptance  of  the  Christian  religion  became 
the  very  soul,  the  inspiration  of  chivalry ;  and  chivalry,  true  Christian  knight- 
hood, became  faith,  fidelity,  probity,  mercy,  love  to  God,  gentleness  to  man, 
valor  before  the  world,  —  everything,  in  short,  that  was  pure,  lovely,  and  of 


THE  WIFE'S  BLESSING.  — TEMPLAR   KNIGHTS'    DEPARTURE   FOR  THE  HOLY   LAND. 


CHRISTIAN  KNIGHTHOOD. 


123 


good  report.  It  was  the  consecration  of  the  whole  man  to  the  discharge  of 
Christian  duty,  the  practice  of  Christian  virtue,  the  crucifying  of  every  evil 
thought,  or  word,  or  deed. 

There  was,  there  could  be,  no  keeping  back  part  of  the  price.  *'  It  is  the 
will  of  God,  it  is  the  will  of  God,"  had  been  the  impassioned  cry  of  one  and 
all  at  the  first  assumption  of  the  cross.  The  bearing  of  that  cross — the 
wearing  of  the  blood-red  symbol  of  our  redemption  —  implied  the  entire 
surrender  of  the  will  to  God's  will  and  the  giving  up  of  all  things  —  home, 
friends,  wealth,  country,  life  —  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Faith  inspired  works. 
Devotion  was  enkindled  at  the  sight  of  the  sacred  sign.  There  was  victory  in 
the  cross ;  victory  over  self,  over  sin,  and  over  the  enemies  of  the  faith  of 
Christ. 

This  love  and  service  of  God  which  characterized  the  Christian  chivalry  — 
the  old-time  knighthood  of  history  —  was,  for  its  day  and  generation,  a  true 
exhibition  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  The  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
deals  rather  with  the  motive  than  the  action,  —  the  thought  rather  than  the 
deed,  —  though  it  would  have  each  and  all  alike  instinct  with  the  love  and  fear 
of  God.  The  religion  of  the  days  of  chivalry,  of  Christian  knighthood,  was 
a  religion  of  motives,  a  rehgion  of  the  heart,  the  affections,  the  emotions,  the 
feelings,  rather  than  the  intellectual  acceptance  of  a  system  of  doctrines,  — 
the  adherence  to  a  logical  and  carefully  defined  dogmatic  belief.  Without 
doubtings  or  questionings  of  heart,  did  the  old-time  knights  accept  and  practise 
the  teachings  of  the  faith.  Passionately  did  they  profess  their  love  for  their 
Lord  and  Saviour.  "  Non  nobis,  Domine,  non  nobis,  sed  Nomini  Tuo  da  glo- 
riam  "  was  the  Templar  song  or  shout  of  triumph  when  victorious  in  the  fray. 

The  love  and  fear  of  God,  the  recognition  of  Him  as  the  source  of  every 
earthly  good,  the  Giver  of  every  grace,  were  fundamental  principles  of  Christian 
knighthood.  Life  was  consecrated  by  prayer  and  service.  Death  was  wel- 
comed for  the  cause  and  cross  of  Christ.  The  world  had  known  nothing  like 
this  disciplined,  this  resistless  enthusiasm.  The  cross  of  Christ  was  no  sooner 
raised  on  high  as  a  standard,  —  that  blood-red  cross  telling  of  the  saving, 
cleansing  blood  of  Calvary,  was  no  sooner  placed  on  the  breast  and  shoulder 
than  the  valiant  and  magnanimous  soldiers  of  all  Europe  became  a  band  of 
brothers,  bound  by  a  single  purpose,  animated  by  a  common  and  absorbing 
devotion.  It  was  the  "  truce  of  God  "  between  rival  and  contending  powers, 
—  between  man  and  man,  —  that  the  Holy  Sepulchre  might  be  redeemed 
from  "  Moslem  caitiffs  and  Infidel  hounds."  Influenced  by  no  hope  of  fee  or 
reward,  with  no  selfish  expectations  or  care  for  personal  aggrandizement,  the 
flower  of  chivalry  went  forth  to  defend  and  uphft  this  cross,  and  wield,  in  the 
service  of  the  Christian  faith,  the  swords  that  had  been  belted  round  each 
neophyte  when  the  vows  of  knighthood  were  first  uttered  by  lips  sanctified  by 
their  reception  of  the  Sacrament  of  Redemption.  Inspired  by  this  pure  and 
holy  devotion,  the  annals  of  Christian  knighthood   abound   in  instances  of 


=j24.  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

heroic  constancy  even  unto  death.  It  is  with  pride  that  we  recall  the  heroism 
of  that  illustrious,  valiant,  and  magnanimous  knight,  Renaud  de  Chatillon, 
Grand  Master  of  the  Templars,  who  scorned  when  in  captivity  to  purchase  life 
on  condition  of  apostasy  from  the  Christian  faith,  and  was  beheaded  by  the 
hand  of  Saladin.  We  cannot  forget  the  constancy  and  devotion  of  the  crowd 
of  knights  of  the  two  Orders,  Templars  and  St.  John,  who  joyously  accepted 
martyrdom  at  the  executioner's  hands  in  prison,  rather  than  renounce  their  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Gladly  do  we  record  the  daring  of  Jakeline  de 
Mailliacus,  that  heroic  Knight  Templar,  who,  on  the  advance  of  Saladin  into 
Palestine,  in  a  battle  near  Tiberiad  rushed  boldly  into  the  midst  of  the 
Saracens,  one  against  a  thousand,  because,  as  the  old  chronicler  is  proud  to 
tell  us,  "  inori  pro  Chris fo  non  iijnuit,'''  —  he  feared  not  to  die  for  Christ. 
Such  was  the  religious  enthusiasm  of  these  valiant  men,  whose  proudest  boast 
was  to  be  "  a  true  knight  and  servant  of  Jesus  Christ." 

The  Religion  of  Chivalry.  —  The  religion  of  chivalry  was  not  merely  a 
blind  and  superstitious  acceptance  of  priestly  teachings  and  ecclesiastical 
rites.  There  was  then,  as  now,  symbolism  in  the  ritual  and  observances  of 
knighthood.  There  were  then,  as  now,  dogmatic  teachings  breathed  into  the 
strained,  listening  ear,  by  prelate  or  priest,  amidst  the  solemn  accessories  of 
initiation  and  adoption  into  the  brotherhood  of  Christian  knights.  This 
symbolism,  then  as  now,  centred  in  the  cross  of  Christ ;  these  teachings, 
then  as  now,  brought  out  in  startling  clearness  and  with  no  uncertain  sound, 
the  great  historic  truths  relating  to  the  life  and  life-work  of  the  Son  of  God 
when  here  on  earth. 

The  religion  of  chivalry  was  founded  on  the  teachings  of  the  Incarnation, 
and  the  atoning  death  upon  the  cross,  of  Christ.  In  the  words  of  the  Introit 
for  the  Tuesday  in  Hol)'--week,  sung  in  sweet  and  solemn  cadences  in  every 
preceptory  or  chapel  of  the  Templars,  as  the  commemoration  of  the  great 
day  of  atonement  —  the  Good  Friday  of  the  Church  Universal  of  Christ  — 
drew  nigh,  prelate,  priest,  and  knight  united  with  consenting  voice  :  — 

"  We  ought  to  glory  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  is  our 
salvation,  life,  and  resurrection ;  by  whom  we  have  been  saved  and  delivered." 
These  knights  of  old  may  not  have  been  familiar  with  the  folios  of  patristic 
theology  burdening  the  shekes  of  the  scanty  libraries  of  their  day  ;  but  they 
knew  and  believed  and  lived  the  legend,  "Non  est  salus  animae,  nee  spes 
aeternae  vitae,  nisi  in  Cruee,^^  —  there  is  no  health  to  the  soul  nor  hope  of 
eternal  life,  save  in  the  Cross.  They  may  have  known  or  cared  little  for  the 
theories  of  the  philosophers  or  the  teachings  of  the  schoolmen ;  but  they 
wore  the  blood-red  cross  upon  their  hearts  ;  it  entered  into  their  very  life  and 
soul ;  they  fought  and  died  under  the  blazonry  of  the  symbol  of  our  redemp- 
tion. Their  legend  was  that  of  the  Church's  earlier  days  of  triumph,  "  /;/  hoe 
signo  vinces.'^  As  Spenser,  the  poet-laureate  of  chivalry,  in  his  "  Fairy  Queen," 
describes  it :  — 


A   HEROINE   OF  THE   CRUSADES 


ORDER    OF  THE    TEMPLE.  12/ 

"  A  gentle  knight  was  pricking  o'er  the  plain, 

Clad  in  mighty  arms  and  silver  shield ; 
And  on  his  breast  a  bloody  cross  he  bore, 

In  dear  remembrance  of  his  dying  Lord, 
For  Whose  sweet  sake  that  glorious  badge  he  wore, 

And  dead,  or  living,  ever  Him  adored  ; 
Upon  his  shield  the  like  was  also  scored, 

For  sovereign  hope  which  in  His  help  he  had." 

The  Order  of  the  Temple,  and  History  of  the  Crusades.  —  The  Order  of 
the  Temple  was  established  to  protect  pilgrims  to  the  sacred  places  of  Holy 
Land,  when  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  It  dififered  from  the  Hospitallers  and 
Teutonic  Knights  in  being,  from  its  very  beginning,  a  military  order.  "  Pau- 
peres  commilitoties  Christi  templi  Salomonici  "  —  poor  soldiers  of  Christ  and  of 
the  Temple  of  Solomon  —  were  they  at  the  start;  and  thei:  original  purpose 
of  affording  protection  to  the  pilgrims  who  sought,  after  the  first  crusade,  to 
visit  the  sacred  sites  of  Palestine,  was  kept  prominently  in  view  for  many  years. 
That  which  in  its  origin  was  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a  rural  police,  became, 
at  length,  through  fortuitous  circumstances  and  from  the  nature  and  needs  of 
the  society  of.the  age,  one  of  the  most  powerful  organizations  the  world  has 
ever  known.  The  names  of  the  founders  of  the  Order  have  descended  to  us 
with  as  much  authority  as  could  fairly  be  asked.  In  the  year  1118  a 
knight  of  Burgundy,  Hugo  de  Paganis  (Payens),  bound  himself  and  eight 
companions  to  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  to  guard  the  approaches  to  the  Holy 
City,  so  that  pilgrims  to  the  sacred  places  might  have  easy  access ;  to  live 
as  regular  canons  of  the  Church,  under  the  Benedictine  rule ;  and  to 
fight  for  the  King  of  Heaven  and  the  Bride  of  Christ,  in  chastity,  obedience, 
and  self-denial.  The  names  of  these  comrades  of  Hugo  de  Paganis 
were  Godefroi  de  St.  Aldemar  (St.  Omer),  Roral,  Gundemar,  Godefroi 
Bisol,  Paganus  (Pagen)  de  Montdidier,  Archibald  de  St.  Aman,  Andrew  de 
Montbar,  and  the  Count  of  Provence.'  The  number  of  these  knights  is  sig- 
nificant, a  triple  trinity,  banded  together  for  the  service  of  the  Triune-God. 
Of  these  original  members  of  the  Order,  the  founder,  Hugo  de  Paganis, 
became  the  first  Master  —  Magister — of  the  Order  of  the  Temple,  in  11 19. 
Quarters  were  assigned  them  in  the  palace  of  the  Latin  Kings  of  Jerusalem, 
which  had,  before  the  Christian  occupation  of  the  Holy  City,  been  the 
Mosque  of  Mount  Moriah.  This  palace  was  also  known  as  Solomon's  Temple  ; 
and  it  was  from  this  temphnn  Salomonis  that  the  Templars  took  their  name. 
The  founders  of  the  Order  had  all  fought  under  Godefroi  de  Bouillon,  and 
from  this  circumstance  commanded  respect  and  influence  among  the  hardy 
veterans  of  these  holy  wars.  This  was  increased  by  the  efficient  and  valiant 
manner  in  which  the  services  they  rendered,  first  to  pilgrims  and  then  to 
others  in  need,  were  performed.    It  was  not  long  before  the  fame  of  these  new 

1  A  Concise  History  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple,  with  some  mention  of  those  Bodies  which 
claim  to  be  derived  from  it.  By  Sir  P.  Colquhoun,  M.A.,  LL.D,,  Q.C.  8vo.  Bedford,  England, 
1878.     p.  23. 


^^3  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

allies  of  the  cross  and  Church  of  Christ  had  spread  over  Europe.  The  junior 
scions  of  noble  houses  in  all  parts  of  Christendom  soon  sought  incorporation 
into  so  distinguished  an  order,  which,  from  its  start,  received  none  but  those 
Avhose  social  standing  entitled  them  to  consideration.  The  King  of  Jerusalem, 
who  had  assigned  to  the  Templars  their  abode  on  the  site  of  the  Temple  of 
Solomon,  commended  the  new  Order  to  the  notice  of  St.  Bernard,  Abbot  of 
Clairvaux,  who  issued  a  pastoral,  in  which  the  saint  praises  the  valor  and 
extols  the  merits  of  the  Templars.  Under  the  patronage  of  this  holy  man,  the 
Papal  legate,  Matthew,  Bishop  of  St.  Alban's,  presided  at  the  Council  of 
Troyes,  which  assembled  early  in  the  year  1128,  for  the  purpose  of  determin- 
ing the  statutes  of  the  new  Order.  The  rules  of  discipline  and  obligation, 
numbering  seventy-two,  then  adopted,  met  with  the  sanction  of  Pope  Hono- 
rius  II.  and  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  and  became  at  a  later  date  the 
ofroundwork  of  the  more  elaborate  and  complete  "  Regie  dii  TcmpleT  Ere 
the  death  of  their  saintly  patron,  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  the  Templars  had 
been  established  in  every  kingdom  of  Latin  Christendom.  Henry  I.  of 
France  granted  them  domains  in  Normandy.  They  are  found  established 
in  Castile  in  1129;  in  Rochelle  in  1131;  in  Languedoc  in  1136;  at  Rome 
in  1 138;  and  in  Brittany  in  1141.  Manors,  castles,  and  treasure  were 
lavished  upon  them.  Louis  VIII.  of  France  bestowed  upon  the  Order 
a  marshy  field  outside  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Paris,  known  in  later  days  as 
the  Temple,  and  recognized  for  years  as  the  headquarters  of  the  Templar 
Order  in  Europe. 

Pope  Honorius  II.  appointed  the  white  mantle  as  the  garb  of  the  Order, 
in  contradistinction  to  the  black  robe  of  the  Hospitallers.  In  the  year  1 146 
Pope  Eugenius  III.  added  to  this  distinctive  garment  a  red  cross,  to  be  worn 
on  the  breast  as  a  symbol  of  the  martyrdom  the  Order  was  understood  to 
court.  In  the  following  year  this  Pope,  with  King  Louis  VII.  of  France,  met 
one  hundred  and  thirty  of  the  brethren  at  a  chapter  held  with  great  pomp  in 
Paris,  within  the  precincts  of  the  "  Temple." 

After  the  Council  of  Troyes,  Plugo  de  Paganis,  the  Master  of  the  Tem- 
plars, visited  England  and  induced  a  number  of  English  knights  to  follow 
him  to  the  Holy  Land  as  members  of  the  Order.  Among  these  recruits  was 
Fulk,  Count  of  Anjou,  who  was  made  King  of  Jerusalem  in  1131.  The 
founder  and  first  master  of  the  Templar  Order  died  about  the  year  1 136.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Robert  de  Craon,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  nephew  of  the 
celebrated  Anselm,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  third  master,  Everard  de 
Barris,  won  great  renown  for  deeds  of  valor  in  the  second  crusade.  In  the 
disastrous  retreat  of  the  Christians  from  Laodicea  to  Attalia,  the  Templars 
alone  maintained  any  appearance  of  order  and  discipline,  and  their  display  of 
military  prowess  and  their  fortitude  under  the  most  trying  and  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, led  Louis  VII.  of  France  to  re-organize  his  entire  army  after  the 
pattern  set  by  the  Knights  Templars. 


EVERARD    DE    BARRIS   LEADING  SECOND  CRUSADE. 


THE    CRUSADES.  j,j 

The  Emperor  of  Germany,  Conrad  III.,  spent  Easter  of  the  year  1148  at 
the  palace  of  the  Templars  on  Mount  Moriah,  and  in  the  summer  of  that  year 
the  knights  of  the  Order  took  part  with  him  in  the  unsuccessful  siege  of 
Damascus.  The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  Order  had  already  excited  jeal- 
ousy on  every  side,  and  there  were  those  who  attributed  the  failure  of  this 
expedition  of  Conrad  to  the  treachery  of  the  Templars.  Conrad  repelled 
these  accusations  as  unfounded,  but  suspicions  and  slanders  were  ever  after- 
ward of  constant  recurrence. 

The  Crusades.  —  From  this  time  the  history  of  the  Knights  Templars  is 
the  history  of  the  Crusades,  and  of  chivalry  itself.  Bred  to  the  profession  of 
arms,  recruited  from  the  noblest  and  bravest  knights  of  the  time,  the  Order 
speedily  attained  a  standing  and  importance  only  rivalled  by  the  Hospitallers ; 
while  the  two  organizations  became  the  mainstay  and  support  of  the  crusad- 
ing army,  the  right  wing  being  the  recognized  position  of  the  Templars,  and 
the  left  that  of  the  Hospitallers.  The  election  of  a  chevalier  of  the  Temple 
to  the  Crown  of  Jerusalem  conferred  on  the  Order  a  greater  consideration 
than  ever  before,  while  their  unflinching  fidelity  to  their  self-assumed  trust, 
and  the  reckless  daring  of  their  feats  at  arms,  and  their  willing  sacrifice  of  life 
for  success,  placed  the  Templars  at  the  very  head  of  the  military  orders  of  the 
age  and  won  for  them  undying  fame. 

In  the  year  11 49  the  Knights  Templars  were  appointed  to  defend  the 
fortress  of  Gaza,  the  last  Christian  stronghold  on  the  southern  frontier  of  Pales- 
tine. Four  years  later  Bernard  de  Tremelai,  but  recently  made  Master  of  the 
Order,  with  forty  of  the  knights,  made  an  incursion  into  Ascalon,  and  having 
been  surrounded  by  the  Saracens,  all  were  cut  off  to  a  man.  A  chronicler  of 
the  age,  William  of  Tyre,  records  the  current  scandal  that  these  knights 
merited  their  fate  by  their  eagerness  to  secure  the  spoils  of  conquest,  but  the 
greed  of  gold  did  not  miHtate  against  their  bravery.  The  following  year  the 
charge  was  made  that  the  Templars  had  surrendered  to  slavery  and  certain 
death  a  captive,  an  Egyptian  prince,  who  was  well  inclined  to  profess  the 
Christian  faith. 

In  1 166,  less  than  fifty  years  from  the  founding  of  the  Order,  Amalric,  the 
Latin  King  of  Jerusalem,  ignominiously  hanged  twelve  Templars,  on  the 
charge  of  betraying  to  an  emir  of  Nur  al-Din  of  Damascus,  a  stronghold 
beyond  the  Jordan. 

In  the  year  1169  the  chivalrous  Saladin  succeeded  to  the  leadership  of  the 
Saracens,  The  year  following  his  ascension  to  power  he  was  compelled  by 
the  Templars  to  raise  the  siege  of  their  frontier  fortress  of  Gaza,  and  seven 
years  later  the  Templar  Knights  shared  in  the  victory  of  King  Baldwin  IV.  at 
Ascalon.  The  building  of  the  Templar  stronghold  at  Jacob's  ford,  two  years 
afterward,  was  followed  by  an  irruption  of  the  Saracens,  and  the  defeat  of  the 
Christians  at  Paneas.  In  this  disastrous  engagement,  the  youthful  King 
escaped  with  his  life,  but  Odo  de  St.  Armand,  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Tern- 


J ^2  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

plars,  was  captured  and  never  redeemed.  Odo  was  succeeded  by  Arnold  de 
Torroge,  who  died  at  Verona  when  on  a  mission  to  arouse  at  the  West  a  fresh 
interest  in  the  succor  of  the  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem.  The  rule  of  the 
Order  was  now  committed  to  Gerard  de  Riderfort.  In  11S7  the  rash  valor  of 
the  Templars  provoked  a  conflict  with  an  overwhelming  force  of  Saracens. 
Defeated  and  dispersed,  Gerard,  with  three  companion  knights,  escaped  to 
Nazareth.  Again  the  Templars'  rashness  brought  defeat  and  disaster,  at 
Hittin.  Gerard  and  the  newly  crowned  successor  of  Baldwin  IV.  on  the 
throne  of  Jerusalem,  Guy  de  Lusignan,  were  taken  prisoners  by  Saladin,  while 
upwards  of  two  hundred  Templars  fell  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  at  the  close 
of  the  strife  ;  for  the  fight  was  scarcely  over  when  Saladin  ordered  the  slaugh- 
ter of  all  the  Templars  or  Hospitallers  in  his  hands.  The  Holy  City,  now 
utterly  defenceless,  was  surrendered  to  the  victorious  Saladin,  early  in  Octo- 
ber, 1 187,  and  the  treasures  in  the  coffers  of  the  Templars  were  freely  used 
to  redeem  the  poorer  Christian  captives.  The  Templars,  mindful  of  their 
early  obligations,  guarded  a  part  of  these  poor  wretches  on  their  mournful 
journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Tripoli. 

On  the  release  of  Guy  de  Lusignan  from  captivity,  both  Templars  and 
Hospitallers  flocked  to  his  standard  and  accompanied  him  to  the  siege  of 
Acre.  Under  his  banner  the  Templars  took  part  in  the  two  years'  investure 
of  the  stronghold,  and  shared  in  the  horrors  of  the  famine  of  the  years  1190- 
91.  The  Grand  ]\Iaster,  Gerard,  perished  in  the  fearful  battle  of  October, 
1 189,  refusing  to  sun-ive  the  terrible  slaughter  of  his  brethren  of  the  Order. 

In  the  strifes  for  the  Latin  Kingdom  of  the  East  which  followed,  the 
Knights  Templars  supported  the  claims  of  Guy  de  Lusignan,  and,  in  common 
with  King  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  were  accused  of  participation  in  the  death 
of  the  rival  claimant,  Conrad  of  Montferrat,  which  occurred  in  April,  1192. 
It  was  in  the  guise  of  a  Templar,  and  in  a  galley  belonging  to  the  Order,  that 
King  Richard  of  England  left  Palestine.  On  the  recovery  of  Acre,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Order  were  established  in  this  city,  and  a  few  years  later  they 
began  the  erection,  on  a  rocky  promontory  washed  on  every  side  but  the  east 
by  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean,  not  far  from  Acre,  of  their  stronghold 
of  "  Castle  Pilgrim,"  the  ruins  of  which  may  still  be  seen. 

Early  in  the  thirteenth  century  the  fifth  crusade  started  from  this  fortress 
for  the  conquest  of  Egypt.  At  the  siege  of  Damietta,  though  the  Grand 
Master,  William  de  Chartres,  was  killed,  the  Templars  performed  deeds  of 
surpassing  valor.  True  to  their  motto,  "  first  to  attack  and  last  to  retreat," 
their  dauntless  bravery  saved  the  army  of  the  crusaders  from  utter  destruc- 
tion at  the  fierce  struggle  on  August  29,  1219  ;  and  when  the  city  capitulated, 
November  5,  the  only  one  of  its  twenty-eight  towers  that  showed  any  signs 
of  giving  way  had  been  undermined  by  the  Templars'  enginery. 

Frederick  II.  found  the  Templars  opposed  to  him  and  to  his  plans  of 
Eastern  conquest,  from  the  moment  of  his  entrance  upon  Holy  Land.     On 


TEMPLARS'  ENGINERY  AT   DAMIETTA. 


THE    CRUSADES, 


135 


his  landing  at  Acre,  September  7,  1228,  the  King  found  the  Knights  Tem- 
plars unwilling  to  ally  themselves  to  the  fortunes,  or  march  under  the  banners, 
of  one  excommunicated  by  Holy  Church.  The  Templars  are  accused  of 
giving  information  to  the  Sultan  of  the  King's  intended  pilgrimage  to  the 
Jordan,  and  they  are  known  to  have  opposed  the  ten  years'  peace  agreed 
upon  by  Frederick  and  Al-Kamil,  the  Sultan  of  Egypt.  They  carried  their 
opposition  to  such  an  extent  as  to  refuse  to  be  present  at  Frederick's  corona- 
tion at  Jerusalem.  The  indignation  of  Frederick  was  aroused.  Leaving  the 
Holy  City  abruptly,  he  publicly  insulted  the  Grand  Master,  and  made  a 
demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  Templars'  strongholds.  He  even  laid  siege 
to  Castle  Pilgrim,  the  Templars'  impregnable  fortress.  Leaving  Acre  in  May, 
1229,  on  his  return,  he  despatched  orders  from  Apulia  to  confiscate  the 
estates  of  the  Order  in  his  domains  and  to  drive  all  Templars  from  the  land. 

Again  the  tide  of  war  turned  towards  the  East.  Theobald  of  Navarre  and 
an  army  of  crusaders  reached  Palestine  late  in  the  summer  of  1239.  On  the 
13th  of  November  of  that  year  the  Templars  shared  in  the  disastrous  defeat 
near  Jaffa,  after  a  bloody  encounter  their  reckless  daring  had  done  much  to 
bring  about.  A  ten  years'  truce  was  now  concluded  by  Theobald  with  Salih 
of  Egypt,  before  the  King  of  Navarre  left  the  Holy  Land  the  following  Sep- 
tember. On  the  coming  of  Richard  of  Cornwall,  the  following  month,  a 
treaty  was  concluded  with  the  Sultan  of  Egypt,  in  spite  of  the  opposition 
of  the  Knights  Templars.  Open  hostilities  now  broke  out  between  the  three 
Christian  Orders :  the  Templars,  Hospitallers,  and  the  Teutonic  Knights. 
Victory  attended  the  efforts  of  the  Templars.  Negotiations  were  opened 
with  Salih  of  Damascus  for  the  restoration  of  the  holy  places  to  the  Christians, 
and  in  the  year  1244  the  Grand  Master,  Hermann  of  Perigod,  announced  to 
the  Christian  princes  of  Europe  that  after  a  "  silence  of  fifty-six  years  the 
Divine  Mysteries  would  once  more  be  celebrated  in  the  Holy  City." 

The  anger  oi  the  Moslem  hordes  was  now  thoroughly  aroused.  The  Sultan 
of  Babylon  availed  nimself,  at  this  moment  of  supreme  need,  of  the  Khariz- 
mans,  a  savage  people  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  Mongolian  invasions. 
These  barbarians,  sweeping  down  from  the  north  in  multitudes,  left  behind 
them  unassailed  the  impregnable  stronghold  of  Safed,  lately  built  by  the 
Templars  to  guard  the  frontier;  and,  on  St.  Luke's  day,  October  18,  1244, 
annihilated  the  Christian  forces  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Gaza.  Of  the  three 
hundred  Templars  present  at  this  fight,  but  eighteen  survived.  Out  of  two 
hundred  Hospitallers  who  engaged  in  this  battle,  but  sixteen  escaped  alive. 
The  Grand  Masters  of  the  two  Orders  were  killed  or  captured.  The  Latin 
Kingdom  of  the  East  never  recovered  from  this  wholesale  slaughter  of  its 
knightly  defenders.  The  Holy  City  was  lost  to  Christendom.  The  Holy 
Sepulchre  and  the  sacred  sites  were  again  in  the  possession  of  the  Moslems. 
The  prodigies  of  valor  performed  by  the  Templars  were  all  in  vain.  The 
"  Beauseant,"  the  symbol  of  success,  was  dragged  in  the  dust.     The  foes  of 


1^5  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

Christ  were  victorious  over  all  opposition.  The  gains  of  years  of  battle  oi 
diplomacy  were  lost  on  the  issue  of  this  single  defeat.  The  conquests  of 
Theobald  and  the  Lion-hearted  Richard  were  swept  away  forever. 

Disaster  followed  disaster.  In  Egypt,  where  the  Grand  Master,  William  de 
Sonnac,  with  his  companions  of  the  Temple,  sought  to  further  the  military 
operations  of  the  saintly  Louis  IX.  of  France,  the  bloody  struggle  at  Mansura 
left  alive  at  its  close  but  three  Templars  of  all  who  entered  fearlessly  into 
the  fray. 

The  end  was  drawing  near.  In  June,  1266,  the  fortress  of  the  Templars 
at  Safed  was  forced  to  surrender,  and  of  its  six  hundred  Templar  defenders, 
all,  without  a  single  exception,  chose  death  rather  than  apostasy.  Other 
reverses  followed  in  swift  succession,  internal  dissensions  arose,  and  near  the 
close  of  the  thirteenth  century  Acre  was  lost ;  the  Grand  Master,  William  de 
Beaujeu  was  slain,  and  the  few  remaining  knights,  after  forcing  a  passt'.ge  to 
the  coast,  took  refuge  in  Cyprus  and  reestablished  there  the  headquarters  of 
the  Order.  Attempts  to  regain  a  foothold  in  Palestine  were  futile,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century  found  the  Knights  Templars  driven  for  all 
time  from  the  soil  of  Asia. 

The  Templar  Endowments  and  Possessions.  —  Misfortunes  at  the  East  had 
not  stripped  the  Order  of  its  wealth  and  power  in  Western  Europe.  In  rank 
and  influence  they  had  become  second  to  none.  They  were  the  almoners 
of  monarchs  ;  their  preceptories  were  the  storehouses  of  the  national  treasure  ; 
their  gifts  were  enormous ;  their  possessions  yielded  revenues  that  exceeded 
the  incomes  of  kings.  De  Molai,  the  last  Grand  Master,  when  summoned  to 
his  fate,  entered  France  in  the  year  1306,  with  150,000  gold  florins  and  ten 
horse-loads  of  silver. 

Persecution  and  Dispersion.  —  For  years  there  had  been  rumors  in 
circulation  affecting  the  orthodoxy,  the  purity,  and  the  loyalty  of  the  Order. 
The  charge  received  credence  that,  on  initiation,  the  neophyte  was  forced  to 
disavow  his  belief  in  God  and  Christ,  to  spit  upon  the  crucifix,  and  to  swear 
unquestioning  obedience  to  the  Grand  Master's  behests.  It  was  asserted  that 
the  words  of  consecration  in  the  Canon  of  the  Mass,  "Hoc  est  Corpus,''  were 
omitted  in  the  Templar  celebrations  of  the  Eucharist ;  that  the  cross  was 
trampled  under  foot  on  Good  Friday,  and  that  the  avowed  chastity  of  the 
Order  had  given  place  to  the  most  infamous  practices.  The  worship  of  a 
hideous  idol^  was  attributed  to  the  Templars,  and  blasphemous  and  shameless 
deeds  were  ascribed  to  an  order  whose  sole  raison  d'etre  was  the  practice 
and  the  support  of  the  faith  of  Christ. 

The  alliance  between  Philip  IV.  of  France,  who  was  under  obligations  for 
his  life  to  the  shelter  from  the  Paris  mob,  afforded  him  by  the  Templars,  and 
Pope  Clement  V.,  who  owed  to  the  French  King's  gold  or  influence  his  posses- 

1  Baphomet  (Baffomet,  Baphemet,  or  Baffomelus).  Vide  De  Quincey's  Inquiry,  etc.,  Works, 
Edinburgh,  1879.     XIV.  439. 


TEMPLAR    CAPTIVES    ENTERING    THE    MOSLEM    CAPITAL. 


PERSECUTION  AND  DISPERSION.  I -.g 

sion  of  the  Papal  tiara,  brought  about  the  overthrow  of  the  Order  of  the 
Temple.  Philip  the  Fair  coveted  the  possessions  of  the  Order.  The  Pope 
distrusted  its  power  and  its  fidelity  to  the  Papacy.  An  imprisoned  Templar 
at  Toulouse  offered  to  betray  the  secrets  of  his  brethren.  His  words  were 
poured  into  ears  greedy  for  every  possible  accusation  which  would  foment 
popular  indignation  and  further  the  schemes  of  King  and  Pope  for  the 
Templars'  overthrow.  On  the  14th  of  September,  1307,  orders  were  issued 
by  the  King  for  the  arrest  of  all  Templars  in  the  kingdom  on  the  night  of 
Friday,  October  13th.  The  Grand  Master  and  sixty  of  his  brethren  were 
seized  in  Paris.  The  following  day  they  were  brought  before  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  University  of  the  city  to  listen  to  the  enumeration  of  their 
alleged  crimes.  On  the  next  day,  Sunday,  popular  indignation  was  stirred  up 
against  the  Templars,  in  the  mind  of  the  Parisian  mob,  by  the  invectives  of 
preachers  who  accused  the  prisoners  of  the  grossest  iniquities.  The  tortures 
of  the  Inquisition  were  at  once  resorted  to,  and  in  the  confessions  wrung  out 
of  the  very  agonies  of  death,  every  charge  was  easily  sustained.  The 
inquisitors  had  all  the  evidence  they  desired.  The  suppression  of  the  Order, 
thus  undertaken  in  France,  was  followed  throughout  Western  Christendom. 
The  alliance  of  the  Pope  and  the  King  of  France  gave  the  highest  possible 
sanction  to  the  robbery  of  the  Templars'  possessions  everywhere,  and  to  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods  was  added  the  defamation  of  their  characters,  and  the 
loss  of  life  itself  under  the  most  agonizing  tortures.  In  Paris  the  trial  began 
on  the  nth  of  April,  13 10. 

Its  manifest  unfairness  called  forth  indignant  protests,  but  in  vain.  On 
Tuesday,  May  12th,  fifty- four  Templars  were  burned  at  the  stake  by  order  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Sens.  At  the  Council  of  Vienne,  which  met  in  October, 
131 1,  the  Templars  asked  for  a  hearing.  The  Pope,  it  is  charged,  prorogued 
the  assembly  to  prevent  this  proffered  defence,  and  the  seven  knights  who 
presented  themselves  as  deputies  for  this  purpose,  were  cast  into  prison. 
Early  in  March  the  King  visited  Vienne,  and  on  the  3d  of  April,  13 12, 
occupied  a  place  at  the  right  hand  of  Clement,  when  the  Pope  delivered  a 
discourse  against  the  Order,  which  had  been  formally  abolished,  not  in  the 
general  session  of  the  Council,  but  at  a  private  consistory,  held  the  2 2d  of 
March.  On  May  2d  Clement  issued  his  Bull  Ad  Providam.  This  instrument 
transferred  the  estates  of  the  Templars,  except  those  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  to 
the  Knights  of  St.  John.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  although  robbed  and 
despoiled  of  all  its  possessions,  though  slandered,  persecuted,  and  proscribed, 
the  Order  of  Templars  was  never  formally  pronounced  by  the  Papal  authorities 
guilty  of  the  fearful  crimes  laid  to  its  charge ;  the  language  of  the  Bull, 
Consideranfes  Diidum,  providing  for  the  suppression  of  the  Order,  distinctly 
stating  that  this  was  done  "  noti  per  modum  definitives  sententice,  cum  earn 
super  hoc  secundum  inguisitiones  et  processus  super  his  habitos  non  possemus 
fere  de  jure  sed per  viam  provisionis  et  crdinationis  apostolicce^ 


j^o  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

It  is  conceded  by  modem  scholars  that  the  charges  brought  against  the 
Templars  were  false,  and  that  the  alleged  confessions  drawn  from  the  wretched 
victims  of  the  inquisitors'  power  are  unworthy  of  belief,  Safed,  witi  its  mar- 
tyred host,  might  well  counter\-ail  countless  charges  made  oy  renegade  knights, 
and  accepted  by  those  who  were  the  willing  tools  of  the  interested  King  and 
his  creature,  the  Pope.  It  is  indeed  possible  that  abuses  had  crept  into  the 
Order  in  France,  which  did  not  exist  elsewhere.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  that 
on  the  election  of  De  Molai  over  his  rival  for  its  Grand  Mastership,  Hugh  de 
Peraud  the  visitor  of  the  Order  for  France,  which  took  place  on  the  death 
of  the  Grand  Master  William  de  Beaujeu,  in  1291,  De  Molai  announced  in 
general  chapter  his  purpose  of  eradicating  certain  practices  of  the  Templars, 
which  he  did  not  approve.  This  would  possibly  explain  the  circumstance  that 
in  nearly  all  the  councils  outside  of  France,  the  Templars  were  acquitted  of 
the  infamous  charges  brought  against  them.  If  corrupt  practices  had  crept 
into  the  Order  in  France  subsequent  to  the  death  of  ^^'illiam  de  Beaujeu, 
and  the  spuitio  super  crucem  and  the  oscuLi  inhonesta  were  features  of  the 
French  initiation,  the  fact  would  go  far  to  account  both  for  the  confession  of 
De  Molai,  under  torture,  and  his  subsequent  denial  of  complicity  in  their  slan- 
derous acts.  It  is  certain  that  this  great  man  not  only  sought  to  purify  the 
Order  of  which  he  was  so  distinguished  a  member,  but  that  his  martyr-death 
for  his  principles  and  his  professions  of  innocence  should  giv^e  him  an  honored 
place  among  "  the  immortal  names  that  were  not  born  to  die." 

Connection  with  the  Present  Degrees  of  Knights  Templar. — The  theory 
that  the  Order  of  Knights  Templars,  on  their  dispersion  and  suppression  by  the 
united  power  of  Church  and  State,  took  refuge  in  the  Masonic  body,  is  pro- 
nounced by  high  authority  as  without  "  the  slightest  historic  foundation."  We 
do  not  question  this  statement  as  it  stands.  History  fails  to  record  much  that 
actually  occurs ;  much  that  subsequent  ages  would  gladly  know. 

We  see  no  reason,  however,  for  the  assertion,  so  often  made  of  late  years, 
that  any  connection  between  a  chivalric  order,  such  as  the  Knights  Templars, 
and  a  fraternity  of  Operative  Masons,  such  as  certainly  existed  in  mediaeval 
times,  is  out  of  the  range  of  possibility.  The  antiquity  and  the  general 
prevalence  of  associations  or  guilds  for  the  practice  of  operative  masonry 
is  undoubted.  That  these  bodies  of  workmen  were  known  to  the  Knights  Tem- 
plars and  employed  by  them  cannot  be  questioned.  The  erection  of  their 
strongholds  in  Holy  Land,  the  building  of  their  preceptories,  priories,  and 
round  churches  all  over  Europe,  the  evident  importance  and  value  of  skilled 
mechanics  in  all  the  operations  of  the  Order,  whether  offensive  or  defensive, 
afford  evident  proofs  of  interdependence  between  the  one  and  the  other. 
What  could  then  be  more  natural  than  that  the  Knights  Templars,  proscribed, 
persecuted,  despoiled  of  all  things,  should,  in  their  attachment  to  their  old 
usages  and  organization,  seek  their  perpetuation  among  the  affiliated  bodies 
with  which  they  had  already  a  certain  connection,  and  of  whose  universaUty 


CHRISTIAN   WOMEN,    NUMBERED   WITH    "  SAFED'S    MARTYRED    HOST." 


MODERN  TEMPLAR  Y. 


143 


and  antiquity  they  had  abundant  evidence,  arising  from  their  business 
relations  ? 

Besides,  the  thirst  for  vengeance  on  their  unjust  and  cruel  oppressors  could 
only  be  appeased  by  such  an  effort  to  perpetuate  the  calumniated  and  pro- 
scribed Order,  to  which  they  were  bound  by  most  solemn  oaths  and  the  closest 
ties.  All  this,  and  more,  is  surely  possible  ;  and  we  cannot  but  claim  that  even 
if  a  direct  descent  from  the  Templar  Order  after  its  suppression  by  the  Pope  of 
Rome  and  King  of  France,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  cannot  be  proved  by 
historic  documents,  still  there  is  reason  to  admit  the  existence  of  a  continuous 
connection,  a  practical  succession,  making  the  modern  Templary,  where  it  is 
truly  understood  and  exemplified  among  us,  the  representative  of  the  old 
chivalric  Order ;  perpetuating  its  doctrinal  teaching  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
preserving  and  appropriating  the  general  features  of  its  ceremonies,  its  obliga- 
tions, its  usages  ;  modified  only  as  to  the  changes  in  belief,  practice,  and  social 
life,  which  the  requirements  of  the  age  demand.  In  other  words,  Templary 
in  our  day  and  generation  is  a  revival  of  the  old  Order,  the  old  organization, 
the  old-time  chivalry.  It  seeks  to  reproduce,  as  nothing  else  does,  or  even 
claims  to  do,  the  knightly  virtues,  the  chivalrous  spirit,  the  valiant  and  virtuous 
life,  the  holy  teachings  of  the  historic  days  of  the  Templar's  pristine  practice. 
The  modern  Templar's  warfare  is,  indeed,  spiritual,  but  the  true  Templar  will 
recognize  his  duty  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  Striving  to  reproduce,  represent,  and  perpetuate  in  an  avowedly 
Christian  society  or  organization,  the  principles,  the  usages,  the  ceremonial 
of  the  great  religious  and  knightly  organization  of  mediaeval  days,  we  best 
exhibit  true  Templarism ;  and  we  establish  most  fully  our  connection  with  the 
heroic  Order,  whose  name  we  bear,  by  personal  holiness,  Christian  profession, 
and  the  exercise  of  every  grace  and  virtue  of  the  faith  of  our  dear  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

The  Interregnum  of  Four  Centuries. — To  establish  the  historic  connection 
between  mediaeval  and  modern  Templarism  it  becomes  requisite  to  bridge 
over  the  period  between  the  year  1 209  when  Walter  de  Clifton,  Preceptor  of 
the  Scottish  Knights  Templars,  admitted  the  dispersion  of  his  brethren ;  and 
the  year  1745,  when  modern  Templary  appears  in  the  hght.  The  tracing  of 
the  traditional  existence  of  the  old  Knights  Templars  during  this  term  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  is  historically  impossible.  It  may,  or  it  may 
not  be  true,  that  the  expelled  Templars  of  Scotland,  {o.^  in  number  and  dis- 
possessed of  the  little  wealth  ever  pertaining  to  the  Order  in  a  land  of  poverty, 
united  in  entering  the  service  of  Robert  the  Bruce.  The  war  between  King 
Edward  of  England  and  the  Bruce  was  raging  at  the  time  of  this  dispossession 
of  the  Templars,  and  it  is  not  impossible  —  in  fact,  it  is  highly  probable  —  that 
the  army  of  the  Bruce  contained  a  few  veteran  quondam  Templars.  That  a 
preceptory  or  priory  was  established  at  Kilwinning  rests  on  no  authority  other 
than  late  tradition.     The   estates  of  the  Templars  having  passed  into   the 


j^  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

hands  of  the  Hospitallers  at  the  period  of  the  "  Reformation,"  the  possessions 
of  the  Hospitallers,  both  those  originally  theirs  and  those  acquired  from  the 
Templars,  were  declared  forfeited  to  the  Crown,  on  the  ground  that  the  ser- 
vices required  by  the  Preceptor  or  Prior  were  to  defend  and  maintain  the  faith 
of  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  the  case  of  the  Priory  of  Torpichen  in  Midlo- 
thian, where,  as  some  traditions  have  it,  modern  Scottish  Templary  took  its 
origin,  the  last  Grand  Prior,  Sir  John  Sandilands,  embracing  the  reformed 
faith,  surrendered  the  estates  of  the  Priory  to  the  government,  and  then 
received  a  grant  of  them  to  himself  with  the  tide  of  Lord  Torpichen,  in  1564, 
thus  founding  the  existing  Scottish  family  of  that  name.  A  tradition  that, 
after  the  dispersion  of  the  brethren  who  made  up  the  Priory  of  Torpichen,  a 
number  of  them  united  with  a  Masonic  lodge  or  guild  at  Stirling,  and  thus 
incorporated  the  mediseval  knighthood  with  the  Masonic  body,  has  no  historic 
foundation.  Like  other  ingenious  theories  framed  to  account  for  resemblances 
and  correspondences  between  the  old  chivalric  Order  and  the  Speculative 
Masonry  of  modern  times,  the  tradition  is  possibly  true,  but  its  truth  cannot 
be  proved  by  documentary  evidence. 

Roman  Catholic  Admissions.  —  In  a  Roman  Catholic  authority,  bearing  the 
ijnprimatur  of  "  Henricus  Eduardus  Card.  Archiep.  Westmonast,"  —  Henry 
Edward  Manning,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Westminster,  —  in  treating  of  the 
subject  of  Freemasonry,  we  find  the  following  admissions  :  — 

"  The  South  of  France,  where  a  large  Jewish  and  Saracenic  element  remained,  was  a  hotbed 
of  heresies,  and  that  region  was  also  a  favorite  one  with  the  guild  of  Masons.  It  is  asserted,  too, 
that  as  far  back  as  the  twelfth  century,  the  lodges  of  the  guild  enjoyed  the  special  protection  of 
the  Knights  Templars.  It  is  easy  in  this  way  to  understand  how  the  symbolical  allusion  to  Solo- 
mon and  his  Temple  might  have  passed  from  the  Knights  into  the  Masonic  formulary.  In  this 
way,  too,  might  be  explained  how,  after  the  suppression  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple,  some  of  the 
recalcitrant  knights,  maintaining  their  influence  over  the  Freemasons,  would  be  able  to  pervert 
what  hitherto  had  been  a  harmless  ceremony  into  an  elaborate  ritual  that  should  impart  some  of 
the  errors  of  the  Templars  to  the  initiated.  A  document  was  long  ago  published,  which  purports 
to  be  a  charter  granted  to  a  lodge  of  Freemasons  in  England,  in  the  time  of  Henry  VII.,  and  it 
bears  the  marks  in  its  religious  indifference  of  a  suspicious  likeness  between  Freemasonry  then 
and  now.  In  Germany  the  guild  was  numerous,  and  was  formally  recognized  by  a  diploma 
granted,  in  1489,  by  the  Emperor  Maximilian.  But  this  sanction  was  finally  revoked  by  the 
Imperial  Diet  in  1707. 

"  So  far,  however,  the  Freemasons  were  really  working  Stone-masons ;  but  the  so-called 
Cologne  charter — the  genuineness  of  which  seems  certain  —  drawn  up  in  1535  at  a  reunion  of 
Freemasons  gathered  at  Cologne  to  celebrate  the  opening  of  the  Cathedral  edifice,  is  signed  by 
Melanchthon,  Coligny,  and  other  similar  ill-omened  names.  Nothing  certain  is  known  of  the 
Freemasons  —  now  evidently  become  a  sect  —  during  the  seventeenth  century,  except  that  in  1646, 
Ellas  Ashmole,  an  Englishman,  founded  the  Order  of  Rose  Croix,  Rosicrucians,  or  Hermetic  Free- 
masons, a  society  which  mingled  in  a  fantastic  manner  the  jargon  of  alchemy  and  other  occult 
sciences,  with  Pantheism.  This  Order  soon  became  affiliated  to  some  of  the  Masonic  lodges  in 
Germany,  where  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation  there  was  a  constant  founding  of  societies, 
secret  or  open,  which  undertook  to  formulate  a  philosophy  or  a  religion  of  their  own. 

"As  we  know  it  now,  however.  Freemasonry  first  appeared  in  1725,  when  Lord  Derwent- 
water,  a  supporter  of  the  expelled  Stuart  dynasty,  introduced  the  Order  into  France,  professing  to 
have  his  authority  from  a  lodge  at  Kilwinning,  .Scotland.  This  formed  the  basis  of  that  variety 
of  Freemasonry  called  the    Scotch  Rite.     Rival  organizations  soon  sprang  up.     Charters  were 


MODERlSi    TEMPLAR  Y. 


145 


obtained  from  a  lodge  at  York,  which  was  said  to  have  been  of  a  very  ancient  foundation,"! 
etc.,  etc. 

We  have  quoted  at  length  from  this  work,  on  the  principle  laid  down  in 
Holy  Scripture,  viz. :  "  Our  enemies  themselves  being  judges."  We  recognize, 
besides,  the  possibility  of  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  communion  hav- 
ing access  to  documents  and  papers  unknown  to  others,  and  we  are  confident 
that  the  evidently  frank  admissions  of  these  Romanist  authors  afford  us  a 
warrant  for  our  conjectural  connection  of  the  mediaeval  and  the  modern  Tem- 
plary.  No  one  can  doubt  that  the  Romanists  have  access  to  documents  on 
this  subject  unknown  to  all  the  world  besides.  We  claim  that  this  connec- 
tion exists  just  so  far  as  the  Templary  of  our  own  day  clings  to  its  knightly 
practices,  and  is  true  to  its  Templar  dogmas  of  the  Christian  faith  and  teach- 
ing. What  is  called  Templary  on  the  continent  of  Europe  is  clearly  traced 
to  the  "  High  Grade  System  of  Masonry."  Absolutely  no  evidence  exists  of 
its  being  in  any  sense  a  direct  continuance  of  the  medieval  Order.  The  pre- 
tence that  De  Molai  granted  a  charter  to  Larmenius  rests  alone  on  a  clumsy 
forgery,  and  the  claim  of  Swedish  Templars  that  the  Order  was  introduced 
into  their  country  by  a  relative  of  the  last  Grand  Master,  De  Molai,  who  had 
become  a  member  of  the  "Order  of  Christ"  in  Portugal,  on  the  dissolution  of 
the  Templars,  is  equally  unhistoric.  Even  in  our  own  country  there  is  need  of 
ritual  revision,  and  a  closer  copying  of  the  usages,  the  habits,  the  traditions 
of  the  Order  as  it  existed  in  its  early,  purer  days,  to  make  the  connection 
between  the  old  and  the  new  Templary  the  more  apparent  to  all  men.  Any 
departure  from  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  failure  to  con- 
form to  the  usages  and  ceremonial,  the  life  and  life-work  of  the  old  Knights 
Templars;  any  idea  of  creating  a  system  of  degrees  and  teachings  bearing 
only  the  name  and  not  reproducing  the  reality  of  the  original  Templarism,  will, 
we  believe,  be  fatal  to  our  modern  Templary,  and  expose  our  claims  to  knight- 
hood to  the  suspicion,  if  not  to  the  contempt,  of  all  men.  Never  may  the 
true  Templar  of  this  age  forget  that  of  old  it  was  the  highest  glory  of  each 
belted  knight  to  be  called  and  known  as  "  a  true  knight  and  servant  of  Jesus 
Christ." 

The  Dogmatic  Teachings  of  Templary.  —  The  dogmatic  teachings  of  true 
Templary  are  squared  with  the  words  of  that  Ancient  Landmark,  God's  Holy 
Word.  These  lessons  of  duty  are  in  our  modern  Templarism  to  be  symbolized 
in  language  and  carried  out  in  life.  The  Templar  must  be  a  Christian, 
initiated  in  Holy  Baptism  into  the  Church  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  if 
consistent,  he  should  remember  the  wcrds  of  His  Master:  "This  do"  — 
"  Take  and  eat  My  Body  and  drink  My  Blood  "  —  "  in  remembrance  of  Me." 
"  Founded  on  the  Christian  religion  "  is  our  oft-repeated  profession,  and,  if 

1  A  Catholic  Dictionary  containing  some  account  of  the  Doctrine,  Discipline,  Rites,  Ceremo- 
nies, Councils,  and  Religious  Orders  of  the  Catholic  Church.  By  William  E.  Addis,  Secular 
Priest,  sometime  Fellow  of  the  University  of  Ireland,  and  Thomas  Arnold,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  the 
same  University.    Second  edition,  London.    Large  8vo.   -1884.    In  loco. 


146 


THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 


Christlike,  nothing  Christian  is  foreign  to  it.  "  For  the  practice  of  the  Chris- 
tian virtues  "  is  our  avowed  object  in  affiliating.  How  pure,  how  holy,  how 
upright,  how  consistent,  should  be  our  lives  !  Reverence  and  humility  should 
be  ours  when  engaged  in  Templar  duty.  Our  vows  and  professions  should 
have  a  deep  meaning,  foi  they  are  made  with  prayer  to  the  unseen  God,  — 
they  are  vowed  and  pledged  with  every  accompaniment  of  reverent  looking 
unto  Him  who  is  invisible.  ''  Non  nobis,  Voniine,''  as  of  old,  is  our  motto. 
^'  In  hoc  signo  vinces''  is  our  legend,  as  it  was  in  the  early  ages  of  the  faith. 
Our  psalm  and  song  of  victory  is  that  which  was  heard  on  every  field  of  strife 
where  Templars  fought  for  the  faith  of  Christ,  —  "  Exsurgat  Deus." 

"Let  God  arise,  and  let  His  enemies  be  scattered;  let  them  also  that  hate  Him,  flee  before 
Him. 

"  Like  as  the  smoke  vanisheth  away,  so  shalt  Thou  drive  them  away  ;  and  like  as  wax  melted  at 
the  fire,  so  let  the  ungodly  perish  at  the  presence  of  God.  .  .  . 

"  O  sing  unto  God,  and  sing  praises  unto  His  Name ;  magnify  Him  that  rideth  upon  the 
heavens,  as  it  were  upon  an  horse ;  praise  Him  in  His  Name  JAH,  and  rejoice  before  Him.  .  .  . 

"  For  thy  Temple's  sake  at  Jerusalem ;  so  shall  kings  bring  presents  unto  thee  !  " 


CHAPTER  n. 


The  Overthrow  of  the   Templars,  and   the    Execution  of  Jacques  de 

MoLAi,  Grand  Master. 

Prefatory  Note. —  It  has  seemed  best,  even  at  the  risk  of  some  unavoidable  repetitions,  to 
give  by  itself  and  without  interruption  the  story  of  the  Templars'  last  days  and  the  record  of 
Jacques  de  Molai's  martyrdom.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the  latest  researches 
of  the  late  distinguished  ecclesiastical  historian.  Dr.  Ignatius  von  Dollinger,  were  devoted  to 
clearing  the  Templars  from  the  aspersions  cast  upon  their  lives  and  practices. 

The  accession  of  Clement  V.  to  the  Papal  chair  was  the  result  of  a  bargain 
and  a  sale.  It  was  not  only  the  headship  of  the  Church  that  was  thus  traded 
off  to  one  unworthy  of  any  spiritual  preferment  whatsoever,  but  there  was 
included  in  this  shameless  trafficking  of  ecclesiastical  supremacy,  the  fate  of  the 
Templars,  whose  possessions  had  aroused  the  greed  of  Philip  the  Fair.  In 
securing  the  Popedom  for  Bertrand'de  Goth,  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  after  a 
prolonged  and  stormy  session  of  the  Conclave  of  Cardinals  at  P^rouse,  the 
King  demanded  in  return  the  Pope's  promise  to  accede  to  six  requests. 
''The  sixth,  which  is  important  and  secret,  I  keep  for  the  present  to  myself," 
said  the  King  to  his  creature,  Clement  V.  "  It  shall  be  made  known  to  you," 
continued  the  crafty  monarch,  "  in  due  time  and  place."  It  is  the  conviction 
of  all  students  of  the  history  of  this  period  that  the  secret  demand,  withheld 
for  a  time,  but  afterward  communicated  to  the  Pope,  was  the  overthrow  and 
abolition  of  the  Order  of  the  Knights  Templars. 

Well  knew  the  wily  and  unscrupulous  Clement  how  to  persecute  and  destroy 


OVERTHROW  OF   THE    TEMPLARS. 


H7 


those  whom  he  chose  to  regard  as  foes.  The  pitiless  King  suffered  neither 
innocence  nor  excellence  to  stand  between  him  and  the  vengeance  he  was 
purposing  to  wreak.  There  was  no  pretence  that  he  had  just  cause  of  com- 
plaint against  the  Order  of  the  Temple.  He  had  from  time  to  time  courted 
the  favor  of  its  members ;  he  had  borrowed  from  their  treasures  ;  he  had  even 
applied  to  be  affiliated  with  their  organization.  During  an  outbreak  of  the 
populace  at  Paris,  in  the  year  1306,  occasioned  by  the  imposition  of  a  new  and 
especially  distasteful  tax,  the  King  had  sought  and  found  a  refuge  in  the  palace 
of  the  Templars,  where  the  chapters-general  were  held,  and  where  the  treasures 
of  the  Order  were  kept.  It  is  asserted  that  the  monarch's  avaricious  thirst 
for  gold  was  stimulated  by  the  sight  of  his  protectors'  wealth,  and  that  the 
purpose  of  their  overthrow  was  strengthened  then  and  there. 

In  the  year  1305  the  King  and  Pope  simultaneously  summoned  from  the 
Isle  of  Cyprus  to  France  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Templars,  Jacques  de  Molai. 
For  twice  seven  years  had  De  Molai  held  the  Grand  Mastership  of  the  Order. 
By  birth  a  Burgundian  of  noble  family,  though  poor,  De  Molai  had  entered 
the  Order  in  extreme  youth,  and  had  won  his  spurs  and  gained  his  pre- 
eminence among  his  brethren  and  companions  by  the  display  of  distinguished 
bravery  in  contests  with  the  Infidels  in  the  East. 

The  sinister  designs  of  King  and  Pope  were  at  first  studiously  concealed  ; 
Phihp,  with  characteristic  hypocrisy,  professed  that  he  desired  the  Grand 
Master's  presence  at  Court  to  discuss  with  him  the  plans  of  a  new  crusade. 
He  asked  his  intended  victim  to  stand  as  godfather  to  one  of  his  children,  and 
showed  him  marks  of  distinguished  favor.  On  the  12th  of  October  Jacques 
de  Molai  had  been  a  pall-bearer  at  the  interment  of  the  King's  sister-in-law. 
On  the  following  day  he  was  arrested  by  the  monarch's  order,  and  thrown  into 
prison.  Meanwhile  the  most  horrible  reports  were  bruited  abroad  against  the 
Templars.  They  were  accused  by  popular  clamor,  incited  apparently  by 
emissaries  of  the  Court,  of  deeds  impossible  even  to  mention.^  They  were 
charged  with  betraying  Christendom  for  the  advantage  of  the  Infidels,  of 
spitting  upon  the  Cross  at  their  initiation,  of  abandoning  themselves  to  idol- 
atrous practices,  and  of  living  the  most  licentious  lives.  Philip  and  Clement 
had  just  met  at  Poitiers.  The  King  besought  the  Pontiff  to  authorize  an 
inquiry  into  the  truth  of  the  accusations  now  raised  on  every  side  against  the 
Templars'  lives  and  practices.  In  connection  with  the  arrest  of  De  Molai, 
one  hundred  and  forty  of  his  brethren  were  committed  to  prison.  Three- 
score members  of  the  Order  met  the  same  fate  at  Beaucaire.  Many  others 
were  imprisoned  all  over  France.  Their  great  possessions  were  placed  in 
the  King's  keeping,  and  held  at  his  disposal,  ostensibly  for  the  service  of 
Christians  in  the  Holy  Land. 

On  the  1 2th  of  August,  in  the  year  130S,  Clement  V.  issued  a  Bull,  instituting 

1  "  Une  chose  am^re,  une  chose  deplorable,  una  chose  horrible,  k  penser,  terrible  k  entendre; 
chose  execrable  de  sceleratasse,  detestable,  d'infame."  —  Michelet,  Histoire  de  Francs,  III,  p.  124. 


148 


THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 


a  grand  Commission  of  inquiry,  charged  with  the  conduct  of  an  examination 
at  Paris,  of  the  charges  now  rife  against  the  Order.  Two  recreant  Knights 
Templars,  —  the  one  a  Gascon,  the  other  an  Italian,  —  already  in  prison 
for  their  misdeeds,  professed  their  readiness  to  reveal  the  secrets  of  the 
Order,  and  to  attest  the  enormities  with  which  the  Templars  were  charged. 
The  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  Mayence,  Cologne,  and  Treves  were  named 
Commissioners  in  the  Papal  Bull,  and  the  Pope  announced  that  he  would 
deliver  his  judgment  respecting  the  accused  within  two  years,  at  a  general 
Council  to  be  held  at  Vienne  in  Dauphiny.  Twenty-six  princes  and  laic 
lords,  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Brittany,  the  Counts  of  Flanders,  Nevers, 
and  Auxerre,  and  the  Count  of  Talleyrand  de  P^rigord  offered  themselves  as 
the  accusers  of  the  Templars.  On  the  2 2d  of  November,  1309,  De  Molai 
was  called  before  the  Commissioners.  We  are  told  that,  at  the  first,  he  stoutly 
denied  the  charges  brought  against  the- Order.  Afterward,  it  is  said,  that  he 
became  confused  and  embarrassed.  He  pleaded,  we  are  assured,  that  he 
lacked  the  ability  to  undertake  the  defence  of  the  Order  at  such  odds, — 
with  the  Pope,  the  King,  the  nobles,  the  populace,  all  openly  arrayed  against 
him.  He  claimed  that  he  was  a  poor,  unlettered  knight,  wholly  unable  to 
cope  with  the  learning,  the  skill,  the  might  of  his  open  and  avowed  foes. 
It  appeared  later  that  his  acknowledged  ignorance  of  Latin  had  been  made  the 
occasion  of  a  wholesale  falsification  of  his  professions  of  innocence  and  his 
explanations  of  the  charges  brought  against  him.  Tried,  tortured,  tormented, 
he  was,  in  his  helplessness  and  friendlessness,  the  sport  of  his  enemies. 

On  the  2Sth  of  March,  1310,  five  hundred  and  forty-six  Knights  Templars, 
who  had  announced  their  readiness  and  desire  to  repel  the  charges  against 
their  Order,  appeared  in  a  body  before  the  Commission.  They  were  called  upon 
to  choose  proctors  to  speak  in  their  behalf.  "  We  ought  also  then,"  was  their 
reply,  "  to  have  been  tortured  by  proxy  only."  ^  It  was  not  the  purpose  of  the 
Commission  to  establish  the  innocence  of  the  accused.  The  prisoners  were 
treated  with  the  utmost  rigor.  Deprived  of  their  possessions,  they  were 
reduced  to  the  most  wretched  plight.  Fees  were  exacted  from  them  in  their 
absolute  penury  for  the  commonest  offices ;  while  they  were  made  at  charges 
for  the  very  necessaries  of  life.  The  evident  object  of  their  persecutors  was  to 
break  their  resolution  and  spirit  by  constant  annoyance,  as  they  hesitated  not 
to  break  their  worn  and  enfeebled  bodies  upon  the  rack  of  torture. 

In  October,  13 10,  after  a  tedious  examination,  a  few  of  the  accused  were 
acquitted;  others  were  subjected  to  special  penance,  while  more  than  fifty 
were  condemned  to  the  stake  as  heretics.  The  burning  of  these  victims  of 
the  monarch's  jealousy,  and  the  Pope's  wilhng  complicity  in  the  King's  mur- 
derous behests,  followed  close  on  their  conviction.  They  met  their  cruel  fate 
on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  tlieir  condemnation,  in  a  field  close  to  the  Abbey 

1  Guizot's  History  of  France.  Translated  by  Robert  Black.  Large  8vo.  London,  1872,  L 
p.  605. 


MARTYRDOM  OF  DE  MOLAI. 


149 


of  St.  Anthony,  in  Paris.  The  same  punishment  was  meted  out  to  a  number 
of  Templars  convicted  by  the  Council  at  Senlis  the  same  year.  "  They  con- 
fessed under  tortures,"  says  Bossuet,  "but  they  denied  at  their  execution."^ 

Still  the  business  of  extermination  dragged  slowly  on.  The  decisions  of  the 
several  councils,  convened  to  consider  the  question  of  the  Templars'  innocence 
or  guilt,  were  by  no  means  uniform.  At  Ravenna,  on  the  17th  of  June,  13 10, 
the  Templars  were  pronounced  free  from  guilt.  The  same  decision  was 
reached  at  Mayence  the  ist  of  July.  Later,  on  the  21st  of  October,  the 
Bishops  convened  at  Salamanca  rendered  judgment  in  the  Templars'  favor.^ 

A  similar  result  was  reached  in  Aragon.  There  was  a  prospect  of  a  reaction 
of  feehng  in  favor  of  the  persecuted  and  despoiled  Order.  Europe  wearied 
at  the  conflicting  judgments  of  the  various  councils  of  inquiry,  and  all  men 
tired  of  the  sight  of  the  ignominious  execution  of  these  brave  defenders  of  the 
Cross.  Even  the  servile  Pope  appears  to  have  felt  some  compunction  at  this 
pitiless  persecution  of  men  —  half  priests,  half  soldiers  —  who  had  so  often 
and  so  valiantly  fought  against  the  common  foes  of  civilization  and  Christianity 
in  the  East. 

But  PhiHp  the  Fair  attained  his  desire.  On  the  nth  of  June,  131 1,  the 
Commission  of  inquiry  closed  its  protracted  sittings.  The  report  of  its  pro- 
cedure, "  drawn  up  by  notaries  in  authentic  form  in  the  Treasury  of  Notre 
Dame  at  Paris,"  was  forwarded  to  the  Pope.  It  was  not  to  be  shown  to  any 
one  without  special  order  from  his  Holiness ;  and  the  fact  that  it  was  thus 
studiously  concealed  affords  reason  for  the  inference  that  the  torture-gained 
testimony  against  the  Templars  it  detailed,  failed,  even  in  the  minds  of  those 
interested  in  its  acceptance,  of  establishing  the  guilt  of  the  Order. 

The  Council-general,  announced  by  the  Pope  in  1308  as  to  be  convened  to 
decide  definitely  upon  this  cause  ccli'bre,  was  opened  at  Vienne  in  October 
of  the  year  131 1.  More  than  three  hundred  Bishops  assembled  in  response 
to  the  Papal  summons.  Nine  Templars  presented  themselves  for  the  defence  of 
the  Order.  They  professed  to  represent  a  large  body  of  their  brethren  gath- 
ered in  the  vicinity  of  Lyons,  who  awaited  the  decision  of  the  Council.  The 
Pope,  perfidious  to  the  last,  caused  the  arrest  of  these  brave  representatives 
of  the  Order.  It  was  evident,  however,  that  the  temper  of  the  Council  was 
adverse  to  the  schemes  of  Pope  and  King.  Clement  therefore  postponed  the 
final  decision  of  the  Council,  and  on  the  22d  of  March,  1312,  in  a  secret  consis- 
tory made  up  of  the  most  docile,  or  rather  servile,  of  the  Bishops,  and  a  few 
Cardinals,  creatures  of  the  Pontiff,  pronounced  solely  on  his  own  pontifical 
authority  the  condemnation  and  abolition  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple.  This 
sentence,  or  rather  mandate,  was  proclaimed  officially  on  the  3d  of  April,  13 12, 

1  Quoted  by  Guizot  in  his  History  of  France,  I.  p.  606. 

2  "  Les  prelats  d'ltalie,  moins  un  seul;  ceux  d'Espagne,  ceux  d'Allemagne  et  da  Danemarck ; 
ceux  d'Angleterre,  d'Ecosse  et  d'lrlande;  les  Fran^ais  mgme  sujets  de  Philippe  (sauf  les 
archevgque  de  Reims;  de  Sens  et  de  Rouen),  dSlar^rent  qu'ils  ne  pouvaient  condamner  sans 
entendre."  —  Histolre  de  Francs,  par  J.  Michelet.     8vo,     Paris,  i86l.    III.  p.  167. 


ISO 


THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 


in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  the  Council.     No  protest  was  raised  from 
the  cowed  and  subservient  prelates. 

The  Grand  Master,  Jacques  de  Molai,  in  rigorous  confinement  at  Gisors, 
survived  the  downfall  of  the  Order  of  which  he  was  the  head.  The  Pope  had 
reserved  for  himself  the  task  of  trying  him,  evidently  with  the  purpose  of 
blackening  the  reputation  of  the  Order  by  the  pretended  admissions  and  con- 
fessions of  its  chief  official.  Disappointed  or  disgusted  with  his  lack  of  success, 
Clement  committed  the  further  examination  of  De  Molai  and  the  three  surviv- 
ing grand  dignitaries  of  the  Templars — Gui,  Commander  of  Normandy,  son 
of  the  Count  of  Auvergne,  the  Commander  of  Aquitaine,  and  the  Visitor  of 
France  —  to  the  ecclesiastical  Commissioners  at  Paris,  under  the  presidency  of 
the  Cardinal  Bishop  of  Albano,  assisted  by  two  other  Cardinal-legates.  Brought 
before  the  Commissioners,  there  was  read  over  to  these  unhappy  survivors  of 
their  noble  Order  the  record  of  the  confessions  they  had  made  but  lately  when 
under  torture.  It  was  on  the  nth  of  March,  in  the  year  1314.  The  scene 
was  the  court  in  front  of  the  grand  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris.  Ere  the 
predetermined  sentence  of  perpetual  imprisonment  could  be  pronounced  by 
Albano,  Jacques  de  Molai  and  the  Commander  of  Normandy  broke  in  upon 
the  Cardinal's  address  by  indignant  protestations  of  innocence.^  The  charges 
contained  in  the  accusation  were  vehemently  repelled.  It  appeared  that 
advantage  had  been  taken  of  the  ignorance  of  the  accused  of  the  Latin  tongue 
to  falsify  the  " proces-verl?aux"  This  document,  they  asserted,  did  not  cor- 
rectly represent  the  statements  that  had  been  wrung  from  them  in  the  agonies 
of  the  torture  chamber.  Proudly  did  these  two  noble  men  defy  the  wrath  of 
their  persecutors.  The  knowledge  of  the  wiles  of  his  foes  restored  to  the 
enfeebled  and  emaciated  De  Molai  all  his  early  courage.  The  agony  of  the 
rack  alone  had  made  him  speak  ill  of  his  brethren.  Stoutly  he  now  main- 
tained that 

"  Of  his  grand  Order  naught  he  wist, 
"Gainst  honor  and  the  laws  of  Christ." 

The  astonished  and  embarrassed  judges  remanded  the  two  recalcitrant 
Templars  to  the  care  of  the  Provost  of  Paris,  and  adjourned  their  farther  hear- 
ing till  the  following  day.  But  the  King  was  not  so  easily  balked  in  his 
purpose  of  vengeance.  Without  consulting  the  ecclesiastical  Commissioners, 
Philip  the  Fair  at  once  adjudged  Jacques  de  Molai  and  the  Commander  of 
Normandy  relapsed  heretics,  and  ordered  that  they  should  be  burned  at  the 
stake  ere  the  close  of  day.  At  the  hour  of  vespers,  in  the  Ile-de-la-Cit^, 
on  the  site  of  the  present  Place  Dauphine,  in  Paris,  this  brutal  mandate  was 
executed.  It  was  indeed  an  assassination.^  Godfrey  of  Paris,  a  rhyming 
chronicler  of  the  time,   thus  describes  the  final  scene  of  the  tragedy.     "The 

1  We  have  chiefly  followed  in  this  part  of  our  narrative  the  full  account  found  in  the  Histoire 
des  Francjaise.  par  J.  C.  L.  Simonde  de  Sismondi.     Paris,  1826.     8vo.    Vol.  IX. 

2  "  Celte  execution,  k  I'insu  des  juges,  fut  6videnient  un  assassinat."  —  Histoire  de  Francs,  par 
J.  Michelet.     8vo.     Paris,  i86i,     II.  p.  167. 


HISTORIC  NOTES.  j  .  ^ 

Grand  Master,  seeing  the  fire  prepared,  stripped  himself  briskly ;  —  I  tell  just 
as  I  saw; — he  bared  himself  to  his  shirt,  light-heartedly  and  with  a  good 
grace,  without  a  whit  of  trembling,  though  he  was  dragged  and  shaken 
mightily.  They  took  hold  of  him  to  tie  him  to  the  stake,  and  they  were  bind- 
ing his  hands  with  a  cord,  but  he  said  to  them,  '  Sirs,  suffer  me  to  fold  my 
hands  awhile  and  make  my  prayer  to  God,  for  verily  it  is  time.  I  am  pres- 
ently to  die ;  but  wrongfully,  God  wot.  Wherefore  woe  will  come,  ere  long, 
to  those  who  condemn  us  without  a  cause.     God  will  avenge  our  death.'  "^ 

It  was  doubtless  in  consequence  of  these  last  words,  uttered  in  the  face 
of  an  agonizing  death,  that  there  arose  the  popular  impression  that  Jacques 
de  Molai,  from  amidst  the  flames,  cited  Pope  and  King  to  appear  with  him 
before  the  bar  of  God,  the  Pope  at  the  end  of  forty  days,  the  King  within  a 
year.  Clement  V.  died  on  the  20th  of  April,  1314  ;  the  King  on  the  29th  of 
November  of  the  same  year.  Philip  on  his  death-bed  acknowledged  his 
consciousness  of  the  hurt  he  suffered  from  the  curses  which  followed  him. 
"There  will  be  no  fine  tales  to  be  told  of  me,"  were  among  his  last  words. 

Years  have  passed.  Both  King  and  Pope  are  now  regarded  as  infamous. 
The  martyred  De  Molai  is  held  in  honored  remembrance.  The  latest  inves- 
tigations of  historical  students  confirm  our  belief  in  the  Grand  Master's 
innocence  of  the  charges  alleged  against  him,  and  free  the  Order  from  the 
slanders  concocted  to  bring  about  its  downfall.  Verily,  "  Truth  is  mighty  and 
shall  prevail." 


SUPPLEMENTAL   AND    HISTORIC    NOTES. 

The  Templar  Organization  into  Ranks,  etc.  —  The  Order  of  the  Knights  Templars  con- 
sisted of  three  ranks,  or  classes,  the  tnights,  the  clergy,  and  the  serving  brethren. 

The  Knights  were  required  to  be  men  of  gentle  or  noble  birth,  no  person  of  low  degree  being 
admissible.  The  priests  were  the  chaplains  of  the  Order,  whose  duty  it  was  to  conduct  the 
services  in  the  churches  belonging  to  its  convents,  and  to  follow  the  camp  and  minister  to  the 
members  when  they  were  in  the  field.  The  serving  brethren  acted  as  esquires  to  the  Knights,  both 
in  the  field  and  at  home.  The  Grand  Master  ranked  as  a  sovereign  prince,  and  had  precedence 
of  all  ambassadors  and  peers  in  the  councils  of  the  Church.  Each  country  had  its  Grand  Prior, 
and  these  together  formed  a  chapter  whom  the  Master  called  together,  generally  in  Paris,  when 
any  great  business  required  deliberation  and  counsel,  and  local  chapters  were  held  in  different 
districts  under  the  care  of  its  Preceptor.  Besides  these  serving  brethren,  the  Knights  had  in  their 
pay,  and  under  their  command,  a  large  number  of  troops,  both  cavalry  and  infantry.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  Order  was  vested  in  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Master,  who  resided  at  the  Mother- 
house  in  Jerusalem.  The  next  in  rank  to  him  was  the  Marshal,  who  was  the  Master's  lieutenant, 
the  acting  general  in  the  field,  and  the  Commander  of  the  Order,  during  a  vacancy  in  the  office 
of  Grand  Master.  The  Prior  or  Preceptor  of  the  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem  was  the  Grand  Treas- 
urer of  the  Order,  and  the  guardian  of  the  chief  house  in  Jerusalem.  The  Draper  had  charge 
of  the  clothing  of  all  the  brethren.  The  Standard-Bearer  carried  the  banner,  Beauseant,  to  the 
field  of  battle.  The  Turcopiler  was  the  commander  of  a  body  of  light  horse,  called  Turcopilers, 
mostly  native  Christians  of  Syria,  or  half-castes,  who  were  clothed  and  armed  in  Asiatic  style, 

1  Guizot.     Black's  Translation.     I.  p.  607. 


je2  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

and  were  enrolled,  drilled,  and  officered  by  the  Templars,  and  being  accustomed  to  the 
climate,  and  acquainted  with  the  country  and  the  Eastern  method  of  warfare,  were  valuable  as  light 
cavalry. 

The  Guardian  of  the  chapel  had  the  charge  of  the  portable  chapel,  which  the  Templars  always 
carried  with  them  in  their  campaigns.  It  was  a  round  tent,  which  was  pitched  always  in  the  centre 
of  the  camp,  the  quarters  of  the  brethren  being  disposed  around  it. 

There  were  also  Grand  Preceptors  of  Antioch  and  Tripoli,  and  Preceptors  of  the  houses 
in  Syria  and  elsewhere,  all  of  whom  commanded  in  the  field. 

William  of  Tyre  says  of  the  Order  in  his  day,  when  in  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity :  "  They 
have  in  their  convent  at  Jerusalem  more  than  three  hundred  Knights,  besides  serving  brethren 
innumerable.  Their  possessions  are  so  vast  that  there  cannot  now  be  a  province  in  Christen- 
dom which  does  not  contribute  to  their  support,  and  their  wealth  is  said  to  equal  that  of  sovereign 
princes." 

In  Palestine,  besides  their  great  house  at  Jerusalem,  they  had  many  strongholds  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  Gaza,  the  southern  frontier  town ;  Saphet  on  the  north ;  the  castle  of  the 
Pilgrims  near  Mount  Carmel ;  the  fortress  of  Jaffa,  and  that  of  Nere.  Indeed,  the  greater  part 
of  the  Holy  Land  was  in  their  hands,  or  in  those  of  the  Hospitallers.  They  had  houses  at 
Aleppo,  Laodicea,  Beyrout,  and  many  other  places.  In  Apulia  and  Sicily  they  held  estates,  castles, 
and  other  property.  They  had  establishments  in  Lucca,  Milan,  Perugia,  Placentia,  Bologna, 
and  in  other  cities  of  Italy.  In  Portugal  they  had  estates  and  castles,  and  were  constantly  in 
conflict  with  the  Moors.  In  Spain  they  had  large  possessions,  and  in  the  Balearic  Islands.  In 
Germany  they  were  settled  at  Mayence,  and  other  cities  on  the  Rhine.  They  had  a  footing  in 
Bavaria,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  and  Moravia.  They  had  a  house  at  Constantinople,  and  then  in 
Greece.  In  France  their  possessions  were  so  large,  and  their  establishments  so  numerous,  that  it 
would  occupy  too  much  space  to  enumerate  them.  Holland  and  the  Netherlands  also  had  con- 
vents of  the  Order.  In  England  there  were  a  great  many  Templar  houses,  some  of  which  are 
still  traceable  by  the  names  of  the  villages;  e.g..  Temple-combe,  Temple  Rothley  Temple  New- 
som,  etc.  In  almost  every  country  they  had  either  Preceptories  or  estates,  and  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland  also  they  had  both. 

Besides  actual  property  and  convents,  they  received  from  kings  and  princes  many  privi- 
leges, immunities  from  taxation,  tithes,  etc.  The  right  of  sanctuary  was  granted  to  their 
establishments. 

The  Master  of  the  Temple  in  England  had  a  seat  in  Parliament  as  a  baron. 

The  first  English  convent  of  the  Order  was  near  Southampton  Buildings,  in  Chancery  Lane, 
where  some  remains  of  the  ruins  of  the  chapel  were  found  some  years  ago.  When  the  Order 
increased,  they  purchased  an  estate  just  outside  the  city  gate;  and  adjacent  to  the  Thames,  where 
a  magnificent  convent  was  built;  of  this  nothing  remains  but  the  circular  part  of  the  church, 
which  was  consecrated  by  Heraclius,  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  in  A.D.  1184,  in  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  II.,  shortly  after  the  murder  of  Thomas  ^  Becket,  at  Canterbury.! 

The  King  often  held  his  court  at  the  Temple,  and  it  was  sometimes  used  as  a  depository  of  treas- 
ure. The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Temple  in  Paris,  which  was  also  a  very  extensive  and 
magnificent  building,  all  trace  of  which,  however,  is  gone,  except  in  the  names  of  the  streets  which 
occupy  its  site.  Before  its  destruction  it  was  used  as  a  prison,  and  there  the  unfortunate  Louis 
XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  were  confined  till  released  by  death,  and  here  the  still  more  miserable 
Dauphin,  their  son,  and  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  France,  endured  the  cruelties  of  the  inhuman 
cobbler,  Simon,  to  break  his  spirit  and  wear  out  his  young  life  by  a  system  of  revolting  and 
degrading  barbarities  which  slowly  tortured  hiin  to  death.  —  WoODHOUSE'S  Military  Religious 
Oi  ders,  pp.  217-221. 

The  Suppression  of  the  Order  in  England. —  It  would  be  tedious  to  follow  the  long  and 
wearisome  questionings,  and  to  record  the  replies  given  by  the  several  brethren  of  the  Temple 
during  their  trial  in  London.  One  and  all  agreed  in  denying  the  existence  of  the  horrible  and 
ridiculous  rites  which  were  said  to  be  used  at  the  reception  of  new  members;  and  whether  they 
had  been  received  in  England  or  abroad,  detailed  the  ceremonies  that  were  used,  and  showed 

1  The  body  of  the  Church,  as  it  now  stands,  was  not  consecrated  till  A.D.  1240,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.,  who  was  present  at  the  ceremony. 


KNIGHTS   TEMPLARS    MARCHING    THROUGH    JUDEAN    MOUNTAINS. 


HISTORIC  NOTES. 


155 


that  they  were  substantially  the  same  everywhere.  The  candidate  was  asked  what  he  desired,  and 
on  replying  that  he  desired  admission  to  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  the  Temple,  he  was  warned 
of  the  strict  and  severe  life  that  was  demanded  of  members  of  the  Order ;  of  the  three  vows  of 
poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience;  and,  moreover,  that  he  must  be  ready  to  go  and  fight  the 
enemies  of  Christ  even  to  the  death. 

Others  related  details  of  the  interior  discipline  and  regulations  of  the  Order,  which  were  stern 
and  rigorous,  as  became  a  body  that  added  to  the  strictness  of  the  convent,  the  order  and  system 
of  a  military  organization.  Many  of  the  brethren  had  been  nearly  all  their  lives  in  the  Order; 
some  more  than  forty  years,  a  great  part  of  which  had  been  spent  in  active  service  in  the  East. 
The  witnesses  who  were  summoned  were  not  members  of  the  Order,  and  had  only  hearsay 
evidence  to  give.  They  had  heard  this  and  that  report ;  they  suspected  something  else  ;  they  had 
been  told  that  certain  things  had  been  said  or  done.  Nothing  definite  could  be  obtained,  and 
there  was  no  proof  whatever  of  any  of  the  extravagant  and  incredible  charges. 

Similar  proceedings  took  place  in  Lincoln,  and  York,  and  also  in  Scotland,  and  Ireland ;  and 
in  all  places  the  results  were  the  same.    And  the  matter  dragged  on  till  October,  A.D.  1311. 

Hitherto  torture  had  not  been  resorted  to  ;  but  now,  in  accordance  with  the  repeated  solicita- 
tions of  the  Pope,  King  Edward  gave  orders  that  the  imprisoned  Templars  should  be  subjected 
to  the  rack,  in  order  that  they  might  be  forced  to  give  evidence  of  their  guilt.  .  .  . 

The  Templars  having  been  now  three  years  in  prison,  chained,  half-starved,  threatened  with 
greater  miseries  here,  and  with  eternal  damnation  hereafter,  separated  from  one  another,  without 
friend,  adviser,  or  legal  defence,  were  now  removed  to  the  various  gaols  in  London  and  elsewhere, 
and  submitted  to  torture.  We  have  no  particular  record  of  the  horrible  details ;  but  some 
evidence  was  afterwards  adduced,  which  was  said  to  have  been  obtained  from  the  unhappy 
victims  during  their  agony.  .  .  . 

In  April,  A.D.  1311,  these  depositions  were  read  in  the  court,  in  the  presence  of  the  Templars, 
who  were  required  to  say  what  they  could  allege  in  their  defence.  They  replied  that  they  were 
ignorant  of  the  processes  of  law,  and  that  they  were  not  permitted  to  heve  the  aid  of  those  whom 
they  trusted  and  who  could  advise  them,  but  that  they  would  gladly  make  a  statement  of  their 
faith  and  of  the  principles  of  the  Order, 

This  they  were  permitted  to  do,  and  a  very  simple  and  touching  paper  was  produced  and 
signed  by  all  the  brethren.  They  declared  themselves,  one  and  all,  good  Christians  and  faithful 
members  of  the  Church,  and  they  claimed  to  be  treated  as  such,  and  openly  and  fairly  tried,  if 
there  were  any  just  cause  of  complaint  against  them. 

But  their  persecutors  were  by  no  means  satisfied.  Fresh  tortures  and  cruelties  were  resorted 
to  to  force  confessions  of  guilt  from  these  worn-out  and  dying  men.  A  few  gave  way,  and  said 
what  they  were  told  to  say ;  and  these  unhappy  men  were  produced  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  shortly 
afterward,  and  made  to  recant  their  errors,  and  were  then  reconciled  to  the  Church.  A  similar 
scene  was  enacted  at  York. 

The  property  of  the  Templars  in  England  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  a  Commission  at 
the  time  that  proceedings  were  commenced  against  ihem,  and  the  King  very  soon  treated  it  as  if 
it  were  his  own,  giving  away  manors  and  convents  at  his  pleasure.  A  great  part  of  the  posses- 
sions of  the  Order  was  subsequently  made  over  to  the  Hospitallers.  The  convent  and  church  of 
the  Temple  in  London  were  granted,  in  A.D.  1313,  to  Aymer  de  Valence,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  whose 
monument  is  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Other  property  was  pawned  by  the  King  to  his  creditors  as 
security  for  payment  of  his  debts;  but  constant  litigation  and  disputes  seem  to  have  pursued  the 
holders  of  the  ill-gotten  goods.  Some  of  the  surviving  Templars  retired  to  monasteries,  others 
returned  to  the  world  and  assumed  secular  habits,  for  which  they  incurred  the  censure  of  the 
Pope.  —  WOODHOUSE'S  Military  Religious  Orders,  pp.  252-255. 

In  view  of  the  "  pilgrimages  "  now  made  from  time  to  time  to  the  Templar  localities  in  the 
Mother-land,  we  give  the  following  list  of  the  Preceptories  in  England :  — 

Cambridgeshire  :  Wilbraham. 

Essex :   Temple  Crossing, 

Hampshire  :   South  Badesley. 

Hertfordshire  :   Temple  Dynnesly. 

Kent :   Swingfield. 

Leicestershire  :  Temple  Rothley. 

Lincolnshire ;  Aslackby,  Temple  Brewer,  Eagle,  Maltby,  Mere  Wilketon,  Witham. 


1-5  THE    COGNATE    ORDERS. 

Norfolk :  Haddiscoe. 

Shropshire :  Halston. 

Suffolk :  Gisiingham,  Dunwich. 

Sussex:  Saddlcscombe. 

Warwickshire :  Balsali,  Warwick. 

Yorkshire  :  North  Ferriby,  Temple  Hurst,  Temple  Newsome,  Pafflete,  Flaxflete,  Ribston, 

The  Order  also  possessed  many  manors  and  estates  where  they  liad  no  Preceptories. 

An  eye-witness  of  the  exploits  of  the  Templars,  Cardinal  de  \'itry,  Bishop  of  Acre,  gives  the 
following  description  of  the  courage  and  heroism  of  the  Order  :  — 

"  When  summoned  to  arms,  they  never  demand  the  number  of  the  enemy,  but  only  where 
they  are;  fierce  soldiers  they  are  in  war,  monks  in  religion;  to  the  enemies  of  Christ  inexorable, 
to  Christians  kind  and  gracious.  They  carry  before  them  to  battle  a  banner  half  black  and  half 
white,  which  they  call  Beauseant,  because  they  are  fair  and  favorable  to  the  friends  of  Christ,  but 
black  and  terrible  to  his  enemies." — The  Aiilltary  Religious  Orders  of  the  Aliddle  Ages,  by 
F.  C.  WOODHOUSE,  M.A.    London,  1879.    pp.  215,  216. 

The  usual  mediosval  expedient  was  resorted  to,  and  torture  was  used  to  extort  acknowledg- 
ments of  guilt.  The  unhappy  Templars  in  Paris  were  handed  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
tormentors  with  the  usual  results.     One  hundred  and  forty  were  subjected  to  trial  by  fire. 

The  details  preserved  are  almost  too  horrible  to  be  related.  The  feet  of  some  were  fastened 
close  to  a  hot  fire  till  the  very  flesh  and  even  the  bones  were  consumed.  Others  were  suspended 
by  their  limbs,  and  heavy  weights  were  attached  to  them  to  make  the  agony  more  intense.  Others 
were  deprived  of  their  teeth ;  and  every  cruelty  that  a  horrible  ingenuity  could  invent  was  used. 

While  this  was  going  on  questions  were  asked,  and  offers  of  pardon  were  made,  if  they  would 
acknowledge  themselves  or  others  guilty  of  the  monstrous  wickednesses  which  were  detailed  to 
them.  At  the  same  time  forged  letters  were  read,  purporting  to  come  from  the  Grand  Master 
himself,  exhorting  them  to  make  a  :ull  confession,  and  declarations  were  made  of  the  confessions 
which  were  said  to  have  been  already  freely  given  by  other  members  of  the  Order.  —  WoOD- 
HOUSE'S  Military  Religious  Orders,  pp.  240,  241. 

The  Knights  of  the  Temple  ever  maintained  their  fearless  and  fanatic  character ;  if  they 
neglected  to  live,  tliey  were  prepared  to  die,  in  the  service  of  Christ.  —  GiBBON. 

A  carefully  drawn  and  accurately  colored  print  of  a  "  Templier,  en  habit  de  Guerre"  is  prefixed 
to  the  rare  and  valuable  "  Histoire  Critique  et  Apologetique  de  I'Ordre  des  Chevaliers  du  Temple 
de  Jerusalem,  dits  Templiers,  Par  feu  le  R.  P.  M.  J.  Chanoine,  Regulier  de  I'Ordre  de  Premontre, 
Docteur  en  Theologie,  Prieur  de  I'Abbaye  d'  Etival.  A  Paris,  MDCCLXXXIX.  Avec  Approbation 
et  Privilege  du  Roi."  This  work  is  in  two  volumes,  quarto,  pp.  xx.  390,  xv.  354,  and  is  in  the 
library  of  the  writer. 

"A  glorious  company,  the  flower  of  men. 
To  serve  as  model  tor  the  mighty  world, 
I  make  them  lay  their  hands  in  mine,  and  swear 
To  break  the  heathen  and  uphold  the  Christ, 
To  ride  abroad,  redressing  human  wrongs. 
To  speak  no  slander,  no,  nor  listen  to  it, 
To  lead  sweet  lives  in  purest  chastity."  —  TENNYSON. 


DIVISION    III. 


THE  DOCUMENTARY  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE 
FRATERNITY. 


Compiled  by  the  Editor-in-Chief. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Ancient  British  ]\ISS.  on  Freemasonry. 
Introductory.  —  A  late  historian  has  well  said  :  — 

"  History  must  depend  for  credence  on  creditable  evidence.  In  order  to  justify  belief,  one 
must  either  himself  have  seen  or  heard  the  facts  related,  or  have  the  testimony,  direct  or  indirect, 
of  witnesses  or  well  informed  contemporaries.  The  original  sources  of  historic  knowledge  are 
mainly  comprised  in  oral  traditions,  or  in  some  form  of  well-written  records." 

Applied  to  Freemasonry,  these  remarks  meet  at  the  outset  with  various 
difificulties.  The  antiquity  of  the  society  forbids  the  test  of  personal  witness 
to  the  facts  attested,  and  the  written  traditions,  as  they  come  down,  partake  so 
much  of  the  legendary  element  that  their  evidential  value  is  greatly  impaired, 
if  not  wholly  discredited  by  scholars  outside  the  pale  of  the  Order. 

The  Early  Historians.  —  In  the  search  after  oral  traditions  to  establish  a 
history  of  Freemasonry  prior  to  a.d.  171 7,  one  is  at  once  met  by  the  fact  that 
the  early  Craftsmen  did  not,  usually,  place  on  paper  the  customs  and  usages 
pertaining  to  the  ceremonies  of  their  guild,  and  if,  in  some  cases,  they  did  do 
so,  all  those  papers  of  evidential  value  have  long  since  been  destroyed. 
Absolutely  nothing  remains  but  the  writings  of  the  early  historians  of  Spec- 
ulative Masonry,  among  whom,  as  the  first,  we  place  the  Rev.  James 
Anderson,  D.D.,  and  the  "Old  Charges"  of  British  Freemasons,  together  with 
those  of  the  Stone-masons  of  Germany. 

The  Mythical  Assembly  A.D.  926.  —  In  one  of  the  apocryphal  treatises 
of  the  Fraternity,  we  read  that  Prince  Edwin  of  England  called  a  congregation 
at  York,  in  June  a.d.  926, 

"And  composed  a  general  or  grand  Lodge  of  which  he  was  Grand  Master.  And  having 
brought  with  them  all  the  old  writings,  and  records  of  the  craft  extant,  some  in  Greek,  some  in 

157 


158 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


Latin,  some  in  French  and  other  languages,  from  the  contents  thereof,  that  Assembly  framed  thie 
constitutions  and  charges  of  an  English  Lodge,  made  a  law  to  preserve  and  observe  the  same  in 
all  time  coming,  and  ordained  good  pay  for  working  Masons." 

These  "Constitutions"  of  a.d.  926  are  said  by  the  same  authority  to  have 
been  revised  at  two  subsequent  periods,  the  last  one  of  which  is  of  a  date  late 
enough  to  possess  authenticity  had  such  an  assembly  actually  been  held.  We 
refer  to  it  in  this  connection  as  contributory  to  the  traditions  which  lurk  about 
the  "  Old  Charges."  Several  of  these  bear  internal  evidence  of  having  been 
copied  from  documents  of  a  much  earlier  time  —  from  originals  new  wholly 
lost. 

Acknowledgment.  —  In  compiling  the  documents  and  historic  data  following,  the  author 
has  had  ttie  assistance  of  Brother  Wm.  James  Hughan,  European  Editor,  and  access  to  the 
publications  and  "  Masonic  Reprints,"  of  the  Lodge  Quatuor  Coronati,  No.  2076,  London.  He 
has,  also,  freely  availed  himself  of  material  from  the  "  History  of  Freemasonry,"  by  Brother  Gould, 
the  Masonic  Publications  of  Brother  Hughan,  the  treatises  on  this  subject  by  Brother  G.  W.  Speth, 
secretary  of  the  lodge  above  mentioned,  and  others. 

The  First  Book  of  Constitutions.  —  The  first  "Book  of  Constitutions" 
was  pubhshed  in  1723,  and  the  author  of  it  was  the  Rev.  James  Anderson, 
D.D.,  a  minister  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterian  Church.  The  title-page  read 
as  follows  :  "  The  Constitutions  of  the  Free-Masons.  Containing  the  History, 
Charges,  Regulations,  &c.,  of  that  Most  Ancient  and  Right  Worshipful  Fra- 
ternity.    For  the  use  of  Lodges."     The  sub-title  was  in  these  words  :  — 

"  The  Constitution,  History,  Laws,  Charges,  Orders,  Regulations,  and  usages,  of  Accepted 
Free  Masons ;  Collected  from  their  General  Records,  and  their  Faithful  Traditions  of  Many  Ages. 
To  be  read  at  the  Admission  of  a  New  Brother,  when  the  Master  or  Warden  shall  begin,  or  order 
some  other  Brother  to  read  as  follows  :  " 

Then  follows  the  first  version  of  the  "  Charges,"  which  is  familiar  to  all 
Craftsmen. 

It  will  be  noted  that  Dr.  Anderson  gives  the  society  the  name  of  "Right 
Worshipful  Fraternity  of  Accepted  Free  Masons,"  but  later  on,  in  the  same 
edition,  the  more  lengthy  and  appropriate  title  of  "  The  Right  Worshipful  and 
most  qncient  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,"  the  name  by  which  it 
is  frequently  called  to-day. 

The  Second  Book. — In  the  edition  of  1738  Dr.  Anderson  had  added  the 
words  :  "  Antient  and  Honourable."  This  edition,  called  the  "  New  Book  of 
Constitutions,"  was  approved  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  January  25,  1738.  In  the 
work,  the  author  is  supposed  to  have  reprinted  the  "  Old  Regulations,"  these 
being  "The  Charges  of  a  Free  Mason,  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  first 
edition  of  the  Book  of  Constitutions  on  25th  March,  1 722,"  and  added  thereto 
the  "  New  Regulations  "  in  parallel  columns.  "  But  again  the  insatiable  desire 
of  Anderson,"  says  Brother  Hughan,  "to  modernize  and  alter  is  conspicuous." 
Other  criticisms  have  been  freely  made,  but  we  incline  to  the  opinion  of  our 
European  Editor  that 

"  Whatever  may  be  its  merits  or  demerits,  according  as  we  look  at  the  volume  leniently  or 
critically,  the  fact  remains  that  to  it,  and  to  it  alone,  are  we  indebted  for  a  history  of  the  Grand 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


159 


Lodge  of  England  from  its  inauguration  in  A.D.  1717  to  1723,  when  the  official  Records  begin, 
and  from  that  period  for  an  able  extract  of  the  Proceedings ;  hence  the  work  has  been  described 
as  the  '  basis  of  Masonic  History,'  by  Prof.  Robinson,  and  its  author  is  termed  by  the  Rev.  A. 
F.  A.  Woodford  '  the  Father  of  English  Masonic  History,'  both  titles  being  fairly  earned  in  respect 
to  the  sketch  of  the  premier  Grand  Lodge." 

What  were  the  "  General  Records  "  and  "  Faithful  Traditions,"  examined 
by  Dr.  Anderson,  upon  which  he  based  the  "  Constitutions  "  of  the  Craft? 
What  became  of  them?  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  "  Masonic  Reprints," 
before  noted,  for  reply.  Dr.  Anderson,  no  doubt,  had  in  his  possession  several 
copies  of  the  "  Old  Charges,"  while  preparing  the  first  and  second  editions 
of  his  celebrated  "  Book  of  Constitutions  " ;  the  remainder  of  our  opinion  is 
largely  that  of  speculation.  Experts  say  that  one  of  these  must  have  been  the 
"  Matthew  Cooke  MS.,"  which  we  give  herein,  and  others,  the  titles  of  which 
are  not  essential  to  our  purpose.  The  "  Book  of  Constitutions  "  has  passed 
through  various  revisions,  since  its  author's  famous  revision  in  a.d.  1735-38, 
the  twenty-two  editions  dating  as  follows  :  l  1723,  n.  1738,  in.  1756,  iv.  1767, 
V.  1784,  VL  1815,  viL  1819,  vm.  1827,  Lx.  1841,  X.  1847,  XI.  1853,  XII.  1855, 
XIII.  1858,  xrv.  1861,  XV.  1863,  xvL  1865,  XV"-  1866,  xvm.  1867,  xrx.  1871, 
XX.  1873,  XXI.  1884,  XXII.  1888.  Many  of  these  editions  are  extremely  rare, 
and  the  last  two  are  entirely  new  works,  having  been  thoroughly  revised  and 
rearranged. 

The  Ahiman  Rezon.  — It  may  be  of  interest  to  state  that  the  Regulations 
published  by  the  "  Ancient  "  Grand  Lodge,  called  by  the  English  the  "  Atholl 
Masons,"  and  known  as  the  "  Ahiman  Rezon,"  were  eight  in  number,  viz. : 
I.  1756,  II.  1764,  III.  1778,  rv.  1787,  v.  1800,  VI.  1801,  VII.  1807,  vm.  1813, 
the  last  two  having  "  Lists  of  Lodges."  Probably  one  of  the  most  complete 
collections  of  these  editions  of  the  "Ahiman  Rezon,"  in  America,  is  in  the 
Masonic  Library,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

As  the  "  Book  of  Constitutions  "  became  the  model  or  standard  for  the 
government  of  Freemasonry  by  the  "Moderns,"  so  the  "Ahiman  Rezon" 
was  the  law  of  the  "Ancients."  The  history  of  these  rival  Grand  Lodges  and 
subsequent  union  is  given  in  another  place  in  this  volume. 

Destruction  of  the  Ancient  MSS. — The  legendary  writings  called  apocry- 
phal, as  well  as  those  more  authentic,  are  said  to  have  been  destroyed  after 
they  were  collated  into  a  volume  variously  called  :  "  The  Masonic  Con- 
stitutions," "Constitutions,"  "The  Legend  of  the  Guild,"  the  "History  of 
Freemasonry,"  "The  Constitutions  of  the  Craft,"  etc.,  etc.;  all  of  which 
were  designated  by  Dr.  Anderson,  in  these  words  :  — 

"  The  Free-Masons  had  always  a  Book  in  Manuscript  called  the  Book  of  Constitutions  (of 
which  they  have  several  very  antient  Copies  remaining),  containing  not  only  their  Charges  and 
Regulations,  but  also  a  History  of  Architecture  from  the  Beginning  of  Time ;  in  order  to  show  the 
Antiquity  and  Excellency  of  the  Craft  or  Art." 

These  writings  have,  by  Hughan's  suggestion,  been  called  the  "  Old 
Charges  of  British  Freemasons,"  of  which  an  increasing  number  are  still  in 


l5o  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

existence,    and  an  exact   copy   of  every   known   version,   together  with  the 
references  which  have  been  made,  from  time  to  time,  by  writers  to  "  forms  " 
now  missing  are  to  be  given  to  the  world  by  the  Lodge  Quatuor  Coronati, 
from  whose  pubhcations  we  quote,  in  part,  what  follows  herewith. 
Brother  Gould  in  his  History,  Vol.  I.,  p.  56,  claims  that 

"  By  no  other  craft  in  Great  Britain  has  documentary  evidence  been  furnished  of  its  having 
inherited  at  any  time  a  legendary  and  traditional  history.  Oral  testimony  of  any  real  antiquity  is 
also  wanting  when  it  is  sought  to  maintain  that  the  British  Freemasons  are  not  singular  in  the 
preservation  of  their  old  legends." 

That  there  is  something  not  written  in  history,  below  the  surface  of  all 
statements  made  as  to  the  "  Old  Charges,"  is  evident  from  what  has  been 
read  into  these  Manuscripts,  "  between  the  lines,"  so  to  speak.  With  one  or 
two  possible  exceptions,  the  MSS,  consulted  by  Dr.  Anderson  are  not  to  be 
found,  and  this  is  true  also  of  the  documents  collected  and  said  to  have  figured 
at  the  mythical  convention  a.d.  926.  It  is  only  within  a  comparatively  recent 
period  that  any  considerable  number  of  *'  Old  Charges  "  were  known  to  be 
in  existence.  The  table  we  give,  and  which  constitutes  a  collection  revised 
by  our  European  Editor  down  to  date,  has  several  entries  not  included  in  a 
similar  Kalendar,  published  in  England  in  1886.  It  follows,  therefore,  as 
Brother  Gould  says,  we  may  consistently  presume, 

"The  fact  that  the  MS.  Constitutions  are  not  elsewhere  referred  to  in  any  literature  that  has 
come  down  to  us  of  the  XlVth  and  XVth  centuries,  than  in  the  Regius  and  Cooke  MSS.,  is  no 
proof  that  but  few  copies  were  in  existence  at  those  periods." 

Not  to  speak  of  the  natural  destruction  of  manuscripts  by  dampness  and 
other  auxiliaries,  through  which  MSS.  were  being  constantly  destroyed,  there 
was  an  immense  consumption  of  them  following  the  invention  of  the  art  of 
printing.  Vast  numbers  of  manuscript  volumes  and  rolls,  beautiful  and 
ancient  in  their  time,  were  ruthlessly  used  by  book-binders  for  backs  and 
bands,  and  even  for  fly-leaves.     Says  Maitland  in  "  The  Dark  Ages,"  p.  281  :  — 

"  Whole  libraries  were  destroyed,  or  made  waste  paper  of,  or  consumed  for  the  vilest  uses. 
The  splendid  and  magnificent  Abbey  of  Malmsbury,  which  possessed  some  of  the  finest  manu- 
scripts in  the  Kingdom,  was  ransacked,  and  its  treasures  either  sold  or  burned  to  serve  the 
commonest  purposes  of  life.  An  antiquary  who  travelled  through  that  town,  many  years  after 
the  dissolution,  relates  that  he  saw  broken  windows  patched  up  with  remnants  of  the  most 
valuable  MSS.  on  vellum,  and  that  the  bakers  had  not  even  then  consumed  the  stores  they  had 
accumulated,  in  heating  the  ovens." 

Palgrave,  also,  in  his  "  History  of  Normandy  and  England,"  says  of  the 
destruction  of  MS.  libraries  in  France,  that  "  the  only  knowledge  we  possess 
concerning  this  spoliation  in  the  six  Episcopal  sees  of  Gascony,  arises  from  an 
incidental  allusion  in  a  charter."  In  the  light  of  these  revelations,  the  wonder 
is  not  so  much  that  we  have  few  Masonic  MSS.  remaining,  but  that  any 
escaped  the  printers,  book-binders,  and  bakers  of  the  first  century  of  printing  ! 

What  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  world  was  the  destruction  by  fire  of  the 
Alexandrian  library  !     May  not  the  same  be  equally  true,  of  this  wholesale 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


i6i 


destruction  of  valuable  manuscripts,  to  the  Masonic  Fraternity?  Whether 
our  traditions  had  their  origin  in  early  times  or  not ;  whether  they  were 
handed  down  from  mouth  to  mouth,  or  in  writing,  it  is  exceedingly  probable 
that  some  satisfactory  explanation  could  be  found  of  the  origin  of  Free- 
masonry had  it  not  been  for  the  destruction  of  written  evidence,  both  seculai 
and  Masonic,  that  "  escaped  not  the  unsparing  ravages  of  barbarous  force." 

The  Kalendar  of  "  Old  Charges."  —The  "  Old  Charges  "  generally  consist 
of  three  parts  :  i..  The  Introductory  Prayer,  Declaration,  or  Invocation  ;  ii., 
The  History  of  the  Order,  or  the  Legend  of  the  Guild,  which  usually  ends 
with  the  era  of  Athelstan,  or  about  a.d.  926 ;  in.,  The  peculiar  statutes  and 
duties,  the  regulations  and  observances,  which  Masons  in  general,  or  the  Craft 
in  particular,  are  bound  carefully  to  uphold  and  inviolably  to  maintain. 

The  following  Kalendar  of  Old  Charges  is  a  complete  Hst  of  the  various 
"forms  "  of  MSS.  and  printed  Constitutions  that  are  in  actual  existence,  or  to 
which  there  is  any  known  reference  to  the  present  time  \  together  with  their 
"  custody,"  and  other  important  particulars. 

KALENDAR   OF   MASONIC   "OLD   CHARGES,"    1891. 
I.    MANUSCRIPT  VERSIONS. 


NO. 

NAME. 

D.^TE. 

CUSTODY. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

A 

Regius,  or  Hal- 

liu-ell  Poem. . 

Cooke  

1390    (?) 

Beginning  oi 
15th  Century 

1687 
i6th  Century 

1583 
17th  Century 

Idem 

Idem 
1607  (?) 

1610  (?) 
17th  Century 

Idem 

1646 

1659 

17th  Century 

Idem 

Idem 

1666 
1670 
1674 
17th  Century 
Idem 
Idem 
Idem 
1680 

17th  Century 
1677 

1686 
1686 
1690 

Quatuor  Cnronati  Lodcje,  No.  2076,  and 

H.  J.  Whymper,  1890. 
Ibid.,  and  Spencer  &  Co. 

Freemason,  1891.            [prints.  Vol.  IT. 
Hughan's  Old  Charges,  and  Mas.  Re- 
Old  Charges,  and  Sadler. 
0.  C,  and  Masonic  Magazine,  Aug., 

1873. 

Masonic  Magazine,  April,  1876. 
Virtually  a  copy  of  No.  4. 

Masonic  Magazine,  July,  18S1. 
Ibid.,  June,  i83i. 

Freemason's  Quarterly  Review,  1S36, 
and  Old  Charges,  also  M.  R.,  Vol.  II. 

R 

C. 
T 

Wm.  Watson... 

Lansdowne  

Grand  Lodge... 
York,  No.  I . . . . 

Phillipps,  No.  I. 

Phillipps,  No.  2. 
Inigo  Jones 

Wood 

West  Yorkshire  Library 

2 
3 

4 

Grand  Lodge  of  England 

Rev.  J.  E.  A.  Fenwick,  Chelten- 

\ 

Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Wor- 

7 

8 

Harleian,  1942.. 
Harleian,  2054.  • 
Sloane,  3848 

9 
to 

zine,  1873. 
Old  Charges,  and  Masonic  Magazine, 

1873. 
Masonic  Sketches  (Hughan). 
Masonic  Monthly,  Dec,  1882. 
Gould's  History,  Vol.  I.,  chap.  2. 
Lyon's  History,  Lodge  of  Edinburgh; 

and  Masonic  Sketches. 
Laurie,  1859;  and  Lyon,  1873. 
Voice  of  Masonry,  Dec,  1874. 
Masonic  Magazine,  Jan.,  1880. 
Old  Charges,  (Hughan.) 
Masonic  Slagazine,  Aug.,  1881. 
Ibid     March,  i83o. 

II 

12  1  Lechmere 

13  1  Buchanan 

14  Kilwinning 

15  Atcheson-Haven 

16  j  Aberdeen 

Sir  E.  A.  Lechmere,  Bart 

Grand  Lodge  of  England 

Mother  Kilwinning  Lodge 

Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland 

Aberdeen  Lodge,  No.  34 

18 

York.  No.  s.... 

21 
21 
21 
21 

Colne.  No.  I  .  . . 

(rt)  Tew 

{b)  Watson 

{cS  Clapham.. .. 
{d)  The  Hub... 

Antiquity 

Clerke 

Royal  Lancashire  Lodge,  No.  116 

West  York-hire  Library  

Thos.  ^^.  Watson,  Sunderland.. . 
West  Yorkshire  Library 

Christmas  Number  of  Freemason,  188'. 

Ibid.,  i883. 

Freemason,  Oct.  5,  1889. 

Freemason,  Mar.  29,  1890. 

Masonic  Review,  U.S.A.,  July,  1890; 

Freemason's  Chronicle,  Aug.  23,  1890. 

Hughan's  Old  Charges. 

Freemason,  Feb.  4,  1888. 

Key-sione,  Phila.,  Pa.,  March  20, 1886. 

22 
23 
24 

Lodge  of  Antiquity,  No.  2 

Col.  S.  H.  Clerke,  Gr.  Sec 

R.    Dauntesy,     Agecroft     Hall, 
Manchester.                                  ( 

Dauntesy 

1 62 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


York,  No.  4.... 
Colne,  No.  2... 
Alnwick 

York,  No.  2 . . . . 
Scarborough  . . . 

Stanley 

Papworth 

Spencer 

Woodford 

Supreme  Council 

Gateshead 

Rawlinson 

Harris 

Probity 

Cama 

Phillipps,  No.  3. 

Melrose,  No.  3. 

Crane 

Harris,  No.  a.  .. 

Tunnah 

Wren 


1693 

18th  Century 

1 701 

1704 
1703 

1677  &  1713 
17.4 
1726 
1728 
Idem 

1730 
Idem 

i8th  Century 
Idem 
Idem 
Idem 

1762 
1781 
Idem 
1828 
1852 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


York  Lodge,  No.  236 

Royal  Lancashire  Lodge,  No.  116 
Alderman  Robertson,  Alnwick  . . 

York  Lodge,  No.  236 

Grand  Lodge  of  Canada 

Fred.  Stanley,  Margate 

Wyatt  Papworth,  London 

E.  T.  Carson,  Cincinnati 

QuatuorCoronati  Lodge,  No.  2076 

33  Golden  Square,  London 

Lodge  of  Industry,  No.  48 

Bodleian  Library 

Bedford  Lodge,  No.  157 

Lodge  of  Probity,  No.  61 

Quatuor  Coroiiati  Lodge,  No.  2076 
Rev.  J.  E.  A.  Fenwick,  Chelten- 
ham   

Lodge  of  Melrose   

Cestrian  Lodge,  No.  425 

British  Museum   

W.  J.  Hughan,  Torquay 

[Woodford] 


Masonic  Sketches. 

A  copy  of  No.  21. 

Hughan's  Old  Charges,  and  American 
Edition,  Masonic  Sketches. 

Masonic  Sketches. 

Canadian  Craftsman,  Feb.,  1874,  and 
Masonic  Magazine,  Sept.,  1879. 

Not  Published. 

Hughan's  Old  Charges. 

Spencer's  Old  Constitutions,  1871. 

Copied  from  Cooke  MS. 

Ditto. 

Masonic  Magazine,  Sept.,  1875. 

Freemason's  Magazine,  1855,  and  Ma- 
sonic Magazine,  Sept.,  1876. 

Freemason's  Chronicle,  April,  1882. 

Freemason,  Jan.  and  Feb.,  1886. 

Not  Yet  Published. 

Not  Published. 

A  copy  of  No.  17. 

Freemason,  Oct.  and  Nov.,  1884. 

Not  Published. 

Idem. 

Masonic  Magazine,  1879. 


Note.  —  Three  MSS.  in  this  table  appear  under  new  titles  from  those  of  forrner  compilations,  although 
their  position  in  the  first  numerical  list  has  not  been  varied.  These  are  the  Phillipps,  numbered  4  and  5, 
formerly  "  Wilson,"  and  the  "  Gierke,"  formerly  Supreme  Council,  No.  2. 

II.    PRINTED  VERSIONS, —ORIGINALS  NOT  KNOWN. 


Roberts . 
Briscoe  . 

Cole.... 

Dodd.. . . 

Krause . . 
Dowland 


1722 
1724 

1728-g 

1739 


FIRST   PUBLISHED. 


Pamphlet 

Idem 

Idem 

Idem 

Drei'altesten  Urk 

Gentleman's  Magazine 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Spencer's  Old  Constitutions,  1871. 
Masonic    Magazine,    Oct.,    1873,    and 

Freemason's  Chronicle,  1876. 
Hughan's    Freemason's  Constitutions, 

1869. 
Carson's  Rituals  of  Freemasonry,  No. 

III.,  1876. 
Englished  in  Hughan's  Old  Charges. 
Hughan's  Old  Charges. 


Note.  —  No.   50  is  an   Apocryphal    Latin   MS.,  sent   to   Schneider,   of  Altenburg,  bv  a  German  then 
yelling  in  England,  and  certified  to  be  a  "  true  translation  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  document  existing  at  York." 

III.    MISSING  VERSIONS,  — USED  AND   REFERRED  TO. 


NO. 

NAME. 

USED   OR 
CITED. 

FORMER   CUSTODY. 

REMARKS. 

52 

53 
54 

55 
56 
57 

58 
1^ 

Melrose,  No.  i. 
Plot     

I581-1674 

i636 
1723-38 

1730-40 
1738 
1752 

Idem 

1778 

1630-1779 

1818 

1839 

Original  of  Nos.  17  and  41. 

Natural  Histori'  of  Staffordshire,  p.  316. 

Forms  used  in  the  Constitutions,  1723 

and  1738. 
A  roll  seen  by  Dr.  Rawlinson. 
"  Builder's  Compleat  Assistant." 
Named  in  (Schismatic)  Grand   Lodge 

Records. 
Ibid 

Anderson 

Baker 

Langley 

Morgan 

Dermott 

Wilson   

York,  No.  3.... 

Hargrove 

Mason's     Com- 
pany   

Mr.  Wilson  of  Bromhead 

Manifesto  of  the  Lodge  of  Antiquity. 
Inventory  of  the  Grand  Lodge  (York)- 
Hargrove's  History  of  York. 

Edinburgh  Review,  April,  1839. 

61 

63 

Note. — The  Wilson  MS.,  No.  59,  now  scheduled  in  this  class,  is  a  lost  form,  of  which  the  present 
Phillipps  Documents,  numbered  4  and  5  (above),  were  supposed,  until  lately,  to  be  the  representatives  [Gould], 


DOCUMENTAR  Y  HIST  OR  Y. 


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164 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


The  "  Old  Charges  "  Grouped  as  Families.  —  Brother  Gould  says  of  this 
disposal  of  the  "  Old  Charges  "  :  — 

"The  division  of  the  Manuscript  Constitutions  into  groups  or  families,  was  long  looked  upon 
as  chimerical,  by  the  limited  number  of  students  who  had  alone  attempted  to  penetrate  beneath 
the  somewhat  unforbidding  husk  of  their  actual  meaning  and  intent.  But  a  learned  German  — 
Dr.  Begemann,  of  Rostock  —  whom  nature  has  bountifully  endowed  with  ability,  and  untiring 
industry,  with  a  vast  armory  of  research,  shows  us  very  clearly — like  Brother  John  Lane  in 
another  branch  of  our  antiquities  —  that  specialists  in  Masonic  study,  as  in  other  pursuits  of 
knowledge  unconnected  with  the  Fraternity,  by  a  concentration  of  thought  on  a  single  topic,  may 
achieve  results  that  are  quite  impossible,  where  either  the  field  of  the  enquiry  is  too  large,  or  the 
versatility  of  the  enquirer  is  not  kept  under  subjection." 

The  "Old  Charges"  partake  of  the  same  general  characteristics,  and  are 
diverse,  incidentally,  in  secondary  details.  This  will  be  more  apparent  in  our 
analysis  of  these  MSS.,  using  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  1583  "  as  a  model.  The 
processes  by  which  the  "  family "  idea  is  reasoned  out  are  admirably  and 
ingeniously  stated  by  the  brother,  quoted  above,  in  these  words  :  — 

"  By  showing  that,  in  each  case,  the  various  readings  have  come  down  to  us  in  a  single  line  of 
transmission,  the  plurality  of  forms,  through  which  it  meets  the  reader's  eye,  becomes  of  compara- 
tively little  importance.  Thus,  in  iheir  prima  facie  character,  documents  present  themselves  as  so 
many  independent  and  rival  texts  of  greater  or  less  purity.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  are  not 
independent;  by  the  nature  of  the  case  they  are  all  fragments  —  usually  casual  and  scattered 
fragments  —  of  a  genealogical  tree  of  transmission,  sometimes  of  vast  extent  and  intricacy.  The 
more  exactly  we  are  able  to  trace  the  chief  ramifications  of  the  tree  and  to  determine  the  places 
of  the  several  records  among  the  branches,  the  more  secure  will  be  the  foundation  laid  for  a  criti- 
cism capable  of  distinguishing  the  original  text  from  its  successive  corruptions.  The  introduction 
of  the  factor  of  genealogy  at  once  lessens  the  power  of  mere  numbers.  If  there  is  sufficient  evi- 
dence, external  or  internal,  for  believing  that  often  MSS.  the  first  nine  were  all  copied,  directly  or 
indirectly,  from  the  tenth,  it  will  be  known  that  all  the  varidtions  from  the  tenth  can  be  only 
corruptions,  and  that  for  documentary  evidence  we  have  only  to  follow  the  tenth.  If,  however,  the 
result  of  the  enquiry  is  to  find  that  all  the  nine  MSS.  were  derived,  not  from  the  tenth,  but  from  a 
lost  MS.,  the  ten  documents  resolve  themselves  virtually  into  two  witnesses :  the  tenth  MS.,  which 
can  be  known  directly  and  completely,  and  the  lost  MS.,  which  must  be  restored  through  the 
readings  of  its  nine  descendants,  exactly  and  by  simple  transcription  where  they  agree,  approxi- 
mately and  by  critical  processes  where  they  disagree." 

In  the  light  of  this  process  of  reasoning  the  MSS.  in  the  above  tables 
become  of  infinite  value  to  the  student  of  Freemasonry. 


CHAPTER   II. 


The  Regius  MS.,  or  Halliwell  Poem,  Legend  of  "The  Four  Crowned 
Martyrs,"  The  Cooke  MS.,  as  Annotated  by  G.  W.  Speth,  Secretary, 
Lodge  Q.  C. 

The  First  Knowr-  Copy  of  Masonic  Constitutions.  —  The  Regius  MS.,  or 
Halliwell  Poem,  is  the  most  ancient  of  the  documents  that  have  come  down 
to  us.     It  includes  seven  hundred  and  ninety-four  lines  of  Old  English  verse  ; 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY.  1 5^ 

ninety-six  lines  of  Urbaiiitatis,  and  seventy  lines  of  "  Directions  for  a  Parish 
Priest"  are  added. 
Findel  says  :  — 

"The  concluding  portion  [of  the  Regius  MS.]  is  the  '  Legend  of  the  Four  Crowned  Martyrs,' 
and  some  moral  instruction  to  those  to  whom  the  Manuscript  should  be  read.  This  appeal  to 
the  saints,  —  in  the  German  Guild  the  '  vler  Gekronten,'  also  to  be  found  in  the  German  Constitu- 
tions,—  must  be  regarded  as  a  most  decided  proof  of  the  identity  of  the  German  and  English 
Stone-masons,  and  of  their  having  one  common  parentage.  But  the  English  document  is  superior 
to  the  German  one,  and  in  Article  15  the  pure  moral  element,  '  implicit  truth,"  is  commanded, 
which  is  not  mentioned  in  the  German  one." 

Brother  Woodford,  however,  does  not  agree  with  his  learned  German 
brother,  and  says,  "That  a  religious  legend  common  then  to  both  countries, 
cannot  be  held  to  be  a  proof  of  special  antiquity  to  one  form  of  national 
organization."  Dr.  Oliver  held  the  Regius  MS.  to  be  the  actual  Constitution 
agreed  to  at  the  Great  Assembly,  said  to  have  been  held  at  York  a.d.  926. 
Brother  Woodford,  referring  to  this  in  connection  with  the  allusion  to  Findel, 
says  that  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  York  in  the  Poem,  is  fatal  to  Dr. 
Oliver's  theory. 

As  showing  the  nature  of  this  invaluable  document,  we  quote  from  the 
Quatiior  Coronatorum  Autigrapha  (Vol.  I.),  as  follows:  "The  IMS.  conveys 
the  idea,  at  first  view,  of  being  separated  into  two  great  divisions,  one  termi- 
nating at  line  four  hundred  and  ninety-six,  and  the  other  going  on  to  the  end 
of  the  poem."  This  is  Brother  Speth's  view  of  the  Cooke  MS.,  as  will  be  seen 
below.  "  But  when  you  look  more  closely  into  the  matter,  the  absence  of 
either  continuity  or  connection  makes  itself  felt,  and  it  is  at  once  apparent 
that  the  compiler  has  both  collected  and  transcribed  from  many  sources,  but 
without  taking  the  trouble  to  attach  any  real  thread  of  union  to  the  collections 
or  transcripts,  of  which  his  verses  are  made  up."  This  would  appear  to  sub- 
stantiate our  opinion  that  many  other  MSS.,  now  lost,  existed  before  the  art 
of  printing  came  into  general  use,  as  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Our  European  Editor  places  the  date  of  the  Regius  MS.  at  a.d,  1390^ 
(approximately) .     He  says  :  — 

"This  curious  Poem,  containing  the  Constitutions  of  Masonry  (small  quarto  on  vellum), 
written  about  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  was  first  made  known  by  Mr.  James  O. 
Halliwell,  F.R.S.,  in  a  paper  on  '  The  early  History  of  Freemasonry  in  England,'  read  before  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries  during  the  session  of  1838-9." 

The  Evolution  Theory.  —  Before  reproducing  a  portion  of  this  interesting 
Masonic  Manuscript,  and  giving  the  reader  a  translation  thereof  in  modern 
English,  a  remark  or  two  more  seems  to  be  pertinent.  How  came  this  docu- 
ment to  be  recorded  in  verse  in  a.d.  1390,  and  the  Cooke  MS.,  its  supposed 
counterpart  in  prose,  existing  in  another  form  as  early  as  the  century  imme- 
diately following  ?     The  reader  will  note,  further  on,  that  we  give  in  full  the 

1  Woodford  says  it  was  transcribed  by  a  Monk  or  other  Ecclesiastic,  apparently  from  an  earlier 
copy. 


1 66 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


Grand  Lodge  MS.,  of  a.d.  1583,  the  first  to  which  a  definite  date  can  be 
assigned,  and  that  it  partakes  of  similar  divisions,  and  many  of  the  general 
characteristics  that  appear  in  the  two  earher  ones  which  we  are  now  considering. 

Brother  Gould's  theory,  in  the  Antigrapha,  that  the  maxims  and  laws  of  the 
Masonic  guild  followed  the  lines  of  national  usage,  is  reasonable  ;  and  he  adds, 
explanatory  :  "  The  minstrel-poets  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  had,  by  degrees,  com- 
posed a  large  mass  of  national  poetry,  which  formed  collectively  one  grand 
mythic  circle.  Their  education,"  like  the  Scandinavians  to  which  he  refers 
in  this  connection,  he  says,  "  consisted  chiefly  in  committing  this  poetry  to 
memory,  and  it  was  thus  preserved  from  age  to  age."  Suggesting  a  thought 
as  to  the  fragmentary  character  of  the  "  Old  Charges,"  he  further  says  :  *'  They 
rehearsed  such  portions  of  it  as  might  be  asked  for  by  their  hearers,  or  as  the 
circumstances  of  the  moment  might  require,  for  it  seems  certain  that  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  singing  detached  scenes  even,  of  particular  poems,  just  as 
we  are  told  was  done  with  the  works  of  Homer  in  the  earher  times  of  Greece." 
Law  maxims  were  also  originally  framed  in  verse ;  oaths  were  couched  in  a 
kind  of  alliterative  rhythm  —  prose  flowing  into  irregular  verse  ;  enough  to  aid 
the  memory  and  to  guide  the  ear,  though  not  circumscribed  by  any  regular 
metre. 

Sweet,  in  his  "  History  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry,"  says,  it  is  probable  that 
the  earliest  poetry  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  consisted  of  single  strophes,  each 
narrating,  or  rather  alluding  to,  some  exploit  of  a  hero  or  god,  or  expressing 
some  single  sentiment,  generally  of  a  proverbial  or  gnomic  character.  Such 
is  the  poetry  of  savage  nations.  The  next  stage  is  to  combine  these  strophes 
into  connected  groups.  The  third  is  to  abandon  the  strophic  arrangement 
altogether. 

These  theories  will  assist  to  suggest,  if  they  do  not  account  for,  the  changes 
that  have  taken  place  from  the  metrical  poem  of  our  analysis,  its  later  form  ^ 
of  the  Cooke  MS.,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  MS.,  down  to  the  "Charges  of  a 
Freemason,"  as  they  are  rehearsed  to-day. 

The  Masonic  Poem. — The  reader's  attention  is  now  turned  to  the  Poem 
itself,  first  saying,  by  way  of  explanation,  that  the  translator  [W.  B.  W.]  of  the 
"Constitutions,"  of  "The  Four  Crowned  Martyrs,"  and  of  the  "Instructions 
for  a  Parish  Priest,"  has  endeavored  to  preserve  the  archaic  form  of  the  origi- 
nal as  faithfully  as  possible,  changing  only  such  words  and  phrases  as  would  be 
unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  reader.  These  necessary  alterations  have  una- 
voidably entailed  the  loss  of  the  rhythm  and  rhyme  of  the  Poem  in  several 
places. 

1  This  remark  is  based  upon  Brother  Gould's  writings.  Secretary  Speth,  however,  says :  "  The 
Matthew  Cooke  MS.,  taken  as  a  whole,  consists  of  a  commentary,  preceding  a  version  of  the  '  Old 
Charges."  Subsequent  rolls  of  the  Constitutions  make  this  commentary  a  part  of  the  '  Book,'  itself. 
Brother  Gould  is  therefore  right  in  placing  this  MS.  apart  from  the  others,  because  it  is,  as  it  were,  an 
example  of  the  transition  state  of  this  class  of  documents,  and  yet  not  their  forerunner;  but  he  is 
wrong  in  classing  tlie  Cooke  MS.  with  the  Regius  MS.,  from  which  it  differs  much  more  widely." 
In  this  connection  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  version  of  the  Cooke  MS.  which  is  given  in  another 
place  in  this  chapter. 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY.  167 

THE  MASONIC   POEM. 

^  ^  [ORIGINAL  MS.] 

JOic  mapxunt  con|lituaoiv€  6- 

^Wl;ofe  feci  t/cjj;?'  Ib«r.i-e3i!  Axx^U\t  - — ^ 
-^f  jTcte  loiOyS'  and  cl^  tad/»^'jfsr  — —P 

4nd  I^atc  no  rcnt^S'tofJ/nC?  !;cm  ti^)-/> 
TAo^yyn  tol^fetie*  nv  felJC  n^  ftYtl;  -^-^P 

^a^)  ^'i&^ne-  ft^ycfc  d^jJJDi^rt  fal=r — ^ 
*  '♦  fiiits  ycmiC'  flfr^*«c  clcrl^5    -f" 


[TRANSLATION.] 

Here  begin  the  Constitutions  of  the  Art 
OF  Geometry  according  to  Euclid. 

Whoso  will  both  well  read  and  look, 

He  may  find  writ  in  olden  book 

Of  great  lords,  and  likewise  ladies. 

That  had  many  children,  I  confess; 

And  had  no  income  to  find  them  with, 

Neither  in  town,  nor  field,  nor  wood: 

A  counsel  together  they  could  take 

To  ordain  for  these  children's  sake, 

How  they  might  best  lead  their  life. 

Without  great  dis-ease,  care,  and  strife :  ic 

And  most  for  the  multitude  that  was  coming 

Of  their  children,  after  their  death. 

They  send  then  after  great  clerks, 

To  teach  them  then  good  works; 


1 68  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


[ORIGhNAL  MS.] 


QixC^  via}  46.1;<ttfp)ioxtt*c  Uil^B  ^siic^'o 
Bb  oiwtiiyUiytt'  finn  Cj^ffe:  to  mah?-t> 

V  cofertt^tj'^  ^  of  p^^  dci't^B  2^  ^rc  -^ 

QitCb  laf  l^yt-yc  namC'  <>f  tnaf<niry  '  - — -i 
^"cxyc  moffe  oncfk-  crApr  of  allr  •  —^ 
ytfiXotj^B  ^yldtynyci  to  w^  f^llc-  Ai 

yc  J5r)Ccl)C''  i\i  mate  fut  tuiy(lf:J^ 


[TRANSLATION.] 

And  pray  we  them,  for  our  lord's  sake, 

For  our  children  some  work  to  make, 

That  they  might  get  their  learning  thereby, 

Both  well  and  honestly,  full  securely. 

In  that  time,  through  good  geometry. 

This  honest  craft  of  good  masonry  j 

Was  ordained  and  made  in  this  manner, 

Counterfeited  of  these  clerks  together ; 

At  these  lords'  prayers  they  counterfeited  geometry. 

And  gave  it  the  name  of  masonry. 

For  the  most  honest  craft  of  all. 

These  lords'  children  thereto  did  hap 

To  learn  of  him  the  craft  of  geometry, 

The  which  he  made  full  curiously; 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


169 


[ORIGINAL  MS.] 

yx^^  ^Mv«  |M*dy^Cra.  and  mo^tj^s  ^y» 
^8  <^c)V  a^p:^l;c  :pirttt  l^em  to •^  ^     30 


l;^^;!^:^  I;auc  mote  v^(Rftl)  cjr»y  en  f  e  ta/^ 


[TRANSLATION.] 

Through  fathers'  prayers  and  mothers'  also, 

This  honest  craft  he  put  them  to.  30 

He  that  learned  best,  and  was  of  honesty, 

And  passed  his  fellows  in  skill; 

If  in  that  craft  he  did  him  pass. 

He  should  have  more  honor  than  the  less. 

This  great  clerk's  name  was  called  Euclid, 

His  name  was  spread  full  far  and  wide. 

Yet  this  great  clerk  ordained  still  more 

To  him  that  was  higher  in  this  degree, 

That  he  should  teach  the  simplest  of  wit, 

In  that  honest  craft  to  be  perfect;  40 

And  so  each  one  should  teach  the  other, 

And  love  together  as  sister  and  brother. 


170 


ANCIENT  MASONR\ 

[ORIGINAL  MS.] 
J 

■J^rt-  ttiaf(?n  (Hj  ul^?*  ncu  C^<m  c>yirallr's^ 


[TRANSLATION.] 

Furthermore  yet  this  he  ordained 

That  Master  he  should  be  called; 

So  that  he  was  most  worshipped, 

Then  should  he  be  so  named ; 

But  masons  should  never  one  another  call,     ' 

Within  the  craft  among  them  all, 

Nor  subject,  nor  servant,  but  my  dear  brother, 

Though  he  be  not  so  perfect  as  another;  50 

Each  one  shall  call  his  fellows  by  friendship, 

Because  they  come  of  ladies'  birth. 

In  this  manner,  through  good  knowledge  of  geometry, 

Began  first  the  craft  of  masonry. 

The  clerk  Euclid  in  this  wise  founded 

This  craft  of  geometry  in  Egyptian  land. 


D  OCUMENTAR  Y  HIS  TOR  V. 


171 


[ORIGINAL  MS.] 

^tt  ?>^uct*d  Umtr-tm  Ciuvf  fybr  .^  X* 

l^rfyi  n*^  com*  yn  to  yyB  lotxXe:  j!o  60 

\^  mate  ^0  bopC-l)fllU  ^rt&  chr  boOotC'^p 
'SJTO  f}^(5ttyti  l)^  ^-  bo|;c  ^ap  an^  n^^p^^  * 

<ant>  ^(j(ut)  to  (ivcayyix  Ijyt^  cup  ect  ..--^ 


[TRANSLATION.] 

In  Egypt  he  taught  it  full  wide, 

In  divers  lands  on  every  side ; 

Many  years  afterward,  I  understand. 

Before  the  craft  came  into  this  land.  °° 

This  craft  came  into  England,  as  I  now  say, 

In  the  time  of  good  King  Athenian's  day; 

He  made  then  both  hall  and  likewise  bower, 

And  high  temples  of  great  honor, 

To  disport  him  in  both  day  and  night. 

And  to  worship  his  God  with  all  his  might. 

This  good  lord  loved  tliis  craft  full  well. 

And  purposed  to  strengthen  it  in  every  part. 

For  divers  defects  that  in  the  craft  he  found; 

He  sent  about  into  the  land,  70 


172 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


[ORIGINAL  MS.] 


'jTtttoam«tt»«'/yefttcf5iut5;dfljlle»  ^ 
a  ()?itibl<ryemnt-r)c  cu^c  let  aml«6  ._i) 

^uty^a-cK^a.an;>  tflrncB  alp  »  ^ 


[TRANSLATION.] 

After  all  the  masons  of  the  craft, 
To  come  to  him  at  once,  without  delay, 
For  to  amend  these  defects  all 
By  good  counsel,  if  it  might  befall. 
An  assembly  then  he  let  them  make 
Of  divers  lords,  in  their  state, 
Dukes,  earls,  and  barons  also. 
Knights,  squires,  and  many  more, 
And  the  great  burgesses  of  that  city, 
They  were  there  all  in  their  degree; 
These  were  there  each  one  always 
To  ordain  for  these  masons'  estate. 
There  they  sought  by  their  wit, 
How  they  might  govern  it: 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY.  j^- 


[ORIGINAL  MS.] 


[TRANSLATION.] 

Fifteen  articles  they  there  sought, 
And  fifteen  points  there  they  wrought. 

These  "  articles  "  and  "  points  "  are  summarized  in  Vol.  I.  of  the  Antigrapha. 
We  quote  them  as  the  connecting  link  between  where  our  reproduction  of  the 
original  manuscript  ends  and  the  balance  of  the  Poem  quoted  begins,  as 
follows  :  — 

[The  cases  where  similarities  will  be  found  in  the  German  Ordinances,  are  distinguished  by 
the  letters  A,  B,  and  C,  within  parentheses,  which  denote  the  codes  of  1459,  1462,  and  1563 
respectively.] 

Fifteen  Articles  for  the  Master.  — i.  He  must  be  steadfast,  trusty,  and  true;  pay  his 
fellows  truly;  take  no  bribe ;  and  as  a  "  Jugge  "  stand  upright  (c). 

2.  Every  Master  (that  is  a  Mason),  must  be  at  the  general  congregation,  provided  he  be  told 
where  the  Assembly  shall  be  held ;  except  he  have  a  reasonable  excuse ;  is  disobedient  to  the 
Craft;  is  with  falsehood  overtaken;  or  sickness  disable  him  from  attendance. 

3.  The  Master  must  take  no  apprentice,  without  good  assurance  he  will  dwell  seven  years 
with  him,  in  order  to  learn  his  craft,  as  within  a  less  period  his  service   might  be  unprofitable 

(A,  B,  C). 

4.  The  Master  must  be  careful  not  to  make  a  bondsrnan  his  apprentice,  or  to  take  him  out 
of  covetousness,  as  the  lord  he  is  bound  to  may  fetch  him  wheresoever  he  goes,  and  if  captured 
in  the  Lodge  1  much  inconvenience  might  result,  since  all  the  Masons  that  were  there  would 
stand  together  as  companions.  For  more  ease,  then,  the  apprentice  taken  should  be  of  higher 
degree,  and  it  was  in  old  time  written  that  he  should  be  of  gentle  birth  (a,  b). 

5.  The  Apprentice  must  be  of  lawful  blood,  and  the  Master  shall  for  no  advantage  make  one 
that  is  not  perfect,  which  means  that  he  must  have  his  limbs  whole,  for  — 

"  To  the  Craft  it  were  great  shame, 
To  make  a  halt  man  and  a  lame. 
A  maimed  man  he  hath  no  might, 
You  may  it  know  long  ere  night "  (A,  B). 

6.  The  Master  shall  do  the  lord  no  prejudice,  to  take  of  him  for  his  apprentice  as  much  as  for 
the  fellows,  who  in  their  Craft  are  quite  perfect,  which  he  is  not.  But  the  apprentice  shall  be 
informed  that  his  pay  may  soon  increase :  — 

"  And  ere  his  term  come  to  an  end,. 
His  hire  may  full  well  amend."  2 

1  Mr.  Halliwell  remarks :  "  It  is  curious  to  observe  that  the  same  term,  lodge,  is  still  in  universal 
use  among  the  Masons.  See  also  the  third  Point  for  the  enjoinment  of  secrecy  at  whatever  was 
done  at  the  lodges,  which  exactly  corresponds  with  the  present  custom." 

2  i.e.,  become  larger  in  amount. 


174 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


7.  No  Master,  out  of  fear  or  favor,  shall  either  clothe  or  feed  a  thief,  neither  shall  he  harbor 
thieves,  nor  him  that  hath  killed  a  man,  — 

"  Ny  thylke  that  hath  a  febul  name, 
Lest  it  would  turn  the  Craft  to  shame  "  (c), 

8.  The  Master  may  change  any  man  of  Craft,  who  is  not  so  perfect  as  he  ought  to  be,  and 
take  in  his  place  a  more  perfect,  that  is,  skilled  man,  as  the  former,  through  recklessness,  might 
do  the  craft  little  honor  (c). 

9.  The  Master  ought  to  be  wise  and  discreet,  and  should  undertake  no  work  that  he  cannot 
both  perform  and  complete.  Also  it  should  be  equally  to  the  profit  of  the  lord  and  the  Craft, 
while  the  ground  ought  to  be  well  taken,  so  that  it  may  neither  "  fie  "  nor  crack  (a,  B,  c). 

10.  No  Master  shall  supplant  another,  or  any  other  man  that  hath  taken  a  work  upon  him, 
under  a  penalty  of  not  less  than  ten  pounds  (on  being  found  guilty),  to  him  who  first  took  the 
work  in  hand.  For  no  man  in  Masonry  shall  supplant  another,  except  the  execution  be  such  that 
it  turn  the  work  to  naught,  in  which  case  only, 

"  Then  may  a  Mason  that  work  crave 
To  the  lord's  profit  it  for  to  save," 

for  the  man  who  begins  a  work,  if  "  he  be  a  Mason  good  and  sound,"  has  the  right  to  bring  it  to 
an  end  (a,  B,  c). 

11.  The  Master  shall  be  both  fair  and  liberal,  and  must  prohibit  any  Mason  from  working  at 
night,  unless  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  which  shall  be  a  sufficient  excuse. 

12.  No  Mason  shall  deprave  his  fellow's  work,  but  recommend  it  with  honest  words,  and 
assist  him  in  improving  it  (a,  B,  c). 

13.  If  the  Master  have  an  apprentice,  he  must  instruct  him  fully  in  all  points,  so  that  he  may 
have  fully  learned  his  craft,  whithersoever  he  may  go  (b). 

14.  A  Master  shall  take  no  apprentice  without  making  proper  provision  that  he  shall  learn  of 
him,  within  his  term  of  servitude,  "  divers  points"  (B). 

15.  The  Master  shall  take  upon  himself  no  false  maintenance,  nor  for  any  reward  maintain 
his  fellows  in  their  sin.     Neither  inust  he  suffer  them  to  swear  any  false  oaths  (c). 

Fifteen  Points  for  the  Craftsmen.  —  I.  The  worthy  Craftsman  must  love  well  God  and 
the  holy  Church,  the  Master  he  is  with,  and  his  fellows  also  (A,  B,  c). 

II.  The  Mason  must  work  truly  on  the  work  day,  so  as  to  deserve  his  pay  for  the  holy  day. 

III.  The  apprentice  must  keep  his  Master's  counsel,  and  also  that  of  his  fellows,  closely.  The 
privities  {prevetyse)  of  the  chamber,  he  must  not  lay  bare,  nor  tell  to  any  man,  whatsoever  he 
hears,  or  sees  done,  in  the  Lodge.  The  counsel  of  hall  and  likewise  of  bower  he  must  also  keep 
inviolably  (b). 

IV.  No  man  shall  be  false  to  his  Craft,  or  maintain  any  error  against  it,  neither  shall  he  do 
any  act  to  the  prejudice  of  his  Master  or  fellows.  The  same  injunctions  apply  to  the  apprentice, 
though  "  under  awe  "  (B,  c), 

V.  The  Mason  must  take  the  pay  ordered  to  him  weekly,  but  the  Master,  before  the  ninth 
hour  —  i.e.,  3  p.m. —  must  warn  those  for  whom  he  hath  no  further  employment,  and  to  this 
direction  they  must  submit  without  strife  (A,  B,  c). 

VI.  Love-day  shall  only  be  celebrated  on  a  holiday,  or  when  the  work-day  has  come  to  an 
end  (B,  C). 

VII.  No  man  shall  lie  with  his  Master's  wife,  or  with  the  wife  or  concubine  of  any  of  his 
fellows  — 

"  The  penalty  thereof  let  it  be  sure 
That  he  be  'prentice  full  seven  year"  (a,  b,  c). 

VIII.  The  Mason  must  be  faithful  to  his  Master ;  a  true  mediator  between  his  Master  and  his 
fellows;  and  to  act  fairly  by  both  parties  (c). 

IX.  The  Stewards  of  the  Hall  are  lovingly  to  serve  each  one  the  others ;  to  see  that  every 
man  is  charged  alike ;  to  pay  for  all  victuals  consumed  ;    and  to  keep  good  and  full  accounts. 

X.  If  a  Mason  lead  a  bad  life,  and  slander  his  fellows  without  cause,  he  shall  be  cited  to 
appear  at  the  next  Assembly,  and  unless  he  attend  must  forswear  the  Craft,  and  shall  be  punished 
accordmg  to  the  law  established  in  old  days  (a,  b,  c). 


D  OCUMENTAR  V  HIS  TOR  V. 


175 


XI.  A  Mason  who  is  well  skilled  in  the  Craft,  and  sees  his  fellow  hewing  a  stone,  which  he  is 
in  a  fair  way  to  spoil,  should  help  him  without  loss  of  time,  if  able  so  to  do,  and  also  instruct  him 
how  to  do  better,  so  that  the  whole  work  be  not  ruined  (a,  B,  c). 

XII.  At  the  Assembly  there  shall  be,  besides  the  Masters  and  fellows,  many  great  Lords,  the 
Sheriff  of  the  County,  the  Mayor  of  the  City,  Knights,  Squires,  and  Aldermen.  The  ordinances 
then  made  shall  be  put  into  effect  by  them  against  any  man  belonging  to  the  Craft,  who,  if  ha 
dispute  the  laws  so  enacted,  will  be  taken  into  their  keeping. 

XIII.  Each  Mason  shall  swear  not  to  be  a  thief,  nor  to  succour  anyone  in  his  false  craft  (c). 

XIV.  Each  Mason  must  swear  a  good  true  oath  to  his  Master  and  fellows  present  at  the 
Assembly.  He  must  also  be  steadfast  and  true  to  all  the  ordinances;  to  his  liege  lord  the  King; 
and  to  all  the  points  herebefore  cited.  All  shall  swear  the  same  oath  of  the  Masons,  be  they 
willing  or  unwilling,  to  these  Points  that  have  been  ordained  by  good  authority.  And  if  any  man 
be  found  guilty  in  either  one  of  them,  he  is  to  be  sought  for  and  brought  before  the  Assembly 

(A,B). 

XV.  Should  those  that  shall  be  sworn  to  observe  the  ordinances  made  at  the  Assembly 
before  the  great  Lords  and  Masters  before  named,  be  disobedient  to  the  resolutions  there  passed, 
and  the  same  be  proved  openly  at  the  Assembly,  —  except  they  be  willing  to  make  amends  for 
their  faults,  —  then  must  they  forsake  the  craft,  refuse  to  work  in  it,  and  swear  never  more  to  use  it. 
Nor  unless  they  subsequently  make  amends  will  they  be  allowed  to  resume  their  craft ;  and  if  thev 
will  not  do  so,  the  Sheriff  shall  arrest  them  and  put  their  bodies  into  prison,  and  take  their  goods 
and  chattels,  holding  themselves  and  their  property  at  the  King's  will  (A,  B). 

Attention  will  be  called  to  these  "  Articles "  ^  and  "  Points "  again,  in 
connection  with  the  Cooke  MS. 

The  Four  Crowned  Martyrs.  —  Dr.  Mackey  remarks  concerning  these  :  — 

"  The  legend  of  the  '  Four  Crowned  Martyrs '  should  be  interesting  to  Masonic  students, 
because  it  is  one  of  the  few  instances,  perhaps  the  only  one,  in  which  the  Church  has  been  willing 
to  do  honor  to  those  old  workers  in  stone,  whose  services  it  readily  secured  in  the  Mediseval  ages, 
but  with  whom,  as  with  their  successors,  the  modern  Freemasons,  it  has  always  appeared  to  be  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree  of  antagonism.  Besides,  these  humble  but  true-hearted  Confessors  of  the 
Faith  of  Christianity  were  adopted  by  the  Stone-masons  of  GeriTiany  as  the  patron  saints  of 
Operative  Masonry,  just  as  the  two  Saints  John  have  been  since  selected  as  the  patrons  of  the 
Speculative  branch  of  the  Institution." 

The  reference  in  the  Regius  MS.,  under  the  Latin  caption  of  Ars  Quaticor 
Coronatoftiiii,-  is  in  these  words  :  — 

ART   OF  THE  FOUR   CROWNED. 


Pray  we  now  to  God  Almighty, 

And  to  His  Mother  Mary  bright. 

That  we  may  keep  these  articles  here. 

And  these  points  well  altogether,  500 

As  did  these  holy  martyrs  four. 

That  in  this  craft  were  of  great  honor; 

They  were  as  good  masons  as  on  earth  shall  go, 

Gravers  and  image-makers  they  were  also. 


For  they  were  workmen  of  the  best. 
The  emperor  had  to  them  great  liking; 
He  desired  them  an  image  to  make. 
That  might  be  worshipped  for  his  sake ; 
Such  idols  he  had  in  his  day, 
To  turn  the  people  from  Christ's  law. 
But  they  were  steadfast  in  Christ's  law, 
And  to  their  craft,  without  denial ; 


5IC 


1  Of  the  Articlt-s,  1-5  appear  to  have  their  analogues  in  the  various  Orders  and  Regulations 
with  which  we  meet  in  the  "  Old  Charges."  Art.  6,  however,  I  do  not  find  in  them  ;  7  is  expanded 
in  the  Cooke  MS.,  and  also  particularly  referred  to  in  what  Dr.  Begemann  [see  Kalendar] 
classifies  as  the  fourth  (or  Spencer)  "family";  8  is  not  found  in  the  prose  forms;  9  and  10  are 
given  substantially;  11  is  not;  neither  are  12  [see,  however,  the  Hope  MS.];  13;  14;  [see 
Antiquity  MS.]  or  iq.  —  Aiiti,^rapha. 

2  We  retain  in  what  follows,  as  we  did  in  the  translation  of  the  "  Reproduction,"  the  notation 
of  the  lines,  for  the  convenience  of  those  who  may  have  access  to  a  copy  of  the  original. 


1/6 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


They  loved  well  God  and  all  His  lore, 

And  were  in  His  service  evermore. 

True  men  they  were  in  that  day, 

And  loved  well  God's  law; 

They  thought  no  idols  for  to  make. 

For  no  good  that  they  might  take, 

To  believe  on  that  idol  for  their  god, 

Thev  would  not  do  so,  tho"  he  were  mad;     520 

For  they  would  not  forsake  their  true  faith, 

And  believe  in  his  false  law. 

The  emperor  had  them  at  once  taken. 

And  put  them  into  a  deep  prison; 

The  more  sorely  he  punished  them  in  that  place, 

The  more  joy  was  to  them  of  Christ's  grace. 

Then  when  he  saw  no  other  way, 

To  death  he  let  them  then  be  taken ; 

Whoso  will  of  their  life  yet  more  know, 

By  the  book  he  may  learn,  530 

In  the  legend  of  the  saints, 

The  names  of  the  Four  Crowned. 

Their  feast  will  be,  without  gainsay, 

After  All  Hallow  E'en  the  eighth  day. 

Ye  may  hear  as  I  do  read 

That  many  years  after,  for  great  dread 

That  Noah's  flood  might  return, 

The  tower  of  Babylon  was  begun. 

Also  plain  work  of  lime  and  stone, 

As  any  man  should  look  upon ;  540 

So  long  and  broad  it  was  begun, 

Seven  miles  the  height  shadoweth  the  sun. 

King  Nebuchadnezzar  let  it  make. 

To  great  strength  for  man's  sake. 

Though  such  a  flood  again  should  come. 

Over  the  work  it  should  not  foam ; 

For  they  had  so  high  pride,  with  strong  boast. 

All  that  work  therefor  was  lost ; 


An  angel  smote  them  so  with  divers  speech. 

That  no  one  wist  what  the  other  should  teach. 

Many  years  after,  the  good  clerk  Euclid        551 

Taught  the  craft  of  geometry  wonder-wide, 

So  also  did  he  at  that  time 

Of  divers  crafts  teach  many  more. 

Through  high  grace  of  Christ  in  Heaven, 

He  commenced  in  the  sciences  seven  ; 

Grammar  is  the  first  science  without  doubt, 

The  second  certainly  is  Logic  stout. 

Rhetoric  the  third  without  gainsay. 

Music  the  fourth,  —  heed  me  I  pray —  560 

Astronomy  is  the  fifth,  by  my  fate, 

Arithmetic  the  sixth,  without  debate, 

Geom.etry  the  seventh  maketh  an  end, 

For  it  is  both  meek  and  gentle. 

Grammar  forsooth  is  the  root. 

Whoso  will  learn  from  the  book ; 

But  Art  surpasseth  in  its  degree. 

As  the  fruit  doth  the  root  of  the  tree; 

Rhetoric  measureth  with  ornate  speech. 

And  Music,  it  is  a  sweet  song;  570 

Astronomy  numbereth,  my  dear  brother, 

Arithmetic  showeth  one  thing  that  is  another. 

Geometry  the  seventh  science,  I  show, 

That  can  separate  falsehood  from  truth,  I  know. 

These  are  the  sciences  seven. 

Whoso  useth  them  well,  he  may  have  Heaven. 


Christ  then  of  His  high  grace. 
Give  you  both  wit  and  time 
Well  this  book  to  con  and  read. 
Heaven  you  shall  have  for  your  meed. 

Amen  !  Amen  !  so  mote  it  be ! 

So  say  we  all  for  charity. 


790 


Code  of  Etiquette.  —  The  Urbanitatis  and  the  last  part  [one  hundreji 
lines]  of  the  Poem  is  similar,  and  deals  with  conduct  at  meals  and  before 
superiors,  and  enjoins  strict  habits  of  propriety  and  cleanliness.  The  portion 
we  give  last  is  the  "fifth  division"  of  the  six  as  usually  numbered,  and  is  in 
great  part  extracted  from  "  Mirk's  Instructions  for  Parish  Priests  "  :  — 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  A   PARISH   PRIEST. 


God  saith  Himself,  as  written  we  find. 

That  when  the  blind  leadeth  the  blind. 

Into  the  ditch  they  both  shall  fall. 

For  neither  see  where  to  go  at  all. 

Yet  thou  must  teach  them  more 

That  when  they  come  to  Church's  door, 

Then  bid  them  lay  aside  many  words. 

Idle  speech,  and  jest  that  mirth  affords. 

And  put  away  all  vanity, 

And  say  here  Pater  Noster,  and  here  Ave. 


264 


To  stand  in  Church  no  man  shall, 
Nor  lean  to  pillar  nor  to  wall, 
But  fairly  get  on  knees  alone 
Kneeling  down  on  the  flag-stone. 
And  pray  to  GOD,  with  a  meek  heart. 
Both  grace  and  mercy  to  them  impart. 
Suffer  them  no  noise  to  make, 
But  in  the  prayers  their  part  to  take ; 
And  when  the  Gospel  shall  be  read, 
To  stand  up  all,  make  them  give  heed. 


270 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


177 


290 


280  I    That  when  they  walk  along  the  way, 

And  see  the  priest  towards  them  coming, 

God's  Sacred  Body  with  him  bringing, 

Then  with  great  devotion 

Teach  them  to  kneel  in  adoration. 

Fair  nor  foul,  let  them  spare  naught 

To  worship  Him. that  all  had  wrought; 

For  glad  indeed  may  that  man  be 

That  once  in  the  day  may  Him  see ; 

For  so  much  good  doth  that  sight, 

(As  Saint  Austin  teacheth  aright,) 

The  day  that  thou  seest  GOD's  Body, 

These  benefices  shalt  thou  have  most  surely; 

Meat  and  drink  at  thy  need, 

Nor  shall  they  that  day  lack  indeed ; 

Idle  words  and  also  oath 

God  forgiveth  them  both ; 

Sudden  death  that  same  day 

Thou  need  not  dread,  without  gainsay; 

Also  that  day  I  thee  plight 

Thou  shalt  not  lose  thine  eyesight; 

And  every  foot  that  thou  goest  then, 

To  see  that  holy  sight  for  men. 

Shall  one  day  stand  thee  in  stead. 

When  thou  for  them  hast  sore  need. 


300 


320 


And  bless  fairly  as  they  know. 

When  Gloria  Patri  is  begun, 

And  when  the  Gospel  is  all  done, 

Teach  them  after  to  kneel  down  soon; 

And  when  they  hear  the  bell  ring. 

To  the  Sacrament,  that  holy  thing,  fair  nor  loui,  let  tnem  spare  naught  310 

Teach  them  to  kneel  both  young  and  old. 

And  both  their  hands  upstretched  to  hold. 

And  say  then  in  manner  thus. 

Fair  and  soft,  without  noise  or  fuss, 

JESU,  Lord,  welcome  Thou  be. 

In  form  of  bread  as  I  Thee  see; 

jESU,  for  Thy  Holy  Name, 

Shield  me  to  day  from  sin  and  shame; 

Shrift  and  Eucharist,  Lord,  impart 

Ere  I  shall  from  hence  depart. 

And  true  contrition  of  my  sin. 

That,  Lord,  I  never  die  therein ; 

As  Thou  wert  of  a  Maiden  born, 

Suffer  me  ne'er  to  be  forlorn, 1 

But  when  I  shall  my  way  hence  wend. 

Grant  me  the  Bliss  without  end.    Amen. 

Teach  them  thus,  or  some  other  thing. 

To  say  at  Sacrament's  Holy  Offering; 

Teach  them,  also,  I  Thee  pray,  wnen  tnou  tor  tnem  iiast  sore  need.  329 

The  Regius  MS.  occupies  a  position  in  the  Masonic  world  unique  even 
for  an  old  document.  The  latest  phase  of  its  discussion  is  interesting,  and  the 
conclusions  of  the  European  Editor  are  given  to  close  this  brief  outline,  as 
follows  :  — 

The  "Regius  MS."  and  Masonic  Symbolism.  —  Two  most  suggestive  "  open  letters  "  have 
lately  been  issued  by  my  good  friend,  General  Albert  Pike,  one  being  on  "The  Regius  Manu- 
script,"- and  the  other,  "  Touching  Masonic  Symbolism." 

The  first  mentioned,  addressed  to  Brother  Gould,  refers  particularly  to  the  able  Commentary 
on  the  oldest  document  of  the  Craft  by  that  distinguished  Craftsman.  As  General  Pike  accepts 
the  conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  author,  it  is  as  well  to  clearly  understand  what  these  are :  i. 
"  That  the  Regius  MS.  points  to  the  existence  of  a  Symbolic  or  Speculative  Masonry  at  the  date 
from  which  it  speaks  "  ;  2.  "  That  it  would  appear  that  at  the  date  from  which  the  MS.  speaks 
there  was  a  Guild  or  Fraternity,  commemorating  the  science,  but  without  practising  the  art,  of 
Masonry  "  ;  3.  "  That  the  Poem  was  in  possession  of  a  Guild,  and  that  the  Guild  was  not  composed 
of  Operative  Masons  " ;  4.  "  That  the  persons  to  whom  the  text  of  the  MS.  was  sung  or  recited 
were  a  Guild  or  Fraternity,  from  whom  all  but  the  memory  or  tradition  of  its  ancient  trade  had 
departed  " ;  and,  5.  "  That  by  some  readers  certain  passages  may  be  held  to  point  rather  to 
the  absorption  of  the  Craft  legend  by  a  social  guild  than  to  a  gradual  transition  from  Operative  to 
Speculative  or  Symbolic  Masonry,  by  a  Craft  or  Fraternity  composed  in  the  first  instance  of 
members  of  the  building  art." 

These  five  points  —  in  the  words  of  General  Pike  —  are  certainly  both  comprehensive  and 
suggestive,  and,  if  justified  by  the  MS.  itself,  cannot  fail  to  introduce  a  new  and  valuable  factor 
into  the  evidence  in  favor  of  independent  Speculative  Freemasonry  long  before  the  seventeenth 
century.  I  am  unable  to  agree  with  Brothers  Gould  and  Pike,  but  wish  much  that  I  could. 
However,  their  position  in  the  Craft  is  such  as  to  entitle  their  views  to  extra  study,  respect  and 
consideration,  and  doubtless  many  will  be  inclined  to  follow  their  lead  without  any  more  thought 
on  the  subject. 

This  is  the  MS.  "  supposed  to  have  been  completed  in  the  time  of  Athelstan,"  according  to 
Dr.  Oliver^  but  possibly  dates  about  four  centuries  later,  if  safer  and  more  critical  guides  are 
preferred.  It  appears  to  me  that  if  the  concluding  portion  of  the  MS.,  referring  to  conduct 
generally,  had  not  been  attached  to  the  document,  the  main  evidence  in  testimony  of  its  supposed 
exclusively  speculative  character  would  be  gone ;  and,  as  this  addendum  is  really  not  a  necessary 
and  dependent  part  of  the  original  MS.,  I  fail  to  see  why  its  text  should  be  quoted  in  favor  of  the 


1  Lost. 


2  Voice  of  Masonry,  Feb.,  1890,  pages  94-99. 
8  Revelations  of  a  Square,  1855,  p.  69. 


178 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


sole  object  aimed  at  by  the  compiler.  The  chief  points  of  the  "Regius  MS."  would  be  utterly 
unsuitable  for  a  Social  guild,  and  quite  as  much  inappropriate  then  as  now,  for  any  but  Operative 
Masons, 

I  do  not  think  that  it  would  be  fair  to  assume  no  more  intelligence  for  the  Master  Masons  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the  architectural  division  of  their  labors,  than  is 
manifest  in  such  Craftsmen  at  the  present  time,  seeing  that  to  such  an  extent  then  th.ey  were  both 
Masons  and  architects  combined. 

Symbolism  in  some  operative  "  Old  Charges  "  is  not  absent  even  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  be  surprised  that  various  figurative  references  are  to  be 
found  in  documents  of  an  earlier  date,  particularly  those  of  a  religious  character,  when  so  much 
of  the  time  and  skill  of  the  Craftsmen  were  devoted  to  the  building  of  cathedrals,  in  which  Eccle- 
siastics would  naturally  take  a  deep  interest,  and  be  present  in  force  and  influence. 

General  Pike  considers  that  the  Masons  summoned  to  attend  the  assembly  of  dukes,  earls, 
and  other  nobles,  etc.,  "  were  not  the  poor,  rude,  unlettered,  uncultivated  working  Stone-masons." 
My  belief  is  they  were  some  of  the  numerous  Master  Masons  responsible  for  the  building  of  the 
cathedrals  and  other  large  structures  of  the  period,  over  whom  the  magistracy  and  other  authorities 
held  power;  and,  for  my  part,  I  fail  to  see  how  it  would  be  possiDle  for  these  architects  and 
builders  to  be  other  than  brethren  who  revelled  in  the  symbolism  of  geometrical  science.  To 
suppose  that  such  men  did  not,  but  that  those  of  no  practical  knowledge  of  the  building  art  did, 
at  the  period  in  question,  is  sure  to  assume  more  than  the  facts  warrant. 

Neither  does  it  appear  to  me  there  is  evidence  that  the  Freemasons  of  the  fourteenth  century 
were  any  more  secret  as  respects  their  trade  mysteries  than  those  of  other  organizations,  for  all 
were  bound  to  preserve  their  "mysteries"  from  cowans  and  intruders  of  all  kinds,  simply  as  a 
means  of  their  own  self-preservation  as  the  members  of  particular  handicrafts. 

The  "letter  touching  Masonic  Symbolism,"  also  addressed  to  Brother  Gould,  is  another 
important  contribution  to  the  subject.  Brother  Pike  is  of  the  opinion  that  to  the  men  of  intelligence 
who  belonged  to  one  of  the  four  old  lodges  in  1717  "  is  to  be  ascribed  the  authorship  ot  the  Third 
degree  and  the  introduction  of  Hermetic  and  other  symbols  into  Masonry;  that  they  framed  the 
three  degrees  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  their  doctrines,  veiled  by  their  symbols,  to  those 
fitted  to  receive  thein,  and  gave  to  all  others  trite  moral  explanations  of  them  which  they  could 
comprehend."  Now,  there  is  so  much  to  confirm  this  view,  that  it  seems  to  me  of  all  the  most 
probable  and  reasonable;  and  this  being  so,  the  notions  as  to  the  solely  Speculative  character  of 
the  "Regius  MS."  are  not  supported;  the  changes  from  the  mainly  Operative  to  the  wholly 
Speculative  basis  of  the  Society  being  much  later  than  the  fourteenth  century. 

General  Pike  emphatically  states  that  we  cannot  be  warranted  in  assuming  that  among 
Masons  generally  —  in  the  body  of  Masonry  —  the  symbolism  of  Freemasonry  is  of  earlier  date 
than  1717,  but  he,  however,  admits  that  "  among  Freemasons  of  a  certain  class  and  limited 
number,  the  same  symbolism,  or  a  larger  part  of  the  same,  afterward  placed  in  the  degrees,  did 
exist  long  before,  perhaps  some  centuries  before  1717." 

The  following  deliverance  by  the  same  gifted  brother  exactly  describes  my  opinion,  only 
better  expressed  than  I  could  have  worded  it,  relative  to  the  period  of  the  "  Regius  MS"  :  — 

"  The  art  of  building  then  stood  above  all  other  arts,  and  made  all  others  subservient  to  it. 
It  commanded  the  sei~i)ices  of  the  most  brilliant  intellects  and  of  the  greatest  artists.  The  old 
symbolism  was  embodied  in  the  churches  and  cathedrals,  and  some  of  these  were  adorned  by 
figures  and  devices,  which  would  never  have  been  tolerated  there  if  the  priesthood  had  known 
what  they  meant  to  the  adepts." 

Why  not  believe  then  that  the  "  Regius  MS."  was  addressed  to  such  intellectual  and  brilliant 
artists,  and  not  to  speculatives  exclusively?  To  my  mind  the  second  letter  suggests  such  to  have 
been  the  case.  Anyway,  without  more  evidence,  it  seeins  to  me  better  to  wait  than  to  accept  the 
first  mentioned  theory,  though  it  is  so  ably  introduced  by  Brother  Gould,  and  as  ably  defended  by 
General  Pike. 

THE   MATTHEW   COOKE   MS.^ 

(Date  :    Beginning  of  Fifteenth  Century.) 

For  the  "  free  rendering  of  this  Manuscript  "  we  are  indebted  to  Brother 
G.  W.  Speth,  P.  M.,  Secretary,  in  Vol.  H.  of  the  Quatuor  Coronatorum 
Antigrapha  :  — 

Thanked  be  God,  our  glorious  Father,  the  founder  and  creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  all 
things  that  therein  are,  for  that  he  has  vouchsafed,  of  his  glorious  Godhead,  to  make  so  many 
things  of  manifold  virtue  for  the  use  of  mankind.    For  he  made  all  things  to  be  subject   and 

1  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  this  was  one  of  the  manuscripts  known  to  and  utilized  by 
Dr.  Anderson,  when  he  compiled  the  first  Book  of  the  Constitutions  in  1723;  it  certainly  was 
known  to  prominent  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1728,  or  five  years  later. —  Commentary  in 
Antigrapha. 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


179 


obedient  to  man.  All  things  eatable  of  a  wholesome  nature  he  ordained  for  man's  sustenance 
And  moreover,  he  hath  given  to  man  wit  and  the  knowledge  of  divers  things  and  handicrafts,  by 
the  which  we  may  labor  in  this  world,  in  order  to  therewith  get  our  livelihood,  and  fashion  many 
objects  pleasant  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  our  own  ease  and  profit.  To  rehearse  all  these  matters  here 
were  too  long  in  the  writing  or  telling,  I  will  therefore  refrain  ;  but  I  will  nevertheless  tell  you  some; 
for  instance,  how  and  in  what  manner  the  Science  of  Geometry  was  first  invented,  and  who  were 
the  founders  both  thereof  and  of  several  other  crafts,  as  is  declared  in  the  Bible  and  other 
histories. 

How  and  in  what  manner  this  worthy  Science  of  Geometry  took  its  rise,  I  will  tell  you,  as  I 
said  before.  You  must  know  that  there  are  seven  liberal  sciences,  from  which  seven  all  other 
sciences  and  crafts  in  the  world  sprung;  but  especially  is  Geometry  the  first  cause  of  all  the  other 
sciences,  whatsoever  they  be. 

These  seven  sciences  are  as  follows  :  — • 

The  first,  which  is  called  the  foundation  of  all  sciences,  is  grammar,  which  teacheth  to  write 
and  speak  correctly. 

The  second  is  rhetoric,  which  teaches  us  to  speak  elegantly. 

The  third  is  dialetic,  which  teaches  us  to  discern  the  true  from  the  false,  and  it  is  usually 
called  art  or  sophistry  (logic). 

The  fourth  is  arithmetic,  which  instructs  us  in  the  science  of  numbers,  to  reckon,  and  to  make 
accounts. 

The  fifth  is  Geometry,  which  teaches  us  all  about  mensuration,  measures  and  weights,  of  all 
kinds  of  handicrafts. 

The  sixth  is  music,  and  that  teaches  the  art  of  singing  by  notation  for  the  voice,  on  the  organ, 
trumpet,  and  harp,  and  of  all  things  pertaining  thereto. 

The  seventh  is  astronomy,  which  teaches  us  the  course  of  the  sun  and  of  the  moon  and  of  the 
other  stars  and  planets  of  heaven. 

Our  intent  is  to  treat  chiefly  of  the  first  foundation  of  Geometry,  and  who  were  the  founders 
thereof.  As  I  said  before,  there  are  seven  liberal  sciences,  that  is  to  say,  seven  sciences  or  crafts 
that  are  free  in  themselves,  the  which  seven  exist  only  through  Geometry.  And  Geometry  may 
be  described  as  earth-mensuration,  for  Geometry  is  derived  from  geo,  which  is  in  Greek  "  earth," 
and  vtetro7ia,  or  a  measure.  Thus  is  the  word  Geometry  compounded,  and  signifies  the  measure 
of  the  earth. 

Marvel  not  because  I  said  that  all  sciences  exist  only  through  the  science  of  Geometry.  For 
there  is  no  art  or  handicraft  wrought  by  man's  hands  that  is  not  wrought  by  Geometry, 
which  is  a  chief  factor  (//()/a^«//a  cause)  thereof.  For  if  a  man  work  with  his  hands,  he  employs 
some  sort  of  tool,  and  there  is  no  instrument  of  any  material  in  this  world  which  is  not  formed  of 
some  sort  of  earth  (ore),  and  to  earth  it  will  return.  And  there  is  no  instrument  or  tool  to  work 
with  that  has  not  some  proportion,  more  or  less.  And  proportion  is  measure,  and  the  instrument 
or  tool  is  earth.  And  Geometry  is  earth-mensuration,  therefore  I  affirm  that  all  men  live  by 
Geometry.    For  all  men  here  in  this  world  live  by  the  labor  of  their  hands. 

Many  more  proofs  could  I  give  you  that  Geometry  is  the  science  by  which  all  reasoning  men 
live,  but  I  refrain  at  this  time,  because  the  writing  of  it  were  a  long  process. 

And  now  I  will  enter  further  into  the  matter.  You  must  know  that  among  all  the  crafts 
followed  by  man  in  this  world,  Masonry  has  the  greatest  renown  and  the  largest  share  of  this 
science  of  Geometry,  as  is  stated  in  history,  such  as  the  Bible,  and  the  Master  of  History  [Herod- 
otus], and  in  the  Polychronicon.i  a  well  authenticated  (or  trustworthy)  chronicle,  and  in  the 
history  called  Beda  de  Imagine  Mundi,  and  Isidorus  Ethomolegiarum  Methodius  Episcopus 
&  Martiris.  And  many  others  say  that  Masonry  is  the  chief  part  of  Geometry,  and  so  methinks 
it  may  well  be  said,  for  it  was  first  founded,  as  is  stated  in  the  Bible  in  the  first  book  of  Genesis 
and  the  fourth  chapter.  And  moreover  all  the  learned  authors  above  cited  agree  thereto.  And 
some  of  them  affirm  it  more  openly  and  plainly,  precisely  as  in  Genesis  in  the  Bible. 

^  Findel  was  led  to  doubt  the  date  placed  upon  this  MS.  (early  in  the  fifteenth  century),  sup- 
posing this  an  allusion  to  Caxton's  celebrated  work  A.D.  1482;  but  Gould  in  Hist.  Vol.  I.,  p.  60, 
says  it  refers  to  a  Universal  History  by  a  Benedictine  Monk,  that  was  afterward  enlarged  by 
Ranulph  Higden  ofthe  samemonastry  (St.  Werburgh's  Abbey,  in  Chester),  styled"  Polychronicon." 
This  author  died  about  A.D.  1360,     So  that  the  earlier  date  assigned  is  not  improbable. 


l3o  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

Before  Noah's  Flood,  by  direct  male  descent  from  Adam,  in  the  seventh  generation,  there 
lived  a  man  called  Lamech,  who  had  two  wives,  called  Adah  and  Zillah,  By  the  first  wife,  Adah, 
he  begat  two  sons,  Jabal  and  Jubal.  The  elder  son  Jabal  was  the  first  man  that  ever  discovered 
geometry  and  masonry,  and  he  made  houses,  and  is  called  in  the  Bible  the  father  of  all  men  who 
dwell  in  tents  or  dwelling  houses.  And  he  was  Cain's  master  mason  and  governor  of  the  works 
when  he  built  the  city  of  Enoch,  which  was  the  first  city  ever  made,  and  was  built  by  Cain,  Adam's 
son,  who  gave  it  to  his  own  son  Enoch,  and  gave  the  city  the  name  of  his  son,  and  called  it 
Enoch,  and  now  it  is  known  as  Ephraim.  And  at  that  place  was  the  Science  of  Geometry  and 
Masonry  first  prosecuted  and  contrived  as  a  science  and  as  a  handicraft.  And  so  we  may  well 
say  that  it  is  the  first  cause  and  foundation  of  all  crafts  and  sciences.  And  also  this  man  Jabel 
was  called  the  father  of  shepherds. 

The  Master  of  History  says,  and  Beda  De  Imagine  Mundi,  and  the  Polychronicon,  and  many 
others  more  say,  that  he  was  the  first  that  made  partition  of  lands,  in  order  that  every  man  might 
know  his  own  land  and  labor  thereon  for  himself.  And  also  he  divided  fiocks  of  sheep,  that 
every  man  might  know  his  own  sheep,  and  so  we  may  say  that  he  was  the  inventor  of  that 
science. 

And  his  brother  Jubal  or  Tubal  was  the  inventor  of  music  and  song,  as  Pythagoras  states  in 
the  Polychronicon,  and  the  same  says  Isidorus.  In  his  Ethemolegies  in  the  6th  book,  he  says  that  he 
**'as  the  first  founder  of  music  and  song,  and  of  the  organ  and  trumpet,  and  he  discovered  that 
science  by  the  sound  of  the  weights  of  his  brother's.  Tubal  Cain's,  hammers. 

And  of  a  truth,  as  the  Bible  says,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  fourth  Chapter  of  Genesis,  Lamech 
begat  by  his  other  wife  Zillah  a  son  and  a  daughter,  and  their  names  Tubal  Cain,  that  was  the 
son,  and  the  daughter  was  called  Naamah.  And  according  to  the  Polychronicon,  some  men  say 
she  was  Noah's  wife;  but  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  we  will  not  affirm. 

Ye  must  know  that  this  son  Tubal  Cain  was  the  founder  of  the  smith's  craft  and  of  other 
handicrafts  dealing  with  metals,  such  as  iron,  brass,  gold  and  silver,  as  some  learned  writers  say; 
and  his  sister  Naamah  discovered  the  craft  of  weaving,  for  before  her  time  no  cloth  was  woven,  but 
they  span  yarn  and  knit  it  and  made  such  clothing  as  they  could.  And  as  this  woman  Naamah 
invented  the  craft  of  weaving,  it  was  called  woman's-craft. 

And  these  four  brethren  knew  that  God  would  take  vengeance  for  sin,  either  by  fire  or  water. 
And  they  were  much  concerned  how  to  save  the  sciences  they  had  discovered,  and  they  took 
counsel  together,  and  exercised  all  their  wits.  And  they  said  there  were  two  kinds  of  stone  of 
such  virtue  that  the  one  would  not  burn,  called  marble,  and  the  other  named  "  Lacerus"  would 
not  sink  in  water.  And  so  they  devised  to  write  all  the  sciences  they  had  found  on  these  two 
stones,  so  that  if  God  took  vengeance  by  fire  the  marble  would  not  burn,  and  if  by  water  the 
other  would  not  drown,  and  they  besought  their  elder  brother  Jabal  to  make  two  pillars  of  these 
two  stones,  that  is  of  marble  and  of  "  Lacerus,"  and  to  write  on  the  two  pillars  all  the  sciences  and 
crafts  which  they  had  found  and  he  did  so.  And  therefore  we  might  say  that  he  was  the  wisest  in 
science,  for  he  first  began  and  carried  out  their  purpose  before  Noah's  flood. 

Fortunately  knowing  of  the  vengeance  that  God  would  send,  the  brethren  knew  not  whether 
it  would  be  by  fire  or  water.  They  knew  by  a  sort  of  prophecy  that  God  would  send  one  or  the 
other,  and  therefore  they  wrote  their  sciences  on  the  two  pillars  of  stone.  And  some  men  say  that 
they  wrote  on  the  stones  all  the  seven  sciences,  but  [this  I  affirm  not] .  As  they  had  it  in  mind 
that  a  vengeance  would  come,  so  it  befell  that  God  did  send  vengeance,  and  there  came  such  a 
flood  that  all  the  world  was  drowned  and  all  men  died  save  only  eight  persons.  These  were 
Noah  and  his  wife  and  his  three  sons  and  their  wives,  of  which  sons  all  the  world  is  descended, 
and  they  were  named  in  this  wise,  Shem,  Ham  and  Japheth.  And  this  flood  is  called  Noah's 
Flood,  for  he  and  his  children  were  saved  therein.  And  many  years  after  the  flood,  according  to 
the  chronicle,  these  two  pillars  were  found,  and  the  chronicle  says  that  a  great  clerk,  Pythagoras, 
found  the  one,  and  Hermes  the  philosopher  found  the  other,  and  they  taught  the  sciences  that 
they  found  written  thereon. 

Every  chronicle  and  history  and  many  other  writers  and  the  Bible  especia.lly  relate  the  building 
of  the  tower  of  Babel ;  and  it  is  written  in  the  Bible,  Genesis,  chap.  x.  how  that  Ham,  Noah's  son, 
begat  Nimrod,  who  grew  a  mighty  man  upon  the  earth  and  waxed  strong,  like  imto  a  giant.  He 
was  a  great  king  and  the  beginning  of  his  kingdom  was  the  kingdom  of  Babylon  proper,  and 
Arach  and  Archad  and  Calneh  and  the  land  of  Shinar.    And  this  same  Ham  began  the  tower 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY.  l8l 

of  Babel  and  taught  his  workmen  the  Craft  of  Masonry  [mensuration] ,  and  he  had  with  him 
many  masons,  more  than  40,000,  and  he  loved  and  cherished  them  well.  And  it  is  written  in 
Polychronicon,  and  in  the  Master  of  History,  and  m  other  histories,  and  beyond  this  the  Bible 
witnesses  in  the  same  loth  chapter,  as  it  is  written,  that  Ashur  who  was  of  near  kindred  to  Nimrod 
went  forth  from  the  land  of  Shinar  and  built  the  City  of  Nineveh  and  Plateas  {sic)  and  many 
more.     For  it  is  written  "  De  terra  ilia  "  [etc.] 

It  is  but  reasonable  that  we  should  plainly  say  how  and  in  what  manner  the  Charges  of  the 
Mason's  Craft  were  first  founded,  and  who  first  gave  it  the  name  of  Masonry.  And  you  must 
know  that  it  is  stated  and  written  in  the  Polychronicon,  and  in  Methodus  Episcopus  and  Martiris 
that  Ashur  who  was  a  worthy  lord  of  Shinar  sent  to  Nimrod  the  king  to  send  him  Masons  and 
workmen  of  the  Craft  that  they  might  help  him  make  his  city  which  he  was  minded  to  make. 
And  Nimrod  sent  him  3000  masons.  And  as  they  were  about  to  depart  and  go  forth,  he  called 
them  before  him  and  said  to  them,  "  Ye  must  go  to  my  cousin  Ashur  to  help  him  build  a  city, 
but  see  to  it,  that  ye  be  well  governed,  and  I  will  give  you  a  Charge  that  shall  be  to  your  and 
my  profit. 

"  When  you  come  to  that  lord,  look  that  you  be  true  to  him,  even  as  you  would  be  to  me ; 
labor  at  your  Craft  honestly,  and  take  a  reasonable  payment  for  it,  such  as  you  may  deserve. 
Love  each  other  as  though  you  were  brothers  and  hold  together  staunchly.  Let  him  that  hath 
most  skill  teach  his  fellow,  and  be  careful  that  your  conduct  among  yourselves  and  towards  your 
lord  may  be  to  my  credit,  that  I  may  have  thanks  for  sending  you  and  teaching  you  the  Craft." 
And  they  received  the  charge  from  him,  being  their  lord  and  master,  and  went  forth  to  Ashur  and 
built  the  city  of  Nineveh  in  the  country  of  Plateas  (sic)  and  other  cities  also  that  are  called  Calah 
and  Resen,  which  is  a  great  city  between  Calah  and  Nineveh.  And  in  this  manner  the  Craft  of 
Masonry  was  first  instituted  and  charged  as  a  science. 

Elders  [Masters]  of  Masons  before  our  times  had  these  charges  in  writing,  as  we  have  them 
now  in  our  Charges  of  the  story  of  Euclid,  and  as  we  have  seen  them  written  both  in  Latin  and 
French. 1 

But  it  is  only  reasonable  that  we  should  tell  you  how  Euclid  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
Geometry,  as  stated  in  the  Bible  and  other  histories.  In  the  xii.  chapter  of  Genesis  it  is  told 
how  Abraham  came  to  the  land  of  Canaan  and  our  Lord  appeared  unto  him  and  said,  "  I  will 
give  this  land  to  thy  seed."  But  a  great  famine  reigned  in  that  land  and  Abraham  took  Sarah,  his 
wife,  with  him  and  made  a  journey  into  Egypt  to  abide  there  while  the  famine  lasted.  And 
Abraham,  so  says  the  chronicle,  was  a  wise  man  and  a  learned.  And  he  knew  all  the  seven 
sciences  and  taught  the  Egyptians  the  science  of  Geometry.  And  this  worthy  clerk  Euclid  was 
his  pupil  and  learned  of  him.  And  he  first  gave  it  the  name  of  Geometry ;  although  it  was 
practised  before  his  time,  it  had  not  acquired  the  name  of  Geometry.  But  it  is  said  by  Isidorus 
in  the  5th  Book  and  first  Chapter  of  Ethomoligiarum  that  Euclid  was  one  of  the  first  founders  of 
Geometry,  and  gave  it  that  name. 

For  in  his  time,  the  river  of  Egypt  which  is  called  the  Nile  so  overflowed  the  land  that  no 
man  could  dwell  therein.  Then  the  worthy  clerk  Euclid  taught  them  to  make  great  walls  and 
ditches  to  keep  back  the  water,  and  by  Geometry  he  measured  the  land  and  parcelled  it  out  into 
sections  and  caused  every  man  to  enclose  his  own  portion  with  walls  and  ditches  and  thus  it 
became  a  country  abounding  in  all  kinds  of  produce  and  of  young  people  and  of  men  and  women  : 
so  that  the  youthful  population  [Myche  pepulle  of  younge  frute]  increased  so  much  as  to  render 
earning  a  living  difficult.  And  the  lords  of  the  country  drew  together  and  took  counsel  how  they 
might  help  their  children  who  had  no  competent  livelihood  in  order  to  provide  for  themselves  and 
their  children,  for  they  had  so  many.  And  at  the  council  among  them  was  the  worthy  Clerk 
Euclid,  and  when  he  saw  that  all  of  them  could  devise  no  remedy  in  the  matter  he  said  to  them, 
"  Lay  your  orders  upon  your  sons  and  I  will  teach  them  a  science  by  which  they  may  live  as 
gentlemen,  under  the  condition  that  they  shall  be  sworn  to  me  to  uphold  the  regulations  that  I 
shall  lay  upon  them."  And  both  they  and  the  king  of  the  country  and  all  the  lords  agreed  thereto 
with  one  consent. 

It  is  but  reasonable  that  every  man  should  agree  to  that  which  tended  to  profit  himself;  and 
so  they  took  their  sons  to  Euclid  to  be  ruled  by  him  and  he  taught  them  the  Craft  of  Masonry 

1  This  would  seem  to  substantiate  the  speculation  of  Dr.  Oliver  as  to  the  Assembly  A.D.  926. 


1 32  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

and  gave  it  the  name  of  Geometry,  on  account  of  the  parcelling  out  of  the  ground  which  he  had 
taught  the  people  at  the  time  of  making  the  walls  and  ditches,  as  aforesaid,  to  keep  out  the  watec 
And  Isidorus  says  in  Ethomologies  that  Euclid  called  the  craft  Geometry. 

And  there  this  worthy  clerk  Euclid  gave  it  a  name  and  taught  it  to  the  lords'  sons  of  that 
land  whom  he  had  as  pupils.  And  he  gave  them  a  charge,  that  they  should  call  each  other  Fellow 
and  no  otherwise,  they  being  all  of  one  craft  and  of  the  same  gentle  birth,  lords'  sons.  And  also 
that  the  most  skilful  should  be  governor  of  the  work  and  should  be  called  master ;  and  other 
charges  besides,  which  are  written  in  the  Book  of  Charges.  And  so  they  worked  for  the  lords 
of  the  land  and  built  cities  and  towns,  castles  and  temples,  and  lords'  palaces. 

During  the  time  that  the  children  of  Israel  dwelt  in  Egypt  they  learned  the  craft  of  Masonry. 
And  after  they  were  driven  out  of  Egypt  they  came  into  the  promised  land,  which  is  now  called 
Jerusalem,  and  they  occupied  that  land  and  the  charges  were  observed  there.  And  [at]  the 
making  of  Solomon's  Temple  which  King  David  began.  King  David  loved  masons  well,  and  gave 
them  [wages]  nearly  as  they  are  now.  And  at  the  making  of  the  Temple  in  Solomon's  time,  as 
stated  in  the  Bible  in  the  third  book  of  Kings  and  the  fifth  chapter,  Solomon  had  four-score 
thousand  masons  at  work.  And  the  son  of  the  king  of  Tyre  was  his  master  mason.  And  in 
other  chronicles  and  in  old  books  of  masonry,  it  is  said  that  Solomon  confirmed  the  charges  that 
David  his  father  had  given  to  masons.  And  Solomon  himself  taught  them  their  usages  [manners] , 
differing  but  slightly  from  the  customs  now  in  use.  And  from  thence  this  worthy  science  was 
brought  into  France  and  into  many  other  regions. 

And  at  one  time  there  was  a  worthy  king  in  France  called  Carolus  Secundus,  that  is  to  say 
Charles  the  Second.  And  this  Charles  was  elected  king  of  France  by  the  grace  of  God  and  also 
by  right  of  descent  [lynage] .  And  some  men  say  he  was  elected  by  good  fortune,  which  is  false, 
as  by  the  chronicles  he  was  of  the  blood  royal.  And  this  same  king  Charles  was  a  mason  before 
he  became  king.  And  after  he  was  king  he  loved  masons  and  cherished  them  and  gave  them 
charges  and  usages  of  his  devising,  of  which  some  are  yet  in  force  in  France ;  and  he  ordained 
that  they  should  have  an  assembly  once  a  year  and  come  and  speak  together  in  order  that  the 
masters  and  fellows  might  regulate  all  things  [which  were]  amiss. 

And  soon  after  that  came  St.  Adhabelle  i  into  England  and  he  converted  St.  Alban  to  Chris- 
tianity. And  St.  Alban  loved  masons  well  and  he  was  the  first  to  give  them  charges  and  customs 
in  England.    And  he  ordained  [wages]  adequate  to  pay  for  their  toil. 

And  after  that  there  was  a  worthy  king  in  England,  called  Athelstan,  and  his  youngest  son 
loved  well  the  science  of  Geometry ;  and  he  knew  well,  as  well  as  the  masons  themselves,  that  their 
handicraft  was  the  practice  of  the  science  of  Geometry.  Therefore  he  drew  to  their  councils  (or 
took  counsel,  or  lessons,  of  them), and  learned  the  practical  part  of  that  science  in  addition  to  his 
theoretical  (or  book)  knowledge  [speculatif] .  For  of  the  speculative  part  he  was  master.  And 
he  loved  well  masonry  and  masons.  And  he  became  a  mason  himself.  And  he  gave  them  charges 
and  usages  such  as  are  now  customary  in  England  and  in  other  countries.  And  he  ordained  that 
they  should  have  reasonable  pay.  And  he  purchased  a  free  patent  of  the  king  that  they  might 
hold  an  assembly  at  what  time  they  thought  reasonable  and  come  together  to  consult.  Of  the 
which  charges,  usages  and  assembly  it  is  written  and  taught  in  our  Book  of  Charges ;  wherefore  I 
leave  it  for  the  present. 

Good  men  !  2  for  this  cause  and  in  this  way  Masonry  first  arose.  It  befell,  once  upon  a  time, 
that  great  lords  had  so  many  free-begotten  [legitimate]  children  that  their  possessions  were  not 
extensive  enough  to  provide  for  their  future.  Therefore  they  took  counsel  how  to  provide  for  their 
children  and  find  them  an  honest  livelihood.  And  they  sent  for  wise  masters  of  the  worthy  science 
of  Geometry,  that  through  their  wisdom  they  might  provide  them  with  some  honest  living.  Then 
one  of  them  that  was  called  Euclid,  a  most  subtil  and  wise  inventor  regulated  [that  science]  and 
art  and  called  it  Masonry.     And  so  in  this  art  of  his  he  honestly  taught  the  children  of  great  lords 

1  This  Saint  is  quite  unknown.  Dr.  Plot  laughs  at  Masons  for  their  legend  of  St.  Amphibalus, 
so  some  MS.  or  other  must  have  contained  the  latter  name.  Are  these  two  saints  connected?  The 
transcriber  might  possibly  be  answerable  for  the  confusion.  —  Anti^^rapha. 

2  Here  the  transcriber  begins  afresh  the  Euclid  legend  (omitting  all  previous  history),  and  in 
a  condensed  narrative  carries  us  over  the  former  ground  to  the  point  at  which  he  left  off,  and  then 
redeems  his  promise  by  reciting  in  full  the  charges.  This  point  is  the  division  where  two  MSS. 
are  referred  to  further  on. 


DOCUMENTAR  Y  HISTOR V. 


183 


according  to  the  desire  of  the  fathers  and  the  free  consent  of  their  children.  And  having  taught 
them  with  great  care  for  a  certain  time,  they  were  not  all  alike  capable  of  exercising  the  said  art, 
wherefore  the  said  master  Euclid  ordained  that  those  that  surpassed  the  others  in  skill  should  be 
honored  above  the  others.  And  [comman]  ded  to  call  the  more  skilful  "  Master  "  and  for  [him] 
to  instruct  the  less  skilful.  The  which  masters  were  called  masters  of  nobility,  of  knowledge  and 
skill  in  that  art.  Nevertheless  they  commanded  that  they  that  were  of  less  knowledge  should  not 
be  called  servants  or  subjects,  but  fellows,  on  account  of  the  nobility  of  their  gentle  blood.  In  this 
manner  was  the  aforesaid  art  begun  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  by  the  aforesaid  master  Euclid,  and  so  it 
spread  from  country  to  country  and  from  kingdom  to  kingdom. 

Many  years  after,  in  the  time  of  king  Athelstan.i  sometime  king  of  England,  by  common 
consent  of  his  Council  and  other  great  lords  of  the  land,  on  account  of  great  defects  found  among 
masons,  a  certain  rule  was  ordained  for  them  :  — 

Once  a  year,  or  every  three  years,  as  might  appear  needful  to  the  king  and  great  lords  of  the 
land  and  all  the  community,  congregations  should  be  called  by  the  masters  from  country  to  country 
and  from  province  to  province  of  all  masters,  masons  and  fellows  in  the  said  art.  And  at  such  con- 
gregations those  that  are  made  masters  shall  be  examined  in  the  articles  hereafter  written  and  be 
ransacked  whether  they  be  able  and  skilful  in  order  to  serve  the  lords  to  their  profit  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  aforesaid  art.  And  moreover  they  shall  be  charged  to  well  and  truly  expend  the 
goods  of  their  lords,  as  well  of  the  lowest  as  of  the  highest;  for  those  are  their  lords,  for  the  time 
being  of  whom  they  take  their  pay  in  recompense  of  their  service  and  toil. 

The  first  ~  article  is  this:  —  That  every  master  of  this  art  should  be  wise,  and  true  to  the  lord 
who  employs  him,  expending  his  goods  carefully  as  he  would  his  own  were  expended;  and  not 
give  more  pay  to  any  mason  than  he  knows  him  to  have  earned,  according  to  the  dearth  (or 
scarcity,  and  therefore  price),  of  corn  and  victuals  in  the  country,  and  this  without  favoritism,  for 
every  man  is  to  be  rewarded  according  to  his  work. 

The  second  article  is  this  :  —  That  every  master  of  the  art  shall  be  warned  beforehand  to  come 
to  his  congregation,  in  order  that  he  may  duly  come  there,  unless  he  may  [be]  excused  for  some 
cause  or  other.  But  if  he  be  found  [i.e.,  accused  of  being]  rebellious  at  such  congregation,  or  at 
fault  in  any  way  to  his  employer's  harm  or  the  reproach  of  his  art,  he  shall  not  be  excused  unless 
he  be  sick  unto  [in  peril  of]  death.  And  though  he  be  in  peril  of  death,  yet  he  must  give  notice 
of  his  illness  to  the  master  who  is  the  president  [pryncipalle]  of  the  gathering. 

The  [third]  article  is  this  :  — That  no  master  take  [an]  apprentice  for  a  shorter  term  than  seven 
years  at  least,  for  the  reason  that  such  as  have  been  bound  a  shorter  time  can  not  adequately 
learn  their  art,  nor  be  able  to  truly  serve  their  employer  and  earn  the  pay  that  a  mason  should. 

The  fourth  article  is  this:  — That  no  master  shall  for  any  reward  take  an  apprentice  a  bondsman 
bom,  because  his  lord  to  whom  he  is  a  bondsman  might  take  him,  as  he  is  entitled  to,  from  his 
art  and  carry  him  away  with  him  from  out  the  Lodge,  or  out  of  the  place  he  is  working  in.  And 
because  his  fellows  peradventure  might  help  him  and  take  his  part,  and  thence  manslaughter 
might  arise ;  therefore  it  is  forbidden.  And  there  is  another  reason ;  because  his  art  was  begun 
by  the  freely-begotten  children  of  great  lords,  as  aforesaid. 

The  fifth  article  is  this:  —  That  no  master  shall  pay  more  to  his  apprentice  during  the  time 
of  his  apprenticeship,  whatever  profit  he  may  take  thereby,  than  he  well  knows  him  to  have 
deserved  of  the  lord  that  employs  him ;  and  not  even  quite  so  much,  in  order  that  the  lord  of 
the  works  where  he  is  taught  may  have  some  profit  by  his  being  taught  there. 

The  sixth  anicle  is  this:  —  That  no  master  from  covetousness  or  for  gain  shall  accept  an 

1  In  this  and  the  succeeding  paragraphs,  nowhere  does  it  state  that  the  masters  assisted  to 
formulate  these  articles ;  on  the  contrary  it  states  that  the  rule  (or  rules)  was  made  for  them  by 
the  king  and  his  lords.  The  articles  were  therefore  a  legal  enactment,  and  the  preamble  and 
original  nine  probably  contain  the  original  clauses  of  Athelstan's  charter,  or,  at  least,  of  the  charter 
which  the  masons,  rightly  or  wrongly,  ascribed  to  him.  That  these  might  be  extended  at  future 
assemblies  (as  the  Poem  would  lead  us  to  suppose  was  done),  is  probable,  because  the  chief  repre- 
sentative of  the  king,  in  the  province  in  which  the  assembly  was  held,  was  to  be  associated  with 
the  presiding  officer.  —  S/>ef/t  in  the  Antigrapha.  Tliis  would  look  to  an  organization  similar  to 
that  of  England  to-day,  with  the  Prince  of  NVales,  Grand  Master,  and  Pro  Grand  Masters,  at  the 
head  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity. 

2  It  will  be  noticed  that  whereas  in  the  Masonic  Poem  there  are  15  "Articles"  and  15 
"  Points,"  in  this,  the  earlier  Prose  Constitution,  there  are  only  9  "Articles  "  and  9  "  Points."  — 
The  Rev.  A.  F.  A.  V[  oodford,  M.A. 


jg  .  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

apprentice  that  is  unprofitable;  that  is,  having  any  maim  (or  defect)  by  reason  of  which  he  is 
incapable  of  doing  a  mason's  proper  work. 

The  seventh  article  is  this  :  —  That  no  master  shall  knowingly  help  or  cause  to  be  mamtamed 
and  sustained  any  common  nightwalker  robber,  by  which  nightwalking  they  may  be  rendered 
incapable  [through  want  of  rest]  of  doing  a  fair  day's  work,  and  toil :  a  condition  of  things  by 
which  their  fellows  might  be  made  wrath. 

The  eighth  article  is  this  :  —  Should  it  befall  that  a  perfect  and  skilful  mason  come  and  apply 
for  work  and  find  one  working  who  is  incompetent  and  unskilful,  the  master  of  the  place  shall 
discharge  the  incompetent  and  engage  the  skilful  one,  to  the  advantage  of  the  employer. 

The  ninth  article  is  this:  — That  no  master  shall  supplant  another.  For  it  is  said  in  the  art 
of  masonry  that  no  man  can  so  well  complete  a  work,  to  the  advantage  of  the  lord,  begun  by 
another,  as  he  who  began  it  intending  to  end  it  in  accordance  with  his  own  plans,  or  [he]  to 
whom  he  shows  his  plans. 

These  regulations  following  were  made  by  the  lords  (employers)  and  masters  of  divers 
provinces  and  divers  congregations  of  masonry ; 

[First  point]  To  wit :  Whosoever  desires  to  become  a  mason  [to  come  to  the  state  of  the 
forseyd  art] ,  it  behooves  him  before  all  things  to  [love]  God  and  the  holy  Church  and  all  the  Saints ; 
and  his  master  and  fellows  as  his  own  brothers. 

The  second  point :  —  He  must  give  a  fair  day's  work  for  his  pay. 

The  third  [point]  :  —  He  shall  hele  [guard]  the  counsel  of  his  fellows  in  lodge  and  in 
chamber,  and  wherever  masons  meet. 

The  fourth  point:—  He  shall  be  no  traitor  to  the  art  and  do  it  no  harm,  nor  conform  to  any 
enactments  against  the  art,  nor  against  the  members  thereof;  but  he  shall  maintain  it  in  all  honor, 
to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

The  fifth  point :  —  When  he  receives  his  pay  he  shall  take  it  without  murmuring,  as  may  be 
arranged  at  the  time  by  the  master ;  and  he  shall  fulfil  the  agreement  regarding  the  hours  of  work 
and  rest,  as  ordained  and  set  by  the  master. 

The  sixth  point :  —  In  case  of  disagreement  between  him  and  his  fellows,  he  shall  unques- 
tioningly  obey  the  master  and  be  silent  thereon  at  the  bidding  of  his  master,  or  of  his  master's 
warden  in  his  master's  absence,  until  the  next  following  holiday  and  shall  then  settle  the  matter 
according  to  the  verdict  of  his  fellows ;  and  not  upon  a  work  day  because  of  the  hindrance  to  the 
work  and  to  the  lord's  interests. 

The  seventh  point :  —  He  shall  not  covet  the  wife,  nor  the  daughter  of  his  master,  or  of  his 
fellows  unless  it  be  in  marriage ;  neither  shall  he  hold  concubines,  on  account  of  the  discord  this 
might  create  among  them. 

The  eighth  point :  —  Should  it  befall  him  to  be  his  master's  warden,  he  shall  be  a  true  mediator 
[mene]  between  his  master  and  his  fellows:  and  he  shall  be  active  in  his  master's  absence,  to  the 
honor  of  his  master  and  the  profit  of  the  lord  who  employs  him. 

The  ninth  point:  — If  he  be  more  wise  and  skilful  than  his  fellow  working  with  him  in  the 
Lodge,  or  in  any  other  place,  and  he  perceive  that  for  want  of  skill  [defawte  of  connynge]  he  is 
about  to  spoil  the  stone  upon  which  he  is  working,  and  can  teach  him  to  improve  the  stone,  he 
shall  instruct  and  help  him;  so  that  love  may  increase  the  more  among  them  and  the  work  of 
the  employer  be  not  lost. 

When  the  master  and  fellows,  being  forewarned,  are  come  to  such  congregations,  the  sheriff 
of  the  country,  or  the  mayor  of  the  city,  or  alderman  of  the  town  in  which  the  congregation  is  held, 
shall,  if  need  be,  be  fellow  and  associate  of  the  master  of  the  congregation,  to  help  him  against 
disobedient  [rebelle]  members  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  realm. 

And  at  the  commencement  of  the  proceedings,  new  men  who  have  never  been  charged 
before  are  to  be  charged  in  this  manner:  —  Ye  shall  never  be  thieves  nor  thieves'  maintainers,  and 
shall  do  a  fair  day's  work  and  toil  for  your  pay  that  you  take  of  the  lord,  and  shall  render  true 
accounts  to  your  fellows  in  all  matters  which  should  be  accounted  for  to  them,  and  love  them  as 
yourselves.  And  ye  shall  be  true  to  the  king  of  England  and  to  the  realm:  and  that  ye  keep  with 
all  your  might  and  [power]  all  the  aforesaid  articles.  [Notice  that,  the  sheriff  being  present,  thus 
constituting  it  a  legal  meeting,  the  "  articles  "  only,  and  not  the  "  points,"  are  mentioned.] 

After  that  an  enquiry  shall  be  held  whether  any  master  or  fellow  summoned  to  the  meeting, 
have  broken  any  of  the  aforesaid  articles,  which,  if  they  have  done,  it  shall  then  and  there  be 
adjudicated  upon. 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY.  jg- 

Therefore  be  it  known  ;  if  any  master  or  fellow  being  forewarned  to  come  to  the  congregation 
be  contumacious  and  appear  not;  or  having  trespassed  against  any  of  the  aforesaid  articles  shall 
be  convicted ;  he  shall  forswear  his  masonry  and  shall  no  longer  exercise  the  craft.  And  if  he 
presume  so  to  do,  the  sheriff  of  the  country  in  which  he  may  bs  found  at  work  shall  put  him  in 
prison  and  take  all  his  goods  for  the  use  of  the  king,  until  his  (the  king's)  grace  shall  be  granted 
and  showed  him. 

For  this  cause  chiefly  were  these  congregations  ordained ;  that  the  lowest  as  well  as  the 
highest  might  be  well  and  truly  served  in  the  aforesaid  art  throughout  all  the  kingdom  of  England. 

Amen,  so  mote  it  be. 

Characteristics  of  the  Two  MSS.  —  Brother  Speth  remarks  that  the  Cooke 
document  bears  evidence  of  being  parts  of  two  distinct  versions.  Those  who  are 
well  acquainted  with  the  "  Old  Charges,"  will  discover,  that  down  to  a  certain 
place,  the  author  or  transcriber  does  not  vary  from  the  beaten  track  of  all 
the  others.  But  at  the  point  where  would  naturally  begin  the  rehearsal  of  the 
Athelstan  charges,  the  words  :  "  Of  the  whiche  Charges  manors  &  semble  as 
is  write  and  taught  in  the  boke  of  oure  charges  wher  for  I  leue  hit  at  this 
tyme,"  imply  that  not  here  but  at  some  future  time  he  will  rehearse  them. 
The  evidence  of  two  distinct  MSS.  is  further  shown  by  the  duplication  of  a 
part  of  the  traditional  history  which  cannot  fail  to  arrest  the  reader's  attention. 
The  two  parts  are  not  of  the  same  style.  The  first  is  diffused ;  the  latter, 
curt,  even  meagre.  The  former  is  copiously  interlarded  with  quotations  and 
references  to  profane  and  sacred  history,  revealing  a  cultured  mind ;  the  last 
is  the  very  opposite.  The  learned  pedantry  observable  in  the  first  writer  is 
altogether  absent  in  the  second  portion  of  the  MS.,  not  one  allusion  to  the 
Bible  appearing  therein. 

Summary  and  Conclusions.  —  Brother  Speth  makes  these  points  in  summa- 
rizing his  Commentary,  first  calling  attention  to  the  resemblances  of  the 
"  articles  "  and  "  points  "  of  both  the  Regius  and  Cooke  MSS.  to  each  other, 
and  also  to  any  typical  MS.  "  Old  Charges,"  which  the  reader  can  readily  see 
by  a  comparison.     They  are  :  — 

1.  The  Cooke  MS.  is  a  copy  of  a  preexisting  document;  — a  transcript. 

2.  The  compiler  was  himself  a  fellow-mason. 

3.  The  compilation  consists  of  two  distinct  documents,  (a)  The  compiler's  commentary; 
(b)  a  preexisting  document,  tacked  on  in  its  integrity  to  the  former,  by  the  compiler  himself 

4.  The  second  part  is  the  oldest  and  purest  version  yet  come  to  light  of  the  Book  of  Charges, 
or  "  Manuscript  Constitutions  of  Masonry." 

5.  This  Book  of  Charges  had  already  been  enlarged  and  commented  upon  by  previous 
writers,  and  our  author,  to  certain  extent,  copied  these. 

6.  He  further  adds  illustrations  of  his  own. 

7.  His  version  has  not  served  as  the  original  of  any  other  manuscript  known  to  us. 

8.  Naymus  Grecus,  some  of  the  particulars  connected  with  St.  Alban,  Edwin's  authorship  of 
the  Book,  and  the  York  legend,  are  of  more  recent  origin. 

9.  The  preservation  of  the  word  "  speculative,"  in  its  present  Masonic  use,  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  Masons  themselves  alone. 

10.  At  the  date  of  this  MS.  there  were  several  copies  of  the  Book  of  Charges,  identical  with 
this  one,  in  circulation. 

11.  The  articles  are  legal  enactments  and  had  force  as  such. 


1 86 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


12.  The  points  are  mere  internal  arrangements,  of  no  strict  legal  value,  yet  enforced  on  aH 
Masons  by  the  ordinary  laws  of  guild  life. 

13.  There  was  no  one  general  assembly  for  the  whole  kingdom,  but  "  congregations  "  were 
held  when  and  where  required. 

14.  That  a  Grand  Master  existed  in  fact,  though  not  by  that  name,  and  for  the  duration  of 
each  assembly  only. 

15.  That  the  freedom  of  the  Craft  was  conferred  at  these  meetings  only ;  and 

16.  That  many  of  our  present  usages  may  be  traced  in  their  original  form  in  this  Manuscript. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Various  Readings  of  "Old  Charges,"  the  "Additional  Articles,"  Etc. 

The  Grand  Lodge  MS.  —  It  is  after  mature  deliberation  that  the  text  of 
the  "  Grand  Lodge  MS.,"  of  1583,  has  been  selected  as  a  basis  of  comparison. 
For  this  copy  of  the  document  we  are  indebted  to  our  European  Editor  in  his 
"Old  Charges  of  British  Freemasons,"  edition  of  1872,  London.  He  says: 
"This  Roll  of  parchment  (nine  feet  in  length  and  five  inches  in  breadth),  is 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  (Freemasons'  Hall, 
London).  On  the  reverse  of  the  Scroll  in  more  modern  writing^  is  the 
following :  — 

"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word 
And  the  Word  was  with  God 
And  the  Word  was  God 
Whose  sacred  and  universal  Law 
1  will  endeavor  to  observe 

So  help  me  God." 

Dowland's  MS.  is  very  much  like  the  "Grand  Lodge  MS.,"  and  so  is  one* 
of  the  Scottish  versions. 

Manifestly  a  great  deal  could  be  said  upon  the  subject  of  the  agreements 
and  disagreements  of  the  various  versions  of  the  "Old  Charges";^  and  a 
notice  of  these  in  detail  will  no  doubt  some  time  be  given ;  but  as  some  of 
the  MSS.  mentioned  in  our  Kalendar  are  not  accessible,  we  do  not  undertake 
the  task  at  this  time.  It  is  enough  that  reference  is  made  to  a  few  of  the 
most  singular  differences,  like  a  marginal  commentary  to  the  Bible  MSS./  so 

1  Said  to  be  Dunckerley's. 

2  The  "  Edinburgh-Kilwinning  MS.,"  which  so  well  agrees  with  the  text  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
document  that  it  would  readily  pass  for  an  indifferent  copy  of  it.  —  Hughaii  in  "  Old  Charges^' 
page  If. 

8  The  Constitutions  seem,  in  fact,  to  be  clearly  derived  from  the  Masonic  Poem,  though 
naturally  altered  in  their  prose  form,  and  expanded  and  modified  through  transmission,  and  oral 
tradition,  as  well  as  by  the  lapse  of  time,  and  the  change  of  circumstances.  —  WoOii/ord. 

*  It  is  well  known  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  Bible  MSS.,  the  one  the  cursives  and  the  other 
the  uncials.  Of  the  first  there  are  an  enormous  number,  and  they  are  all  in  almost  absolute  agree- 
ment; of  the  uncials  there  are  only  a  few,  and  all  disagreeing  among  themselves.  The  cursives 
are  later  in  date,  and  therefore  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  uncials  must  be  a  purer  text.  What 
has  been  done?  Scholars  have  made  up  texts  differing  from  all  existing  MSS.,  according  to  what 
they  think  must  have  been  the  original  text.  —  The  Rev.  H.  R.  Percival.  The  compiler  of  this 
Division  observes  that  this  is  the  exact  description  of  what  has  been  done  with  the  Masonic  MSS. 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


187 


as  to  give  the  reader  a  glimpse  of  the  fact.     With  these  prehminary  remarks, 
we  pass  immediately  to  the  subject  in  hand. 

"GRAND   LODGE   MS."    (F)    a.d.    1583. 

The  mighte  of  the  Father  of  Heaven  and  ye  wysdome  of  ye  glorious  Soonne  through 
ye  grace  &  ye  goodnes  of  ye  holly  ghoste  yt  bee  three  psons  &  one  God,  be  wh  vs  at  o^  beginning 
and  give  vs  grace  so  to  govrne  us  here  in  o^  lyving  that  wee  maye  come  to  his  blisse  that  nevr  shall 
have  ending.    Amen.     [Note  i  (a)  (i)  (c)  (d)  (e).] 

Good  bretheren  and  fellowes  our  purpose  is  to  tell  you  howe  &  in  what  mann  wise  this 
woorthy  crafti  of  massonrie  i  was  begon  &  afterwards  how  y'  was  kept  by  woorthy  Kings  & 
Prynces  &  by  many  other  woorshipfull  men  and  also  to  those  that  bee  heire  we  will  chardge  ye  by 
the  chardges  that  longith  to  evy  trewe  masson  to  keepe,  for  in  good  faithe,  and  they  take  good  heed 
to  y',  yt  is  woorthy  to  be  well  kepte,  For  y'  is  a  woorthy  Crafte  &  a  curious  science,  for  their  bee 
seavin  liberall  sciences  of  ye  wh  seavin  yt  is  one  of  them,  and  ye  names  of  ye  seavin  ben  these. 

First  is  Gramme  and  that  teacheth  a  man  to  speake  trewly  and  to  wryte  trewly.  The 
second  is  Rhetoricque  that  teacheth  a  man  to  speake  faier  in  subtill  tearmes.  And  the  third  is 
Dialecticke  and  that  teacheth  a  man  to  deserne  or  knowe  trueth  from  falsehoode.  And  the  fourth 
is  Arithmeteicke,  and  that  teaches  a  man  to  reken  &  to  compt  all  mann  of  numbers.  And  fyfte 
is  Geometrey  and  that  teacheth  a  man  the  mett  and  measure  of  earth  and  all  other  things.     The 


Note  i  (a).— 

In  the  name  of  the 
Great  and  holy  God 
Fear  The  wisdom  of  the  Son  and  For 

God  and  The  goodness  of  the  holy  This  is  the 

Keep  His  Ghost  Three  Persons  &  one  Whole  Duty 

Commandments  God  be  with  us  now  &  of  Man. 

ever.     Amen. 
—  T/ie  Antiquity  MS.,  A.D.  1686. 
Note  i  {b), —  An  Anagraime  upon  the  name  of  Masonrie 

William  Kay  to  his  friend  Rob't  Preston 
vpon  his  Artt  of  Masonrie  as  foUoweth. 
g     Much  might  be  said  of  the  noble  Artt 
>     A  Craft  thats  worth  estieming  in  each  part 
W     Sundry  nations  Xoobles  &  their  Kings  also 
O     Oh  how  they  sought  its  worth  to  know  [  •  , 

Z     Nimrod  &  Solomon  the  wisest  of  men  <■  ^^^sonne. 

PO     Reason  saw  to  love  this  Science  then 
I-"     He  say  noe  more  lest  my  shallow  verses  I 
W    Endeavoring  to  praise  should  blemish  Masonrie. 

—  Opening  of  York  MS.  No.  /,  about  A.D.  1600. 
Note  i  (c).  —  The  omnipotence  of  the  eternal  God,  Father  and  Creator  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  the  wisdom  of  his  divine  Word,  and  the  influence  of  his  given  Spirit,  be  with  our 
beginning,  and  grant  us  grace  so  to  govern  ourselves  in  this  life,  that  we  may  obtain  his  approval 
here,  and  everlasting  life  after  death.  —  The  Prince  Edwin  Comtitiitions.     {Apocryphal.) 

Note  i  {d).  —  The  other  variations  are  verbal,  to  a  great  degree,  several,  like  the  Lansdowne 
of  A.D.  1560,  ending,  "  One  God  be  with  vs  now  and  ever.  Amen."  In  the  Watson  MS.,  the 
invocation  begins:  "The  Mighty  God,  Father  of  heaven,"  followed  by:  "that  hath  been  three 
persons."    The  Buchanan  MS.  reads  :  "  O  Lord  God  Father  of  Heaven,"  etc. 

Note  i  {e).  —  In  nearly  all  the  60  or  more  copies  of  the  "  Old  Charges,"  the  Invocation  in 
some  form  is  to  be  found,  and  was  doubtless  so  read  to  the  Masonic  neophytes  during  the  mainly 
operative  period  of  the  Craft,  down  to  early  last  century.  Mr.  Toulmin  Smith  draws  attention  to 
the  fact  that  generally,  in  the  "  Dedication  "  portion  in  the  ordinances  of  most  Guilds,  "  the  Father 
Almighty  would  seem  to  have  been  forgotten.  No  doubt  what  must  strike  every  reader  as  so 
strange  an  oversight  was  not  intentionally  so,  but  grew  out  of  the  habit  and  form  of  prayers  of 
intercession."  It  is  singular — under  these  circumstances  —  that,  without  exception,  all  the"  Invo- 
cations" or  "  Dedications"  in  the  Masonic  MSS.,  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  last  century,  refer  most 
distinctly  and  individually  to  the  "  Three  Persons  in  one  Godhead,"  and  represent  much  older 
originals.  The  "Aberdeen  MS."  describes  this  part  as  "A  Prayer  before  the  Meeting"  in  A.D. 
1670.  —  Hughans  review  of  the  liatson  A/S. 

1  The  variations  are  mainly  of  omission,  several  not  being  as  full,  and  others  designating 
"  this  woorthy  crafti  of  massonrie,"  as  "  noble  and  worthy  "  (Lansdowne,  Antiquity  ei  al.)  ;  "  Ghost 
of  Masonrie"  (as  in  Watson)  ;  "Venerable  art  of  architecture,"  (Krause's),  etc. 


1 38  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

which  science  is  called  Geometrey.  And  the  sixth  science  is  called  Musicke,  and  that  teacheth  a 
man  the  crafte  of  song  and  voice  of  tongue  and  organe,  harpe  &  trompe.  And  the  seavinth 
science  is  called  Astronomic,  and  that  teacheth  a  man  to  knowe  the  course  of  the  Soonne  &  of  the 
Mone  and  of  the  Starrs. 

These  be  the  vii  liberall  Sciences,  the  w'l  vii  be  all  found  by  one  Science,  that  is  to  saye 
Geometrey.  And  this  maye  a  manne  prove  that  the  Science  of  the  worlde  is  formed  by  Geometrey, 
for  Geometrey  teaches  a  man  to  measure,  ponderacon,  &  weight  of  all  mann  of  things  on  earthe, 
for  there  is  no  mann  that  woorketh  any  crafte  but  he  woorks  by  some  mett  or  by  some  measure. 
Nor  no  man  buyeth  or  sellith  but  by  some  measure  or  some  weight,  and  all  this  is  Geometrey, 
and  all  these  marchenfs  and  all  Crafts  men,  and  all  other  of  the  vi  Sciences,  and  especially  the 
ploweman  and  the  tillers  of  all  mann  of  graine  and  seeds  vyneplanters,  and  setters  of  other  fruits, 
for  by  Gramm""  nor  Arithmeteicke  nor  Astronomy  nor  none  of  all  the  vi  Sciences  can  no  man  fynde 
mett  nor  measure  w^out  Geometrey.  Wherfore  we  thinketh  that  the  Science  of  Geometrey  is 
moste  woorthye  that  findeth  all  others. 

How  this  woorthye  Science  was  fyrste  begun  I  shall  telly"-  Before  Noe's  fludd  their  was 
a  man  that  was  called  Lamech,  as  y'  was  wrytten  in  the  Byble  in  the  fourth  chap,  of  genesis. 
And  this  Lamech  had  two  wyves,  the  one  wyfe  height  [called]  Adaa,  and  the  other  height  Sella. 
By  his  first  wyfe  Adaa  he  gat  twoe  Soonnes,  and  the  one  heighte  Jabell  and  the  other  Juball,  and 
by  the  other  wyfe  Sella,  he  begat  a  soonne  &  a  daughter,  and  theise  iiij  children  found  the  beginning 
of  all  the  Crafts  in  the  worlde.  And  this  elder  soonne  Jabell  found  the  Crafte  of  Geometrey 
and  he  deptd  flocke  of  sheepe  and  lande  in  the  field,  &  firste  wraught  houses  of  stone  and  tree 
(as  y'  is  noted  in  the  chapter  abovesaid).  And  his  broother  Juball  founde  the  Craft  of  Musicke, 
Song  of  tongue,  harp  and  organe.  And  the  third  brother  Tubalcain  found  Smights  Crafte  of  golde 
silvr  and  copper,  yron  &  Steele.  And  there  daughter  found  the  Craft  of  Weaving.  And  these 
Children  knewe  well  that  God  woulde  take  vengeance  for  synne  ether  by  fyre  or  w^ater,  wherfor 
they  wrytten  their  Sciences  y'  they  had  found  in  ij  pyllers  of  stone  that  they  might  be  found  after 
Noe's  fludd.  And  the  one  stone  was  marble,  for  that  will  not  burne  with  any  fyre,  and  the  other 
stone  was  called  Laterno  i  for  that  woulde  not  drown  in  any  water. 

Our  intent  is  to  tell  you  treuly  howe  and  in  what  mann  these  stones  were  found  that  these 
Sciences  were  wrytten  in.  The  great  Hermarines  that  was  Cubys  Soonne  the  w^  Cubye  was  Semms 
Soonne,  that  was  Noe's  soonne.  This  same  Hermarines  was  afterward  called  Hermes  the  father 
of  Wisdome,  he  found  one  of  the  ij  pyllers  of  stone  and  found  the  Science  wrytten  thereon,  and 
lie  taught  yt  to  other  men.  And  at  the  making  of  the  tower  of  Babilon  their  was  Massonry  made 
muche  of.  And  the  Kyng  of  Babylon  that  heighte  Nemroth  was  a  Masson  himself  and  loved 
well  the  Crafte  as  y*  was  said  with  maisters  of  stories.  And  when  the  Citte  of  Nynyvie  &  other 
cities  of  the  Est  should  be  made  Nemroth  Kyng  of  Babylon  sent  thither  fortie  Massons  at  the 
vogacon  of  the  Kyng  of  Nynyvie  his  cossin,  and  when  he  sent  them  forth  he  gave  them  a  chardge 
in  this  mann.  That  they  should  be  true  one  to  another,  and  that  they  should  live  truely  togither, 
and  that  they  should  serue  their  Lorde  truely  for  their  paye  so  that  their  M""-  may  have  woorship 
and  all  y'  long  to  him,  and  other  moe  chardges  he  gave  them  and  this  was  the  first  tyme  that  evr 
any  Masson  had  any  chardge  of  his  Crafte. 

Moreover  when  Abraham  and  Sara  his  wyfe  went  into  Egipt  and  there  taught  the  vij 
Sciences  unto  the  Egiptians  and  he  had  a  woorthy  scholler  that  height  Ewcled  and  he  learned 
right  well  and  was  a  M^-  of  all  the  vij  Sciences. 

And  in  his  dales  y'  befell  that  the  Lords  and  the  Estats  of  the  realme  had  so  many  soonnes 
that  they  had  gotten,  some  by  their  wyves  and  some  by  other  ladies  of  the  Realme,  for  that  land 
y'  a  hott  land  and  plenteous  of  genaracoh. 

And  they  had  no  competent  lyvelyhood  to  find  their  children,  wherefore  they  made  muche 
care.  And  then  the  Kyng  of  the  land  made  a  Create  Counsel!  and  a  Parleament,  viz. :  howe 
might  fynde  their  children  honestly  as  gentlemen,  and  they  could  find  no  mann  good  wages,  and 
then  did  they  throughe  all  the  realme  that  yf  there  weare  any  mann  that  could  enforme  them  that 
he  should  come  vnto  them,  and  he  should  be  so  rewarded  for  his  travell  that  y'  should  holde  him 
well  pleased.     After  that  this  crye  was  made  then  came  this  worthy  Clarke  Ewkled  and  said  to  the 

1  "Laterno  "  in  "  Tew  MS."  Later,  a  brick.  The  legend  in  Whiston's  Josephus  gives  this  word 
accordingly,  and  is  doubtless  the  correct  rendering.  It  is  spelt  in  many  ways  in  the  old  Masonic 
MSS.  —  Hughan. 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


189 


Kyng  and  to  all  his  greate  Lords,  if  ye  will  take  me  yof  children  to  govrn  and  to  teach  them  one 
of  the  vij  Sciences  wherewith  they  maye  lyve  honestly  as  gentlemen  should,  under  a  condition 
that  you  will  grant  me  and  them  that  I  maye  have  power  to  rule  them  after  the  mann  that  the 
Scyence  ought  to  be  ruled.  And  that  the  Kynge  and  all  his  Counsell  granted  anon,  and  seayled 
the  commicoTi,  And  then  this  woorthy  tooke  to  him  these  Lordes  Soonnes  and  taught  them  this 
Science  of  Geometrey  in  practicke  for  to  woorke  in  stones  all  mann  of  woorthy  woorke  that  longith 
to  buylding  Churches,  Temples,  Castles,  Towers,  and  Mannors  and  all  other  mann  of  buylding,  and 
he  gave  them  a  charge  on  this  niannr- 

The  first  ys  that  they  shoulde  be  trewe  to  the  Kyng  and  to  the  Lords  that  they  serve,  and 
that  they  should  love  well  together,  and  be  trewe  eche  one  to  other  and  that  they  should  calle  eche 
other  his  Fellowe  or  els  his  Broother  and  not  his  servant  nor  his  knave  nor  none  other  foule  name. 

And  that  thei  should  truly  deserue  their  pay  of  the  Lorde  or  the  Mr-  that  they  serue,  and  that 
they  should  ordeinge  the  request  of  them  to  be  M^-  of  the  woorke,  and  neither  for  love  nor  lynage 
nor  riches  nor  favour,  to  sett  another  that  has  little  conning  to  be  Mr-  of  the  Lordes  woorke  wherby 
the  lorde  should  be  evile  served  and  they  ashamed.  And  also  that  they  should  call  ye  Govner  of  the 
woorke  Mr-  in  the  tyme  that  they  woorke  wh  him.    And  other  many  mo  Chardgs  that  are  long  to  tell. 

And  to  all  theise  chardges  he  made  them  swear  a  greate  othe  that  men  used  in  that  tyme,  and 
ordeyned  for  them  reasonable  paye  that  they  might  lyve  honestly  by.  And  also  that  they  should 
come  and  assemble  togither  evy  yere  once,  howe  they  might  woorke  best  to  serve  their  Lorde  for 
his  profitt  and  to  their  owne  woorshipe,  and  to  correct  vv''in  themselves  him  that  had  trespassed 
against  the  Crafte. 

And  thus  was  the  Crafte  governed  there.  And  that  woorthy  Clarke  Ewkled  gaue  yt  the  name 
of  Geometrie,  and  nowe  it  is  called  throughe  all  this  land  Massonrey. 

Sythen  long  after  when  the  children  of  Israele  weare  come  into  the  land  of  Behest,  that  is  nowe 
called  among  us  the  Countrie  of  Jerusalem,  King  David  began  the  Temple  that  is  called  Templi 
Domi,  and  is  named  with  us  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 

And  this  same  King  David  loved  well  Massons,  and  churisshed  muche,  and  gave  them  good 
paye,  and  he  gave  the  chardges  and  the  mannrs  as  he  had  learned  in  Egipt  given  by  Ewckled,  and 
other  chardges  moe  that  y^  shall  heare  afterward. 

And  after  the  deceass  of  the  King  David  Sallomon  that  was  King  Davids  Soonne  p'formed 
out  the  Temple  that  his  Father  had  begun.  And  he  sent  for  Massons  into  dyvrs  countries  and 
dyvrs  lands  and  gathered  them  togither,  so  that  he  had  iiij  xx">  thousand  workmen  that  were 
workers  of  stone  and  weare  all  named  Massons,  and  he  chose  of  them  three  thousand  that  weare 
ordeyned  to  be  Maisters  and  Govners  of  his  woorke.  And  further  more  theare  was  a  Kinge 
of  another  reigne  that  men  called  Iram  and  he  loved  well  King  Sallomon  and  he  gave  him 
tymber  to  his  woorke.  And  he  had  a  soone  that  height  Aynom  1  and  he  was  a  M""-  of  Geometrey 
and  was  chiefe  maister  of  all  his  Massons  and  was  M^-  of  all  his  Graving  and  Carving  and  all  other 
mannr-  of  Massonreye  that  belongeth  to  the  Temple.  And  this  is  wytnessed  in  the  Byble  in  the 
iiij  of  Kyngs  and  thirde  chapter. 

And  the  Sallomon  confirmed  both  Chardges  and  Mann  that  his  Father  had  given  to  Massons. 
And  thus  was  that  woorthy  Crafte  of  Massonry  confirmed  in  the  countrey  of  Jerusalem,  and  in 
many  other  Kyngdoms. 

Curious  Craftes  men  walked  about  full  wyde  in  dyuers  countries,  some  to  learne  more  crafte 
and  conninge,  and  some  to  teache  them  that  had  bvt  little  conning  and  so  yt  befell  that  their  was  a 
curious  Masson  that  height  Naymus  Grecus  that  had  byn  at  the  making  of  Sallomon's  Temple,  & 
he  came  into  Fraunce,  and  there  he  taught  the  science  of  Massonrey  to  men  of  Fraunce.  And  there 
was  one  of  the  Royall  line  of  Fraunce  that  height  Charles  Martell,  and  he  was  a  man  that  loved 
well  suche  a  Crafte  and  drewe  to  this  Naymus  Grecus  and  learned  of  him  the  Crafte  and  t5  upon 
him  the  Chardges  and  the  Mannrs.  And  afterwards  by  the  grace  of  God  he  was  elect  to  be  Kyng 
of  Fraunce. 

And  when  he  was  in  his  estate  he  tooke  Massons  and  did  healp  to  make  men  Massons 
yt  weare  non,  &  sett  them  to  woorke,  and  gave  them  bothe  the  Chardgs  &  mann  and  gave 
them  good  paye  that  he  had  learned  of  other  Massons,  and  confirmed  them  a  chapter  from  yere 

1  After  it  [the  Temple]  was  finished,  they  kept  a  general  feast,  and  the  joy  over  the  happy 
completion,  was  only  dimmed  by  the  death  soon  alter,  of  the  excellent  Master  Hiram  Abif.— 
Krause's  MS. 


Q  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

to  yeare  to  holde  their  Assembly  where  they  woulde,  and  Churisshed  them  right  muche  and  thus 
came  the  Crafte  into  Fraunce. 

Inglande  in  all  this  season  stode  voyde  of  any  chardge  of  Massonrie  untill  St.  Albon's  tyme, 
and  in  his  dayes  the  Kyng  of  Ingland  that  was  a  pagnyn  he  did  wall  thee  toune  aboute  that  is 
called  St.  Albons.  And  St.  Albons  was  a  woorthy  Knyghte  &  Stewarde  to  the  Kyngs  householde 
and  had  the  goument  of  thee  Realme  &  also  of  thee  toune  walls,  and  loved  Massons  well  and 
cherished  them  muche  and  he  made  their  paye  right  good  (standing  as  the  Realme  did)  for  gave 
them  ijs  and  vid  a  weeke  &  three  pence  to  their  cheire,  for  before  that  tyme  through  all  the  Land 
a  Mason  toke  but  a  peny  a  daye  and  his  meate  untill  St.  Albone  amended  y'- 1 

And  he  gave  them  a  Charter  of  thee  Kynge  &  his  counsell  for  to  houlde  a  Genrall  Counsell 
and  gaue  y'  the  name  of  an  Assemblye,  and  was  there  at  him  selfe  and  healped  for  to  make 
Massons,  and  gave  the  Chardges  as  yee  shall  heare  aftenvards.     Right  soon 

An"ER  THE  DECEASE  OF  Saynte  Albon  thre  came  dyvers  warres  into  England  of  dyvers 
nations,  so  that  the  good  rule  of  Massonry  was  destroyed  vntill  the  tyme  of  Knigte  Athelstone 
that  was  a  woorthy  King  of  England,  &  brought  all  this  Land  into  rest  and  peace,  and  buylded 
many  greate  workes  of  abeys  and  Toweres  and  many  other  buyldings.  And  he  loved  well 
Massons,  and  had  a  soonne  that  height  Edwin,  and  he  loved  Massons  muche  more  then  his 
Father  did,  and  he  was  a  greate  practyser  of  Geometry,  and  he  drew  him  muche  to  talke  and 
comen  w^  massons  to  learne  of  them  the  Craft,  and  afterwards  for  love  that  he  had  to  Massons 
and  to  the  Crafte  he  was  made  a  Masson.  And  he  got  of  the  Kyng  his  father  a  Charter  and  a 
Comission  to  houlde  evy  yere  Assembly  once  a  yere  where  they  woulde  w'nn  thee  Realme 
of  Ingland,  and  to  correct  within  them  faults  and  trespasses  that  weare  done  whin  the  Craft.  And 
he  held  himselfe  an  Assembly  at  Yorke,  &  there  he  made  Massons  and  gave  them  charges  and 
taught  them,  and  commanded  that  rule  to  be  kept  for  evr  after,  and  gave  them  the  Charter  and 
the  Comission  to  keepe  and  made  an  ordynance  that  y'  should  be  renewed  from  Kyng  to  Kyng. 
and  when  the  Assembly  was  gathered  togither  he  made  a  crye  that  all  olde  Massons  or  yong  that 
had  any  wryting  or  understanding  of  the  Chardges  and  the  Mannrs,  that  were  made  before  in  this 
Land  or  in  any  other  yt  they  should  bring  and  shewe  them  forth.  And  when  yt  was  proved,  there 
was  founde  some  in  Freanche,  some  in  Greeke  and  some  in  English,  and  some  in  other  langages, 
and  they  weare  all  to  one  intent.  And  he  made  a  booke  thereof  howe  ye  Craft  was  founde,  and  he 
himselfe  bade  and  commanded  that  y'  should  be  redd  or  told  when  any  Masson  should  be  made, 
and  for  to  give  his  Chardges.     [Note  2  (a)  (b)  (c).] 

1  ijs.  vjd.  a  weeke,  and  iijd  to  their  nonesynches.  —  Dowla?td's  AfS.  Ibid.  — Landsdoivne  MS. 
ijs.,  VId.  a  week,  &  iijd.  for  their  nonfinch. —  York  MS.,  No.  i.  "  Every  weeke  iijs.  vjd.  to  there 
double  wages."  —  Sloane  MS.,  No.  J84S.  Ibid.  —  Haileian  MS.,  No.  ig43.  Ibid.  —  Lodge  of  Hope 
MS.  "Gave  them  good  pay."  —  Atttiquity  A/S.  "Three  shillings  sixpence,  to  their  double 
wages."  —  Alnwick  MS.  "  He  gave  them  2  Shillings  &  Six  pence  a  week  &  three  pence  for 
their  nuncions."  —  Pap-worth  MS.    "  Wages  Weekly,  which  was  3^,  6d.  the  Week."  —  Roberts  MS. 

Note  2  (a).  —  When  the  ancient  Mysterie  of  Masonrie  had  been  depressed  in  England  by 
reason  of  the  great  warrs,  through  diverse  nations,  then  Atltelsto7i,  our  worthye  King  did  bring  the 
land  to  rest  and  peace,  and  though  the  ancient  records  of  the  Brotherhood  were  manye  of  them 
destroyed  or  lost,  yet  did  the  Craft  a  great  Protector  find,  in  the  Royal  Edwin  :  who  being  teached 
masonrie  and  taking  upon  him  the  Charges  of  a  Maister,  was  full  of  practice,  and  for  the  love  he 
bare  it,  caused  a  charter  to  be  issued,  with  a  commission  to  hould  every  yeare  an  assembly  where 
they  would,  within  the  Realme  of  England,  and  to  correct  within  themselves  Statutes  and  trespasses 
done  within  the  Crafts.  And  he  held  an  Assembly  at  York  and  made  masons,  and  gave  them 
their  charges,  and  taught  them  the  manners  of  masons,  and  commanded  that  rule  be  holden  ever 
after:  and  made  ordinancps  that  it  should  be  ruled  from  Kings  to  Kings,  etc.,  etc.  —  Possibly  the 
York  MS.,  No.  j>,  A.D.  i6jo,  missing  since  lyjg.     Htighans  O.C. 

Note  2  {b").  —  The  city  of  York,  in  the  north  of  England,  is  celebrated  for  its  traditional 
connection  with  Masonry  in  that  kingdom.  No  topic  in  the  history  of  Freemasonry  has  so  much 
engaged  the  attention  of  modern  Masonic  scholars,  or  given  occasion  to  more  discussion,  than  the 
alleged  fact  of  the  existence  of  Masonry  in  the  tenth  centurv  at  the  city  of  York  as  a  prominent 
point,  of  the  calling  of  a  congregation  of  the  Craft  there  in  the  vear  A.D.  926,  of  the  organization 
of  a  General  Assembly  and  the  adoption  of  a  Constitution.  During  the  whole  of  the  last  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  present  century,  the  Fraternity  in  general  have  accepted  all  of  these  statements 
as  genuine  portions  of  authentic  history;  and  the  adversaries  of  the  Order  have,  with  the  same 
want  of  discrimination,  rejected  them  all  as  myths;  while  a  few  earnest  seekers  after  truth  have 
been  at  a  loss  to  determine  what  part  was  historical  and  what  part  legendary.  Recently,  the 
discovery  of  many  old  manuscripts  has  directed  the  labors  of  such  scholars  as  Hughan,  Woodford, 
Lyon,  and  others,  to  the  critical  examination  of  the  early  history  of  Masonry,  and  that  of  York  has 
particularly  engaged  their  attention.  —  Dr.  Mackey,  Ency.  page  go2. 


o 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


193 


And  from  that  daie  vntill  this  tyme  Mann  of  Massons  haue  byn  kept  in  that  forme  as  well  as 
men  might  gouern  yt-  Furthar  more  at  dyrs  Assemblies  certain  Chardges  have  byn  made  and 
ordeyned  by  the  best  advice  of  M".  and  Fellowes.  Tunc  unus  ex  senioribus  tenent  librum,  et  ille 
vel  illi  opponunt  manut  sub  libri,  et  tunc  precepta  deberent  legi  &.  Every  man  that  is  a  Masson 
take  right  good  heede  to  these  Chardgs  yf  that  any  niann  fynde  himselfe  gyltye  of  any  of  these 
Chardges  that  he  may  amend  himself  agaynste  Code.  And  especially  ye  that  are  to  be  chardged 
take  good  heede  that  yee  maye  keepe  these  Chardges  right  well  for  y'  is  great  perill,  a  mann  to  for- 
sware  himseife  upon  a  booke.     [Note  3  (a)  (<J)  {c)  (d)  (e)  (/)  (^)  (//).] 


Note  2  (t).— 

The  York  Legend. 

"  Out  of  olde  fieldes,  as  men  saithe, 

Cometh  all  this  new  corne  from  yere  to  yere ; 
And  out  of  old  bookes,  in  good  faithe, 

Cometh  all  this  new  science  that  men  lere." 
The  "  Old  Charges  "  or  "  Manuscript  Constitutions,"  concur  with  the  Regius  MS.,  in  tracing  the 
establishment  of  Masonry,  as  a  science,  to  an  Egyptian  origin,  though  they  bring  it  into  England 
by  a  more  circuitous  route.  The  discrepancy,  however,  is  immaterial,  for  whether  we  regard  the 
prose  and  metrical  versions  of  the  Craft  Legend  as  based  upon  one  and  the  same  original,  or  as 
derived  from  distinct  and  separate  sources,  the  vast  preponderance  of  our  written  traditions,  and 
the  whisper  of  tradition,  unitedly  assure  us  that — throughout  Britain  —  York  was  long  regarded  as 
the  earliest  legendary  centre  ot'  the  Building  Art.  In  that  ancient  city  all  the  lines  of  way  seem  to 
converge,  and  in  connection  with  it,  a  tradition  has  grown  up,  wherein  are  associated  the  names 
of  Athels'tan  and  Edwin  as  patrons  of  Masonry.  .  .  .  The  Edwin  of  the  Poem,  I  do  not  think 
by  any  process  of  induction,  can  be  identified  with  Edwin  the  Atheling,  whose  death  occurred 
A.D.  933.  It  is  extremely  improbable  that  he  ever  visited  York.  From  Egbert  to  Edward  the 
Confessor,  Winchester  was  the  undoubted  metropolis  of  the  kingdom.  Here  Athelstan  principally 
resided,  and  held  his  court,  as  did  his  (and  Edwin's)  father  previously.  Indeed  the  only  scrap 
of  evidence  that  can  be  tortured  into  the  semblance  of  a  proof  that  the  Atheling  is  referred  to  in 
the  Old  Charges,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Grand  Lodge  family  —  Landsdowne  branch  —  of  these 
documents,  where,  if  we  regard  the  passage,  "  Edwin  was  made  Mason  at  Windsor,"  as  con- 
taining an  error  of  transcription,  and  consider  that  for  "  Windsor  "  should  be  read  "  Winchester," 
the  supposition  may,  perhaps,  become  entertainable.  —  Autigrapha,  Vol.  l.,pages  18  and  21. 

Note  3  {a).  —  Tunc  unus  ex  senioribus  teneat  libnim  ut  ille  vel  illi  ponat  vel  ponant 
manum  vel  manus  sup  librum,  et  tunc  precepta  delevent  legi.  Then  one  of  the  Elders  shall  hold 
the  Book  that  he  or  they  may  lay  his  or  their  hand  or  hands  upon  the  Book,  and  the  charges 
ought  then  to  be  read.  —  Rev.  Wm.  Bogert  Walker. 

Note  3  {b). — 

"  The  one  of  the  elders  takeing  the  Booke 
and  that  hee  or  shee  that  is  to  be  made  a  mason 
shall  lay  their  hands  thereon 
and  the  charge  shall  bee  given." 
We  believe  it  likely  that  women  were  admitted  as  members  of  the  old  masonic  Guilds  (when  their 
husbands  or  fathers  were  deceased),  if  they  were  in  a  position  to  carry  on  their  Trade.     We__are 
not  however  in  possession  of  any  evidence,  confirmatory  of  their  participation  in  the  "  niysterie  "  or 
secrets  of  Freemasonrv.  —  York  MS.,  No.  4,  and  comments  thereon  by  Hughaii,  O.C.page  75.     Our 
European  Editor  in  his  review   [1889]   of  the  Watson  MS.,  speaking  of  the  "  curious  blunder " 
of  ilia  for  ille,  says  it  has  caused  "  some  hasty  readers  to  assume  that  females  were  eligible  for 
membership  in  the   Lodge  at  the  period  [a.D.  1693] ,  just  as  in  most  of  the  Social  Guilds  for 
centuries.     There  is  not,  however,  the  slightest  justification  for  such  an  absurd  fancy,  the  singular 
text  of  the  MS.  in  question  being  due  to  misapprehension  or  some  other  cause." 

Note  3  (r).  — "There  are  severall  words  &  signes  of  a  free  mason  to  be  revelled  to  y" 
wch  as  yu  will  answr  before  God  at  the  Great  &  terrible  day  of  Judgmt  y"  keep  secret  &:  not  to 
revaile  the  same  in  the  heares  of  anv  person  or  to  any  but  to  the  M"-  &  fellows  of  the  said  society 
of  free  masons  so  helpe  me  God,  &c."  Endorsement  on  Harleian  MS.  folio  33,  written  about 
A.D.  1650. —  Hughan's  O.C.page  g. 

Note  3  (rf).  — Then  shall  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  them  all  hold  a  Book  that  he  or  they 
may  lay  his  or  their  hands  upon  the  said  Book,  and  these  precepts  followmg  ought  then  to  be 
Read.  —  Alnwick  MS. 

Note  3  (,?).— Then  one  comes  after  (or  from)  the  Master  and  returns  (gives)  the  Bible  to 
those  who  have  not  sworn,  and  he  places  the  hand  on  the  book,  or  the  fingers,  above,  while  they 
read  the  exhortation  (prayers)  to  them  (for  \hQm%e\\'es).  — Paraphrase  0/  Roberts'  version  of 
"  Tunc  unus"  etc.,  by  F.  E.  S. 

Note  3  (/).— Referring  to  female  membership.  Dr.  Mackey  savs :  The  truth  is  that  the 
sentence  was  a  translation  of  the  same  clause  written  in  the  other  Old  Constitutions  m  Latin. 
In  the  York  MS.  No.  i,  the  sentence  is  thus :  Tunc  tmus  ex  senioribus  teneat  librum  et  die  vel 
illi,  etc.,  i.e.,  "  he  or  they."    The  writer  of  No.  4  copied,  most  probably,  from  No.  i,  and  his 


jQ.  ANCIENT  MASONRY. 

The  fyrste  Chardge  y'  this.  That  ye  shall  be  trewe  men  to  God  and  holly  Churche,  and  that 
yee  use  nor  errour  nor  heresye  by  y'  vnderstanding  or  discretion,  but  be  ye  discreet  men  or  wyse 
men  in  eache  thing.  And  also  that  ye  should  be  true  leidge  men  to  the  King  of  England,  without 
treason  or  any  other  falshoode,  and  that  ye  knowe  no  treason  nor  treachery  but  yt  ye  amenrf 
preevyie  if  you  maye,  or  else  warne  the  Kyng  or  his  Counsell  thereof. 

And  also  ye  shall  be  true  eache  one  to  another,  that  is  to  saye  to  euy  Mason  of  the  Craft  of 
Massonry  that  be  Massons  allowed  ye  shall  doe  unto  them  as  ye  would  that  they  should  do  unto 
you.  And  also  that  you  kepe  all  the  Counsells  of  y  Fellowes  truely,  be  yt  in  Lodge  or  in  Cham- 
ber, and  all  other  councells  that  ought  to  be  kept  by  the  waye  of  Masonhoode.  And  also  that  no 
Masson  shall  be  a  thiefe  in  compayne  so  far  forth  as  he  maye  witt  or  knowe,  and  that  he  shall  be 
true  eache  one  to  other,  and  to  the  Lord  or  M^-  that  he  serve,  and  truely  to  see  to  his  profits 
&  to  his  vantadge. 

And  also  you  shall  call  Massons  y  Fellowes  or  Brythren  and  none  other  foule  names.  And 
also  you  shall  not  take  y'  Fellowes  weif  in  vyllany  nor  desyre  ungodly  his  daughter,  nor  his  servant 
nor  put  him  to  no  diswoorship.  And  also  that  ye  pay  trewly  for  his  nieate  and  drynke  there  wheare 
you  goe  to  boorde,  and  also  y«  shall  doe  no  vyllany  in  that  place  where  you  goe  to  boorde,  wherby 
the  Crafte  might  be  slaundred.  These  be  the  Chardges  in  generall  that  longth  to  evy  True  mason 
to  keepe  both  M".  and  Fellowes. 

Rehearse,  I  will  other  Chardges  singular  for  M".  &  Fellowes.  First  that  no  Mf-  or  Fellowe 
take  upon  him  any  Lordes  woorke,  nor  any  other  mans  woorke  vnless  he  know  himselfe  able  and 
sufficient  of  conning  to  performe  the  same,  so  that  their  Crafte  have  no  slaunder  or  disworshippe 
thereby  but  that  the  Lord  maye  be  well  and  truely  served.  And  that  no  M^-  take  no  worke,  but 
yt  he  take  y'  reasonable,  so  that  the  Lorde  maye  be  well  served  wli  his  owne  good,  and  the  M"^-  to 
lyve  honestly,  and  to  paye  his  Fellowes  trewly  their  paye  as  the  mann  is.  And  also  that  no  M""-  nor 
Fellow  shall  not  supplant  any  other  of  their  woorke,  that  is  to  saye  yf  he  have  taken  a  worke  in 
hand,  or  els  stand  M''-  of  the  Lordes  worke.  He  shall  put  him  out,  except  he  shall  be  unable  of 
conning  to  end  the  worke.  And  also  that  no  M""-  or  Fellowe  take  no  prentice  but  for  thee  terme 
of  vij  yeres,  and  the  apprentice  be  able  of  byrthe,  that  is  to  saye  free  borne  &  hole  of  lymes  as  a  man 
ought  to  be.  And  also  that  no  M''-  nor  Fellowes  take  no  allowaunce  to  be  made  Masson,  without 
Councell  of  his  Fellowes,  and  that  he  take  him  for  no  less  tyme  than  vi  or  vij  yeres,  and  that  he 
wcl*  shall  be  made  a  Masson  be  able  in  all  the  mann  degrees,  that  is  to  saye  free  born,  come  of  good 
kyndred,  true  and  no  bond  man.    And  also  that  he  have  his  right  lymes  as  a  man  ought  to  haue. 

Also  that  no  man  take  any  prentice  vnless  he  have  sufficient  occupacoTi  for  to  sett  him  on,  or 
to  sett  iii  of  his  Fellowes,  or  ii  at  least  on  worke.  And  also  that  no  M^-  nor  Fellowe  shall  take  no 
mans  woorke  to  taske  that  was  woont  to  goe  on  jorney.  Also  that  every  M""-  shall  give  paye  to  his 
Fellowes,  but  as  they  deserve,  so  that  hee  be  not  deceived  with  false  woorkemen. 

Also  that  noe  mason  sclander  any  other  behynde  his  backe  to  make  him  lose  his  god  name 
or  his  worldly  goods.  Also  that  no  Fellowe  within  the  Lodge  or  without  mys  answer  another 
vngodly  nor  reprochefully  without  reasonable  cause.  Also  that  euy  shall  Mason  reuerence  his 
elder  and  put  him  to  woorship.  And  also  that  no  masson  shall  be  comon  player  at  hassard  or  at 
dyce,  nor  at  non  other  unlawfull  playes  whereby  the  Craft  might  be  slandered. 


translation  of  "hee  or  shee"  from  ille  vel  illi,  instead  of  he  or  they,  was  either  the  result  of 
ignorance  in  mistaking  illi  they,  for  ilia  she,  or  in  carelessness  in  writing  s/iee  for  they. — Ency., 
piige  qob. 

Note  3  (,^).  —  Then  one  (some  one)  (certain  one)  takes  the  Bible  from  the  old  man 
(Worshipful  Master)  and  they  (or  he)  (the  candidate  or  candidates)  place  (or  places)  the  hand 
on  the  Bible  and  then  they  aie  in  duty  bound  to  give  (or  go  on  to)  the  charge. —  Paraphrase  of 
Grand  Lodge  MS. ;  contributed. 

Note  3  (//). —  From  the  time  of  Athelstan  down  to  the  Norman  Conquest,  and  from  the 
Conqueror  to  Edward  L,  and  later,  the  oath  of  allegiance  was  annually  administered  to  every 
freeman  of  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  was  called  the  Frank  pledge.  It  read  as  follows  :  "  You  shall 
swear,  that  from  this  day  fonvard  you  shall  be  true  and  faithful!  to  our  Soveraign  Lord  the  King 
and  his  heiress,  and  truih  and  faith  shall  bear  of  life,  and  member,  and  terrene  honour.  And  you 
shall  neither  know,  nor  hear  of  any  ill  or  dammage  intended  unto  him,  that  you  shall  not  defend  :  — 
so  help  you  God."  —  Antigrapha,  Vol.1.  The  way  this  was  carried  out  was  to  organize  these 
youth  into  families  often  in  which  every  member  was  responsible  for  the  orderly  behavior  of  the 
other  nine.  They  assembled  at  stated  periods  at  a  common  table,  where  they  ate  and  drank 
together.  This  sort  of  an  assembly  dates  from  the  seventh  century  or  earlier,  and  may  account 
for  many  usages  of  societies  existing  now  and  since  that  time. 


DOCUMENTARY  HISTORY. 


195 


And  also  that  no  Masson  shall  use  no  leachery  nor  be  no  baude  whereby  the  Crafte  might  be 
slandered.  And  also  that  no  Fellowe  goe  into  the  toune  a  nighte  tymes  without  there  is  a  Lodge 
of  Fellowes,  without  he  have  a  fellowe  with  him  that  he  might  beare  him  wytness  that  he  was  in  an 
honest  place.  Also  that  evy  M""-  and  Fellowe  shall  come  to  the  Assembly,  that  if  it  be  within  fyftie 
mylles  1  about  him,  yf  he  haue  any  warning.  And  if  he  haue  trespassed  against  the  Crafte  then  he 
to  abyde  the  award  of  the  Mrs.  &  Fellowes.  Also  that  euy  M^-  &  Fellowe  that  haue  trespassed 
against  the  Crafte  shall  stand  then  to  the  award  of  the  My^-  and  Fellowes,  to  make  them  accord  if 
they  can,  and  if  they  may  not  accorde  then  to  goe  to  the  comon  lawe. 

Also  that  no  Mr«  nor  Fellowe  make  no  moulde  nor  square,  nor  rule  to  no  layr,  nor  sett  no  layr 
within  the  Lodge  nor  without  it  to  hew  no  moulde  stones.  And  also  that  euy  Mason  receive  & 
cherrishe  strange  Fellowes  when  they  come  over  the  countreyes,  and  sett  them  a  worke,  if  they  will, 
as  the  mannr-  is,  that  is  to  save  if  they  have  mould  stones  in  his  place,  or  els  hee  shall  refreshe 
him  with  moony  unto  the  next  lodging. 

Also  that  every  Mason  shall  truely  serve  the  Lorde  for  his  paye,  and  evy  M""-  truely  to 
make  ane  end  of  his  woorke  be  y'  taske  or  journey,  if  he  have  his  commands,  and  that  they  ought 
for  to  have. 

These  Charges  that  we  have  now  rehearsed  unto  y"  all,  and  all  others  that  belong  to 
Masons,  ye  shall  keepe,  so  healpe  you  God,  and  your  hallydome,  and  by  this  booke  in  yo^  hande 
unto  y''  power.     Amen.     So  be  it. 

Scriptum  Anno  Domini  i^Sj^  Die  Decembris  25-0. 

The  **New  Articles."  —  These,  and  the  "Apprentice  Charges"  which 
follow,  are  very  curious  and  unique,  says  our  European  Editor,  and  are  also 
special,  very  few  MSS.  having  them.  The  Articles  appear  in  the  Harleian  No. 
1942,  and  in  the  Roberts  MS.,  which  is  a  copy.  The  "Apprentice  Charges," 
however,  are  in  a  few  others,  among  which  we  may  name  the  Watson  and 
Tew  MSS.,  lately  discovered. 

The  Roberts  Version.  —  Additional  Orders  and  Constitutions  made  and  agreed  upon  at  a 
General  Assembly  held  at ,  on  the  Eighth  Day  of  December,  1663.2 

L  That  no  Person,  of  what  Degree  soever,  be  accepted  a  Free-Mason  unless  he  shall  have  a 
Lodge  of  five  Free-Masons  at  the  least,  whereof  one  to  be  a  Master  or  Warden  of  that  Limit  or 
Division  where  such  Lodge  shall  be  kept,  and  another  to  be  a  Workman  of  the  Trade  of  Free- 
Masonry. 

IL  That  no  Person  hereafter  shall  be  accepted  a  Free-Mason,  but  such  as  are  of  able  Body, 
honest  Parentage,  good  Reputation,  and  Observers  of  the  Laws  of  the  Land. 

in.  That  no  Person  hereafter,  which  shall  be  accepted  a  Free-Mason,  shall  be  admitted  into 
any  Lodge,  or  Assembly,  until  he  hath  brought  a  Certificate  of  the  Time  and  Place  of  his  Accepta- 
tion, from  the  Lodge  that  accepted  him,  unto  the  Master  of  that  Limit  and  Division,  where  such 
Lodge  was  kept,  which  said  Master  shall  enroll  the  same  on  Parchment  in  a  Roll  to  be  kept  for 
that  Purpose,  and  give  ap  Account  of  all  such  Acceptations,  at  every  General  Assembly. 

IV.  That  every  Person,  who  is  now  a  Free-Mason,  shall  bring  to  the  Master  a  Note  of  the 
Time  of  his  Acceptadon,  to  the  end  the  same  may  be  enrolled  in  such  Priority  of  Place,  as  the 
Person  deserves,  and  to  the  end  the  whole  Company  and  Fellows  may  the  better  know  each  other. 

V.  That  for  the  future  the  said  Society,  Company,  and  Fraternity  of  Free-Masons,  shall  be 
regulated  and  governed  by  one  Master,  and  as  many  Wardens  as  the  said  Company  shall  think 
fit  to  chuse  at  everv  Yearly  General  Assemblv. 

VI.  That  no  "Person  shall  be  accepted' a  Free-Mason,  unless  he  be  One  and  Twenty  Years 
Old,  or  more. 

VII.  That  no  person  hereafter  be  accepted  a  Free-Mason,  or  know  the  Secrets  of  the  said 
Society,  until  he  shall  have  first  taken  the  Oath  of  Secrecy  here  following,  viz.  : 

I,  A.  B.,  do  here  in  the  presence  of  God  Almightv,  and  of  ray  Fellows  and  Brethren  here 
present,  promise  and  declare,  That  I  will  not  at  any  Time  hereafter  by  any  Act  or  Circumstance 
whatsoever,  directly  or  indirectly,  publish,  discover,  reveal  or  make  known  any  of  these  Secrets, 
Privities  or  Councils  of  the  Fraternitv  or  Fellowship  of  Free-Masons,  which  at  this  time,  or  at  any 
time  hereafter  shall  be  made  known  iinto  me.  So  help  me  God,  and  the  true  and  holy  Contents 
of  this  Book. 

1  Watson's  MS.  says  40  miles ;  The  Thos.  W.  Tew  MS.,  "  seven  miles  " ;  Hope.  MS.,  five  miles ; 
as  also  the  Harleian  2054  and  Mr.  Papworth's  MS.  —  the  "  fifty  miles  "  being  the  generally  accepted 
distance,  bevond  which  brethren  were  not  required  to  attend  the  annual  assembly. —  Huffhan. 

2  [Note.  — The  date  is  added  by  some  former  Editor,  and  is  not  (and  ought  not  to  be),  in  the 
Harleian  MS..  1942,  of  which  this  is  a  copy.] 


196 


ANCIENT  MASONRY. 


The  "Apprentice  Charges."  This  Charge  belongeth  to  Apprentices.  Imprimis.  You 
shall  truly  honour  God,  and  his  holy  Church,  the  King,  your  Master,  and  Dame;  you  shall 
not  absent  yourself,  but  with  the  Licence  of  one  or  both  of  them,  Irom  their  service,  by  Day 
or  Night, 

II.  You  shall  not  Purloyn  or  Steal,  or  be  Privy  or  accessory  to  the  Value  of  Six-pence  from 
them  or  either  of  them. 

III.  You  shall  not  commit  Adultery  or  Fornication  in  the  House  of  your  Master,  with  his 
Wife,  Daughter  or  Maid. 

IV.  You  shall  not  disclose  your  Master's  or  Dame's  Secrets  or  Councils,  which  they  have 
reported  unto  you,  or  what  is  to  be  concealed,  spoken  or  done  within  the  Privities  of  their  House, 
by  them,  or  either  of  them,  or  by  any  Free-Mason. 

V.  You  shall  not  maintain  any  disobedient  Argurrient  with  your  Master,  Dame,  or  any  Free- 
Mason. 

VI.  You  shall  reverently  behave  yourself  towards  all  Free-Masons,  using  neither  Cards,  Dice, 
or  any  unlawful  Games,  Christmas  Time  excepted. 

VII.  You  shall  not  haunt,  or  frequent  any  Taverns  or  Ale-houses,  or  so  much  as  go  into  any 
of  them,  except  it  be  upon  your  Master  or  your  Dame,  their  or  any  of  their  Affairs,  or  with  their 
or  the  one  of  their  Consents. 

VIII.  You  shall  not  commit  Adultery  or  Fornication  in  any  Man's  House,  where  you  shall  be 
at  a  Table  or  at  Work. 

IX.  You  shall  not  marry,  or  contract  yourself  to  any  Woman  during  your  Apprenticeship. 

X.  You  shall  not  steal  any  Man's  Goods,  but  especially  your  Master's,  or  any  of  his  Fellow 
Masons,  nor  suffer  any  to  steal  their  Goods,  but  shall  hinder  the  Felon,  if  you  can  ;  and  if  you  can- 
not, then  you  shall  acquaint  the  said  Master  and  his  Fellow^s  presently 

The  Watson  Version.  —  The  Watson  MS.i  ends  as  follows : 

Here  FoUoweth  the 
Prentices  Charge  — 
First  thit  he  shall  be  true  to  God  and  the  holy  Church,  the  peace  [prince] ,  And  to  his  Master 
or  Dame  whom  he  shall  serve,  he  shall  not  steal  the  Goods  of  his  Master  or  Dame,  nor  Absent 
himselfe  from  his  service,  nor  goe  from  them  about  his  owne  pleasure  by  day  or  by  Night,  without 
the  Lycence  of  one  of  them.  And  that  he  doe  not  Committ  Adultery  or  fornication  in  his  Masters 
house,  with  the  Wife,  Daughter,  or  Servant  of  his  said  Master,  and  that  he  shall  keep  Councell  in 
all  things  that  shall  be  said  or  done  in  the  Lodge  or  Chamber  by  Master  or  fellow,  Being  Master 
or  Free-Mason,  And  that  he  shall  not  Hold  a  Disobedient  Argument  against  any  of  them,  or 
Disclose  any  secreets.  Whereby  any  Dissention  may  arise  amongst  any  Masons  their  Fellows  or 
Prentices,  but  Reverently  behave  themselves  to  all  Free-Masons,  being  Sworn  Brethren  to  his 
said  Master,  and  not  to  use  Carding  or  Diceing,  or  Any  other  unlawfull  Gameing,  Nor  to  Haunt 
any  Tavern  or  Alehouses  there  to  Wast  any  mans  Goods,  w  ithout  Lycence  of  his  Master  or  some 
other  Free-Mason,  and  shall  not  Committ  Adultery  or  Fornication  in  any  mans  House  where  he 
shall  worke  or  be  Tabled,  And  that  he  shall  not  purloyn  nor  Steal  the  Goods  of  any  person,  nor 
willingly  suffer  any  Harm  or  Shame  to  be  Done,  or  Consent  thereunto  During  his  Apprentishipp ; 
Butt  to  withstand  the 

same  to  the  utmost  of  his 

power,  and  thereof  to  Inform 

his  said  Master  or  some  other 

Free-Mason  with  all 

Convenient  possible 

Speed. 


MSS.  —  Hughan's  comments.    See  Kalendar  of  "  Old  Charges.' 


Part    II. 


COSMOPOLITAN    FREEMASONRY.  —  CRAFT,   CAPITULAR, 

CRYPTIC. 


(" Masonry  without  respect  to  Creed,  Clime,  or  Color") 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  American  Rite  of  Freemasonry. 

The  organization  or  constitution  of  the  several  M.  W.  Grand  Lodges  in 
the  United  States  of  America  has  followed  certain  advancing  meridianal  lines, 
which  have  kept  pace  with  the  tides  of  emigration  westward,  receiving  their 
impulse  from  recognized  political  and  military  forces.  The  successful  war  for 
independence  was  waged  by  the  colonies  of  the  Atlantic  Slope,  assisted  by  the 
independent  state  of  Vermont.  It  is  also  an  acknowledged  fact  that  many 
of  the  fathers  who  shaped  the  destiny  of  the  young  Republic  were  equally 
potent  factors  in  the  establishment  of  Freemasonry,  the  Institution  that  has 
grown  to  the  dignity  of  the  American  Rite  of  that  Order.  American  Free- 
masonry, therefore,  properly  dates  from  the  Revolution,  when  all  allegiance 
to  the  "Mother  Country"  was  thrown  off.  Like  the  British  Colonies  in  civil 
affairs,  prior  to  1776-83,  the  lodges  owned  an  allegiance  to  Britain  as  the 
fountain-head  of  government. 

The  numbers  of  these  lodges,  together  with  their  names  and  locations,  on 
every  part  of  the  Continent,  are  placed  in  this  work,  introductory  to  a  history 
of  their  successors,  the  constituents  of  the  Grand  Jurisdictions  of  to-day. 

The  Nation's  history,  its  political  and  military  achievements,  directed  the 
course  of  the  Fraternity's  progress  towards  the  Pacific.  Especially  is  this 
noticeable  of  a  portion  of  the  area  east  and  south-east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
In  the  words  of  one  of  our  Editorial  Corps,  " '  The  Louisiana  Purchase '  by 
the  United  States  Government,  extending  westward  to  the  eastern  boun- 
dary of  Spanish  territory  (which  afterward  became  Mexican  by  reason  of  the 
successful  war  for  independence  in  1820),  prepared  the  way  for  the  events 
which  rapidly  followed  ;  and  the  war  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
in  1846-7-8,  settled  by  treaty,  obliterated  all  foreign  claims  and  tides  from 

the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

197 


198 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOaVR  Y. 


It  is  not  our  purpose  to  repeat  here  the  civil  and  poHtical  history  involved 
in  the  settlement  of  the  United  States  westward,  from  the  Atlantic  Slope  to 
the  Pacific  Coast.  The  progress  of  the  Fraternity,  in  its  march  abreast  of 
the  advancing  lines  of  civilization,  will  appear  in  the  history  of  The  American 
Rite.  This  is  also  true  of  the  Order  in  British  America,  fostered  by  its  own 
progressive  influences  of  English,  Scottish,  and  other  parentage,  flanking  us 
on  the  north,  which  has  measurably  kept  step  to  the  "  Star  of  Empire." 

Moreover,  in  the  United  States,  following  the  establishment  of  indepen- 
dence, the  ritual  of  the  Fraternity  was  made  distinctively  American  by  the 
blending  of  the  "  work  "  of  the  "  Ancients  "  and  "  Moderns  "  of  England  with 
that  of  Scotland,  and  as  then  revised  and  pruned  of  its  surplusage,  it  gave  us 
the  "  work  "  or  ritual  as  it  is  now  generally  practised  throughout  the  country. 

These  fundamental  principles  of  Freemasonry's  growth  on  this  Continent, 
combined,  suggest  "  Three  Meridians  "  of  four  longitudinal  departments  in 
the  United  States,  and  a  fifth  comprising  British  America.  The  Grand  Lodge 
history  will,  therefore,  be  arranged  under  proper  Divisions,  and  will  follow, 
numbered  IV.,  V.,  VI.,  VII.,  VIII.,  and  IX.,  respectively. 

In  the  preparation  of  these  Divisions  the  Grand  Secretaries  of  the  world 
were  taken  into  council.  The  distinguished  European  Editor  took  in  charge 
his  portion  of  the  work,  and  with  his  able  assistant  has  placed  us  under  many 
obligations,  which  the  reader  will  appreciate.  There  being  no  supreme 
Grand  Lodge  known  to  the  government  of  the  Fraternity,  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  writers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  Divisions  must  depend  upon  the 
archives,  in  the  custody  of  the  Grand  Secretaries,  for  the  chronological  and 
skeleton  sketches  upon  which  to  build  a  correct  history  of  the  Order.  These 
data  have  been  cheerfully  furnished,  and  to  such  assistance  posterity  will 
ascribe  much  of  the  value  of  this  volume.  The  names  of  these  brethren 
appear  in  the  proper  place,  each  contributor  responsible  for  his  own  part. 
Other  distinguished  Masons  have  also  assisted  in  the  preparation  of  the  his- 
tories of  Grand  Lodges,  to  whom  we  give  the  honor  of  a  place  in  the  List 
of  Contributors. 

The  desire  of  all  concerned  has  been  to  make  the  work  absolutely  and 
historically  correct;  and  to  this  end  those  having  the  closest  knowledge  of 
the  important  events  in  each  Grand  Jurisdiction,  of  its  public  and  private 
charities,  etc.,  etc.,  have  been  freely  consulted.  The  aim  has  been  to  make 
this  part  of  the  work  full  of  facts  never  before  printed ;  in  short,  one  of  the 
most  valuable  histories  of  Freemasonry,  from  its  introduction  into  America  to 
the  present  time. 

The  Editor-in-Chief. 


DIVISION    IV, 


LODGES  IN  AMERICA   UNDER  THE  ENGLISH  CONSTITU- 
TION,  1733-1889. 


By  John  Lane,  F.C.A.,  P.M.,  P.Z.,  etc., 

Past  Senior  Grand  Warden  of  Iowa,  Past  Provincial  Grajid  Registrar  of 
Devonshire  {Englatid),  Author  of  "  Masonic  Records,  lyiy-iSSd,"  etc. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Explanatory,  —  In  presenting  a  List  of  all  Lodges  warranted  by  the 
Grand  Lodges  of  England  for  the  Continent  of  America,  it  may  not  be 
unnecessary  to  state  that  such  Warrants  emanated  from  two  distinct  Bodies  : 
(i)  The  Premier  Grand  Lodge,  formed  in  the  year  171 7,  and  subsequently 
designated  —  though  erroneously  —  "Moderns";  and  (2)  the  rival  Grand 
Lodge,  formed  in  1751,  which  arrogated  to  itself  the  title  "Ancients,"  later 
on  being  known  as  the  "  Athol "  Grand  Lodge. 

For  convenience,  the  lodges  comprised  in  the  subjoined  List,  warranted 
by  the  junior  organization,  will  be  distinguished  by  the  letter  (A)  ;  and  it 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  claim  made  by  members  of  this  rival  Grand 
Lodge  to  the  appellation  "York  Masons  ^^  —  as  indicative  of  any  descent 
from,  or  connection  with,  the  "Grand  Lodge  of  all  England  "  at  York  —  has 
been  over  and  over  again  proved  to  be  groundless  ;  consequently  the  designa- 
tion Ancient  York  Masons  ("  A.Y.M."),  as  applied  to  members  of  any  Lodge 
warranted  by  the  "  Ancients,"  is  altogether  misleading. 

The  subject  of  the  Introduction  of  Freemasonry  into  America  will  doubt- 
less be  carefully  treated  by  competent  brethren.  I  shall  therefore  proceed 
simply  to  enumerate  the  lodges  warranted  by  the  two  Grand  Lodges  of  Eng- 
land for  that  great  continent,  upon  geographical  lines,  premising  at  the  outset 
that  although  proofs  exist  of  the  constitution  or  authorization  of  many  other 
lodges  in  America  by  English  Provincial  Grand  Masters,  yet  inasmuch  as 
they  were  never  registered  in  the  books  of  the  Mother  Grand  Lodge,  they  are 
not  included  in  this  List.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  following  information 
is  taken  from  my  "  Masonic  Records,  171 7-1886,"  but  the  arrangement,  as 
well  as  the  notes,  is  now  for  the  first  time  presented  in  the  following  form. 

199 


200  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY, 

CHAPTER   I. 
British  America. 

Canada  East,  for77ierly  Lower  Catiada  {710W  Quebec). 

Caldswell  Manor  (Montreal).  1824,  March  29.  No.  783.  Nelson  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 515  in  1832;  was  removed  to  Clarenceville  in  1858  [which  see]. 

Clarenceville  (Iberville).  Nelson  Lodge.  No.  515.  Removed  from  Caldswell 
Manor  [which  see].     Erased  in  1863. 

Dunham  (Missisquoi).  1846,  August  8.  No.  'j'jd.  Prevost  Lodge.  Worked  under 
Dispensation  July  8,  1844.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Freligsburg  (Missisquoi).  1824,  March  29.  No.  78 1.  Prevost  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 513  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Hull  (Ottawa).  1824,  March  29.  No.  787.  Columbia  Lodge.  Numbered  519  in 
1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

La  Colle  (St.  Johns).  1855,  June  28.  No.  938.  Hoyle  Lodge.  Erased  June  4, 
1862. 

Montreal  (Montreal).  1762.  No.  223.  St.  Peter's  Lodge.  Not  on  English  Regis- 
ter until  1770.  Named  in  1788.  Numbered  179  in  1780,  180  in  1781,  and  154 
in  1792.     Erased  in  18 13. 

St.  PauFs  Lodge.     Numbered  424  in  1792.     Erased 

Select  Lodge.     Numbered  428  in  1792.     Erased  in 

St.  John's  Lodge  of  Friendship.     Erased  in  1813. 
No.  780.     Union  Lodge.     Numbered  512  in  1832. 

No.  782.  St.  PauPs  Lodge.  Numbered  514  in 
1832,  and  374  in  1863.  Warrant  of  Confirmation,  March  21,  1846,  and  is  still 
on  English  Register. 

Montreal.  1824,  March  29.  No.  786.  Wellington  Persevering  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 518  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Montreal.  1836,  October  20.  No.  643.  St.  George's  Lodge.  Numbered  440 
in  1863.  Warrant  of  Confirmation,  September  li,  1870,  the  old  Charter  having 
been  retained  by  some  members  who  joined  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec.  Is 
still  on  English  Register. 

Montreal.  1844,  April  20.  No.  731.  Zetland  Lodge.  Warrant  of  Confirmation 
in  1854.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Montreal.  1854,  September  5.  No.  923.  St.  Lawrence  Lodge.  Numbered  640 
in  1863.     Slill  on  English  Register. 

Odell  Town  (St.  John's).  1824,  March  29.  No.  788.  Odell  Lodge.  Named  in 
1826.     Numbered  520  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Quebec  (Quebec).  1762,  March  21.  No.  277.  Merchants'  Lodge.  Numbered  220 
in  1770,  176  in  1780,  177  in  1781,  and  151  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  1762.  No.  221.  St.  Andrew's  Lodge.  Not  in  List  until  1770.  Num- 
bered 177  in  1780,  178  in  1781,  and  152  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 


Montreal. 

1787. 

No.  5x5. 

in  1813. 

Montreal. 

1787. 

No.  519. 

1813. 

Montreal. 

1793- 

No.  522. 

Montreal. 

1824, 

March  29. 

Erased  June  4,  : 

tS62. 

Montreal. 

1824, 

March  29, 

LODGES    OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER.  20I 

Quebec.  1762.  No.  222.  St.  Patrick's  Lodge.  Not  in  List  until  1770.  Num- 
bered 178  in  1780,  179  in  1781,  and  153  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  1762.  No.  224.  On  board  His  Majesty's  Siiip  "Canceaux."  Not  in  List 
until  1770.     Numbered  180  in  1780,  and  181  in  1781.     Erased  April  18,  1792. 

Quebec.  1762.  No.  225.  Select  Lodge.  Not  in  List  until  1770.  Numbered  181 
in  1780,  182  in  1781,  and  155  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  1762.  No.  226.  In  the  52d  Regiment  of  Foot.  Not  in  List  until  1770. 
Numbered  182  in  1780,  183  in  17S1,  and  156  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  1781,  July  3.  (A)  No.  213.  4th  Battalion  Royal  Regiment  of  Artillery, 
New  York  [which  see].  Purchased  (A)  No.  9  on  December  20,  1787,  for  £^  z^s. 
Appears  at  Quebec  in  1793.  Renewal  Warrant  as  a  Civil  Lodge,  January  27, 
1829.  Special  Centenary  Warrant,  April  3,  1862.  Numbered  17  in  1814,  and  so 
continued  on  the  English  Register  until  1870.  Is  now  "  Albion  Lodge,"  No.  2, 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec. 

Quebec.  1784,  November  15.  No.  466.  Barry  Lodge.  In  the  34th  Regiment. 
Numbered  377  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  1784,  November  15.  No.  467.  Rainsford  Lodge.  In  the  44th  Regiment. 
Numbered  yjZ  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  17S7.  No.  516.  In  the  Regiment  of  Anhalt-Zerbst.  Numbered  425  in 
1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Quebec.  1787,  October  22.  (A)  No.  241.  St.  John's  Lodge.  In  Royal  Regiment  of 
Artillery.    Numbered  302  in  1814,  214  in  1832,  and  1S2  in  1863.    Erased  in  1870. 

Quebec.  1790,  December.  (A)  No.  265.  At  Merchants' Coffee  House.  Purchased 
(A)  No.  40  in  December,  1791,  for  ^5  5^.  Was  known  as  the  "Merchants' 
Lodge."     Numbered  T]  in  1814,  and  68  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Quebec.  1792,  March  7.  (A)  No.  273.  Provincial  Grand  Warrant  for  H.  R.  H. 
Prince  Edward  (His  Majesty's  fourth  son)  for  Lower  Canada.  Numbered  343  in 
1 8 14,  in  which  year  it  was  erased,     {/sfot  a  subordinate  Lodge.'] 

Quebec.  1825,  March  23.  No.  801.  Sussex  Lodge.  Numbered  531  in  1832. 
Erased  June  4,  1862. 

St.  Andrew's  (Argentueil).  1824,  March  29.  No.  784.  St.  Andrew's  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 516  in  1832.     Erased  in  1863. 

St.  John's  (St.  John's).  1846,  August  i.  No.  775.  Dorchester  Lodge.  Under 
Dispensation  April  4,  1843.     Numbered  532  in  1863.     Erased  March  29,  1881. 

Stanstead  (Stanstead).  1824,  March  29.  No.  785.  Golden  Rule  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 517  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Waterloo  (Shefford).  1855,  April  23.  No.  934.  Shefford  Lodge.  Erased  June  4, 
1862. 

Canada  West,  formerly  Upper  Canada  {iiow  Ontario) . 

Amherstberg  (Essex).    1850,  August  7.    No.  849.    Thistle  Lodge.    Erased  in  1857. 

Ancaster  (Wentworth).  1822,  September  23.  No.  770.  Union  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 503  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Belville  (Hastings).  1822,  September  23.  No.  763.  Belville  Lodge.  Numbered 
496  in  1832.     Erased  in  1857. 

Bolton  (Peel).  1822,  September  23.  No.  771.  Western  Light  Lodge,  at  King 
(York)  [which  see].  Numbered  504  in  1832.  Transferred  to  Bolton,  Albion 
County,  in  1856.     Erased  in  1857. 


202  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

BORELIA  (Ontario).     1853,  March  22.    No.  891.    Mount  Zion  Lodge  (Township  of 

Reach).     Erased  in  1857. 
BouMANViLLE  (Durham).     1850,  August  7.     No.  850.     Jerusalem  Lodge.     Erased 

in  1857. 
Brockville  (Leeds).     1822,  September  23.    No.  756.    Sussex  Lodge.    Numbered 

489  in  1832.     Erased  in  1863. 
Bytown.    See  Ottawa. 

Carleton  Place  (Lanark).  1847,  August  31.  No.  796.  St.  John's  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 544  in  1863.     Erased  June  12,  1872. 

Cataraqui.     See  Kingston. 

Chatham  (Kent).  1855,  August  20.  No.  943.  Wellington  Lodge.  Under  Dis- 
pensation January  27,  1853.     Erased  in  1857. 

Chippewa  (Welland).     1853,  April  9.    No.  894.    Welland  Lodge.    Erased  in  1857. 

CoBOURG  (Northumberland).  1822,  September  23.  No.  764.  St.  John's  Lodge,  at 
Haldimand  [which  see].  Numbered  497  in  1832.  Transferred  to  Cobourg  in 
1845.     Erased  in  1857. 

CONSECON  (Prince  Edward).  1855,  August  20.  No.  947.  Consecon  Lodge.  Under 
Dispensation  May  15,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 

Cornwall  (Stormont).     1793.     No.  521.     Union  Lodge.     Erased  in  18 13. 

DuNViLLE  (Monck).     1850,  August  7.     No.  851.     Amity  Lodge.     Erased  in  1857. 

Earnest  Town  (Addington).  1822,  September  23.  No.  760.  Addington  Lodge. 
Numbered  493  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Fridsburgh  [?  Freiburgh,  Waterloo].  1822,  September  23.  No.  759.  Numbered 
492  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Goderich  (Huron).     1843,  June  6.    No.  720.    Goderich  Union  Lodge.    Numbered 

490  in  1863.     Erased  in  1870. 

GosFiELD  (Essex).     1853,  March  22.     No.  892.     Lodge  of  St.  George.     Erased  in 

1857. 
Grimsby  (Lincoln).      1822,  September  23.      No.  761.      Union  Lodge.      Numbered 

494  in  1832.     Erased  in  1863. 
Guelph  (Wellington).     1850,  August  7.     No.  848.    Wellington  Lodge.     Erased  in 

1861. 
Haldimand  (Northumberland).    1822,  September  23.    No.  764.    St.  John's  Lodge. 

Numbered  497  in  1832.     Transferred  to  Cobourg  in  1845  [which  see]. 
Hallowell  (Prince  Edward).     1822,  September  23.     No.  772.     Prince  Edward's 

Lodge.     Numbered  505  in  1832.     Erased  in  1857. 
Hamilton  (Wentworth).     1844,  August  28.    No.  733.    Barton  Lodge.    Under  Dis- 
pensation November  20,  1795.     Erased  in  1861. 
Hamilton.     1855,  August  20.     No.  954.    Acacia  Lodge.    Under  Dispensation  July 

II,  1855.     Erased  in  1857. 
Hamilton  Gore  (Wentworth).      1850,  January  14.     No.  833.      Lodge  of  Strict 

Observance.     Under  Dispensation  August  19,  1847.     Erased  in  1857. 
King  (York).     1822,  September  23.     No.  771.     Western  Light  Lodge.     Numbered 

504  in  1832.     Transferred  to  Bolton  (Peel)  in  1856  [which  see]. 
Kingston  (Frontenac).      1787.      No.  518.      St.  James's  Lodge  at  Cataraqui,  the 

ancient  name  of  Kingston.     Numbered  427  in  1792.     Erased  in  18 13. 
Kingston.     1822,  September  23.     No.  758.     St.  John's  Lodge.     Numbered  491  in 

1832.     Erased  in  1857. 


LODGES   OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER. 


203 


London  (Middlesex).     1853,  April  9.     No.  895.     St.  George's  Lodge.     Erased  in 

1857. 
Madoc  (Hastings).     1855,  August  20.     No.  945.      Madoc  Lodge.     Under  Dispen- 
sation April  24,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Merickville    (Grenville).       1855,    August   20.      No.   949.      Merickville    Lodge. 

Under  Dispensation  July  17,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Morpeth  (Kent).     1855,  August  20.     No.  946.     Erie  Lodge.     Under  Dispensa- 
tion April  24,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Murray    (Northumberland).      1822,    September   23.      No.   769.      United    Lodge. 

Numbered  502  in  1832.     Erased  in  1857. 
Newcastle  (Durham).     1S56,  May  10.     No.  978.     Durham  Lodge.     Erased  in 

1857. 
Niagara  (Lincoln).     1787.    'No.  521.     St.  John's  Lodge.     Numbered  430  in  1792. 

Erased  in  1813. 
Niagara.     1792,  March  7.     (A)  No.  274.     Provincial  Grand  Lodge  Warrant  for 

Upper  Canada.     Numbered  345  in  18 14,  in  which  year  it  was  erased.     {Not  a 

subordinate  Lodge.'\ 
Niagara.     1822,  September  23.     No.  755.     Dalhousie  Lodge.     Numbered  488  in 

1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Niagara.     1822,  September  23.     No.  757.     Niagara  Lodge.     Numbered  490  in 

1832.     Erased  in  1863. 
North  Gower  Corners  (Carleton).     1855,  August  20.     No.  951.     North  Gower 

Lodge.     Under  Dispensation  August  29,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Ottawa  (Carleton).     1850,  January  14.     No.  835.     Dalhousie  Lodge  at  Bytown 

(the  former  name  of  Ottawa).     Under  Dispensation  May  16,  1848.     Numbered 

571  in  1863.     Erased  in  1872. 
Ottawa.     1855,  August  20,     No.  952.     Doric  Lodge.     Under  Dispensation  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1855.     Erased  in  1857. 
Ottawa.     1855,  August  20.     No.  953.     Corinthian  Lodge.     Under  Dispensation 

May  I,  1855.     Erased  in  1857. 
Oxford  (Essex).     1822,  September  23.     No.  765.     King  Hiram's  Lodge.     Num- 
bered 498  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Oxford.     1850,  January  14.     No.  836,     Kemptville  Lodge.     Under  Dispensation 

August  27,  1848.     Erased  in  1857. 
Perth  (Lanark).     1822,  September  23.     No.  774.     True  Briton  Lodge.     Numbered 

507  in  1832.     Erased  in  1857. 
Peterborough  (Peterborough).     1850,  January  14.     No.  834.     Corinthian  Lodge. 

Under  Dispensation  April  3,  1848.     Erased  in  1861. 
Port  Hope  (Durham).     1847,  August  31.     No.  800.     Ontario  Lodge  of  Port  Hope 

(Newcastle  District).     Erased  in  1857. 
Port  Sarnia  (Lambton).     1855,  August  20.     No.  950.     Victoria  Lodge.     Under 

Dispensation  July  19,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Richmond  (Carleton).     1822,  September  23.     No.  766.     Union  Lodge.     Numbered 

499  in  1832.     Erased  in  1857. 
Richmond  Hill  (York).     1847,  May  17.     No.  790.     Richmond  Lodge.     Erased 

June  4,  1862. 
St.  Cathaines.    1847,  May  17.    No.  791.    St.  George's  Lodge,  St.  Cathaines,  C.  W. 

Erased  in  1857.     [Probably  an  error  for  "  St.  Catherine's."] 


204  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

St.  Catherine's  (Lincoln).     1822,  September  23.     No.  768.     St.  George's  Lodge. 

Numbered  501  in  1832.     ^St.  Katherine's  after  1838.]     Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Sandwich   (Essex).      185 1,   December  2.      No.  870.      Rose   Lodge.      Erased  in 

1857. 
SiMCOE   (Norfolk).      1822,   September  23.      No.  767  at  Townshend  [which  see]. 

Numbered  500  in  1832.     Transferred  to  Simcoe  in  185 1  ;  then  named  St.  John's 

Lodo-e.     Warrant  of  Confirmation,  November   14,   1853;    and  named  Norfolk 

Lodge  in  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Si.MCOE.     1856,  May  10.     No.  977.     Simcoe  Lodge.     Erased  in  1857. 
Smith's-Falls  (Lanark).     1847,  August  31.    No.  797.     St.  Francis  Lodge.    Erased 

June  4,  1862. 
Stanley  Mills  (Peel).     1855,  August  20.     No.  948.     Corinthian  Lodge.     Under 

Dispensation  June  19,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Stirling  (Hastings).     1857,  April  16.    No.  looi.    Stirling  Lodge.    Erased  in  1857. 
Toronto  (York).     1792,  June  15.     No.  498.     Rawdon  Lodge  between  the  Lakes 

in  LTpper  Canada.     Erased  in  18 13. 
Toronto  (York).     1822,  September  23.     No.  754.     St.  Andrew's  Lodge.     York, 

the  old  name  of  Toronto.     Numbered  487  in  1832.     Erased  in  1857. 
Toronto.     1822,  September  23.     No.  762  [then  York].     Numbered  495  in  1832. 

Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Toronto.     1847,  May  17.     No.  789.     Zetland  Lodge.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Toronto.     1847,  August  31.     No.  798.     Ionic  Lodge.     Erased  in  1857. 
Townshend  (Norfolk).     1822,  September  23.     No.  767.     Numbered  500  in  1832. 

Transferred  to  Simcoe  in  1851  [which  see]. 
Trent  (?  Northumberland  and  Hastings).      1853,  March  22.      No.  890.      Trent 

Lodge,  Village  of  River  Trent.     Erased  in  1857. 
Westminster  (Middlesex).     1822,  September  23.    No.  773.    Mount  Moriah  Lodge. 

Numbered  506  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Whitby  (Ontario).    1847,  August  31.    No.  799.    Unity  Lodge,  Township  of  Whitby. 

Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Whitby.     1853,  March  22.    No.  893.    Composite  Lodge,  Scripture's  Hotel,  Whitby. 

Erased  in  1857. 
Windsor  (Essex).      1855,  August  20.      No.  944.      Great  Western  Lodge.      Under 

Dispensation  April  24,  1854.     Erased  in  1857. 
Woodstock.  (Oxford).     1853,  April  9.    No.  896.    King  Solomon's  Lodge.     Erased 

in  1857. 
York.     See  Toronto. 
York  Grand  River.     1846,  September  28.     No.  779.     St.  John's  Lodge.     Under 

Dispensation  May  17,  1845.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Columbia,  British. 

Nanaimo.     1866,  January  16.     No.  1090.     Nanaimo  Lodge.     Erased  May  i,  1873. 

New  Westminster.  1861,  December  16.  No.  1201.  Union  Lodge.  Numbered 
899  in  1863.     Erased  May  i,  1873. 

Victoria.  1859,  March  19.  No.  1085.  Victoria  Lodge.  Numbered  783  in  1863. 
Erased  in  1872. 

Victoria.  1867,  July  26.  No.  1187.  British  Columbia  Lodge.  Erased  Decem- 
ber 9,  1871. 


LODGES    OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER.  20$ 

New  Brunswick. 

Carleton  (Carleton).  1848,  April  1 8.  No.  811.  Woodstock  Lodge.  Transferred 
to  Woodstock  in  1857  [which  see]. 

Chatham  (Northumberland).  1859,  January  23.  No.  1077.  Miramichi  Lodge. 
Numbered  775  in  1863.    Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Dorchester  (Westmoreland).  1842,  March  5.  No.  705.  Sussex  Lodge.  Erased 
June  4,  1862.     Reinstated  in  1863;  then  numbered  480.     Erased  again  in  1869. 

Fredericton  (York).  1789,  April  2.  No.  541.  Numbered  450  in  1792.  Erased 
in  1813. 

Fredericton.  1846,  January  i.  No.  764.  Solomon's  Lodge.  Numbered  522  in 
1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Hampton  (King's).  1854,  July  11.  No.  918.  Corinthian  Lodge,  at  Norton  [which 
see].  Transferred  to  Hampton  in  1862.  Numbered  635  in  1863.  Erased  April 
9,  1869. 

Hillsborough  [Hilsboro']  (Albert).  1856,  April  4.  No.  966.  Howard  Lodge. 
Numbered  668  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Kingston  (King's).  1846,  May  18.  No.  770.  Midian  Lodge.  Numbered  527  in 
1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

MONCTON  (Westmoreland).  1855,  February.  No.  927.  Keith  Lodge.  Numbered 
644  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Newcastle  (Northumberland).  1857,  April  16.  No.  1003.  Northumberland  Lodge. 
Numbered  701  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Norton  (King's).  1854,  July  11.  No.  918.  Corinthian  Lodge.  Transferred  to 
Hampton  in  1862  [which  see]. 

Portland  (St.  John).  1846,  November  3.  No.  780.  Union  Lodge  of  Portland. 
Numbered  535  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Queen  County  (Queen's).  1855,  April  23.  No.  932.  Queen's  Lodge.  Erased 
June  4,  1862. 

St.  Andrew's  (Charlotte) .  1845,  August  9.  No.  759.  St.  Mark's  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 518  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

St.  George  (  ).     1854,  Febi-uary  7.     No.  912.     St.  George's  Lodge.     Num- 

bered 629  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1S69. 

St.  John  (St.  John).  1829.  No.  841.  Albion  Lodge.  Numbered  570  in  1832, 
and  400  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

St.  John.  1836,  April  23.  No.  632.  St.  John's  Lodge.  Numbered  436  in  1863. 
Erased  in  1869. 

St.  John.  1846,  March  21.  No.  t^j.  Carleton  Union  Lodge.  Numbered  524  in 
1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

St.  John.  1865,  December  5.  No.  1084.  New  Brunswick  Lodge.  Erased  April 
9,  1869. 

St.  Stephen's  (Charlotte).  1851,  August  29.  No.  866.  Union  Lodge.  Erased 
January  ig,  1863. 

Salisbury  (  ).     i860,  February  7.     No.   mo.     Salisbury  Lodge.     Num- 

bered 808  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Shediac  (Westmoreland).  1861,  October  30.  No.  1188.  Zetland  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 886  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Sussex  (King's).  1863,  April  30.  No.  1267.  Zion  Lodge.  Numbered  965  in 
1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 


2o6  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Upper  Mills  (St.  Stephen's).  1856,  February  26.  No.  962.  Alley  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 664  in  1863.     Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Woodstock.  (Carleton).  1848,  April  18.  No.  811.  Woodstock  Lodge,  at  Carleton. 
Transferred  to  Woodstock  in  1857.   Numbered  553  in  1863.    Erased  April  9,  1869. 

Newfoundland. 

Betts  Cove.  1881,  April  22.  No.  1907.  Notre  Dame  Lodge.  Transferred  to 
Nipper's  Harbour  in  1886  [which  see]. 

Burin  Bay.  1869,  September  7.  No.  1281.  Hiram  Lodge.  Still  on  English 
Register. 

Fortune  Bay.     1871,  November  27.     No.  1378.    Victoria  Lodge.     Still  on  Register. 

Grand  Bank.     1876,  December  13.     No.  1659.     Fidelity  Lodge.     Still  on  Register. 

Harbour  Grace  (Conception).  1785,  April  30.  No.  470.  Numbered  381  in  1792. 
Erased  in  18 13. 

Harbour  Grace.  1824,  November  15.  No.  796.  Lodge  of  Order  and  Harmony. 
Erased  in  1832. 

Nipper's  Harbour.  1881,  April  22.  No.  1907.  Notre  Dame  Lodge  at  Bett's 
Cove.     Transferred  to  Nipper's  Harbour  in  1886.     Still  on  Register. 

Placentia  (Placentia).  1784.  No.  455.  Lodge  of  Placentia.  Numbered  367  in 
1792.     Erased  in  18 13. 

Placentia.  1788,  May-2.  (A)  No.  250.  Named  Placentia  Lodge  in  1806.  Num- 
bered 317  in  1814.     Erased  in  1815. 

St.  John's  (St.  John's).  1774,  March  24.  (A)  No.  186.  St.  John's  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 226  in  1814,  and  159  in  1832.    Erased  in  1859. 

St.  John's.  1788,  March.  (A)  No.  247.  Named  Benevolent  Lodge  in  1804. 
Numbered  312  in  1814,  and  220  in  1832.     Erased  in  1853. 

St.  John's.  1788,  March  31.  (A)  No.  249.  Town  or  Garrison  of  St.  John's. 
Lapsed  about  1804. 

St.  John's.  1850,  June  19.  No.  844.  St.  John's  Lodge.  Numbered  579  in  1863. 
Still  on  Register. 

St.  John's.  1859,  January  28.  No.  1078.  Avalon  Lodge.  Numbered  776  in  1863. 
Still  on  Register. 

Trinity  (Conception).  1817,  September  21.  No.  698.  Union  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 451  in  1832.     Erased  in  1859. 

Nova  Scotia. 
Albion  Mines  (Pictou).     1861,  June  14.     No.   1172.     Keith  Lodge.     Numbered 

870  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 
Amherst  (Cumberland).     1829.     No.  840.     Cumberland  Harmony  Lodge.     Num- 
bered 569  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 
Annapolis  Royal  (Annapolis).     1864,  December  22.    No.  1047.    Annapolis  Royal 

Lodge.     Erased  in  1869. 
Bridgetown    (Annapolis).      1868,   December   8.      No.    1245.      Rothsay   Lodge. 

Erased  in  1869. 
Canning  (King's).     1863,  April  24.     No.  1263.     Scotia  Lodge.     Numbered  961  in 

1863.     Erased  in  1869. 
Colchester  (Colchester).     1829.    No.  839.    Colchester  Union  Lodge.    Numbered 

568  in  1832.     Transferred  to  Rawdon  in  1850  [which  see]. 


LODGES   OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER.  207 

CoRXWALLls  (King's).  1829.  No.  832.  St.  George's  Lodge.  Numbered  561  in 
1832.     Transferred  to  Lower  Horton  in  1858  [which  see]. 

Cow  Bay  (Cape  Breton).  1866,  April  25.  No.  1109.  Thistle  Lodge,  Block  House 
Mines.     Erased  December  27,  1869. 

DiGBY  (Digby).  1829.  No.  843.  St.  Mary's  Lodge.  Numbered  572  in  1832. 
Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Granville  (  ).   -1856,  August  4.    No.  9S2.    Mariner's  Lodge.    Numbered 

682  in  1863.     Erased  in  1868. 

GuYSBOROUGH  (Guysborough).  1829.  No.  830.  Temple  Lodge.  Numbered  559 
in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862.     ["  Grigsborough  "  on  English  Register.] 

Halifax  (Halifax).  1749.  No.  109.  Not  on  List  until  1770.  Called  No.  i  at 
Halifax.     Numbered  88  in  1780,  89  in  1781,  and  82  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Halifax.  1757,  December  27.  (A)  No.  65.  No.  i  of  Nova  Scotia.  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia  held  at  Pontacs.  Warrant  renewed  June  2,  1784. 
Lapsed  before  1813.     [AW  a  subordinate  Lodge.'] 

Halifax.  1757,  December  27.  (A)  No.  66.  No.  2  of  Nova  Scotia,  Rowe  Barge, 
George  Street.     Lapsed  before  1813. 

Halifax.  1757,  December  27.  (A)  No.  67.  No.  3  of  Nova  Scotia,  King's  Arms, 
George  Street.     Lapsed  before  1813. 

Halifax.  1768,  March  26.  (A)  No.  155.  No.  4  in  Halifax.  St.  Andrew's  Lodge 
in  1804.  Numbered  188  in  1814,  137  in  1832,  and  118  in  1863.  Granted  Cen- 
tenary Warrant  February  9,  1871.  Erased  in  1869.  Is  now  No.  i  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Halifax.    1768.    (A)  No.  156.    General  Amherst's,  Halifax.    Lapsed  before  18 13. 

Halifax.  1780,  June  13.  (A)  No.  211.  St.  John's  Lodge.  Golden  Ball ;  was  called 
"  No.  I,  Ancient  York  Masons"  ;  also  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  in  1804.  Num- 
bered 265  in  1S14,  187  in  1832,  and  161  in  1863.  Erased  in  1869.  Is  now  No.  2 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Halifax.  1800,  February  5.  No.  587.  In  Regiment  of  Loyal  Surrey  Rangers. 
Erased  in  18 13. 

Halifax.  1S29.  No.  828*.  Union  Lodge.  Not  in  List  until  1831  (hence  the  *). 
Numbered  557  in  1832.    Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Halifax.  1829.  No.  829.  Virgin  Lodge.  Formerly  under  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia,  February  18,  1782.  Numbered  558  in  1832,  and  396  in 
1863.     Erased  in  1862.     Is  now  No.  3  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia. 

Halifax.  1829.  No.  835.  Royal  Standard  Lodge.  Numbered  564  in  1832,  and 
398  in  1863.     Still  on  English  Register. 

Halifax.  1829.  No.  842.  Royal  Albion  Lodge.  Numbered  571  in  1832.  Trans- 
ferred to  1st  Battalion  Rifle  Brigade,  1839.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Halifax.  1841,  September  22.  No.  704.  Royal  Sussex  Lodge.  Numbered  479 
in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Halifax.  1856,  December  3.  No.  994.  Union  Lodge.  Numbered  693  in  1863. 
Erased  in  1869. 

HiLLSBURGH  (  ).     1 854,  January  30.     No.  911.     Keith  Lodge.     Numbered 

62S  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Little  Glace  Bay  (Cape  Breton).  1868,  September  15.  No.  1234.  Tyrian  Youth 
Lodge.  Kept  on  English  Register  until  1883,  but  was  No.  45  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia  from  1869. 


2o8  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Liverpool  (Queen's).  1849,  March  22.  No.  821.  Zetland  Lodge.  Numbered  562 
in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Liverpool.  1863,  April  30.  No.  1266.  Prince  of  Wales's  Lodge.  Numbered  964 
in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Londonderry  (  ).     1829.     No.  844.     Rising  Sun   Lodge.     Numbered   573 

in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Lower  HoRTON  (King's).  1829.  No.  832.  St.  George's  Lodge,  at  Cornwallis.  Num- 
bered 561  m  1832.    Transferred  to  Lower  Horton  in  1858.    Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Lower  HORTON.  i860,  December  11.  No.  1151.  St.  George's  Lodge.  Numbered 
849  m  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

LuNENBERG  (Lunenberg).  1829.  No.  836.  Unity  Lodge.  Numbered  565  in  1832, 
and  399  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

New  Glasgow  (Pictou).  1840,  April  30.  No.  692.  Albion  Lodge.  Numbered 
470  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Newport  (Hants).  1829.  No.  834.  Sussex  Lodge.  Numbered  563  in  1832. 
Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Pictou  (Pictou).  1849,  October  15.  No.  826.  New  Caledonian  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 565  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

PuGWASH  (Cumberland).  1853,  February  28.  No.  888.  Acadia  Lodge.  Numbered 
612  in  1863.    Erased  in  1869. 

Rawdon  (Hants).  1829.  No.  838.  Moira  Lodge.  Numbered  567  in  1832.  Erased 
June  4,  1862. 

Rawdon.  1829.  No.  839.  Colchester  Union  Lodge,  at  Colchester.  Numbered 
568  in  1832.     Transferred  to  Rawdon  in  1850.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Shelburne  (Shelburne).  1829.  No.  831.  Hiram  Lodge.  Numbered  560  in  1832. 
Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Sidney  Island  (Cape  Breton).  1801,  October  i.  (A)  No.  326.  In  Garrison,  Sid- 
ney Island.     Numbered  415  in  18 14.     Erased  in  1832. 

Sydney  (Cape  Breton).  1844,  August  28.  No.  732.  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  of  Cape 
Breton.     Numbered  499  in  1863.     Erased  in  1883. 

Truro  (Colchester).  1867,  August  14.  No.  1190.  Cobequid  Lodge.  Erased  in 
1869. 

Westport  (Digby).  1862,  August  23.  No.  1225.  Westport  Lodge.  Under  Dis- 
pensation February  26,  1861.     Numbered  923  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Weymouth  (Digby).  1S63,  March  30.  No.  1255.  Widows'  Friend  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 953  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Windsor  (Hants).  1829.  No.  837.  Fort  Edward  Lodge.  Numbered  566  in 
1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Windsor.  1862,  August  23.  No.  1226.  Welsford  Lodge.  Numbered  924  in 
1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Yarmouth  (Yarmouth).  185 1,  September  4.  No.  868.  Hiram  Lodge  of  Yar- 
mouth.    Numbered  596  in  1863.     Erased  in  1869. 

Prince  Edward  Island. 

Alberton  (  ).     1867,  November  6.     No.  1200.     Zetland  Lodge.     Erased 

June  24,  1875. 
Charlotte  Town  (Queen's).     1828.     No.  821.     Sussex  Lodge.     Numbered  549 

in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 


LODGES   OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER.  200 

Charlotte  Town.  1829.  No.  833.  St.  John's  Lodge.  Numbered  562  in  1832, 
and  397  in  1863.     Erased  in  1877. 

George  Town  (King's).  1861,  May  17.  No.  1 168.  St.  George's  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 866  in  1863.     Erased  June  24,  1875. 

Port  Hill  (  ).     1863,  August  21.     No.  983.     Alexandria  Lodge.     Erased 

June  24,  1875. 

St.  Eleanor's  (Prince's),  i860,  June  4.  No.  1 123.  King  Hiram  Lodge.  Num- 
bered 821  in  1863.     Erased  June  24,  1875. 

Summerside  (Prince's).  1863,  September  2.  No.  984.  Mount  Lebanon  Lodge. 
Erased  June  24,  1875. 

Tr YON  (Queen's).  1869,  January  28.  No.  1251.  True  Brothers' Lodge.  Erased 
June  24,  1875. 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  United  States  and  Central  America. 
Connecticut. 

New  Haven  (New  Haven  Bay).  1750,  November  12.  No.  143.  New  Haven 
Lodge.  Not  in  List  until  1768.  Numbered  113  in  1770,  92  in  1780,  93  in  1781, 
and  85  in  1792.  Kept  on  English  Register  until  1813,  but  had  new  Warrant 
from  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut  August  17,  1796,  and  is  "Hiram  Lodge,  No.  i." 

Florida. 

St.  Augustine.  1778,  January  3.  (A)  No.  204.  The  Warrant  does  not  appear 
to  have  ever  reached  St.  Augustine,  and  so  the  fees  for  same,  advanced  by  the 
Grand  Secretary,  were  repaid  to  him  in  1780. 

Georgia. 

Savannah.     1735.     No.  139.     Numbered  124  in  1740,  75  in  1755,  63  in  1770,  50  in 

1780,  and  46  in  1792.     Named  "Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  i,"  in  1776.     Kept  on 
Register  until  1813,  although  No.  i  on  the  Roll  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia. 

Savannah.     1774.     No.  465.     "Unity  Lodge,  No.  2."     Numbered  371  in  1780,  372 

in  1781,  and  302  in  1792.     Kept  on  Register  until  1813. 
Savannah.     1775.     No.  481.     Grenadier's  Lodge.     Numbered  386  in  1780,  387  in 

178 1,  and  315  in  1792.     Kept  on  Register  until  18 13. 

Maryland. 
JOPPA.  1765,  August  8.  No.  346,  at  Joppa,  in  Baltimore  County.  Numbered  286 
in  1770,  228  in  1780,  229  in  1781,  and  195  in  1792.  Retained  on  List  until  1813. 
Called  "No.  i,  Maryland,"  and  took  a  new  Warrant  (No.  35)  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  February  i,  1782,  and  subsequently  had  another  Charter 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland. 

Massachusetts. 
Boston.      1733,  July  30.     No.  126.     Constituted,  August  31,  at  Bunch  of  Grapes 
Tavern,  State  Street,  Boston.     Numbered  no  in  1740,  65  in  1755,  54  in  1770, 


210  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

42  in  1780,  and  39  in  1792.  United  with  2d  Lodge  in  Boston  (No.  88)  on  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1783,  obtaining  a  new  Warrant  from  tlie  English  Provincial  Grand 
Lod<^e  of  Massachusetts.  Passed  from  English  jurisdiction  when  the  St.  John's 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  joined  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge,  on  March  5, 
1792,  and  since  known  as  St.  John's  Lodge. 

Boston.  1749-50,  February  15  [/.^.,  1750].  No.  141.  Not  in  List  until  1768,  and 
then  as  2d  Lodge  in  Boston,  at  the  British  Coffee  House  in  King  Street. 
Numbered  108  in  1770,  87  in  1780,  88  in  1781,  and  81  in  1792.  Retained 
on  Register  until  1813,  although  it  united  with  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  i,  on  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1783. 

Boston.  1771,  July  13.  (A)  No.  169.  Called  Ancient  York  Lodge,  at  Mr.  Alex- 
ander's Battery.  Remained  at  Boston  down  to  1774,  perhaps  later,  but  appears 
at  New  York  in  1781.     [See  New  York.] 

Boston.  1784,  September  29.  No.  459.  African  Lodge.  Numbered  370  in  1792. 
Erased  in  18 13. 

Marble  Head.  1760,  March  25.  No.  142.  Not  in  List  until  1768.  Numbered 
III  in  1770,  90  in  1780,  91  in  1781,  and  83  in  1792.  Date  on  Engraved  List, 
May  25,  1750,  but  a  Renewal  of  Constitution  of  January  14,  1778,  refers  to  the 
original  Charter  of  "  March  25,  1760."  Was  retained  on  English  Register  until 
1813,  notwithstanding  it  had  joined  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  on  March 
5.  1792- 

Michigan. 

Detroit.     1764,  April  24.     No.  448.     Not  in  List  until  1773.     Numbered  355  in 

1780,  356  in  1781,  and  289  in  1792.  Designated  "  Lodge  at  Detroit  in  Canada," 
from  1773  to  1813,  when  it  was  erased  from  the  English  Register.  The  territory 
was  ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1796.  The  Lodge  surrendered  its  English 
Warrant,  taking  a  new  one  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  on  December  3, 
1806. 

Detroit.  1775.  No.  488.  Union  Lodge.  Warranted  for  Curaqoa  in  the  West 
Indies.     Appears  at  Detroit  in  Canada  in  1778.     Numbered  393  in  1780,  394  in 

1781,  and  320  in  1792.     Kept  on  Register  until  1813. 

MiCHiLiMACiN'AC,  subsequently  known  as  Mackinaw.  1784,  November  15.  No.  465. 
St.  John's  Lodge.  Numbered  376  in  1792,  and  kept  on  List  until  1813.  Was 
constituted  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Canada  on  territory  now  in  the 
State  of  Michigan. 

New  York. 

New  York.  1756,  May  19.  (A)  No.  52.  General  Stuart's  Regiment.  Is  said  to 
have  severed  its  connection  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  in  1783. 

New  York.  1757,  December  27.  No.  272.  St.  John's  Lodge,  Ann  Street,  No.  2. 
Numbered  187  in  1770,  151  in  1780,  152  in  1781,  and  135  in  1792.  Was  kept  on 
English  Register  until  18 13.  It  however  surrendered  its  Warrant  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York  on  March  3,  1784,  taking  a  new  one  from  that  Body,  and  on 
June  3,  1784,  became  and  still  is  No.  i  of  that  Grand  Lodge. 

New  York.  1771,  July  13.  (A)  No.  169.  Warranted  for  Boston,  Mass  [which 
see].    Was  at  New  York  in  1 781,  and  took  part  in  forming  the  Grand  Lodge 


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LODGES   OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER.  213 

for  that  State  in  December,  17S2.  It  retained  the  No.  169  until  June  3,  1789, 
when  it  was  changed  to  No.  3,  and  was  named  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  in  1786. 

New  York.  1779,  February  20.  (A)  No.  210.  Surrendered  Warrant  to  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York,  June  3,  1789,  taking  a  new  Warrant  as  Temple  Lodge.  On 
December  2,  1789,  No.  210  was  dissolved,  a  new  Charter  bearing  the  same 
number  being  granted  to  some  of  the  members,  and  another  Warrant  to  other 
members  of  the  old  Lodge. 

New  York.  1780,  November  i.  (A)  No.  212.  (Constituted  March  i,  1782.) 
Solomon's  Lodge,  Royal  Exchange,  New  York.  On  June  4,  1788,  surrendered 
its  Warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York.  A  new  Warrant  was  granted 
by  that  authority  on  October  21,  1788,  to  some  members  of  the  old  Lodge  as 
St.  Patrick's  Lodge,  No.  212,  which  afterward  became  No.  5  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York. 

New  York.  1781,  July  3.  (A)  No.  213.  In  4th  Battalion  of  Royal  Regiment  of 
Artillery.  Constituted  at  New  York,  October  18,  1781.  Severed  its  connection 
with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  in  1783.  Was  at  St.  John's,  Newfoundland, 
in  1785.  Purchased  the  vacant  No.  9  on  December  20,  1787,  for  £1  55.  W'as 
at  Quebec  in  1793.     [See  Quebec] 

New  York.  1781,  September  5.  (A)  No.  219.  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York.  Was  merged  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  in  September,  1783. 
\N'ot  a  subordinate  Lodge."] 

New  York.  1781,  October  10.  (A)  No.  215.  (Constituted  February  21,  1782.) 
2d  Regiment  of  Anspack  Berauth.  Severed  its  connection  with  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  York  in  1783,  and  retired  with  the  English  Army  on  the  evacuation  of 
the  city. 

New  York.  [1783.]  (A)  No.  90.  In  33d  Regiment  of  Foot.  Was  at  New 
York  on  August  5,  1783,  and  presented  Warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York,  acknowledging  its  jurisdiction. 

New  York.  1786.  (A)  No.  232.  In  Recton's  Hanoverian  Brigade.  Lapsed 
before  18 13. 

Fort  William  Henry.  1787.  No.  517.  Lodge  of  Unity.  Numbered  426  in 
1792.  Erased  in  181 3.  Constituted  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Canada 
on  Territory  then  in  possession  of  British  forces,  but  which  ceased  to  belong  to 
Canada  about  1796. 

New  Oswegatchie.  1787.  No.  520.  New  Oswegatchie  Lodge.  Numbered  429 
in  1792.  Erased  in  1813.  Constituted  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Can- 
ada. Oswegatchie  was  a  town  on  the  bank  of  the  river  of  same  name,  now  in 
State  of  New  York.  Fort  Oswegatchie  was  likewise  on  the  south  or  American 
side  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence. 

North  Carolina. 

Halifax.  1767,  August  21.  No.  403.  Royal  White  Hart  Lodge.  Numbered 
338  in  1770,  264  in  1780,  265  in  1781,  and  223  in  1792.  Erased  from  English 
Roll  in  1813.     No.  2  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina. 

Wilmington.  1754  or  1755.  [Date  in  Calendar,  1755;  Constitution  paid  for, 
June  27,  I754-]  No.  213.  At  Wilmington,  on  Cape  Fear  River.  Not  in  List 
until  1756.  Numbered  158  in  1770,  126  in  1780,  127  in  1781,  and  114  in  1792. 
Kept  on  List  until  1813  ;  but  was  (and  is)  No.  i  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina. 


214 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Pennsylvania. 
Philadelphia.     1758,  June  7.     (A)  No.  69.     Surrendered  its  Warrant  and  took 

a  new  one  from  Grand   Lodge   of  Pennsylvania,   February   10,   1780.     Is    now 

No.  2  of  that  Grand  Lodge. 
Philadelphia.     1761,  July  15.     (A)  No.  89.     No.  i,  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of 

Philadelphia.     Joined  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  September  25,  1786. 

[AW  a  subordinate  Lodge. '] 

Ehode  Island. 

Providenxe.  1757,  January  18.  No.  224.  Not  in  List  until  1769.  Providence 
Lodge.  Numbered  178  in  1770,  144  in  1780,  145  in  1781,  and  130  in  1792. 
Retained  on  List  until  1813,  but  joined  with  others  in  the  formation  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Rhode  Island  in  179 1.  Is  now  called  "St.  Johns's  Lodge, 
No.  I,  Providence,"  but  really  No.  2  of  that  Grand  Lodge. 

South  Carolina. 

Beaufort  (Port  Royal).     1756,   September    15.     No.  250.     Port   Royal   Lodge. 

Not  in  List  until  1760.     Numbered  174  in  1770,  140  in  1780,  141  in  1781,  and 

126  in  1792.     Kept  on  List  until  1813. 
Charles  Town.     1735.     No.  251.     Solomon's  Lodge.     Not   in  List   until    1760. 

In  1762  was  moved  up  to  No.  74.     Numbered  62  in  1770,  49  in  1780,  and  45  in 

1792.     Retained  on  Register  until  1813.     Is  now  No.  i  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 

South  Carolina. 
Charles  Town.     1755,  May  3.     No.  24S.     Union  Lodge.     Not  on  List  until  1760. 

Numbered  161  in  1770,  128  in  1780,  129  in  1781,  and  n6  in  1792.     Retained  on 

List  until  18 13. 
Charles  Town.     1756,  March  22.     No.  249.     A  Masters'  Lodge.     Not  on  List 

until  1760.     Numbered  173  in  1770,  139  in  1780,  140  in  1781,  and  125  in  1792. 

Kept  on  List  until  18 13. 
Charles  Town.     1761,  October  10.     (A)  No.  92.     Made  no  returns  after  1765. 
Charles  Town.     1774,  September  30.     (A)  No.  190.     No  entries  after  1782. 
Charles  Town.     1786,  May  26.     (A)  No.  236.     No  returns  made. 
Columbia  (formerly  Saxe-Gotha) .     1763,  February  8.     No.  299.     St.  Mark's  Lodge. 

Numbered  237  in  1770,  189  in  1780,  190  in  1781,  and  163  in  1792.     Kept  on  List 

until  18 13.     The  location  of  this  Lodge  was  recently  discovered  by  me   \_vide 

my  "  Handy  Book,"  1889,  p.  63]. 
George  Town  (Winyaw).     1743,    No.  146.     Prince  George  Lodge.     Not  in  List 

until  1760.     Numbered  loi  in  1770,  82  in  1780,  and  75  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 
Saxe-Gotha.     See  Columbia. 

Virginia. 
Botetourt.     1773,  November  6.     No.  458.     Botetourt  Lodge  in  Botetourt  Town. 

Numbered  365  in  1780,  366  in  1781,  and  297  in  1792.     Kept  on  Register  until 

1813. 
Norfolk.     1753,  December  22.     No.  236.     The  Royal  Exchange  in  the  Borough 

of  Norfolk.     Numbered  173  in  1755,  137  in  1770,  iii  in  1780,  112  in  1781,  and 

102  in   1792.     Kept  on  Register  until  1813,  although  No.  i,  Grand  Lodge  of 

Virginia. 


LODGES   OF  ENGLISH  REGISTER.  21? 

Williamsburg.  1773,  November  6.  No.  457.  Williamsburg  Lodge.  Numbered 
364  in  1780,  365  in  1781,  and  296  in  1792.  Kept  on  Register  until  1813. 
[?No.  6,  G.  L.  of  v.] 

York  Town.  1755,  August  i.  No.  205.  At  Swan  Tavern,  York  Town.  Num- 
bered 167  in  1770,  133  in  1780,  134  in  1781,  and  119  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Central  America. 

Black  River,  MusQUETA  Shore  (Nicaragua).  1763,  March  8.  No.  300.  Lodge 
of  Regularity  at  St.  John's  Hall.  Numbered  240  in  1770,  191  in  1780,  192  in 
1781,  and  164  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Belize.  1783,  September  21.  No.  309.  Lodge  of  Amity  at  the  Haul-over-up-the- 
River  Belize,  in  the  Bay  of  Honduras.  Numbered  246  in  1770,  195  in  1780,  196 
in  1781,  and  167  in  1792.     Erased  in  1813. 

Belize.  1831,  June  17.  No.  860.  Royal  Sussex  Lodge.  Numbered  589  in  1832. 
Erased  June  4,  1862. 

Honduras.  1820,  June  19.  No.  723.  British  Constitutional  Lodge,  Bay  of  Hon- 
duras.    Numbered  470  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 


CHAPTER    III. 

South  America. 


Argentine  Republic. 

Buenos  Ayres.     1853,  June  10.     No.  900.     Excelsior  Lodge.     Numbered  617  in 

1863.     Still  on  English  Register. 
Buenos  Ayres.     1859,  May  16.     No.  1092.     Teutonia  Lodge.     Numbered  790  in 

1863.     Erased  October  11,  1S72. 
Buenos  Ayres.     1864,  August  6.     No.  1025.     Lodge  Star  of  the  South.     Still  on 

Register. 
Cordoba  (or  Cordova).     1878,  February  22.     No.   1740.     Southern  Cross  Lodge. 

Still  on  Register. 
RosARio  DE  Santa  Fe.     1875,  July  5.     No.  1553.     Light  of  the   South    Lodge. 

Still  on  Register. 

Brazil. 

Pernambuco.     1856,  April  25.     No.  970.     Southern  Cross  Lodge.    Numbered  672 

in  1863.     Still  on  Register. 
Rio  DE  Janeiro.     1834,  December  17.    No.  616.    Orphan  Lodge.    Erased  June  4, 

1862. 
Rio  DE  Janeiro.     1841,  July6.    No.  703.    St.  John's  Lodge.    Erased  June  4,  1862. 

British  Guiana. 
George  Town.     1813,  July  28.     (A)  No.  358.     Union  Lodge.     Numbered  462  in 

1813,  308  in  1832,  and  247  in  1863.     Still  on  Register. 
George  Town.     1827.     No.  812.     Mount  Olive  Lodge.     Numbered  541  in  1832, 

and  385  in  1863.     Still  on  Register. 


2l6 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


New  Amsterdam.     1839,  August  5.    No.   682.     Lodge   of  Fellowship.     Erased 

June  4,  1862. 
New  Amsterdam.     1867,  July  2.     No.  1 183.     Phcenix  Lodge.     Still  on  Register. 

Columbia  (United  States  of),  formerly  New  Granada. 
Santa  Marta.     1848,  February  3.     No.  808.     Lodge  Amistad  Unida.     Numbered 
550  in  1863.     Still  on  Register. 

Chili. 
Valparaiso.     1872,  June  28.     No.  141 1.     Lodge  of  Harmony.     Still  on  Register. 

Uruguay. 
Monte  Video,     i 861,  September  5.    No.  1178.     Acacia  Lodge.    Numbered  876 
in  1863.     Still  on  Register. 

Venezuela. 

Angostura.     1824.     No.  792.     Logia  de   la  Concordia  Venezolana.     Numbered 
524  in  1832.     Erased  June  4,  1862. 


DIVISION   V. 


FIRST  MERIDIAN. 


ffisiory  of  the  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Fetiod  and  Atlantic  Slope  :  The 
Grand  Lodges  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Fennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  District  of  Columbia,  Virginia,  West  Virginia^ 
North   Carolina,  South   Carolina,   Geotgia,  and  Florida, 

By  Charles  E.  Meyer,  P.M., 
Melita  Lodge,  No.  2g^,  of  Pennsylvania. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Early  Organization  of  the  Craft.  —  The  difficulty  of  writing  a  history  of 
Freemasonry  lies  in  the  secrecy  with  which  Freemasonry  has,  in  a  great 
measure,  enshrined  itself.  No  man  can  tell  whence  it  originally  came,  nor 
can  any  man  trace  accurately  the  manner  in  which  it  was  transmitted  from  one 
to  the  other,  until  it  has  reached  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  How  came 
it  to  America?  Who  brought  it  here?  The  brother  who  did  must  have  found 
here,  or  brought  with  him,  a  kindred  spirit  ready  to  give  and  receive.  We 
shall  not  repeat  or  reiterate  what  has  already  been  written  as  to  its  early 
history  in  the  old  country.  There  were  no  doubt  many  Freemasons  among 
the  early  immigrants  from  England.  Prior  to  the  formation  of  the  first  Grand 
Lodge  at  London,  in  1 71 7,  Masons  assembled  annually,  at  least,  at  some  central 
point,  and  met  in  lodge,  selecting  the  oldest  Master  present  as  Chief  Master 
to  preside  over  their  deliberations.  There  were  different  classes  of  Masons, 
—  the  Operative  Mason,  the  Speculative  Mason  who  was  free  of  the  Craft, 
the  Apprentice,  the  Fellow  or  Craftsman,  the  Masters,  the  Wardens,  and  the 
Masters  of  the  Work.  Each  one  had  his  allotted  work  to  do,  and  all  disputes 
were  settled,  intricate  problems  solved,  and  the  designs  on  the  trestle-board 
were  studied  with  advantage  to  all.  History  is  silent  as  to  what  led  to  the 
coming  together  of  the  Masons  of  the  four  lodges  or  assemblies  in  London,  at 
the  Apple  Tree  Tavern.     It  may  have  been  that  the  Operative  brethren  were 

217 


2  1 8  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 

tired  of  their  wandering  life,  and  wanted  a  fixed  place  of  meeting.  It  may 
have  been  that  the  erection  of  the  old  minsters,  cathedrals,  and  abbeys  was 
ended,  and  that  a  period  of  idleness  was  upon  the  Craft.  Or  it  may  have  been 
that  the  sun  shone  brightly  on  the  fame  of  the  great  architect,  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  whose  sole  monument  is  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in  London,  and  like  our 
hero-worshippers  of  the  present  time,  they  hailed  him  as  the  Grand  Master 
of  the  Craft.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  a  wonderful  change  came  over  Freemasonry 
in  171  7,  and  the  spinning-wheel  of  time  then  began  the  gathering  together  of 
the  fibres  of  old  Masonic  history ;  and  as  it  turned  slowly  at  first,  these  fibres 
were  wound  and  twisted  together,  making  a  homely  thread,  and  these,  gathered 
by  cunning  hands  and  constantly  expanding  minds,  in  time  formed  that  which 
now  forms  the  basis  of  a  beautiful  piece  of  work,  —  the  Masonic  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

These  old  Masons  were  not  warranted  to  meet  by  any  legal  paper ;  they 
were  never  duly  constituted  into  a  lodge.  They  were,  when  assembled,  sov- 
ereign and  independent  of  one  another,  yet  governed  by  the  '^  Ancient  Charges 
of  Freemasons."  We  can  imagine  them  meeting  on  the  highest  hill  or  in  the 
deepest  valley,  where  cowans  or  eavesdroppers  could  not  intnide,  and  the  crude 
work  of  the  Master,  with  the  roll  of  the  Old  Charges  of  Freemasons  in  his 
hand,  reading  therefrom  to  the  candidate,  and  his  affirmation  thereto,  and  the 
vow,  "  So  help  me  God  and  halidom,"  which  made  him  a  Freemason. 

It  was  years  before  the  authority  or  prerogative  of  a  Grand  Lodge  was 
understood  or  recognized.  How  all  is  now  changed  !  A  lodge  cannot  be 
lawful  now  unless  duly  warranted  and  constituted.  At  first,  the  brethren  met 
and  agreed  to  form  a  lodge,  then  the  power  of  assembling  the  brethren  as  a 
lodge  was  vested  in  a  Grand  Master,  who  authorized  the  meeting ;  afterward, 
the  Grand  Master  deputed  this  power  to  his  Deputy  or  Provincial  Grand 
Master,  and  he  authorized  or  recognized  the  meeting  of  a  lodge.  First  a 
deputation,  afterward  a  warrant ;  this  was  followed  by  the  solemn  ceremonies 
of  constituting  into  a  regular  lodge. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Period. 

Freemasonry' s  Introduction  into  the  American  Colonies.  —  In  1680  there 
came  to  South  Carolina  one  John  Moore,  a  native  of  England,  who  before  the 
close  of  the  century  removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  in  1 703  was  commissioned 
by  the  king  as  Collector  of  the  Port.     In  a  letter'  written  by  him  in  1715, 

1  This  letter  is  in  the  possession  of  Horace  W.  Smith,  of  Philadelphia.  John  Moore  was  the 
lather  of  William  Moore,  whose  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Provost  Smith,  who  was  a  Modern 
Mason  in  1775,  and  .ifterward  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (Ancients), 
and  whose  son  was  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  Pennsylvania  in  1796  and  1797. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


219 


he  mentions  having  "  spent  a  few  evenings  in  festivity  with  my  Masonic 
brethren."  This  is  the  earUest  mention  we  have  of  there  being  members  of  the 
Craft  residing  in  Pennsylvania  or  elsewhere. 

The  intention  of  King  James  and  Queen  Anne  to  unite  the  xA.merican 
Colonies  into  three  or  four  separate  governments,  make  them  vice-royalties 
and  dependants  on  the  Lords  and  Commons  of  England,  formed  a  basis  no 
doubt  for  the  issuing  of  deputations  for  establishing  Freemasonry  in  America. 
Pennsylvania  (Delaware,  or  the  lower  counties).  New  Jersey,  and  New  York 
were  to  form  one  province ;  New  England,  a  second  province  ;  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  the  Ckrolinas,  the  third  province.  That  this  intention  was  known 
in  London  by  the  Grand  Masters  is  evidenced  in  the  issuing  of  deputations  to 
Daniel  Coxe,  of  Burhngton,  for  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania ; 
Henry  Price,  of  Boston,  for  New  England ;  James  Graeme,  of  Charleston,  for 
the  Carolinas. 

Provincial  Grand  Masters.  —  On  the  fifth  day  of  June,  1730,  the  first 
authority  for  the  assembling  of  Freemasons  in  America  was  issued  by  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  Grand  Master  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  England,  to 
Daniel  Coxe,  of  New  Jersey,  appointing  him  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  On  April  30,  1733,  Lord  Viscount 
Montague  issued  a  deputation  to  Henry  Price,  of  Boston,  appointing  him 
Provincial  Grand  INLister  of  the  Craft  in  New  England.  A  comparison  of 
these  two  deputations  will  show  wherein  they  differ,  and  also  of  the  powers 
conferred  and  jurisdiction  involved,  as  follows  :  — 

Deputations.  — 

Copy  of  the  Deputation  to  Daniel  Coxe,  Esquire, 
to  be  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  the  Prov- 
inces of  Nezu  Yoi  ik,  New  Jersey   and  PensU-  Copy  of  Deputation  to  Henry  Price. 
vania,  in  America. 

Sic  Subscribitur. 
[L.S.]  Norfolk,  G.-.M.-.  Montague,  [l.s.]  G.'.M.-. 

To  all  and  evervour  Right  Worshipful,  Wor-  To  all  and  every  Our  R'  Worsh'  Worship- 

shipful  and  lovingBrethren  now  residing  or  who       ful  and  Loving  Brethren  now  Residing  or  who 
may  hereafter  reside  in  the  Provinces  of  New       may  hereafter  Reside  in  New  England, 
York,  New  Jersey  and   Pensi'vania,  His  Grace, 

Thomas,  Diike  of  Norfolk,  Earl  Marshal  and  The     R'    Hon"'    and    R'   Worsh'   Anthony 

Hereditarv  Marshal  of  England,  Earl  of  Aran-       Lord  Viscount  Montague  Grand  Master  of  the 
del,    Surrey,    Norfolk    and     Norwich,    Baron       Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  England, 
Mowbray,  Howard  Seagrave,  Brewse  of  Gower,  Hendeth  Greeting: 

Fitz  Allan,  Warren,  Clau  Oswald,  estre  Mal- 
travers,  Greystock,  Furnival  Verdon,  Lovelot, 
Straugo  of  Blackmere,  and  Howard  of  Castle 
Rising,  after  the  Princes  of  the  Royal  Blood, 
first  Duke  Earl  and  Baron  of  England,  Chief  of 
the  illustrious  family  of  the  Howards,  Grand 
Master  of  the  free  and  accepted  Masons  of 
England,  Sendetk  Greeting: 

Whereas    application    has  been  made  unto  Whereas  Application  has  been  made  unto  us 

us  by  our  Rt.  Worshipful  and  well  beloved  by  Our  R'-  Worsh'  and  well  beloved  Bro.  AP 
Brother,  Daniel  Coxe,  of  New  Jersey,  Esqr.,  and  Heniy  Price  in  behalf  of  himself  and  several 
by  several  other  Brethren,  free  and  accepted  other  Brethren  now  Residing  in  New  England 
Masons,  residing  and  about  to  reside  in  the  said  aforesaid  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  that  We 
Provinces  of  New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pen-  would  be  pleas'd  to  Nominate  and  Appoint  a 
silvania,  that  we  would  be  plea"sed  to  nominate  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Free  and  Accepted 
and  appoint  a  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  the  Masons  in  N.  England  aforesaid, 
said  Provinces ; 


220 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Now  Know  Ye,  that  we  have  nominated,  or- 
dained, constituted  and  appointed,  and  do  by 
these  Presents  nominate,  ordain,  constitute  and 
appoint,  our  Right  Worshipful  and  well  beloved 
Brother,  the  said  Daniel  Coxe,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  the  said  Provinces,  of  New  York, 
New  Jersey  and  Pensilvania,  with  full  Power 
and  Authority  to  nominate  and  appoint  his 
Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Wardens  for 
the  space  of  two  years  from  the  feast  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  now  next  ensuing,  after  which  time 
it  is  our  Will  and  Pleasure,  and  we  do  hereby 
ordain  that  the  Brethren  who  do  now  reside,  or 
who  niav  hereafter  reside,  in  all  or  any  of  the 
said  Pro'vinces,  shall  and  they  are  hereby  ern- 
powered  everv  other  year  on  the  feast  of  St. 

iohn  the  Baptist  to  elect  a  Provincial  Grand 
laster,  who  shall  have  the  power  of  nominat- 
ing and  appointing  his  Deputy  Grand  Master 
and  Grand  Wardens. 

And  we  do  hereby  empower  our  said  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  and  the  Grand  Master, 
Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Wardens  for 
the  time  being,  for  us  and  in  our  place  and 
stead  to  constitute  the  Brethren  (free  and  ac- 
cepted Masons),  now  residing  or  who  shall 
hereafter  reside  in  those  parts  into  one  or  more 
regular  Lodge  or  Lodges,  as  he  shall  think  fit, 
and  as  often  as  occasion  shall  require. 

He,  the  said  Daniel  Coxe,  and  the  Provincial 
Grand  Master,  Deputy  Grand  Master  and 
Grand  Wardens  for  the  time  being  taking 
special  care  that  all  and  every  member  of  any 
Lodge  or  Lodges  so  to  be  constituted  have  or 
shall  be  made  regular  Masons,  and  that  they  do 
cause  all  and  every  the  Regulations  contained 
in  the  printed  Book  of  Constitutions,  except  so 
far  as  thev  have  been  altered  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  at  their  Quarterly  Meetings,  to  be  kept 
and  observed,  and  also  all  such  other  Rules 
and  Instructions  as  shall  from  time  to  time  be 
transmitted  to  him  or  them  by  us,  or  Nath'l 
Blackerly,  Esq.,  our  Deputy  Grand  Master,  or 
the  Grand  Master  or  his  Deputy  for  the  time 
being,  and  that  he,  the  said  Daniel  Coxe,  our 
Provincial  Grand  Master  of  the  said  Provinces, 
and  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  for  the  time 
being,  or  his  Deputy,  do  send  to  us  or  our 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  to  the  Grand  Master 
of  England  or  his  Deputy  for  the  time  being, 
annually  an  account  in  writing  of  the  number 
of  Lodi;;es  so  constituted,  with  the  names  of  the 
several  members  of  each  particular  Lodge,  to- 
gether with  such  other  matters  and  things  as  he 
or  they  shall  think  fit  to  be  communicated  for 
the  prosperity  of  the  Craft. 

And  lastly,  we  will  and  require  that  our  said 
Provincial  Grand  Master  for  the  time  being  or 
his  Deputy,  do  annually  cause  the  Brethren  to 
keep  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and 
dine  together  on  that  day,  or  (in  case  any  acci- 
dent should  happen  to  prevent  their  dining 
together  on  that  day),  on  anv  other  day  near 
that  time,  as  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  for 
the  time  being  shall  judge  most  fit,  as  is  done 
here,  and  at  that  time  more  particularly  ;  and  at 
all  Quarterly  Communications  he  do  recom- 
mend a  General  Charity  to  be  established  for 
the  Relief  of  poor  Brethren  of  the  said  Prov- 
ince. 


Now  Know  Ye  That  we  have  Nominated, 
Ordained,  Constituted  and  appointed  and  do 
by  these  Presents  Nominate,  Ordain,  Constitute 
and  appoint  Our  said  Worsh'  and  well  Be- 
loved Bro.  Mr.  Henry  Price,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  England  aforesaid  and  Domin- 
ions and  Territories  thereunto  belonging  with 
full  power  and  authority  to  Nominate  and 
appoint  his  Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Grand 
Wardens. 


And  we  do  also  hereby  Impower  the  said 
M''-  Henry  Price  for  us  and  in  Our  place  and 
Stead  to  Constitute  the  Brethren  (Free  and 
Accepted  Masons),  now  Residing  or  shall  here- 
after reside  in  those  parts,  info  One  or  more 
Regular  Lodge  or  Lodges,  as  he  shall  think  fit, 
and  as  often  as  Occasion  shall  require. 


He  the  said  M''-  Henry  Price,  taking  especial 
care  that  all  and  every  Member  of  any  Lodge 
or  Lodges  so  to  be  Constituted  have  been  or 
shall  be  made  Regular  Masons,  and  that  they 
do  cause  all  and  every  the  Regulations  Con- 
fain'd  in  the  Printed  Book  of  Constitutions 
(except  so  far  as  they  have  been  altered  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  at  their  Quarterly  meetings),  to 
be  kept  and  Observ'd,  and  also  all  such  other 
Rules  and  Instructions  as  shall  from  time  to 
time  be  Transmitted  to  him  by  us  or  by  Thomas 
Batson,  Esq  Our  Deputy  Grand  Master,  or  the 
Grand  Master  or  his  Deputy  for  the  time  being, 
and  that  He  the  said  M"'-  Henry  Price  or  his 
Deputy  do  send  to  us  or  Our  Deputy  Grand 
Master  and  to  the  Grand  Master  of  England  or 
his  Deputy  for  the  time  being  Annually,  an 
Ace'  in  Writing  of  the  number  of  Lodges  so 
Constituted  with  the  Names  of  the  several 
Members  of  each  Particular  Lodge,  together 
with  such  other  Matter  &  things  as  he  or  they 
shall  think  fit  to  Communicate  for  the  Prosper- 
ity of  the  Craft. 


And  Lastly  we  Will  and  Require  that  our 
said  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New  England 
do  Annually  cause  the  Brethren  to  keep  the 
Feast  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  Dine 
together  on  that  Day,  or  (in  case  any  Accident 
should  happen  to  prevent  their  Dining  together 
on  that  Day),  on  any  other  day  near  that  time 
as  he  shall  judge  most  fit  as  is  done  here  ;  and 
that  at  all  Quarterly  Communications,  he  do 
recommend  a  General  Charity  to  be  Establish* 
for  the  Relief  of  Poor  Brethren  in  these  parts. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


221 


Given  under  our  hand  and  seal  of  office  at  Given  under  our  Hand  and  Seal  of  Office  at 

London,  this    fifth   day  of  June,  1730,  and  of  London  the  Thirtieth  Day  of  April  1733,  &  of 

Masonry  5730.  Masonry  5733. 

^        ^  By  the  Grand  Master's  Command 

True  Copy:  Thos.  Batson.  /).  G.  ;i/. 

Wm.  Gray  Clarke,  G.S.  G.  Rooke,  5.  G.  W. 

Freemasons'  Hall,  London,  April  10,  1863.  J.  SMYTHE,  J.  G.  IV. 

Masonic  Acts  and  Evidences.  —  That  Coxe  acted  on  the  authority  given- 
him  in  his  deputation  may  be  safely  assumed,  although  no  positive  evidence 
of  the  same  has  yet  been  presented  as  emanating  from  him.  The  Pennsyl- 
vania Gazette,  published  by  Benjamin  Franklin,  contains  many  references  to 
Masonic  occurrences  as  early  as  July  2-9,  1730.  ^Vhether  Franklin  was  a 
Mason  at  this  time  is  not  positively  known,  but  the  probability  is  that  he  was 
made  a  Mason  about  that  time.  He  was  the  leader,  at  that  day,  in  everything 
that  would  advance  the  interests  of  his  adopted  city ;  and  the  "  Junto  "  formed 
about  1 726-1 72 7,  which  was  sometimes,  though  erroneously,  styled  the 
"  Leathern-Apron  Club,"  owed  its  origin  to  him.  As  an  editor  and  publisher, 
he  was  always  looking  for  news  to  publish  in  his  newspaper.  In  the  issue 
December  •y-'^,  1 730,  there  appeared  the  following  :  — 

"As  there  are  several  lodges  of  Freemasons  erected  in  this  Province  [Pennsylvania],  and 
people  have  lately  been  much  amused  with  conjectures  concerning  them,  ^&  think  the  following 
account  of  Freemasonry  from  London  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  our  readers." 

Now,  while  there  are  several  lodges  spoken  of,  we  know  of  one  which 
was  in  existence  about  this  time,  viz. :  the  St.  Jolui's  Lodge,  the  ledger  of 
which,  known  as  Libre  B,  is  in  the  library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  it  contains  the  ledger  accounts  of  forty- eight  members.  We  are 
also  told,  in  the  address  of  Grand  Master  Lamberton,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  be 
found  in  the  "  Dedication  Memorial  "  of  the  Masonic  Temple  of  Philadelphia, 
that  a  letter  was  written  November  17,  1754,  by  a  Brother  Henry  Bell,  of 
Lancaster,  to  a  Brother  T.  Cadwallader  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  Brother 
Bell  states :  — 

"As  you  well  know,  I  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  first  Masonic  lodge  in  Philadelphia. 
A  party  of  us  used  to  meet  at  the  Sun  Tavern,  in  Water  Street,  and  sometimes  opened  a  lodge 
there.  Once,  in  the  fall  of  1730,  we  formed  a  design  of  obtaining  a  charter  for  a  regular  lodge 
and  made  application  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  for  one;  but  before  receiving  it,  we  heard 
that  Daniel  Coxe,  of  New  Jersey,  had  been  appointed  by  that  Grand  Lodge  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  We  therefore  made  application  to  him,  and 
our  request  was  granted." 

What  became  of  this  Lodge,  or  who  were  its  members,  is  not  at  present  known. 
In  conformity  with  the  limit  of  Coxe's  deputation,  on  St.  John's  Day,  June 
24,  1732,  his  successor  was  elected,  as  will  appear  by  the  following  advertise- 
ment in  the  Pennyslvania  Gazette,  No.  187,  June  19  to  June  26,  1732  :  — 

"  Philadelphia,  June  26th. 
"  Saturday  last  being  St.  John's  Day,  a  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society 
of  FREE  and  ACCEPTED  MASONS  was  held  at  the  Sun  Tavern,  in  Water  street,  when,  after 
a  handsome  entertainment,  the  Worshipful  W.  ALLEN,  Esq.,  was   unanimously  chosen   Grand 


222  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Master  of  this  province  for  the  year  ensuing;  who  was  pleased  to  appoint  Mr.  William  Pringle 
Deputy  Master.  Wardens  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year  were  Thomas  Boude  and  Benjamin 
Franklin." 

From  this  time,  for  a  number  of  years,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's  Day  and  the  election  of  officers  were  announced 
.in  the  Gazette.  In  1734  Franklin  was  elected  Grand  Master,  and  wrote 
as  early  as  possible  to  Henry  Price,  of  Boston,  with  whom  he  had  previously 
been  in  correspondence,  and  who  he  had  heard  was  appointed  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  all  America,  for  a  recognition  of  his  rank  as  Grand  Master 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  Prior  to  Franklin's  election  as  Grand 
Master,  and  his  letter  to  Price,  he  published  the  first  Masonic  book  printed  in 
America.  The  advertisement  thereof  is  to  be  found  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Gazette,  No.  284,  May  9  to  May  16,  1734  :  — 

"  Just  published.  The  CONSTITUTION'S  of  the  FREEMASONS  :  Containing  the  History, 
Charges,  Regulations,  &c.,  of  that  most  ancient  and  Right  Worshipful  Fraternity.  London 
printed.     Reprinted  by  B.  Franklin,  in  the  year  c/Masonry  5734.     Price,  Stich'd  2S.  6,  bound  4s." 

On  November  28, 1 734,  Grand  Master  Franklin  wrote  to  Price  as  follows  :  — 

"  Copies  of  Letters  Written  by  Benjamin  Franklin  to  Henry  Price. 

"Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  and  Most  Worthy  and  Dear  Brethren,— 
We  acknowledge  your  favor  of  the  23''  of  October  past,  and  rejoice  that  the  Grand  Master  (whom 
God  bless),  hath  so  happily  recovered  from  his  late  indisposition:  and  we  now,  glass  in  hand, 
drink  to  the  establishment  of  his  health,  and  the  prosperity  of  your  whole  Lodge. 

"We  have  seen  in  the  Boston  prints  an  article  of  news  from  London,  importing  that  at  a 
Grand  Lodge  held  there  in  August  last,  Mr.  Price's  deputation  and  power  was  extended  over  all 
America,  which  advice  we  hope  is  true,  and  we  heartily  congratulate  him  thereupon,  and  though 
this  has  not  been  as  yet  regularly  signified  to  us  by  you,  yet,  giving  credit  thereto,  we  think  it  our 
duty  to  lay  before  your  Lodge  what  we  apprehend  needful  to  be  done  for  us,  in  order  to  promote 
and  strengthen  the  interest  of  Masonry  in  this  Province  (which  seems  to  want  the  sanction  of  some 
authority  derived  from  home,  to  give  the  proceedings  and  determinations  of  our  Lodge  their  due 
weight),  to  wit:  a  Deputation  or  Charter  granted  by  the  Right  Worshipful  Mr.  Price,  by  virtue  of 
his  commission  from  Britain,  confirming  the  Brethren  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  privileges  they  at 
present  enjoy  of  holding  annually  their  Grand  Lodge,  choosing  their  Grand  Master,  Wardens  and 
other  officers,  who  may  manage  all  affairs  relating  to  the  Brethren  here  with  full  power  and 
authority,  according  to  the  customs  and  usages  of  Masons,  the  said  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania 
only  yielding  his  chair,  when  the  Grand  Master  of  all  America  shall  be  in  place.  This,  if  it  seem 
good  and  reasonable  to  you  to  grant,  will  not  only  be  extremely  agreeable  to  us,  but  will  also,  we  are 
confident,  conduce  much  to  the  welfare,  establishment,  and  reputation  of  Masonry  in  these  parts. 
We  therefore  submit  it  for  your  consideration,  and,  as  we  hope  our  request  will  be  complied  with, 
we  desire  that  it  may  be  done  as  soon  as  possible,  and  also  accompanied  with  a  copy  of  the  R.  W. 
Grand  Master's  first  Deputation,  and  of  the  instrument  by  which  it  appears  to  be  enlarged  as 
above-mentioned,  witnessed  by  your  Wardens,  and  signed  by  the  Secretary;  for  which  favors  this 
Lodge  doubt  not  of  being  able  to  behave  as  not  to  be  thought  ungrateful. 

"  We  are.  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  and  Most  Worthy  Brethren, 
"  Your  Affectionate  Brethren  and  obliged  humble  Servts, 
"  Signed  at  the  request  of  the  Lodge,  "  B.  FRANKLIN,    G.  M. 

"Philadelphia,  Nov.  28,  1734." 

The  foregoing  was  followed  by  the  following  personal  and  friendly  letter  :  — 

"Dear  Brother  Price,  —  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  your  recovery.  I  hoped  to  have  seen  you 
here  this  Fall,  agreeable  to  the  expectation  you  were  so  good  as  to  give  me ;  but  since  sickness  has 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  223 

prevented  your  coming  while  the  weather  was  moderate,  I  have  no  room  to  flatter  myself  with  a 
visit  from  you  before  the  Spring,  when  a  deputation  of  the  Brethren  here  will  have  an  opportunity 
of  showing  how  much  they  esteem  you.  I  beg  leave  to  recommend  their  request  to  you,  and  to 
inform  you,  that  some  false  and  rebel  Brethren,  who  are  foreigners,  being  about  to  set  up  a  distinct 
Lodge  in  opposition  to  the  old  and  true  Brethren  here,  pretending  to  make  Masons  for  a  bowl  of 
punch,  and  the  Craft  is  like  to  come  into  disesteem  among  us  unless  the  true  Brethren  are 
countenanced  and  distinguished  by  some  such  special  authority  as  herein  desired.  I  entreat, 
therefore,  that  whatever  you  shall  think  proper  to  do  therein  may  be  sent  by  the  next  post,  if 
possible,  or  the  next  following. 

"  I  am,  Your  Affectionate  Brother  &  humb  Servt, 

"B.  Franklin,  G.Af. 

"  Pennsylvania. 
"  Philadelphia,  Nov.  28,  1734. 

"  P.  S.  —  If  more  of  the  Constitutions  are  wanted  among  you,  please  hint  it  to  me.  [Address 
upon  said  letters :]   To  MR.  HENRY  PRICE  At  the  Brazen  Head  Boston,  N.E." 

This  is  proof  conclusive  that  the  St.  John's  Lodge,  of  which  Frankhn  was  a 
member,  was  a  legitimate  lodge  in  every  particular,  enjoying  a//  the  Masonic 
privileges,  namely,  that  of  "  holding  annually  their  Grand  Lodge,  choosing  their 
Grand  Master,  Wardens  and  other  officers "  ;  the  peer  of  all  lodges,  the 
Grand  Master  only  yielding  the  chair  when  the  Grand  Master  of  America  shall 
be  in  place.  That  there  was  a  doubt  in  Franklin's  mind  as  to  the  authority 
of  Price  to  comply  with  their  request,  is  manifest  when  he  asks  for  a  copy  of 
the  first  deputation,  and  "  of  the  instrument  by  which  it  appears  to  be 
enlarged,  as  above  mentioned." 

It  was  not  a  deputation  or  a  charter  to  constitute  a  new  lodge  that  was 
asked  for,  but  simply  one  of  confirmation  or  recognition. 

That  there  was  a  recognition  of  Masonic  rights  there  is  no  doubt,  —  possibly 
a  correspondence  on  Masonic  matters ;  for  the  letter  speaks  of  a  communica- 
tion received  from  the  brethren  at  Boston,  announcing  the  recovery  of  their 
Grand  Master  Price.  There  is  another  point  to  be  observed :  Franklin's 
letter  was  signed  at  the  request  of  the  lodge  and  as  Grand  Master,  and  the 
letter  leads  us  to  the  conclusion  that  the  brethren  were  closely  and  Mason- 
ically  united,  for  they,  "glass  in  hand,"  drank  to  the  establishment  of  his 
health  and  the  prosperity  of  "  your  whole  Lodge."  Li  June,  1 734,  Franklin 
was  in  Boston,  —  what  date  is  not  known,  —  where,  it  is  said,  he  met  Price,  who 
"  further  instructed  him  in  the  Royal  Art."  These  letters  and  this  meeting  do 
not  look  as  if  the  Masons  of  Philadelphia  at  that  time  were  an  illegitimate  body 
of  men,  unauthorized  and  clandestine  ;  but  it  proves  beyond  a  doubt  that  they 
were  as  regular  in  every  particular  as  the  Boston  brethren,  with  the  records,  as 
far  as  publication  in  the  newspapers  is  concerned,  and  the  Libre  B  of  St.  John's 
Lodge,  showing  a  priority  of  some  four  years.  It  has  been  said  that  Daniel 
Coxe  never  acted  under  his  deputation,  nor  authorized  or  recognized  any 
lodges,  because  the  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  are  silent  on  the 
subject.  They  are  as  silent  as  to  what  Henry  Price  did  under  his  deputation 
as  to  what  Daniel  Coxe  did.     Coxe  reported   no   lodges  as  being  formed, 


224 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


neither  did  Price  until  some  time  later,  and  Brother  Clarke,  Grand  Secretary  of 
England,  says  :  "  At  the  period  when  he  was  appointed  //  was  a  rare  thing  for 
any  reports  to  be  made  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Masters  abroad  of  their 
doings." 

Again,  Price  was  Grand  Master  for  New  England  only.  Coxe  was  Grand 
Master  for  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  Neither  had  authority 
to  go  into  the  other's  territory  and  establish  lodges.  At  that  period,  Phila- 
delphia was  one  of,  if  not  the  leading  city  in  the  Colonies,  and  had  Price 
warranted  a  lodge  in  that  city,  it  can  safely  be  assumed  that  it  would  have 
been  communicated  to  London  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  Had  Price 
complied  with  Franklin's  request,  and  furnished  the  copies  of  his  deputation, 
and  "  the  instrument  by  which  it  was  enlarged,"  or  if  the  St.  John's  Lodge  had 
received  a  charter  or  recognition,  as  asked  for,  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette 
would  have  published  at  once  everything  in  connection  therewith,  for  the 
information  of  the  "  several  lodges  of  Freemasons,"  of  which  Franklin  speaks 
in  his  paper  of  December  3-8,  i  730. 

The  deputations  of  Coxe  and  Price  establish  the  fact  that  there  were 
Masons  in  the  Colonies  prior  to  1 730,  and  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
meeting  as  Masons  in  lodges  according  to  the  Old  Regulations,  and  it  is 
proven  beyond  a  doubt  that  St.  John's  Lodge  at  Philadelphia  presents  the 
first  positive  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  lodge  of  Masons  in  America,  as  far 
as  known  at  present.  We  know  it  was  formerly  believed,  and  in  Pennsylvania 
too,  that  Henry  Price  was  the  father  of  Freemasonry  in  America,  but  then 
the  past  had  not  been  critically  examined.  It  has  never  been  claimed  that  the 
St.  John's  Lodge  of  Philadelphia,  of  1730,  was  authorized  by  Coxe.  It  is 
likely  it  was,  because  Coxe  was  a  prominent  man,  residing  at  Burlington,  New 
Jersey,  then  an  older  settlement  than  Philadelphia ;  and  the  men  associated 
together  as  St.  John's  Lodge  were  the  leading  citizens  of  the  day,  —  leaders 
in  everything,  in  the  arts,  sciences,  physics,  jurisprudence ;  in  fact,  in  all  that 
tended  to  advance  mankind,  and  just  such  a  company  as  Coxe  would  be 
pleased  to  affiliate  with. 

Legitimacy  recognized  in  England.  —  On  January  29,  1731,  Daniel 
Coxe  visited  the  Grand  Lodge  at  London,  and  the  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England  say  that  "  his  health  was  drank  as  Provincial  Grand  Master  of 
North  America^  This  antedates  Price's  1 734-1 735  title,  and  might  raise  the 
question  as  to  whether  the  title  having  been  given  him  in  Grand  Lodge 
assembled,  it  should  not  be  conclusive. 

.  Provincial  Grand  Masters.  —  The  advancement  of  Freemasonry  in  Eng- 
land, in  the  year  1726,  resulted  in  the  creation  of  the  office  of  Provincial  Grand 
Master.     This  was  done 

"To  meet  the  desires  of  those  brethren  who,  travelling  into  distant  parts,  desired  to  convene 
as  lodges,  and  required  an  immediate  head  to  whom  to  apply  in  all  cases  where  it  was  not  possi- 
ble to  wait  the  decision  of  the  authorities  at  home." 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  225 

The  appointment  was  a  prerogative  of  the  Grand  Master,  or,  in  his  absence, 
of  his  deputy,  who  was  authorized  to  deputize  some  brother,  of  eminence  and 
abihty  in  the  Craft,  to  serve  during  his  pleasure.  They  were  invested  with 
just  such  powers  as  their  deputation  recited ;  some  were  authorized  to  create 
lodges,  others  to  form  Provincial  Grand  Lodges  with  powers  of  continuance, 
while  others  contained  almost  the  ample  powers  of  a  Grand  Master.  They 
were  required  to  make  returns  of  their  actions,  and  send  the  charity  dues  or 
fees  to  the  home  authority.  There  seemed  to  be  no  rule  governing  the  Grand 
Masters,  or  their  deputies,  as  to  the  location  of  these  deputies ;  in  fact,  there 
appeared  to  be  a  great  lack  of  knowledge  as  to  localities  in  America,  for  there 
are  instances  of  appointments  by  Grand  Masters,  during  the  same  year,  that 
conflict  in  jurisdictional  authorities.  A  partial  list  of  these  Provincial  Grand 
Masters  may  not  prove  uninteresting  —  taken  from  official  lists  :  — 

"  1729-30.  Thomas  Howard,  Lord  Norfolk,  Grand  Master,  appointed  Mr.  Daniel  Coxe  of 
New  Jersey,  in  America,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New  Yorl<,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania. 

"  1736.  John  Campbell,  Earl  of  Loudon,  appointed  Robert  Tomlinson  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  England,  and  John  Hamilton,  Esq.,  for  South  Carolina. 

"  1737.    Edward  Blight,  Earl  Darnley,  appointed  Richard  Riggs  for  New  York. 

"  1742.   Thomas  Ward,  Lord  Ward,  appointed  Thomas  Oxnard  for  North  America. 

"  1747-51.  William  Byron,  Lord  Byron,  appointed  William  Allen  Recorder  of  Philadel- 
phia for  Pennsylvania,  and  Francis  Goelet  of  New  York,  instead  of  Richard  Riggs,  now  in 
England. 

"  1752-53.  Lord  Carysfort,  Sir  Richard  Wortlesley,  Bt.,  appointed  George  Hamson,  Esq.,  for 
New  York  in  room  of  Francis  Goelet,  who  desired  to  resign. 

"  1754-55.  The  Marquis  of  Carnarvon  appointed  Hon.  Egerton  Leigh,  Chief  Justice  of  South 
Carolina,  for  South  Carolina. 

"Jeremiah  Gridley,  Grand  Master  for  all  North  America  where  no  Provincial  is  appointed. 

"  1757-62:   Lord  Aberdeen  appointed  Grey  Ellicott  for  the  Province  of  Georgia. 

"  1768.  Duke  of  Beaufort  appointed  John  Rowe,  Provincial  Grand  Master  for  North  America 
(his  name,  however,  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  Grand  Lodge  Calendars). 

"  1770-74.  Lord  Pelre,  Grand  Master,  appointed  John  Collins  of  Quebec,  for  Canada;  Hon. 
Noble  Jones  for  Georgia ;  Hon.  Peyton  Randolph  for  Virginia." 

Nowhere  can  it  be  found  on  the  English  records  that  a  deputation  was 
granted  Henry  Price  by  Lord  Petre,  or  any  other  Grand  Master.  We  believe, 
however,  that  such  a  deputation  as  heretofore  recited  was  granted  by 
Lord  Montague  ;  but  it  will  require  authentic  documents  to  satisfy  an  impartial 
reader  that  any  further  and  different  deputation  was  subsequently  granted, 
increasing  his  territorial  jurisdiction. 

From  the  time  of  the  Coxe  deputation  until  about  1755-1757,  but  little  was 
done  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Masters  aforementioned.  The  troubles  of  1735, 
which  resulted  in  the  secession  and  expulsion  of  a  large  number  of  active 
brethren  in  1751,  and  the  changes  brought  about  by  that  secession,  had  prob- 
ably reached  but  few  of  the  brethren  in  this  country ;  they  were  prospering 
and  at  peace  with  one  another. 

In  the  year  1758  the  Rival  Grand  Lodge,  or  the  "  Seceders "  or 
"Ancients,"  as  they  were  called   or  styled    themselves,  established  the  first 


226  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

lodge  of  "Ancient"  Masons  in  Philadelphia.  This  was  followed  shortly  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  establishing  a  lodge  and  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
in  Boston,  and  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland  in  New  Yorlc  and  Long  Island. 
The  Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  were  not  "Ancient"  Lodges  in 
any  sense  of  the  term,  although  they  were  in  close  correspondence  with  the 
London  Grand  Lodge  of  "  Ancients."  They  were  independent  and  sovereign 
Grand  Lodges,  entering  a  territory  which  was  then  considered  common 
property.  Under  the  heads  of  the  several  States,  we  shall  refer  to  these  again 
and  more  fully. 

The  adherents  of  these  four  Grand  Lodges,  viz. :  England,  "  Modern  "  and 
"Ancient,"  Scotland  and  Ireland,  were  active  workers,  not  only  in  Masonry,  but 
in  the  various  questions  then  agitating  the  Colonies,  which  brought  with  them 
unrest  and  discord.  The  Craft  was  divided  between  their  loyalty  to  the  king, 
and  their  sympathy  for  and  fidelity  to  the  Colonies.  The  suggestions  made 
by  Daniel  Coxe,  in  his  plan  for  a  union  of  the  Colonies,  which  were  advocated 
afterward  by  Franklin,  and  which  finally  led  to  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence in  1776,  were  gradually  permeating  the  Craft.  The  feelings  of  the 
Fraternity  had  never  been  taken  on  this  subject,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the 
Colonies'  friends  were  found  in  the  greatest  numbers  in  the  lodges  under  the 
"Ancients"  and  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  while  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  Royalists  or  Tories  were  to  be  found  in  the  adherents  of  the 
old  Grand  Lodge  or  "  Moderns." 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  came  with  all  its  bitterness,  its  devastation, 
its  bloodshed,  its  sufferings,  its  sorrows.  Brother  was  truly  in  arms  against 
brother ;  but,  amid  the  most  horrid  and  terrible  scenes  of  the  strife,  the  touch 
of  Masonry  was  felt  to  penetrate  through  the  picket-line,  past  the  sentinels, 
the  guards,  the  camps  of  the  privates,  to  the  marque-tents  of  the  commanding 
officers,  and  the  exemplification  of  Masonic  teachings  was  the  one  bright  and 
redeeming  feature  of  the  war.  In  adversity,  in  sorrow,  in  distress,  it  was 
Masonry ;  in  prosperity,  in  happiness,  in  joy,  it  was  Masonry  still. 

With  the  ending  of  the  war  and  the  return  of  peace  came  the  longing  for 
independence  in  other  matters.  The  independence  of  the  Colonies  must  be 
followed  closely  by  that  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity.  In  this  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Massachusetts  took  the  lead,  followed  closely  by  Pennsylvania  an&  others.  Then 
came  the  attempt,  which  was  repeated  more  than  once,  to  make  Freemasonry 
like  unto  the  government,  a  union  of  States  and  a  union  of  Grand  Lodges. 
Brother  General  George  Washington  was  the  first  and  only  one  suggested 
for  Grand  Master  ;  but  the  action  taken,  by  the  several  Grand  Lodges,  adverse 
thereto,  resulted  in  its  abandonment  before  much  progress  had  been  made. 
With  the  death  of  Washington  the  proposed  General  Grand  Lodge  fell  through, 
only  to  be  revived  a  few  years  later,  with  still  less  chance  of  success,  and  Grand 
Lodges  became  more  jealous  of  their  jurisdictional  rights,  which  are  now, 
happily,  so  strong  that  they  are  respected  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  our 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


227 


land.  A  Grand  Lodge  territory  is  sacred  from  invasion.  Within  its  limits  it 
is  supreme.  The  State  can  do  no  wrong,  neither  can  a  Grand  Lodge.  Its 
authority  is  respected  by  political  power,  and  civil  law  finds  no  cause  for 
interference.  It  judges  it  by  its  own  Constitution  and  Landmarks,  which  are 
unchangeable,  and  which  are  founded  on  equal  justice  to  all.  Freemasonry 
contains  within  itself  the  divine  law  of  doing  unto  others  as  they  would  that 
others  do  unto  them.  In  peace  it  is  prosperous,  in  strife  it  is  sympathetic,  in 
adversity  it  is  submissive.  In  this  country  it  has  had  its  times  of  prosperity 
and  adversity.  The  ending  of  the  Revolution  marked  a  period  of  thankfulness 
for  delivery  from  bondage  and  an  almost  worship  for  the  deliverer.  General 
George  Washington,  whose  death  was  mourned  as  no  other  man  has  been 
mourned  in  this  country.  Then  followed  the  disgraceful  attack  upon  the 
Institution  by  a  set  of  fanatics,  mad  in  politics,  who  desired  to  make  a 
*'  Morgan  "  of  Freemasonry.  Then  followed  the  cruel  Civil  War,  or  that  of  the 
Rebellion,  the  most  unfortunate  and  sorrowful  of  all,  in  which  attempts  were 
made  to  involve  Masonry ;  but  the  wise  counsel  of  the  leaders  of  the  Craft  in 
the  several  States  prevented  the  mixing  up  of  Masonry  and  the  State,  and 
while  Masonry  did  not  go  forth  in  the  advance  with  the  flag  to  avert  the  blow, 
yet  it  was  found  among  the  sick  and  wounded,  the  suffering  and  the  dying, 
and  planted  the  Sprig  of  Acacia  at  the  head  of  many  a  brother's  grave,  on 
both  sides  of  the  lines. 

Then  came  another  era,  purely  Masonic,  that  in  which  we  are  now  living. 
The  care  of  the  aged  brother,  his  wife,  widow,  and  orphans,  enlists  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  Craft  everywhere.  Throughout  the  land  there  are  springing  up 
the  homes,  the  asylums,  and  Masonic  establishments  for  the  care  of  our  poor 
and  needy.  This  may  be  termed  the  golden  era  of  Freemasonry,  and  it  is 
now  reaching  upward  to  the  throne  of  the  Mason's  God. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  briefly  review  the  several  Grand  Lodges  in  the 
order  laid  down  in  the  outline,  beginning  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Grand  Lodges  of  the  Atlantic  Slope. 

Maine.  —  On  the  20th  day  of  March,  1762,  Jeremy  Gridley,  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  New  England,  for  Massachusetts  (St.  John's  Grand  Lodge), 
granted  authority  to  Alexander  Ross  to  constitute  a  lodge  at  Falmouth, 
afterward  Portland.  This  authority  was  never  acted  upon,  and  Ross  dying 
November  24,  1768,  a  petition  signed  by  eleven  brethren  was  forwarded  to 
John  Rowe,  the  successor  of  Jeremy  Gridley,  who  granted  a  charter  and  depu- 
tized William  Tyng  to  act  as  Master.     This  authority  was  dated  March  30, 


228*  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

i-jOg,  and  the  first  meeting  thereunder  was  held  May  8,  1769.  In  1772  this 
lodge  resolved  for  harmony's  sake  to  work  the  "Modern"  and  "Ancient" 
systems  alternately  every  other  evening.  An  application  (which,  however, 
lacked  the  requisite  number  of  petitioners),  was  made  June  5,  1778,  to  the 
Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  (acting  under  authority  derived  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Scotland),  for  a  lodge  at  Machias,  to  be  called  Warren  Lodge.  The 
application  was  returned  and  presented  in  proper  form  on  September  4,  1778, 
and  granted  September  10,  1778.  A  third  lodge  was  warranted  at  Wiscasset, 
called  Lincoln  Lodge,  on  June  i,  1792,  by  the  (united)  Grand  Lodge  of 
Massachusetts. 

In  1806  a  charter  was  issued  by  the  latter  for  a  second  lodge  in  Portland, 
which  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  a  rule  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts 
requiring  thereafter  the  recommendation  of  the  nearest  lodge. 

The  action  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  in  181 9,  admitting  Maine 
into  the  Union,  led  to  the  issuing  of  a  call  prepared  by  Simon  Greenleaf  for 
a  convention  to  be  held  on  October  14,  1819,  to  consider  the  subject  of 
organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  new  State. 

At  this  convention  twenty-nine  of  the  then  thirty-one  lodges,  all  deriving 
their  warrants  from  Massachusetts,  agreed,  unanimously,  that  the  good  of 
Masonry  would  be  greatly  promoted  by  constituting  a  Grand  Lodge  in  Maine. 

The  committee  appointed  by  the  convention  stated  that  the  late  "  Massa- 
chusetts Grand  Lodge,"  in  1780,  determined 

"  That  all  charters  granted  without  the  limits  of  this  [Massachusetts]  State  shall  be  understood 
to  remain  in  force  until  a  Grand  Lodge  is  formed  in  the  government  where  such  lodges  are  held." 

They  accordingly  request  that  their  connection  with  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts  may  be  dissolved  ;  that  all  measures  proper  for  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  adopt  may  be  adopted  preparatory  to  the  formation  of  a  Grand 
Lodge  of  Maine  ;  and  that  said  Grand  Lodge,  when  duly  constituted,  may 
receive  its  just  proportion  of  the  moneys  and  other  Masonic  property  owned 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  referred  the  petition  to  a  committee, 
who  reported  in  favor  of  the  formation  of  the  new  Grand  Lodge,  donating  one 
thousand  dollars,  as  the  foundation  of  a  charity  fund,  and  directing  District 
Deputy  Grand  Masters  in  Maine  to  pay  such  moneys  as  they  might  have  in 
their  hands,  belonging  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  to  the  newly 
formed  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine. 

June  I,  1820,  the  representatives  of  twenty-four  lodges  met,  chose  their 
Grand  Officers,  the  governor  of  the  State,  William  King,  being  elected  the 
first  Grand  Master. 

June  16,  1820,  the  legislature  of  Maine  passed  an  act  to  incorporate  the 
Master,  Wardens,  and  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine. 

On  June  24,  1824,  the  Grand  Officers  were  installed  by  the  Grand  Master 
of  New  Hampshire,  at  Rev.  Mr.  Payson's  meeting-house,  to  which  the  Grand 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  220 

Lodge  and  brethren  marched  in  procession.  The  new  Grand  Lodge  recog- 
nized all  the  lodges  within  its  territory.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts 
paid  over  the  one  thousand  dollars,  which  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  trustees, 
and  from  the  small  additions  made  to  it  annually  it  now  amounts  to  over 
$22,500,  the  income,  some  I1500,  being  annually  appropriated  for  the  reUef 
of  indigent  Masons,  their  widows,  and  orphans. 
On  June  27,  1820,  it  was  proposed  :  — 

"  That  the  translation  of  the  Holy  Bible  into  the  various  languages  of  the  earth,  and  distributing 
the  same  without  note  or  comment,  is  a  truly  Masonic  work,  and  claims  the  cooperation  of  every 
friend  of  the  human  race  "  .  .  .  "to  dedicate  to  this  great  work  "  .  .  .  "  one-tenth  of  all  moneys 
hereafter  to  be  received  for  charters  to  subordinate  lodges  and  for  candidates  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  our  Order." 

The  Grand  Lodge  decided  that,  — 

"As  the  funds  of  this  Grand  Lodge  are  devoted  to  other  objects  of  charity,  —  to  supply  the 
temporal  wants  of  the  needy,  and  smooth  the  rugged  path  of  their  weary  pilgrimage  through  life, 
—  no  part  of  those  funds  can  therefore  now  be  applied  in  aid  of  the  great  and  glorious  work." 

Grand  Master  King  was  succeeded  by  Simon  Greenleaf,  one  of  the  ablest 
jurists  in  Maine.  It  was  during  his  Grand  Mastership  that  one  of  the  Land- 
marks of  Freemasonry  was  removed  and  thrown  aside.  July  10,  1823,  on 
motion,  a  committee  was  appointed 

"  To  consider  whether  a  person  who  is  conscientiously  scrupulous  against  taking  an  oath  can 
be  admitted  to  the  benefits  of  Masonry  by  solemn  affirmation." 

That  the  matter  was  fully  considered  is  evidenced  by  the  report  of  the 
committee,  on  January  8,  1824,  and  which  was  adopted  by  the  Grand  Lodge, 
in  which  they  say  :  — 

"  Your  committee  deem  this  a  question  of  no  little  importance,  as  it  bears  on  the  interests  of 
the  Craft.  On  the  one  hand,  if  decided  in  the  negative,  there  will  necessarily  be  excluded  from 
a  participation  of  all  the  mysteries,  and  very  many  of  the  benefits  and  advantages  of  Masonry,  a 
large  class  of  men,  among  the  most  respectable  of  our  fellow  citizens,  on  account  of  their  integrity, 
their  conscientious  regard  for  all  those  great  moral  principles  which  dignify  human  nature,  and 
certainly  not  among  the  most  backward  in  deeds  of  mercy  and  charity.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
decided  in  the  affirmative,  it  would  seem  at  least  to  sanction  a  departure  from  what,  for  ages,  has 
been  deemed  a  form  of  sacred  words,  and  what  has  not  hitherto  failed  to  bind  the  consciences  of 
otherwise  the  most  hardened  offenders.  ...  It  is  impossible  that  your  committee  should  not 
examine  with  mistrust  a  principle  which  should  shut  out  from  the  Masonic  Fraternity  such  men 
as  Clarkson  ;  and  they  cannot  close  their  eyes  to  the  bad  effect  which  sanctioning  such  principles 
must  have  on  the  moral  sense  of  the  community.  ...  On  the  whole,  your  committee  conceive 
that  no  Masonic  principle  is  violated  in  adapting  the  form  of  the  obligations  to  consciences  of  men 
equally  good  and  true,  but  on  the  contrary,  that  serious  hurt  would  grow  to  the  Institution  of 
Masonry,  by  an  adherence  to  the  technical  form  of  words,  heretofore  used  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  ih'AX  fidelity  in  the  Craftsmen,  which  has  never  yet  been  violated,  even  when  all  other 
principles  have  been  wrecked,  in  the  vortex  of  unhallowed  appetites,  or  the  whirlwind  of  ungoverned 
passions." 

That  such  action  should  be  most  severely  commented  upon  by  the  Grand 
Lodges  of  the  United  States  need  not  be  wondered  at.     Missouri,  Tennessee, 


230  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Kentucky,  Delaware,  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania  protested  at  once,  the  lattei 
Grand  Lodge  passing  the  following  :  — 

"Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine  be  respectfully  requested  to  reconsider  the 
resolution  adopted  by  tliem  on  the  8ih  of  January,  1824,  proposing  a  new  mode  in  which  the  degrees 
of  Masonry  can  bd  conferred. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Lodge  feel  themselves  bound  to  refuse  to  recognize  any  person, 
as  a  Mason,  known  to  be  initiated  in  the  mode  proposed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine." 

The  Grand  Lodge  took  strong  grounds  against  a  General  Grand  Lodge. 

The  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  show  the  depressing  effect  that  Anti- 
Masonry  had  upon  the  Fraternity.  In  1S29  there  were  58  lodges;  soon  very 
many  of  these  suspended  their  labors,  maintaining,  however,  their  existence 
under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  At  the  annual  meeting  in 
183 7, but  one  lodge  (the  oldest  one  at  Portland),  was  represented.  At  the  annual 
meeting  in  1844,  16  lodges  were  represented,  and  Masonry  began  to  revive, 
the  lodges  resuming  their  meetings;  and,  in  1849,  a  new  lodge  named  Mount 
Hope  was  organized,  the  first  in  twenty  years.  In  1856  the  number  of  lodges 
had  increased  to  70,  with  2750  members.  During  the  next  ten  years,  the 
number  had  increased  to  124,  with  8084  members ;  at  the. expiration  of  1876, 
174  lodges,  and  18,837  members;  in  1886,  184  lodges,  and  20,039  members; 
in  1888,  187  lodges,  20,370  members. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine,  in  1820,  adopted  the  by-laws  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  as  far  as  possible,  and  until  new  ones  were  formed. 
Changes  have  been  made,  from  time  to  time,  until  its  present  code  of  laws 
presents  the  experience  of  years  in  the  government  of  the  Craft. 

New  Hampshire. — As  early  as  1735  ther::  were  Freemasons  living  within 
the  then  Colony  of  New  Hampshire.  Where  these  brethren  received  their 
Masonic  light,  history  is  silent ;  but  this  much  is  known,  that  at  least  six 
brethren  residing  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  claiming  to  be  of  the  "  Holy 
and  exquisite  Lodge  of  St.  John,"  applied  to  Henry  Price,  as  Grand  Master  of 
the  Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  held  at  Boston  (having  heard  that 
there  was  a  superior  lodge  held  in  Boston), and  asked  for  the  necessary  authority 
to  hold  a  lodge  "  according  to  order  as  is  and  has  been  granted  to  faithful 
brothers  in  all  parts  of  the  world."  They  further  declared  that  they  had 
their  "  Constitutions,  both  in  print  and  manuscript,  as  good  and  as  ancient  as 
any  that  England  can  afford."  Gould,  in  his  "  History  of  Freemasonry,"  gives 
the  date  of  the  application  to  Price  as  February  5,  1736;  while  Drummond, 
in  the  American  Addenda  of  the  same,  gives  another  date,  June  24,  1735. 
There  is  evidently  a  mistake,  possibly  in  the  year  1736,  which,  if  conceded 
and  made  to  read  1735,  would  make  it  appear  that  on  February  5,  1735,  these 
brethren  applied  to  Price,  and  on  June  24,  1735,  Price  presented  the  petition 
to  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  and  it  was  granted.  There  arises  a  doubt,  however, 
in  even  conceding  this;  for  the  warrant  of  confirmation  subsequently  given 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire  recites  that :  — 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  23 1 

"  Robert  Tomlinson,  by  virtue  of  a  deputation  from  the  Earl  of  Loudon,  Grand  Master  of 
Masons  in  England,  did,  in  the  year  1736,  erect  and  constitute  a  regular  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  by  the  name  of  St.  John's  Lodge." 

If  the  petition  of  the  New  Hampshire  brethren  was  presented  to  Henry 
Price,  then  the  date  June  4,  1735,  as  stated  by  Drunimond,  is  correct,  the 
date  as  given  by  Gould  as  February  5,  1736,  does  not  agree  with  the  warrant 
of  confirmation  granted  in  1790,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire, 
which  gives  the  year,  but  no  date,  yet  speaks  of  TomUnson  as  Provincial 
Grand  Master,  while  he  only  became  Provincial  Grand  Master  on  December  7, 
1736,  and  received  his  deputation  about  April  20,  1737.  Gould  expresses 
himself,  in  view  of  the  conflicting  opinions  as  to  the  early  history  of  Free- 
masonry in  New  England,  in  these  words  :  — 

"  As  the  more  we  rely  upon  the  early  Boston  records  as  independent  authorities,  the  greater 
becomes  the  necessity  of  critically  appraising  the  weight  and  thereby  the  value  of  their  testimony." 

This  lodge  was  organized,  and  is  said  to  have  had  a  continuous  existence 
to  the  present.  In  1837  it  celebrated  its  centennial  anniversary,  thereby  giv- 
ing us  another  date  later  than  1736.  While  Richards,  writing  in  1804,  says 
it  was  constituted  immediately  on  the  appointment  of  Tomlinson  in  1736, 
it  has  no  records  prior  to  1739.  For  nearly  forty-five  years  it  was  the 
only  lodge  of  Masons  in  New  Hampshire,  when,  on  March  17,  1780,  the 
Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  granted  a  charter  for  St.  Patrick's  Lodge  at 
Portsmouth.  It  continued  work  until  1790,  when  it  ceased,  most  of  its 
members  affiliating  with  St.  John's  Lodge.     The  lodge  then  became  extinct. 

The  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  granted  a  warrant  November  7,  1 781,  for  a 
lodge  at  Springfield,  Vermont,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  but  the  lodge  was 
actually  held  for  some  seven  years  at  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire.  On  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1788,  the  members  of  the  lodge  petitioned  that  their  charter  be 
altered,  permitting  the  meeting  in  both  places.  This  petition  the  Grand  Lodge 
refused,  but  healed  such  irregularities  as  had  occurred,  and  then  granted  a 
charter  for  Faithful  Lodge  at  Charlestown.  A  third  charter  was  granted  by 
the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge,  on  March  5,  1784,  for  a  lodge  at  Keene,  to 
be  called  Rising  Star  Lodge.  It  also  granted  a  fourth  charter  for  a  lodge  at 
Hanover,  to  be  called  Dartmouth  Lodge. 

A  meeting  of  the  deputies  from  the  several  lodges  (five)  was  held  at 
Portsmouth  on  July  8,  1789,  at  which  there  were  present  five  brethren,  repre- 
senting St.  John's  Lodge  at  Providence  and  Rising  Sun  Lodge  at  Keene. 
They  resolved :  — 

"That  there  be  a  Grand  Lodge  established  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  upon  principles 
consistent  with  and  subordinate  to  the  General  Regulations  and  Ancient  Constitutions  of  Free- 
masonry." 

Tlie  Grand  Lodge  was  to  be  composed  of  all  Grand  Masters,  Deputy  Grand 
Masters,  Grand  Wardens,  after  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  office,  the 


232  COSMOPOLITAN'  FREEMASONRY. 

Grand  Treasurer  and  Grand  Secretary  for  the  time  being,  and  the  Masters,  Past 
Masters,  and  Wardens  of  particular  lodges.  John  Sullivan,  president  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire,  was,  by  ballot,  elected  Grand  Master  of  Masons. 

At  the  second  meeting,  held  July  i6,  1789,  in  addition  to  the  two  lodges 
then  represented,  there  were  present  the  Wardens  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge  at 
Portsmouth.  The  "Masons'  Arms,"  with  an  inscription,  was  adopted  as  the 
seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire.  The  new  Grand  Master 
was  not  installed  into  office  until  April  8,  1 790,  nine  months  later,  when  the 
Grand  Lodge  became  a  fact.  The  lodges  formerly  under  the  St.  John's  and 
Massachusetts  Grand  Lodges  were  directed  to  have  their  charters  renewed 
by  the  new  Grand  Lodge.  Accordingly,  on  April  28,  1790,  St.  John's  Lodge 
of  Portsmouth  applied  for  a  charter  of  confirmation  of  their  former  rights ; 
while  "  Federal "  at  Dover,  and  "  Columbia  "  at  Nottingham,  applied  to  be  con- 
stituted into  regular  lodges.  The  formation  of  this  Grand  Lodge  presents  the 
curious  fact  that,  at  the  preliminary  meeting  of  July  8,  1789,  when  it  was 
resolved  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  and  the  Grand  Master  was  chosen,  two  lodges, 
only,  were  represented,  —  Portsmouth  and  Keene.  At  the  second  preliminary 
meeting,  July  16,  1789,  in  addition  to  the  two  lodges  above-mentioned,  there 
were  present  the  Wardens  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge  at  Portsmouth  ;  at  the  third 
preliminary  meeting,  January  27,  1790,  but  one  lodge,  St.  John's  of  Ports- 
mouth, was  present ;  and  at  the  meeting  when  the  Grand  Lodge  officers  were 
installed,  April  8,  1790,  but  two  lodges,  St.  John's  and  Rising  Sun,  were 
represented. 

There  were  thirty-one  brethren  present  at  the  first  installation  of  the  Grand 
Master  and  Grand  Officers  in  open  lodge,  when  the  oldest  Master  of  a  lodge, 
Brother  Hall  Jackson,  took  the  chair,  the  election  of  the  Grand  Master  was 
confirmed,  a  procession  was  formed,  and  the  Grand  Master,  invested  and 
installed,  received  due  homage,  affectionate  congratulations,  and  other  signs 
of  joy.  June  25,  1792,  the  Grand  Lodge  met  and  was  formed  in  procession 
and  marched  to  St.  John's  church,  where  the  festival  of  St.  John's  Day  was 
celebrated.  This  was  condnued  for  a  number  of  years.  On  August  10,  1797, 
the  Grand  Lodge  Officers  constituted  Benevolent  Lodge  at  Amherst,  and 
installed  the  officers  in  the  meeting-house  at  that  place.  June  24,  1801,  the 
Grand  Master  and  officers  were  installed  in  public  in  Jefferson  Hall,  the 
Grand  Lodge  presenting  each  lady  who  assisted  in  the  musical  portion  of 
the  programme  with  a  pair  of  elegant  gloves. 

July  22,  1 80 1,  Washington  Lodge  at  Exeter  was  constituted  with  novel 
ceremonies.  Lodge  was  opened ;  the  Grand  Master  ordered  the  Grand 
Marshal  to  summon  the  officers  of  the  lodge  to  be  constituted.  They  were 
examined  and  found  to  be  Master  Masons,  well  skilled  and  worthy.  Grand 
Lodge  then,  preceded  by  a  band  of  music,  proceeded  to  the  lodge-room, 
where  Washington  Lodge  was  opened.  The  Grand  Officers  then  took  their 
official  stations.     The  brethren  who  were  not  Past  Masters  retired  while  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  233 

new  Master  was  obligated  and  placed  in  Solomon's  chair.  The  brethren 
returned,  procession  re-formed,  and  marched  to  Rev.  Mr.  Rowland's  meeting- 
house, where  they  were  welcomed  by  music  from  a  select  choir  of  young  ladies 
and  gentlemen.  The  house  was  crowded.  The  "  Lodge  "  was  solemnly  con- 
secrated ;  the  new  Master  invested  ;  the  Marshal  made  the  proclamation  ;  then 
followed  prayer.  The  procession  re-formed,  and  marched  to  a  tavern,  where 
the  Stewards  had  prepared  a  banquet,  after  which  the  lodge  closed. 

April  14,  1793,  a  query  was  forwarded  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  by  Columbian 
Lodge,  as  to 

"  Whether  the  charter  granted  to  Columbian  Lodge  will  entitle  them  to  hold  a  lodge  for  the 
purpose  of  making,  passing  and  raising  Masons  in  a  parish  taken  from  and  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  original  township  of  Nottingham,  previous  to  the  granting  of  said  charter," 

When  it  was  voted  that  Columbian  Lodge,  by  its  charter,  can  be  holden  at 
Nottingham  and  nowhere  else. 

June  24,  1 797,  Grand  Lodge  adopted,  as  a  general  regulation,  that  no  charter 
or  dispensation  be  granted  outside  of  the  jurisdiction,  unless  the  Grand  Lodge 
where  the  petitioners  reside  acquiesce  in  writing,  if  there  be  a  Grand  Lodge  in 
said  State  or  Territory.  It  was  also  resolved  to  number  the  lodges  according 
to  the  date  of  their  charters. 

The  term  of  office  of  Thomas  Thompson,  as  Grand  Master,  was  marked  by 
some  important  acts  of  legislation.  Among  others,  on  June  24,  1802,  Grand 
Lodge  adopted  a  form  of  petition  or  declaration  (the  first  to  our  knowledge), 
for  admission  into  the  Fraternity,  as  follows  :  — 

"  I of of  lawful  age,  declare  upon  honor  that  uninfluenced  by  unworthy  motives  I  freely 

and  voluntarily  offer  myself  a  candidate  for  the  mysteries  of  Freemasonry,  being  solely  prompted 
by  a  favorable  opinion  conceived  of  the  institution,  and  a  sincere  wish  to  be  serviceable  to 
mankind."  .  .  .     [This  was  to  be  accompanied  by  the  following  recommendations.]     "  We  the 

subscribers,  members  of Lodge,  No. — ,  beg  leave  to  recommend  Mr. to  be  made  a  Mason 

in  this  lodge  the  next  regular  lodge  night.    We  are  induced  to  make  this  recommendation  from  a 

long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  Mr. ;  knowing  him  to  be  a  virtuous  and  moral  man, 

dealing  upon  honor;  not  of  a  doubtful  character,  but  naturally  benevolent,  industrious,  temperate, 
and  economical ;  a  suppoi  ter  of  government  and  lover  of  the  useful  arts  and  sciences  ;  a  gentleman 
ivith  whom  we  should  be  proud  to  associate,  who  from  personal  knowledge  we  believe  will  cheer- 
fully conform  to  our  rules  and  make  a  useful  and  honorable  member  of  the  Fraternity." 

The  applicant  was  to  be  recommended  by  two  members,  and  vouched  for 
by  two  members  of  the  lodge. 

In  1803  District  Deputy  Grand  Masters  were  first  appointed  with  the 
powers  of  a  Deputy  Grand  Master,  to  visit  and  preside  in  lodges,  examine 
their  proceedings,  to  constitute  lodges,  etc.  There  were  also  inaugurated  what 
are  known  as  official  Grand  Visitors  to  subordinate  lodges.  These  officers 
proved  of  great  value  in  bringing  the  lodges  under  strict  discipline,  and  in 
more  than  one  instance  their  reports  to  the  Grand  Lodge  resulted  in  the  clos- 
ing of  the  lodge. 

December  30,  1805,  the  legislature  passed  an  act  incorporating  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  for  the  term  of  twenty  years, 


234  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

but,  singular  to  say,  the  act  does  not  mention  that  it  was  Masonic,  or  referred 
to  Freemasonry,  or  for  what  purpose  it  was  incorporated.  January  27,  1808,  it 
appearing  evident  that  no  benefits  could  be  derived  by  the  subordinate  lodges 
from  the  act  of  incorporation,  its  further  consideration  was  postponed. 

The  Rev.  George  Richards,  formerly  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Grand  Lodge,  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hamp- 
shire about  December  12,  1804,  and  became  one  of  its  most  active  workers. 
He  added  to  and  published  the  first  American  edition  of"  Preston's  Illustrations 
of  Masonry."  His  skill  as  a  ritualist  was  recognized  by  the  issuing,  in  1806, 
of  letters  of  Masonic  credence  and  authority  for  him  to  teach  the  "  Prestonian 
system  "  in  New  Hampshire. 

June  24,  1807,  by  request,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  St. 
John's  church  in  Portsmouth. 

Grand  Master  Thompson  delivered  his  valedictory  address  on  April  27, 
1808,  in  which  he  remarked  that :  — 

"  The  harmony  of  his  Grand  Lodge  was  in  danger  of  being  disturbed  by  the  introduction  of 
Royal  Arch  Masonry  and  other  fanciful  degrees,  assuming  power  independent  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 
.  .  .  Others,  attracted  by  the  pomp  and  show  of  these  fanciful  degrees,  have  joined  them  to  the 
prejudice  and  neglect  of  true  Masonry.  But  of  all  the  Masonic  titles  there  is  none  so  truly  ridicu- 
lous in  America  as  that  of  Knights  Templars,  a  compound  of  enthusiasm  and  folly,  generated  in 
the  brains  of  pilgrims  and  military  madmen,  as  opposite  to  the  benevolent  spirit  of  true  Masonry 
as  black  aprons  are  to  pure  white  ones." 

May  I,  1807,  a  delegate  was  appointed  to  represent  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  Hampshire  in  a  Grand  Masonic  convention  in  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  with  authority  to  propose  and  agree  to  a  regular  and  systematic  mode 
of  working  and  lecturing  in  the  United  States,  but  to  oppose  any  plan  calculated 
to  establish  a  supreme  superintending,  or  National  Grand  Lodge  for  America, 
which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Hampshire  "  holds  inexpedient,  impracticable, 
and  a  thing  totally  unnecessary."  June  9,  1824,  $200  were  appropriated  for 
the  erection  of  a  monument  by  the  Masonic  Fraternity  over  the  remains  of 
^\^ashington,  at  Mt.  Vernon,  "  as  soon  as  the  sum  of  $10,000  shall  be  appropri- 
ated in  common  by  the  other  Grand  Lodges."  In  1833,  $200  was  appropriated 
to  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  In  1827  the  Anti- Masonic  excitement  was 
briefly  noted  by  the  Grand  Master.  The  progress  of  the  Grand  Lodge  up 
to  this  time  had  been  more  or  less  satisfactory.  In  1828,  44  lodges  were 
represented  in  the  Grand  Lodge  ;  in  1829,  41  lodges  ;  1830,  40  lodges  ;  1831, 
25  lodges;  1832,  29  lodges;  1833,  23  lodges;  1834,  24  lodges;  1835,  13 
lodges;  1836,  17  lodges  ;  1837,  13  lodges  ;  1838,  18  lodges  ;  1839,  i  7  lodges  ; 
1840,  13  lodges;  during  this  year  26  lodges  were  stricken  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  books  for  failure  to  make  returns;  1841,  15  lodges  were  represented. 
From  this  time  the  interest  began  to  revive,  and  at  present  the  Grand  Lodge 
is  in  a  highly  satisfactory  condition. 

Vermont.  —  It  will  be  interesting,  and  of  some  service  in  understanding  the 
early  history  of  Masonry  in  Vermont,  to  bring  to  mind  the  political  history  of 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  2^C 

this  State,  about  the  time  of  the  estabhshment  of  the  first  lodges  in  that  juris- 
diction. In  177S  a  number  of  towns  in  New  Hampshire,  bordering  on  the 
Connecticut  River,  presented  a  petition  to  the  legislature  of  Vermont  request- 
ing that  they  be  received  into  union  and  confederation.  At  the  next  session  of 
the  legislature  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  sixteen  towns  to  elect  and  send 
members  to  the  legislature  of  Vermont,  at  its  next  session.  The  result  of  this 
action  occasioned  so  much  trouble  and  danger  that  an  act  was  passed  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1779,  dissolving  this  union.  In  1780  Western  New  Hampshire  and  a 
large  part  of  the  North-eastern  section  of  New  York  were  annexed  to  Vermont ; 
and,  in  1781,  delegates  from  at  least  seventeen  towns  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
nine  towns  in  New  York  were  represented  in  the  General  Assembly  of  Ver- 
mont. This  union  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  political  powers  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  the  serving  of  a  civil  process  almost  brought  on  a  civil  war, 
and  resulted  in  the  repeal  of  the  union  of  the  New  York  and  New  Hampshire 
towns  with  Vermont. 

On  November  8,  1781,  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  received  a  petition, 
dated  at  Cornish,  Vermont,  praying  for  the  estabhshment  of  a  lodge  at  that 
place.  On  November  10,  1781,  a  charter  was  granted,  locating  the  lodge  at 
Springfield,  Vermont.  On  November  29,  1781,  its  first  meeting  was  held  in 
Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  four  members  and  one  visitor  being  pres- 
ent, the  officers  being  pro  tempore.  November  29,  1781,  seven  petitions  were 
received  and  referred.  December  18,  1781,  the  officers  were  elected  for  the 
first  time.  May  17,  1787,  doubts  arose  as  to  the  propriety  of  meeting  at 
Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  instead  of  at  Springfield,  Vermont.  March  6, 
1 788,  the  lodge  voted  the  expense  of  a  new  charter,  to  be  procured  in  Boston, 
for  Faithful  Lodge,  at  Charlestown,  New  Hampshire,  which  was  granted  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1788,  and  the  lodge  funds  and  furniture  were  equally  divided.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  removal  of  Vermont  Lodge  took  place  about  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1789. 

May  14,  1795,  Vermont  Lodge  removed  from  Springfield  to  Windsor, 
where  it  met  until  September  19,  1831,  when  it  suspended  work,  owing  to 
the  Anti-Masonic  excitement. 

On  January  20,  1785,  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  granted  a  charter 
for  a  lodge  at  Manchester,  being  the  second  lodge  established  in  the  State.  It 
was  called  "  North  Star,"  and  was  organized  February  3,  1785  ;  at  which  meet- 
ing two  candidates  were  initiated  and  two  brethren  were  crafted.  The  officers 
were  not  installed  until  December  4,  1787.  In  this  lodge  each  meeting  was 
opened  on  the  First  step  of  Masonry,  its  business  transacted,  and  closed  on 
that  degree,  and  opened  on  the  Second  or  Third. 

On  May  5,  1791,  Sir  John  Johnson,  Bart,  Grand  Master  of  the  Province  of 
Quebec,  granted  a  charter  to  Dorchester  Lodge,  at  Vergennes. 

May  18,  1793,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut  chartered  Temple  Lodge, 
at  Bennington. 


236 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


May  15,  1794,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut  chartered  Union  Lodge,  at 
Middlebury. 

August  6,  1794,  representatives  of  North  Star,  Dorchester,  and  Temple 
Lodges  met  in  convention^  at  Manchester,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
Grand  Lodge  in  the  State  of  Vermont.  Subsequent  meetings  were  held,  at 
which  committees  were  appointed  to  select  a  form  of  constitution.  Several 
adjourned  meetings  were  held,  at  which  business  relating  to  the  formation  of  a 
Grand  Lodge  was  transacted,  until  finally,  on  October  13th,  a  constitution 
was  reported  to  and  adopted  by  a  convention  of  several  lodges  (5).  The 
constitution  required  that  before  the  conventiori  is  dissolved,  — 

"  It  shall  meet  and  choose  officers  of  Grand  Lodge,  who  shall,  when  elected,  possess  all  the 
powers  of  officers  of  Grand  Lodge  until  next  meeting  of  this  Grand  Lodge  as  by  the  constitution 
established,  and  until  new  officers  are  chosen  in  their  stead." 

Accordingly,  the  Grand  Officers  were  chosen,  and  the  committee  dissolved, 
but  no  record  can  be  found  of  their  having  been  installed. 

Many  charters  were  granted  to  lodges  in  different  parts  of  the  State.  The 
applications  became  so  numerous  that  Grand  Lodge  adopted  regulations  in  a 
measure  requiring  additional  safeguards  :  — 

"  No  charter  could  be  granted  except  to  five  known  and  approved  Master  Masons."  .  .  . 
"  The  Master  and  Wardens  shall  be  examined  with  regard  to  their  knowledge  in  the  Masonic 
art."  ...  "  That  it  has  the  approbation  of  the  two  nearest  lodges."  ...  "  That  the  place  where  the 
new  lodge  is  to  be  holden  shall  be  at  least  twenty  miles  from  any  other  lodge  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  this  Grand  Lodge,  unless  in  cases  where  the  petitioning  brethren  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
are  obliged  to  travel  round  creeks  or  bays  to  get  to  the  lodge  to  which  they  belong,  in  which  case 
the  Grand  Lodge  may  dispense  with  the  rule  precluding  distance." 

January  21,  1802,  Grand  Lodge  was  specially  convened  for  the  purpose  of 
adopting  a  "standard  work,"  and  a  Lecture  Master  was  appointed.  January 
18,  1804,  Grand  Lodge  met  in  Grand  Convocation,  and  among  the  other  busi- 
ness transacted  it  was 

"  Ordered,  That  the  chisel  shall  not  in  future  be  given  as  the  working-tool  of  an  Entered 
Apprentice  Mason  in  any  lodge  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Grand  Lodge." 

1  The  first  Grand  Master  was  the  first  orator  at  the  first  celebration  of  Bennington  Battle. 
Under  date  of  Monday,  November  28,  1889,  The  Bat7ner  (a  local  newspaper),  reporting  the  laying 
of  the  cap-stone  of  the  Bennington  monument  (the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Verinont,  August  16,  1887),  said :  "  This  monument  commemorates  more  than  a  local 
engagement  of 'embattled  farmers'  with  the  trained  troops  of  proud  Britain.  We  have  alluded 
to  it  as  the  '  turning  point '  in  the  Revolution.  The  orator  of  the  first  celebration  of  the  Battle  of  Ben- 
nington, Noah  Smith,  Esq.,  said  on  August  i6th,  1778  :  '  To  the  effects  of  this  action  must  be  attributed 
in  a  considerable  degree  tlie  series  of  successes  which  have  attended  our  arms.'  How  truthful 
were  his  prophetic  words  [1778]  :  '  This  establishes  our  independence,  and  must  soon  put  a  period 
to  the  calamities  of  war.'  Standing,  then,  in  the  immediate  presence  of  the  fruits  cf  that  engage- 
ment, he  fully  recognized  the  debt  of  gratitude  due  to  those  who  had  accomplished  such  a  victory; 
and,  commenting  further,  says  :  '  Are  these  the  effects  of  the  Battle  of  Bennington  ?  Are  these  the 
prospects  which  attend  the  Republic  of  America  ?  Then  what  laurels  are  due  to  General  Stark  and 
those  bold  assertors  of  liberty  whose  determined  resolution  and  undaunted  courage  effected  the  sal- 
vation of  our  country  ?  '  Brother  Smith  was  then  fresh  from  collegiate  honors  at  Yale.  A  few  years 
later,  after  having  ascended  the  ladder  of  judicial  fame  in  this  State,  he  assisted  in  forming  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont,  and  was  its  first  Grand  Master,  holding  the  office  and  discharging  its 
duties  with  credit  to  himself  and  honor  to  the  Fraternity,  from  1704  to  1797.  It  was  eminently 
fitting,  therefore,  that  his  fraternal  successor,  Colonel  Alfred  A.  Hall,  Grand  Master  of  Freemasons, 
should  lay  the  corner-stone  on  the  battle  anniversary  in  1887,  and  that  the  flag  of  that  society 
should  float  from  the  cap-stone  on  Monday." 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  237 

The  Grand  Lodge  adjourned  to  October  following,  when  the  State  was  divided 
into  ten  districts,  and  Deputy  Grand  Masters  appointed.     In  1805  it  was 

"  Ordered,  That  in  future  no  member  of  any  lodge,  under  the  jurisdiction,  shall  be  allowed  to 
vote  in  said  body  unless  he  be  a  Master  Mason," 

And  full  power  was  given  to  secular  lodges  to  hear  and  determine  all  disputes 
between  its  own  members  and  to  suspend,  expel,  and  restore  them  with  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present,  and  from  which  decisions 
there  shall  be  no  appeal. 

In  1S06  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  appoint  a  committee  to  petition  the 
legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation,  but  nothing  was  accomplished  in  the 
matter  at  that  time.  November  22,  1884,  "Bill  No.  106,"  being  an  act  to 
amend  section  3664,  subdivision  10,  Revised  Laws,  was  passed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  Vermont,  and  approved  by  the  governor.  This,  although  not 
originating  with  the  Grand  Lodge,  admits  of  its  incorporation. 

In  1807  Grand  Lodge  ordered  that  the  expulsion  of  any  member  of  the 
lodge  shall  be  published  in  some  newspaper  in  the  State,  with  a  request  to 
the  printers  in  the  United  States  to  insert  the  same  in  their  respective  papers. 
In  1 8 1 8  Grand  Lodge  voted  that  the  name  of  the  party  who  had  been  restored 
to  former  standing  be  published  in  the  newspapers. 

In  1809  a  Grand  Visitor  was  appointed,  with  power  to  preside  in  lodges, 
call  on  the  members  for  regular  attendance,  etc.  He  was  to  tarry  two  days, 
and  longer  if  necessary,  at  each  lodge  he  visited,  and  he  was  to  be  paid  the 
sum  of  two  dollars  per  day  and  all  necessary  expenses,  by  the  several  lodges 
where  he  visited.  The  Grand  Lodge  also  agreed  to  give  him  fifty  dollars 
extra.     October,  1813,  the  office  of  Grand  Visitor  was  abolished. 

In  1812  Grand  Lodge  appropriated  "$75  for  the  gratuitous  distribution 
of  the  Bible  without  note  or  comment "  ;  also,  "  to  promote  the  constitution 
of  a  Bible  society."  In  181 6  the  further  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  was 
ordered  to  be  presented  to  the  Vermont  Bible  Society,  and  further  sums  were 
appropriated  from  time  to  time. 

In  1S21  a  difficulty  arose  between  two  of  the  lodges,  located  upon  or  near 
the  border  line  between  New  York  and  Vermont.  It  appears  that,  in  1793,  a, 
charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  to  sundry  brethren  in 
Hampton  and  Poultney  in  Vermont,  by  the  name  of  Aurora  Lodge.  In  1807 
the  brethren  of  Aurora  Lodge  agreed  to  give  up  their  charter  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York,  and  take  one  under  Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont,  changing 
the  name  to  Morning  Star  Lodge.  The  lodge  worked  harmoniously  for  about 
eleven  years,  when  the  brethren  living  in  Hampton  appUed  to,  and  received 
from,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  authority  to  revive  Aurora  Lodge  ;  upon 
which  they  demanded  the  jewels  and  funds  from  Morning  Star  Lodge.  The 
feeling  engendered  by  this  became  most  unfraternal,  and  the  Grand  Lodge 
aid  was  invoked.     Finally  the  matter  was  compromised,  about  1827,  by  Morn- 


238 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


ing  Star  Lodge  of  Vermont  paying  eighty  dollars,  in  full,  to  Aurora  Lodge 
of  New  York,  and  tlius  was  amicably  settled,  what,  at  one  time,  promised  to 
become  a  serious  controversy  between  the  two  Grand  Lodges. 

In  1824  Grand  Lodge  expressed  sympathy  for,  and  donated  a  sum  of 
money  to,  a  brother  who  was  an  elder  in  a  Christian  church,  who  had  been 
"  excluded  from  his  desk  "  in  the  church  and  "  his  temporal  support  as  a 
public  teacher  withdrawn,"  because  he  became  a  member  of  the  Masonic 

family. 

October  13,  1824,  a  committee  reported  upon  the  petition  of  a  blind  man 
for  initiation  in  Cement  Lodge  that,  in 

"  Their  opinion,  the  loss  of  this  sense  does  not  Masonically  bar  the  applicant  from  being  made 
a  Mason,  and  that,  if  the  lodge,  to  which  he  has  made  application,  was  satisfied  that  he  is  worthy 
of  admission,  they  may  proceed  with  him  as  in  all  other  cases." 

The  vote  was  taken,  and  resulted  in  yeas  47,  nays  52.  So  a  majority  of 
five  decided  to  maintain  the  Landmarks  of  Fremasonry. 

October  11,  1826,  by  a  vote  of  yeas  80,  nays  28,  a  resolution  was  adopted  : 
"That  no  ardent  spirits  or  public  dinner  shall  hereafter  be  furnished  this 
Grand  Lodge  at  any  of  its  communications";  and,  October  9,  1827,  Grand 
Lodge  recommended  to  all  subordinate  lodges  to  dispense  with  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits  on  all  public  occasions. 

October  9,  1827,  a  communication  received  from  John  L.  Hart  of  Phila- 
delphia, addressed  to  the  Grand  Secretary,  inquiring  "  whether  a  charter  for 
an  independent  lodge  of  colored  Masons,  to  be  located  in  said  city,  would  be 
granted  by  this  Grand  Lodge,"  was  referred  to  a  committee,  who  reported,  and 
their  report  was  concurred  in  :  — 

"  That  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont  does  not  possess  the  constitutional  power  to  charter  a 
lodge  in  Pennsylvania;  and,  if  such  power  existed,  its  exercise  in  this  case  would  be  inexpedient 
as  this  Grand  Lodge  would  have  no  control  over  such  lodge,  and  could  not  enforce  the  rules  and 
regulations  prescribed  for  the  government  of  subordinate  lodges  under  its  jurisdiction." 

The  brethren  of  Vermont,  in  fact  of  the  New  England  States,  do  not 
appear  in  those  early  days  to  have  had  a  correct  conception  of  the  Masonic 
Institution.  They  seemed  to  cater  more  to  the  popular  sentiment  of  the  times, 
and  so  we  find  their  sympathy  going  out  for,  and  money  contributed  to,  purposes 
belonging  to  the  "profane"  world  exclusively,  —  such  as  the  African  Colony 
at  Liberia,  the  American  Colonization  Society,  North-western  Branch  of  the 
American  Education  Society,  American  Bible  Society,  etc.,  and  which,  if 
they  desired  to  aid,  they  should  have  done  so  personally  as  citizens.  Coming 
thus  before  the  world,  they  attracted  attention  and  early  brought  themselves  face 
to  face  with  the  opponents  of  Masonry.  The  Anti- Masonic  trouble  commenced 
here  as  early  as  1S24,  and  continued  with  the  most  unrelenting  and  bitter  fury 
for  years  :  lodges  surrendered  their  charters,  the  brethren  deserted  the  Frater- 
nity as  a  demoralized  army  flees  before  the  enemy.  Appeals  were  made  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  and  the  "secular"  lodges  to  the  public,  and  "in  return 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


239 


we  have  been  met  with  reproaches  and  persecution,  our  honest  intentions 
misrepresented,  our  rights  as  Masons,  our  rights  as  freemen,  abridged,  and 
our  characters  traduced"  —  so  said  Grand  Master  Haswell  in  1831  ;  and  he 
continued  :  — 

"  What  shall  now  be  done?  Will  you  permit  me  to  answer  the  question  ?  Breast  the  storm! 
and  when  a  calm  succeeds  and  the  moral  ruins  shall  be  made  bare,  an  injured  public  will  reinstate 
us  in  our  rights  and  visit  the  despoilers  with  infamy  and  disgrace." 

Verily  was  Vermont  a  "  Frontier  Post  in  Masonry."  In  the  Grand  Lodge 
a  proposition  "to  dissolve  the  Institution"  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  19  ayes  to 
90  nays.  Every  indulgence  was  granted  the  lodges  by  Grand  Lodge  :  "  only 
keep  alive  the  fires  on  the  altars"  was  the  end  desired.  In  1833,  when  the  excite- 
ment was  at  its  highest,  thirty-five  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Lodge 
declared  itself :  — 

"  Ready  to  receive  and  revoke  charters  of  such  lodges  as  are  desirous  of  surrendering  them  at 
the  present  time,  and  representatives  requested  to  deposit  said  charters  with  Grand  Secretary, — 
all  funds,  etc.,  to  be  left  under  the  control  of  lodges  to  appropriate  as  they  deem  proper,  —  the 
Grand  Lodge  recommending  the  appropriation  to  the  common  school  fund  of  this  State." 

Under  this  authority  only  eight  lodges  surrendered  their  charters.  In  1834 
but  seven  lodges  were  represented,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  took  notice  of,  and 
denounced 

"  The  assemblies,  in  different  counties  of  the  State,  of  Masons  called  together  by  a  notice  or 
authority  new  and  unknown  to  the  usages  of  the  Craft,  and  in  opposition  to  the  constitution  of  the 
Order." 

In  reply  to  the  action  of  the  legislature,  which  had  made  it  illegal  to 
administer  a  so-called  "  extra-judicial  oath,"  the  Grand  Lodge  said  :  — 

"  We  disclaim  the  right  of  Masons  to  inflict  corporeal  punishment,  and  acknowledge  no 
other  right  to  enforce  obedience  from  our  members  but  reprimand,  suspension,  and  expulsion." 

The  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  kept  up  until  January  14,  1846, 
at  which  time  the  Grand  Master,  with  all  the  Grand  Officers  (except  the  Senior 
Grand  Warden),  and  the  representatives  of  ten  lodges  met,  and  from  that  day 
the  progress  of  Masonry  in  Vermont  has  been  onward,  slowly  at  times,  but 
always  forward,  until  in  1889,  when  there  were  100  lodges  and  8524  members. 

Massachusetts.  —  To  trace  the  early  history  of  Freemasonry  in  this  juris- 
diction is  like  a  person  walking  in  the  dark,  who  is  carefully  feeling  his  way. 
Brother  R.  F.  Gould,  in  his  "  History  of  Freemasonry,"  recognizes 

"  The  very  precarious  foundntion  of  authority  on  which  the  early  Masonic  history  of  Massa- 
chusetts reposes.  The  actual  records  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  — by  which  I  mean  a 
contemporaneous  account  of  its  proceedings  —  date  from  1751.  There  are  also  what  appear  to  be 
transcripts  of  brief  memoranda  describing  the  important  incidents  in  the  history  of  that  body 
bfitween  1733-1750;  or  thev  may  have  been  made  up  from  the  recollection  of  brethren  who  had 
been  active  among  the  Craft  during  these  seventeen  years." 

The  newspapers  in  Boston  of  that  time  contain  very  few  references,  or 
advertisements,  of  Freemasonry.     Brother  Sereno  D.  Nickerson  says  there  is 


240  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

a  tradition  of  a  regularly  warranted  lodge  in  Boston  as  early  as  1 720,  but  as 
yet  positive  proof  of  the  existence  of  such  a  lodge  has  not  been  discovered. 
That  there  were  Freemasons  in  Boston  prior  to  1 733,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Where  they  received  the  degrees  of  Masonry  is  not  known  ;  but  that  they  were 
lawfully  made  is  witnessed  by  the  fact  of  Provincial  Grand  Master  Price's 
convening  them,  for  a  Masonic  purpose  at  that  time,  "  at  ye  sign  of  the  Bunch 
of  Grapes."  Henry  Price,  the  appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master,  was  born 
in  London  in  1697.  He  removed  to  Boston  about  1723.  If  he  continued  to 
reside  there  is  not  at  present  known,  but  in  January,  1733,  his  name  is  found 
in  the  records  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Boston,  in  a  suit  brought  by 
him.  Judging  from  Price's  letter,  written  to  England  on  August  6,  1755, 
he  must  have  been  in  London  on  April  30,  1733,  at  which  time  he  claims 
to  have  personally  received  a  deputation  as  "  Provincial  Grand  Master  of 
New  England  and  Dominions  and  Territories  thereunto  belonging,"  from 
Anthony,  Lord  Viscount  Montague,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England.  There  is  no  record  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land at  London  of  the  deputation,  of  which  we  have  previously  given  the  text. 
Nor  were  the  terms  thereof  complied  with,  which  required  annual  returns  of 
lodges  constituted,  names  of  members,  etc.,  to  be  forwarded  to  London.  Henry 
Price  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  73,  meeting  at  the  Rain- 
bow Coffee  House,  in  York  buildings,  London,  which  was  constituted  July  17, 
1 730,  and  of  which  he  was  the  fifty-third  out  of  a  total  of  sixty-three  members. 
On  Monday,  July  30,  1733,  Henry  Price  called  to  his  assistance  ten  brethren, 
"  at  the  house  of  Edward  Lutwith  at  '  ye  sign  of  the  Bunch  of  Grapes,'  in 
King  Street,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,"  when  the  deputation  of  Viscount 
Montague  was  read,  appointing  Henry  Price  Provincial  Grand  Master  of 
New  England  and  authorizing  him  to  form  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  appoint 
his  Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Wardens,  and  to  constitute  lodges.  By 
virtue  of  this  deputation,  Price  opened  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  commonly 
known  as  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  appointed  Andrew  Belcher  Deputy  Grand 
Master,  Thomas  Kennelly  and  John  Quane  Grand  Wardens,  pro  tempore,  after 
which  he  caused  his  commission  to  be  read.  Then  followed  the  making  as 
Masons  of  eight  candidates.  Where  the  authority  for  conferring  the  degrees 
was  derived  is  not  stated.  Certainly  his  deputation  did  not  give  him  that 
right.  It  authorized  him  to  constitute  "  Brethren,  who  had  been  regularly  made, 
into  lodges."  It  contained  no  authority  to  make  Masons,  as  that  was  the 
special  prerogative  of  lodges.  However,  these  eighteen  brethren  petitioned  the 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  for  a  warrant,  which  was  granted,  and  the  lodge  was 
at  once  constituted  into  a  regular  lodge  with  nineteen  members,  Henry  Price 
heading  the  list.  Henry  Hope  was  chosen  Master,  and  he  nominated  Fred- 
erick Hamilton  and  James  Gordon  his  Wardens.  They  were  duly  examined, 
found  well  quahfied,  approved,  and  invested.  In  the  proceedings  of  Grand 
Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  1871,  z.  facsimile  of  the  original  petition  for  this 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  241 

lodge  will  be  found,  and  if  it  is  authentic,  then  the  date  of  Price's  deputation 
is  not  correct.  The  petition  recites  the  date  of  Price's  deputation  from  Vis- 
count Montague  as  13th  day  of  April,  Anno  Dom.  1733,  the  last  figure  3  in 
the  year  being  altered  from  a  2,  while  the  deputation  itself  is  dated  the  30th 
day  of  April,  1 733.  As  the  reading  of  the  deputation  and  the  presentation  of 
the  petition  occurred  within  a  few  minutes  of  each  other,  the  difference  of 
seventeen  days  and  the  changing  of  the  last  3  (1733)  from  a  2  (1732)  would 
naturally  raise  a  doubt  as  to  accuracy.  Gould  gives  the  date  of  constituting 
the  lodge  as  August  31,  1733.  The  following  lodges  in  Massachusetts  will  be 
found  registered  in  the  Lane's  "Masonic  Records,"  171 7-1886,  viz. :  — 

1.  "  St.  yohn's  Lodge,  No.  i.  Meeting  at  Bunch  of  Grapes  Tavern,  State  Street,  Boston,  in 
New  England,  America;  instituted,  1733,  as  No.  126,  England;  changed  to  no,  in  1740;  No.  65,  in 
1755;  No.  54,  in  1770;  No.  42,  1781;  No.  39,  1792;  met  at  Brother  Andrew  Halliburton's,  Boston, 
1738  ;  Assembly  House,  Oring  (Orange)  Tree  Lane,  Boston,  1792.  United  with  No.  88,  2d  Lodge  in 
Boston,  on  February  7,  1783,  obtaining  a  new  warrant  from  the  English  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massacliusetts.  Was  kept  on  our  register  until  1813,  but  passed  from  English  jurisdiction  when 
the  St.  John's  Provincial'  Grand  Lodge  joined  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  (formed  March  8, 
1777),  on  March  5,  1792." 

"  Royal  Exchange  Lodge.  Instituted,  1735,  at  Royal  Exchange  Tavern,  King  Street,  Boston, 
1735  (kt'pt  by  Brother  Luke  Hardy)." 

2.  "  St.  Johns  Lodge,  No  2.  Royal  E.xchange,  Boston,  America,  February  15,  1749.  Not  in  list 
until  1768,  and  then  designated  2d  Lodge  in  Boston,  New  England,  at  the  British  Coffee  House, 
in  King  Street,  1768.  United  with  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  i,  on  February  7,  1783,  and  was  kept  on 
register  until  1813.  In  1755  it  was  No.  141b;  on  register,  1770,  No.  108;  1780,  No.  87;  1781, 
No.  88;  1792,  No.  81." 

3.  "Boston,  Massachusetts,  America,  Ancients,  1771.  Ancient  York  Lodge,  No.  169.  Boston, 
at  Mr.  Alexander's,  Battery,  1772.  It  must  liave  shortly  afterward  removed,  as  it  took  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  in  December,  1782." 

4.  "  African  Lodge.  Boston,  New  England,  America,  1784 ;  September  29th  it  was  459  on  regis- 
ter; in  1792  it  was  370 ;  last  payment,  1797;  erased  in  1813."! 

5.  "Marble  Head  Lodge.  At  Massachusetts  Bay,  New  England,  America,  March  25,  1760,  as 
142b.  Not  in  list  until  1768.  Date  in  list  is  stated  to  be  May  25,  1750,  but  the  later  date  appears 
to  be  correct,  according  to  American  records.  A  renewal  of  the  constitution,  dated  January  14, 
1778,  refers  to  '  Origmal  Charter'  of  March  25,  1760.  Was  kept  in  that  register  until  1813,  but  had 
become  part  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  on  March  5, 1792.  In  1770  the  lodge  number 
was  No.  Ill ;  in  1780,  No.  90;  in  1781,  No.  91;  in  1792,  No.  83." 

December  7,  1736,  Robert  Tomlinson  was  appointed  by  the  Grand  Master 
of  England  as  Provincial  Grand  Master,  in  place  of  Price,  who,  it  is  said,  had 
resigned.  This  commission  was  received  on  April  20,  1737.  The  deputation 
is  addressed  "  To  all  our  Right  Worshipful,  Worshipful  and  Loving  Brethren 
now  residing,  or  who  may  hereafter  reside,  in  the  Province  of  New  England." 

Tomlinson  died  about  1740.  On  September  23,  1743,  the  Grand  Master 
of  England,  on  the  application  of  several  brethren,  deputized  Thomas  Oxnard 
as  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  North  America,  "  of  which  no  Provincial 
Grand    Master  is   already  appointed."      Oxnard   died   in    1754,  and   Price 

1  African  Lodge  had  no  inherent  rights,  had  no  authority  to  grant  dispensations  or  warrants 
toothers,  and  its  erasure  wiped  it  and  all  its  so-called  offspring  out  of  existence;  and,  from  the 
time  of  the  union  of  the  two  Grand  Lodges  of  Massachusetts,  if  it  was  then  in  existence,  it 
became  clandestme. 


2^2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

succeeded  him  by  the  election  of  the  brethren.  On  April  4,  1755,  Jeremy 
Gridley  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  North  America  and  Terri- 
tories thereof,  with  authority  to  make  Masons  and  constitute  lodges.  Gridley 
was  succeeded,  May  12,  1768,  by  John  Rowe,  as  Provincial  Grand  Master  of 
all  North  America  and  the  territory  thereunto  belonging,  where  no  other  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  is  in  being.  He  was  vested  with  like  powers  to  Gridley. 
The  Rowe  deputation  speaks  of  Henry  Price  having  been  appointed  Provin- 
cial Grand  Master  for  North  America  by  Viscount  Montague,  April  13,  1733. 
The  error  of  date  13  is  here  repeated,  and  his  appointment  for  "  North  Amer- 
ica "  by  Viscount  Montague  is  more  than  Price  ever  claimed,  he  claiming  that 
the  Earl  of  Crawford  was  the  one  who  appointed  him.  Prior  to  the  time 
(1751),  when  the  regular  minutes  of  the  Grand  Lodge  were  begun  to  be 
recorded  as  they  occurred,  the  transactions  are  based  upon  the  information 
prepared  by  the  then  Secretary  Charles  Pelham,  and  it  is  during  this  period, 
1733  to  1 75 1,  — nearly  twenty  years,  —  that  all  the  matters  in  dispute  as  to 
the  early  history  of  Freemasonry  in  America  occur. 

We  have,  in  a  previous  chapter,  briefly  referred  to  the  deputations  of  Daniel 
Coxe  and  of  Henry  Price,  and  given  in  full  the  letters  of  Franklin  to  Henry 
Price,  of  the  authenticity  of  which  there  can  be  no  question.  Massachusetts 
claims  that  Price  issued  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Philadelphia,  of  which  Frank- 
lin was  the  Master.  There  is  not  one  jot  of  evidence  that  any  such  warrant 
was  ever  issued,  nor  was  it  ever  asked  for.  Franklin  simply  asked  for  a  recog- 
nition or  confirmation  of  the  rights  they  were  then  enjoying,  of  meeting  as  a 
regular  lodge.  That  the  authority  of  Grand  Master  Franklin  was  recognized 
is  apparent  by  the  Masonic  intercourse  between  Price  and  Franklin.  On 
February  5,  1 735-1 736,  a  number  of  brethren  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
appUed  for  a  deputation  and  power  to  hold  a  lodge  once  a  quarter  "  at  that 
place."  At  this  time,  and  for  several  years  thereafter,  the  lodges  met  in  the 
First  degree  and  conferred  the  Second  occasionally,  but  on  the  2d  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1738  (N.  S.),  a  separate  Master's  lodge  was  founded  in  Boston,  of  which 
Henry  Price  was  Master,  and  the  authority  was  no  doubt  obtained  from  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Master  Tomlinson,  prior  to  his  departure  for  Europe.  It  has 
also  been  claimed  that  Price  granted  a  deputation  for  a  lodge  at  Annapolis, 
Nova  Scotia,  about  1 738.  If  that  was  so,  it  was  done  without  any  authority 
whatever  from  Tomlinson,  who  was  Grand  Master.  It  is  claimed  that,  while 
Tomlinson  was  on  his  journey  to  Europe,  he  stopped  at  Antigua  and  made  the 
governor  and  other  gentlemen  Masons,  the  same  being  an  exercise  of  his 
powers  as  Grand  Master,  but  no  warrant  was  granted. 

In  1754  (January)  a  regulation  was  adopted  that  no  brother  was  eligible 
to  be  Master  of  a  lodge  unless  he  was  thirty  years  old.  In  the  same  year  a 
request  was  sent  to  the  Grand  Master  at  London  that,  in  future,  the  commission 
of  a  Provincial  Grand  Master  should  continue  in  force  for  no  longer  than 
three  years.     In  1756  a  committee  was  appointed  to  raise  a  fund  for  charity, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  243 

and  on  March  20,  1760,  several  brethren,  sufferers  by  the  great  fire  at  Boston 
at  that  time,  were  reheved.  The  "  Grand  Charity  Fund  "  is  now  kept  up  by 
annual  appropriations  from  the  surplus  receipts  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  is 
in  charge  of  a  "  Board  of  Masters,"  who  are  incorporated. 

On  January  31,  1757,  the  Grand  Lodge  agreed  to  the  making  "a  Mason" 
of  five  gentlemen  from  Marblehead,  and  by  authority  of  the  Grand  Master, 
Richard  Gridley,  one  of  the  Grand  Wardens,  was  authorized  to  make  and 
pass  them.  A  lodge  was  warranted  on  March  25,  1760,  at  this  place.  War- 
rants were  granted  to  so-called  Army  lodges  on  May  13,  1756,  for  a  lodge 
in  "the  expedition  to  Crown  Point";  on  January  18,  1759,  for  one  "in  the 
present  expedition  against  Canada"  ;  on  November  13,  1758,  to  the  brethren 
at  Louisburg  for  a  lodge  in  the  28th  Regiment  of  Foot,  stationed  at  that  place. 

Up  to  1752  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  and  its  subordinates,  enjoyed  fully 
their  rights  and  prerogatives,  within  the  territory  assigned  them,  viz.  :  "  North 
America  where  no  other  Grand  Master  had  been  appointed."  In  this  year 
some  brethren  (acting,  no  doubt,  under  the  ancient  usage  of  a  number  of 
brethren  meeting  together  and  forming  a  lodge),  met  at  the  Green  Dragon, 
a  tavern  in  Boston,  and  opened  a  lodge,  known  afterward  as  St.  Andrew's. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  a  strife  which  lasted  until  1792,  a  period  of  forty 
years.  It  is  said  the  new  lodge  was  opened  "  under  ancient  usage."  Drum- 
mond  says  :  — 

"  It  does  not  appear  where  the  brethren  who  organized  this  lodge  were  made  Masons,  and 
while  the  regularity  of  those  who  were  made  Masons  in  this  lodge  was  afterward  denied,  it  does 
not  appear  that  any  question  was  raised  as  to  the  regularity  of  its  founders.  They  were  probably 
made  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  and  had  adopted  the  polity  and  work 
of  the  Ancient  Masons." 

We  do  not  fully  agree  with  so  much  of  the  above  as  refers  to  "  Ancient 
Masons,"  for  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  according  to  the  Old  Constitutions 
or  Institutions  known  as  the  "  Ancients  "  or  "  Ancient  York  Masons,"  was  not 
formed  until  1751,  and  it  was  not  until  June  30,  1772,  "that  brotherly  inter- 
course and  correspondence  was  fully  established  "  between  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  Ancients  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland. 

In  1754  it  is  stated  that  application  was  presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Scotland  for  a  charter  by  these  Boston  brethren,  they  having  the  support 
and  approval  of  the  Falkirk  Lodge  in  Scotland.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Scot- 
land, for  various  reasons,  questioning  possibly  the  Masonic  legitimacy  of 
the  petitioners,  delayed  consideration  and  action  thereon  until  May  21,  1759, 
but  it  failed  to  reach  the  lodge  until  September  4,  1760.  In  the  meantime, 
on  January  13,  1758,  in  order  to  obtain  all  the  advantages  of  Freemasonry, 
Isaac  Decoster,  who  had  been  Master  in  1756,  applied  to  the  St.  John's  Grand 
Lodge  for  recognition  for  himself  and  others ;  no  action  was  taken  thereon 
beyond  referring  the  petition  to  a  committee  and  its  report  in  favor  of  their 
making,  at  the  cost  of  the  charges  of  entertainment.     This  failure  of  action 


244  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

seemed  to  stimulate  the  new  lodge  ;  for,  in  1760,  they  admitted  four  members 
who  had  been  made  Masons  in  the  first  lodge.  The  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge, 
at  its  meeting  in  1761,  forbade  its  members  visiting  the  so-called  "Scots" 
Lodge,  as  it  had  not  been  regularly  constituted.  The  rivalry  between  the  two 
resulted  in  the  prosperity  of  both.  The  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  admitted  as  visitors 
and  to  membership,  and  even  to  official  rank,  members  of  all  other  lodges, 
there  being  no  law  at  that  time  prohibiting  dual  membership.  This  courtesy, 
however,  was  not  reciprocated.  When  the  charter  for  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  was 
received,  William  Busted,  who  had  been  made  in  the  first  lodge,  and  was  at 
one  time  its  Senior  Warden,  was  named  as  Master.  Its  second  Master  was 
Joseph  Webb,  who  was  afterward  Grand  Master  of  the  Massachusetts  Grand 
Lodge  ;  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  first  lodge,  and  served  at  one  time  as  its 
Junior  Warden.  The  contention  between  the  lodges  became  at  times  bitter, 
and  again  there  was  intercourse  of  the  most  friendly  character.  In  September, 
1767,  the  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  requested  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  in  open 
lodge,  for  permission  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Grand  Master  Gridley,  which 
was  granted,  after  which  the  doors  of  St.  John's  lodges  were  again  closed. 
On  January  29,  1773,  the  St.  John's  lodges  were  authorized  to  admit  as 
visitors  (after  examination),  the  members  of  the  Scotch  lodges.  This  shows 
that  the  work  of  the  latter  lodges  was  not  what  is  known  as  the  "Ancient 
York  work,"  as  the  latter's  mode  of  recognition  was  different.  Colonel  John 
Young  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  all  lodges  in  North  America 
under  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  on  November  14,  1757.  What  was  done 
by  him  under  that  authority  is  not  known. 

On  November  30,  1768,  a  committee  of  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  with  its 
Master,  Joseph  Warren,  at  its  head,  was  appointed  to  confer  with  other 
"  Ancient "  lodges  in  the  town  as  to  the  expediency  of  applying  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Scotland  for  a  Grand  Master  of  Ancient  Masons  in  America,  There 
were  three  British  regiments  stationed  in  Boston  at  that  time,  each  with  a 
Military  lodge  attached,  but  working  under  different  Constitutions,  —  English, 
Irish,  and  Scotch.  The  petition  was  granted  on  May  30,  1769,  by  Scotland, 
and  Joseph  Warren  was  appointed  "  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  Boston,  New 
England,  and  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  same."  The  new  Grand  Lodge 
was  duly  organized  on  December  27,  1769,  and  the  officers  publicly  installed. 
It  was  thenceforth  known  as  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge.  In  a  short  time  the 
Military  lodges  ceased  to  be  connected  with  this  Grand  Lodge.  Great  care 
seemed  to  be  exercised  by  it  in  the  granting  of  warrants,  and  the  laws  of 
Masonry  seemed  to  be  strictly  observed.  The  subject  of  what  made  a  quorum 
was  no  doubt  discussed,  and  resulted  in  the  Grand  Lodge  declaring  that 
whenever  a  summons  was  issued  for  convening  a  Grand  Lodge  by  the  Grand 
Master,  or  under  his  direction,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  is  in  consequence  con- 
gregated, the  same  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  legal  Grand  Lodge,  no 
matter  how  few  in  number.     Grand  Master  Warren  was  appointed  on  March 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  247 

3,  1772,  by  the  Grand  Master  of  Scotland,  Grand  Master  of  Masons  for  the 
Continent  of  America  ;  and,  on  December  27,  1773,  he  caused  his  commission 
to  be  read  in  open  Grand  Lodge,  and  appointed  Joseph  Webb  his  Deputy 
Grand  Master.  The  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  up  to  this  date,  had  granted 
charters  or  warrants  for  lodges  as  follows  :  — 

In  Massachusetts 8 

New  Hampshire i 

South  Carolina i 

West  Indies 3 

Nova  Scotia 3 

Newfoundland i 

Rhode  Island 3 

Maryland i 

Connecticut 8 

New  York 3 

Maine 2 

New  Jersey 2 

Canada I 

North  Carolina i 

Dutch  Guiana i 

Virginia i 

Total ; 40 

The  first  bears  date  of  1733;  the  last,  July  24,  1772.  In  1775  this 
Grand  Lodge  suspended  its  meetings  for  some  twelve  years,  on  account  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  its  Grand  Master  Rowe  being  "  under  suspicion."  Massa- 
chusetts Grand  Lodge,  however,  continued  to  meet  regularly. 

Tradition  says  that  the  "  Mohawks,"  the  "  High  Sons  of  Liberty,"  met  at 
the  lodge  at  the  ''Green  Dragon  Tavern"  {inde  the  two  upper  right-hand 
windows  in  illustration),  which  was  denounced  by  the  Tories  as  a  "nest  of 
traitors."  General  Joseph  Warren  and  other  leading  Masons  made  it  the 
headquarters  of  the  Revolution.  On  November  30,  1773,  the  Lodge  of  St. 
Andrew's  was  closed  without  the  transaction  of  any  business,  in  consequence 
of  the  fewness  of  the  brethren  present,  the  consignees  of  tea  having  broken  up 
the  brethren's  nerve.  On  the  i6th  of  December,  following,  it  is  said  the  line 
of  march  was  taken  from  the  lodge-room  to  destroy  the  tea  on  the  then 
arriving  ships. 

On  April  8,  1776,  the  Grand  Lodge  was  convened  for  the  performance  of 
a  sad  and  solemn  duty,  that  of  attending  the  funeral  of  Grand  Master  Warren, 
who  was  killed  at  Bunker  Hill.  The  death  of  General  Warren  resulted  in  the 
organization,  on  March  8,  1777,  of  the  first  independent  Grand  Lodge  on  this 
continent,  with  Joseph  Webb  as  Grand  Master.  All  the  lodges  under  the 
Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge,  with  the  exception  of  St.  Andrew's,  joined  in  the 
action  for  the  independence  of  Grand  Lodge.  The  refusal  of  St.  Andrew's 
may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  its  Master  and  several  members  were 
members  also  of  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge.  After  much  discussion,  "  com- 
mitteeing,"  resolving,  etc.,  on  March  5,  1792,  the  two  Grand  Lodges  united 


248 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


and  formed  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  the  most  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society 
of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts," 
with  John  Cutler  of  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  as  Grand  Master,  the  rest  of 
the  Grand  Officers,  with  the  exception  of  the  Deputy  Grand  Master,  being 
from  St.  John's,  the  deputy  coming  from  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge.  The 
union  resulted  in  the  dissolution  of  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge,  and  the 
closing  in  due  form  of  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge.  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  refused 
to  become  a  party  to  the  union  until  December,  1807,  when  it  was  received 
into  the  United  Grand  Lodge,  and  one  of  its  members  elected  Grand  Treasurer. 
During  the  existence  of  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge,  it  chartered  lodges 
as  follows  :  — 

In  Massachusetts 16 

Maine i 

United  States  Army i 

New  Hampshire 4 

Connecticut 5 

Vermont 2 

New  York i 

Total 30 

If  the  lodges  under  the  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  were  truly  "  Ancients," 
then  this  union  of  the  two  Grand  Lodges  was  the  first,  and  antedates  by 
twenty- two  years  the  union  in  England  of  1813.  The  union  restored  harmony, 
encouraged  work,  and  brought  prosperity,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  number  of 
charters  issued  from  1792  to  1830.  One  hundred  and  five  lodges  were  formed 
in  Massachusetts,  28  in  Maine,  2  in  Ohio,  and  2  in  the  West  Indies. 

The  first  act  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge  was  to  publish  the  "Book  of 
Constitutions,"  prepared  by  Thaddeus  Mason  Harris,  published  by  Isaiah 
Thomas,  and  now  known  as  "  Thomas's  Constitutions,"  —  its  foundation  was 
Anderson's  Constitutions,  and  it  was  dedicated  to  General  Washington. 

In  presenting  a  copy  of  the  "  Book  of  Constitutions  "  to  General  Washing- 
ton, the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  said  :  — 

"  Desirous  of  enlarging  the  boundaries  of  social  happiness  and  to  indicate  the  Ceremonies  of 
their  Institution,  this  Grand  Lodge  has  published  '  A  Book  of  Constitutions  '  (and  a  copy  for  your 
acceptance  accompanies  this),  which,  by  discovering  the  principles  which  actuate,  will  speak  the 
eulogy  of  the  society,"  etc. 

In  1796  a  second  and  enlarged  edition  of  the  same  was  published.  On 
June  27,  1835,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill 
Monument.  General  Lafayette  was  present,  and  assisted  at  the  special  con- 
vocation of  Grand  Lodge  and  the  ceremonies  of  laying  the  corner-stone.  The 
Monument  was  dedicated  with  Masonic  ceremonies,  in  1845. 

The  Anti-Masonic  excitement  raged  long  and  bitterly  in  Massachusetts. 
Many  of  the  smaller  lodges  suspended  work  until  the  storm  was  spent,  while 
a  few  surrendered  their  warrants. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement,  the  Grand  Lodge,  finding  itself  without  a 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  249 

home,  purchased,  in  1830,  a  lot  of  ground,  and  arranged  to  lay  the  comer- 
stone  of  a  new  hall  to  be  erected  thereon.  Amid  the  hooting  and  yelling 
of  a  crowd  of  fanatics,  the  Grand  Lodge  and  brethren,  to  the  number  of 
two  thousand,  with  Boston  Encampment  of  Knights  Templars  at  their  head, 
marched  from  Faneuil  Hall  to  the  place  where  the  corner-stone  was  duly 
and  truly  laid. 

On  December  31,  1831,  the  Masons  of  Boston  pubhshed  the  famous 
"  Declaration  "  [see  Division  XL]  prepared  by  Charles  W.  Moore,  which  did 
more  to  cause  a  halt  in  the  public  excitement,  cool  off  the  hot-headed  ones, 
and  restore  reason  to  the  doubting,  than  any  other  document  issued  in  this 
country.  This  declaration  was  affirmed  and  re-affirmed  by  the  Grand  Lodges 
of  the  New  England  States.  The  legislature,  in  1831,  led  by  the  Anti-Masons, 
notified  Grand  Lodge  to  appear  and  show  cause  why  the  act  of  incorporation 
granted  in  181 7  should  not  be  repealed.  The  Grand  Lodge,  on  December 
27,  1833,  placed  all  its  property  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  and  then,  in  a  formal 
and  legal  manner,  surrendered,  through  its  committee,  the  said  act  of  incorpo- 
ration to  the  legislature,  together  with  a  "  Memorial "  setting  forth  their  action 
in  surrendering  their  charter. 

The  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  a  second  time  by  the  legislature,  in 
1850.  This  act  allows  the  holding  of  real  estate  not  exceeding  the  value  of 
$500,000,  and  personal  estate  not  exceeding  the  value  of  $50,000. 

The  legislature  of  Massachusetts  has  also  incorporated  the  "  Masonic 
Education  and  Charity  Trust,"  the  whole  amount  of  funds  and  property 
authorized  to  be  held  by  the  corporation  not  to  exceed  $1,000,000,  While 
the  Grand  Lodge  is  itself  incorporated,  it  has  prohibited  its  subordinate  lodges 
accepting  a  charter,  under  an  act  of  incorporation,  from  '*  any  legislature  or 
poUtical  government." 

Before  locating  in  the  present  beautiful  Masonic  Temple  the  lodges  of  Boston 
have  met  at  various  places,  as  follows  :  Bunch  of  Grapes  Tavern,  King  Street 
(now  State  Street)  ;  Royal  Exchange  Tavern,  corner  of  State  and  Exchange 
streets ;  Grey  Hound  Tavern,  in  Roxbury  (pulled  down  by  a  mob  about  the 
time  of  the  Revolution)  ;  George  Tavern,  on  Boston  Neck ;  British  Coffee 
House,  Concert  Hall ;  Green  Dragon  Tavern,  next  to  the  north-west  corner 
of  Hanover  and  Union  streets  ;  Faneuil  Hall  (one  meeting.  Feast  of  St.  John, 
June  24, 1 782)  ;  James  Vilas  Hotel,  1 7  Court  Street ;  Exchange  Coffee  House  ; 
Masons'  Hall,  Ann  Street  (now  North-street)  ;  Old  State  House,  State  Street; 
Washington  Hall,  Washington  Street,  opposite  Isabella  Street ;  Temple,  Tre- 
mont  Street,  sold  to  United  States  for  Court  House,  1858;  Nassau  Hall, 
corner  of  Washington  and  Common  streets ;  Winthrop  House,  corner  of 
Tremont  and  Boylston  streets,  burned  in  1864.  After  the  fire,  the  founda- 
tion of  the  present  Temple  was  built  with  the  money  received  from  insurance 
and  other  available  funds  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  corner-stone  was  laid 
October  14,  1864,  and  the  building  dedicated  June  24,  1867.     The  founda- 


2 CO  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

tion,  with  ten  thousand  feet  of  land  on  which  it  stood,  and  $2000  in  cash, 
constituted  the  entire  possessions  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  that  time,  and  the 
erection  of  the  Temple  created  a  large  debt  which  was  not  fully  paid  until 
December,  1883.  The  Temple,  of  which  we  give  an  illustration,  is  large  and 
commodious,  built  of  granite,  and  has  ample  accommodations  for  the  Grand  and 
subordinate  lodges,  the  officers  of  Grand  Lodge,  and  the  library  of  the  Grand 
Lodo-e.  The  property  is  valued  at  about  half  a  million  dollars.  The  Grand 
Charity  Fund  amounts  to  about  $60,000.  A  temporary  appropriation  of  $2000 
annually  is  made  from  the  general  funds  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  until  the  income 
of  the  Grand  Charity  Fund  shall  be  available.  Relief  is  granted  by  a  committee 
of  three,  to  worthy  brethren,  their  widows  and  orphans  in  distress.  This  Grand 
Lodge  retains  in  activity  many  of  its  oldest  lodges.  The  first  lodge,  St.  John's, 
July  30,  1733,  is  the  oldest  lodge  on  this  continent;  St.  Andrew's  Lodge, 
1756,  Boston,  is  the  oldest  lodge  under  Scottish  Constitution,  and  there  are 
thirty-three  others,  all  dating  prior  to  1799.  The  minimum  fee  for  the 
degrees  is  $25  ;  the  annual  dues  generally  from  $2  to  $3,  with  some  lodges 
at  $10  and  $15.  It  has  a  fine  and  most  valuable  library,  rich  in  rare  Masonic 
books,  proceedings,  and  magazines.  It  has  been  fortunate  in  those  who 
have  been  called  to  preside  over  it,  many  of  whom  have  been  distinguished 
above  their  brethren,  in  public  and  political  life,  local,  State,  and  National.  It 
has  ever  maintained  the  absolute  supremacy  of  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Mas- 
ter, and  has  resisted  all  attempts  at  innovations  that  would  destroy  the  secrecy 
and  harmony  of  the  Craft. 

Rhode  Island.  —  Among  the  very  many  traditions  related  about  the  intro- 
duction of  Freemasonry  into  the  New  England  States,  is  one  told  by  the  Rev. 
Edward  Peterson,  in  his  history  of  Rhode  Island  and  Newport,  that  in  the 
spring  of  1658,  Mordecai  Campannell,  Moses  Peckeckoe  Levi,  and  others,  in 
all  fifteen  families,  arrived  at  Newport  from  Holland.  They  brought  with 
them  the  first  three  degrees  of  Masonry  and  worked  them  at  the  house  of  Cam- 
pannell, and  continued  to  do  so,  they  and  their  successors,  to  the  year  1742. 
Documents  substantiating  the  above  are  said  to  have  been  in  the  possession 
of  Brother  Nathaniel  H.  Gould,  formerly  of  Providence,  now  of  Texas.  The 
language  used  in  the  document  is  said  to  be  :  — 

"  Th9  ye  (day  and  month  obliterated)  1656  (the  last  figure  possibly  an  8) ,  W^"  mett  att  y  House 
off  Mordecai  Campanell  and  after  synagog  W^e  gave  Ab™  Moses  the  degrees  of  Maconrie." 

How  much  reliance  should  be  placed  on  this,  depends  on  the  imagination  of 
the  reader.  As  far  as  is  known  at  present,  Thomas  Oxnard,  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  at  Boston,  on  December  24,  1749,  granted 
a  charter  for  a  lodge  at  Newport,  appointing  Caleb  Phillips  as  Master.  In 
1759  complaint  was  made  that  this  lodge  was  conferring  the  ALaster's  degree. 
The  Grand  Lodge  demanded  information  as  to  why  they  conferred  the  Mas- 
ter's degree,  as  it  was  never  intended  they  should  possess  powers  to  "  raise  " 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  25  I 

brethren  to  the  Third  degree,  but  were  to  only  exercise  the  inherent  authority 
of  an  "  ordinary  lodge."  They  replied  that  it  was  an  error,  and  a  misunder- 
standing upon  the  part  of  the  brethren  of  the  lodge.  The  St.  John's  Grand 
Lodge,  Jeremy  Gridley  Provincial  Grand  Master,  on  March  20,  1759,  how- 
ever, granted  a  warrant  expressly  authorizing  the  Third  degree,  to  be  conferred 
in  a  separate  Master's  lodge. 

On  January  18,  1757,  Jeremy  Gridley  granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at 
Providence.  There  are  no  records  of  any  meetings  being  held  from  July, 
1764,  to  December,  1768.  After  June  7,  1769,  it  became  dormant,  but  was 
revived  July  15,  1778,  under  a  warrant  granted  by  Grand  Master  Rowe. 

These  two  lodges,  on  June  25,  1791,  agreed  "upon  a  plan  for  constituting 
a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island 
and  Providence  Plantation,  within  the  United  States  of  America."  A  consti- 
tution was  adopted,  making  the  annual  meetings,  on  June  24th,  alternately 
at  Newport  and  Providence.  At  this  time  Newport  Lodge  had  113  members, 
and  Providence  Lodge  121.  In  1792  certificates  were  issued  by  Grand  Lodge 
which  defined  their  powers  and  were  equivalent  to  a  warrant.  One  who 
received  the  Entered  Apprentice  degree  in  the  lodge  did  not  become  a 
member  thereof.  A  Fellow  Craft  must  apply  by  petition  for  advancement,  as 
an  Entered  Apprentice  could  not  be  a  member  of  the  lodge.  In  1797  a  brief 
memorial  service  was  adopted.  Charters  were  not  granted  directly,  and  lodges 
were  required  to  work  under  dispensations  for  several  years  before  a  charter 
was  issued.  They  were,  however,  allowed  representation  in  Grand  Lodge.  In 
1800  the  Grand  Lodge  began  the  numbering  of  its  lodges.  The  new  lodges 
were  constituted  and  the  ofificers  installed  in  public.  Lodges  were  given 
jurisdictional  control  of  petitioners  in  1800.  The  proposition  of  other  Grand 
Lodges  to  form  a  General  Grand  Lodge  received  the  support  of  this  Grand 
Lodge,  in  1791  and  1793,  but  subsequently,  in  1802,  its  views  changed  and  it 
was  strong  in  its  opposition  to  the  same. 

In  1804,  in  violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  Thomas 
Smith  Webb,  who  was. a  member  but  not  a  Past  Master  of  St.  John's  Lodge 
in  Providence,  was  elected  Senior  Grand  Warden  and  served  two  years.  The 
constitution,  which  limited  the  offices  of  Grand  Master  and  Deputy  Grand 
Master  to  Past  Masters  of  Rhode  Island  lodges,  was  amended  in  1808,  by 
making  Past  Masters  of  any  lodge  eligible  to  these  two  offices,  and  Webb,  in 
18 1 3-1 8 14,  was  elected  and  served  as  Grand  Master. 

Webb,  in  1 796,  before  he  came  to  Providence,  published  the  "  Freemason's 
Monitor,"  and  during  his  term  of  service  in  Grand  Lodge  he  published  four 
editions  of  the  same.  He  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in 
July,  1819. 

In  181 1  Grand  Lodge  declined  to  grant  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  on  the 
Island  of  St.  Bartholomew,  for  want  of  jurisdiction.  October  3,  18 14,  Grand 
Lodge  met,  formed  in  procession  headed  by  Grand  Master  Thomas  Smith 


252  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Webb,  marched  to  Fox  Point,  and  went  to  work  at  the  erection  of  a  fort 
for  the  defence  of  the  harbor  of  Providence.  After  its  completion  the  Grand 
Master  named  it  Fort  Hiram.  The  effects  of  Anti-Masonry  were  felt  severely, 
although  but  few  of  the  lodges  closed.  The  legislature,  in  1831,  appointed  a 
committee  to  investigate  Masonry.  The  Grand  Lodge  appeared  before  the 
committee  which  reported,  exonerating  the  Fraternity  from  the  charges  brought 
against  it,  yet  recommending  its  discontinuance.  The  Grand  and  subordinate 
lod^^es  were  summoned  to  show  cause  why  their  civil  charter  should  not  be 
revoked.  In  1834  six  charters  were  repealed,  and  the  legislature  passed  a 
bill  prohibiting  the  administering  of  extra-judicial  oaths.  Grand  Lodge  sur- 
rendered its  civil  charter  March  17,  1834,  but  it  was  restored  January,  1861. 
It  is  said  during  the  excitement  only  twelve  members  renounced  Masonry, 
and  of  this  number  four  were  clergymen.  A  new  constitution  was  adopted  in 
1826,  and  also  in  1848. 

In  1863  Grand  Lodge  revised  the  work,  which  was  generally  accepted, 
except  by  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge.  This  lodge  refused  to  accept  the  same,  and 
was  suspended.  Several  members,  among  them  the  Master,  were  expelled, 
and  it  was  years  before  the  lodge  accepted  and  worked  the  adopted  work. 

Masonic  halls  are  found  in  all  the  leading  cities  and  towns.  The  niijiitnum 
fee  for  the  degrees  is  $25  ;  the  highest  $200 ;  annual  dues  from  $4  to  $25. 

Connecticut.  —  Like  the  other  New  England  States,  Connecticut  derived 
its  Masonic  life  from  Massachusetts  ;  not  only  from  the  St.  John's  {of  which 
Paul  Revere  was  afterward  Grand  Master),  but  also  from  the  Massachusetts 
Grand  Lodge. 

The  former  granted  charters  as  follows :  "  Hiram,"  at  New  Haven,  August 
12,  1750,  with  David  Wooster  as  Master;  one  at  New  London,  January  12, 
1753,  which  ceased  to  exist  before  1789  ;  "St.  John's,"  at  Middletown,  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1754;  "  St.  John's,"  at  Hartford,  1762;  "Compass,"  at  Wallingford, 
April  28,  1769  ;  "  St.  Alban's,"  at  Guilford,  July  10,  1771,  it  became  dormant 
in  1776,  and  was  revived  May  17,  1787;  and  "Union,"  at  Danbury,  March 
23,  1780. 

The  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New  York,  George  Harrison,  acting  under 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  chartered  "  St.  John's,"  in  Fairfield  (afterward 
at  Bridgeport),  in  1762  ;  "St.  John's,"  in  Norwalk,  May  23,  1765  ;  "Union," 
at  Greenwich,  November  18,  1764;  and  "St.  John's,"  at  Stratford,  April 
22,  1766. 

The  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge  (Scotland)  chartered  "Wooster,"  in  Col- 
chester, January  12,  1781  ;  "St.  Paul's,"  at  Litchfield,  May  27,  1781,  its  charter 
dated  June  21,  1781;  "King  Hiram,"  at  Derby,  January  3,  1781;  "Mont- 
gomery," at  Salisbury,  March  5,  1783  ;  (no  record  is  found  in  Grand  Lodge 
record  of  this  charter  being  granted),  "Columbia,"  at  Norwich,  June  24, 
1785  ;  and  "  Frederick,"  at  Farmington,  September  18,  1787  :  17  lodges  in  all. 
In  addition,  there  was  meeting  in  the  State  the  Army  lodge  "  American  Union," 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  253 

chartered  by  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  in  Boston,  February  13,  1776,  and 
attached  to  a  Connecticut  regiment.  These  lodges,  working  under  different 
regulations,  continued  harmonious  as  far  as  was  possible.  It  was  the  custom 
among  Masons  and  lodges  in  those  early  days  to  hold  conventions,  at  which 
any  important  legislation  was  considered.  Such  a  convention  of  lodges  met 
on  Friday,  April  29,  1783,  in  pursuance  to  the  action  of  a  convention  held  the 
13th  of  March  preceding,  at  which  thirteen  lodges  were  represented.  The 
feasibility  of  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge  was  considered,  which  made  it 
comparatively  easy  to  effect  an  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  a  later 
date.  On  January  14,  1784,  a  Grand  Master  and  other  officers  were  chosen, 
but  no  further  progress  was  made  until  May  14,  1789,  when  another  con- 
vention was  called.  An  adjournment  was  had,  until  July  8,  1 7S9,  when  a 
constitution  was  adopted,  officers  elected,  and  the  present  Grand  Lodge  of  Con- 
necticut formed.  There  were  twelve  lodges  represented,  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  these  lodges  are  all  working  at  the  present  time,  and  all  were  present  at 
the  Centennial  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1889.  The  lodges  at  Stamford,  Nor- 
walk,  Derby,  New  London,  Guilford,  and  Waterbury  were  not  represented  at 
the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  but  Norwalk,  Derby,  and  Stamford  subse- 
quendy  joined  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  first  lodge  chartered  by  the  new  Grand 
Lodge  was  "  Moriah,"  No.  15,  at  Windham,  October  15,  1790,  now  located  at 
Danielsonville.  The  first  eleven  years  showed  the  growth  and  popularity  of 
the  Fraternity,  and  the  lodges  had  increased  to  44,  with  about  3000  members. 
About  1800,  spurious  and  clandestine  lodges  were  established  by  one  Joash 
Hall,  —  one  being  in  Middletown,  one  in  New  London,  and  one  in  Wallingford. 
Hall  was  an  arch-deceiver  and  impostor.  His  lodges  soon  died  out.  In  1802 
Connecticut  deemed  the  establishing  of  a  supreme  Grand  Lodge  for  the  United 
States  inexpedient.  In  1803  two  charters  were  granted  for  lodges  in  Ohio, 
most  of  the  petitioners  having  received  their  Masonic  light  in  Connecticut, 
but  who  had  removed  to  New  Connecticut,  on  the  Western  Reserve.  One 
was  "Erie,"  No.  47,  now  "Old  Erie,"  No.  3,  at  Warren;  the  other,  "New 
England," 'No.  45,  now  "New  England,"  No.  4,  at  Worthington.  These  two 
lodges,  acting  with  the  Army  lodge  "American  Union,"  assisted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  in  1S08,  and  are  still  in  existence.  In  18 16 
Jeremy  L.  Cross  was  appointed  Grand  Lecturer,  to  instruct  the  lodges  in  the 
correct  and  uniform  work.  He  was  the  author  of  a  "  Masonic  Chart,  or  Hiero- 
glyphic Monitor."     He  also  instituted  councils  of  the  Cryptic  Rite. 

In  1 82 1  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature.  In  1823 
Grand  Lodge  refused  to  divide  the  State  into  Masonic  districts  and  to  appoint 
District  Deputies.  In  1826  Grand  Lodge  appropriated  ^500  for  the  erection 
of  a  monument  to  General  George  Washington.  The  Anti-Masonic  excitement 
commenced  in  Connecticut  about  this  time,  and  the  strength  and  influence  of 
the  Craft  began  to  wane  :  lodges  failed  in  their  duties,  and  charters  were 
revoked  or  surrendered  at  each  session  of  Grand  Lodge.     The  Fraternity 


254 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


were  so  demoralized  that,  at  the  annual  session  of  1831,  every  officer  of  the 
Grand  Lodge,  except  the  Grand  Treasurer,  declined  further  service ;  finally 
new  officers,  except  the  Grand  Treasurer,  were  elected  \  but  at  the  next 
annual  session  the  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Treasurer  alone  reported  for  duty. 
Then  was  adopted  the  famous  Declaration  of  Masonic  principles,  which  tended 
in  a  measure  to  allay  the  Anti- Masonic  feeling.  In  1841  but  twenty-five 
lodges  were  represented.  In  1845  an  improvement  was  noted,  which  has 
continued  up  to  the  present  time.  The  unfortunate  Civil  War,  beginning  in 
1 86 1,  was  the  cause  for  applications  being  made  for  a  revival  of  the  Army 
lodges.  On  June  6,  1861,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  twelve  brethren 
belonging  to  the  4th  Connecticut  Regiment  of  Volunteers,  then  about  to  leave 
for  the  seat  of  hostilities,  for  a  lodge  to  be  called  "  Connecticut  Union," 
No.  90.  No  returns  were  ever  made  nor  records  of  it  found  on  the  minutes 
of  Grand  Lodge.  The  Greater  Lights,  gavel,  jewels,  and  collars,  and  minute- 
book  are  now  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  A  dispensation  for  a  lodge 
in  the  5th  Connecticut  Regiment,  to  be  known  as  "Ensign,"  No.  91,  was 
refused.  The  great  fire  of  1872,  in  Chicago,  while  it  called  for  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  people,  and  their  liberal  contributions  in  aid,  was  the  means  of 
laying  the  foundation  of  what  will  be  in  time  a  great  Masonic  charity.  When 
the  needy  there  had  been  relieved,  and  no  more  want  was  found,  there 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Chicago  Committee  of  Masonic  Relief  con- 
siderable money,  which  was  divided  among  the  contributors.  The  amount 
returned  to  Connecticut  led  to  the  incorporation  of  "  The  Masonic  Charity 
Foundation,"  for  the  "  assistance  or  support  of  aged,  indigent,  sick  or  infirm 
Freemasons  and  their  widows,  and  to  maintain  and  educate  the  orphans  of 
deceased  and  children  of  living  Freemasons,  as  may  not  be  otherwise  properly 
provided  for."  This  fund  amounted,  in  1S89,  to  the  sum  of  $10,082.5.3. 
There  is  a  lodge  room  still  in  existence  at  Woodbury,  of  1 775-1 797,  and  many 
of  the  lodges  own  the  halls  in  which  they  meet.  The  Grand  Lodge  has  not 
been  disturbed  by  any  dissensions  until  within  a  few  years,  when,  for  disobedi- 
ence, the  warrant  of  one  of  the  oldest  lodges  was  suspended,  and  its  meetings 
declared  clandestine.  The  lodge,  notwithstanding,  continued  to  meet  for 
some  time,  but  finally  yielded  as  it  should  have  done  at  first.  The  Grand 
Lodge  forgave  magnanimously,  and  now  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut  is 
stronger,  and  is  doing  better  Masonic  work  than  ever. 

liew  York.  —  To  Daniel  Coxe,  by  virtue  of  deputation  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  were  confided  the  interests 
of  Freemasonry  in  this  the  largest  jurisdiction  in  the  United  States.  What  acts 
were  done  by  Coxe  under  the  terms  of  the  deputation  is  not  known  at  present. 
Occupying  the  position  geographically  that  this  metropolitan  city  does,  on 
the  highway  between  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  it  may  be  safely  supposed 
that  something  must  have  been  done  by  him.  History,  however,  is  silent, 
and  we  can  only  abide  with  patience,  until  future  investigation  has  unveiled 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  255 

the  past.  Captain  Richard  Riggs  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master 
for  New  York,  by  the  Earl  of  Darnley,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  on  November  13,  1737  :  he  served  for  fourteen  years.  Riggs  was 
followed  by  Francis  Goelet,  appointed  by  Lord  Byron,  Grand  Master  in  1751, 
who  served  two  years,  and  he  by  George  Harrison,  appointed  by  the  Baron  of 
Carysfort,  on  June  9,  1753,  who  served  for  eighteen  years,  when  Sir  John 
Johnson  was  appointed,  in  1771,  by  Lord  Blaney,  and  he  served  for  ten  years. 
The  New  Yo?k  Gazette,  the  first  newspaper  published  in  New  York,  in  its 
issue  of  November  28,  1737,  comments  on  the  "New  and  unusual  sect  or 
society  of  persons  of  late  appeared  in  our  native  country,  and  at  last  has 
extended  to  these  parts  of  America,"  complaining  that  "  this  society,  called 
Freemasons,  meet  with  their  doors  shut  and  a  guard  at  the  outside,"  etc.  The 
same  newspaper,  June  26,  1738,  published  a  song  for  the  Freemasons,  and 
a  parody  on  the  same  for  the  ladies. 

On  January  22,  1739,  the  Gazette  contains  a  notice  that  "The  Brethren  of 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  are  desired 
to  take  notice  that  the  lodge  for  the  future  will  be  held  at  the  Montgomery 
Arms  Tavern,  on  the  first  and  third  Wednesdays  in  every  month." 

It  is  not  known  if  Provincial  Grand  Masters  Riggs  and  Goelet  authorized 
the  formation  of  any  lodges.  Harrison  was  the  first  active  Grand  Master,  and 
he  granted  the  following  warrants:  St.  John's,  No.  2  (now  No.  i)  ;  Inde- 
pendent Royal  Arch,  No.  8  (now  No.  2)  ;  St.  Patrick's,  No.  8  (now  No.  4)  ; 
King  Solomon's,  No.  7  (extinct)  ;  Master's,  No.  2  (now  No.  5)  ;  King  David's 
(moved  to  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  now  extinct).  Also  five  others  not 
yet  satisfactorily  accounted  for.  Warrants  were  also  granted  to  St.  John's, 
No.  I,  Fairfield  ;  St.  John's,  No.  i,  Norwalk ;  St.  John's,  No.  i,  Stratford  —  all  of 
Connecticut;  Zion,  No.  i,  of  Detroit,  Michigan;  and  St.  John's,  No,  i,  at 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  still  in  existence.  He  also  confirmed  the  warrant  of 
Union  Lodge,  No.  i,  at  Albany.  He  also  warranted  St,  Patrick's  Lodge  at 
Caughnawaga,  an  English  and  German  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk. 

No  records  are  to  be  had  of  the  official  acts  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  who 
succeeded  Harrison,  except  the  chartering  of  a  lodge  at  Schenectady  in  1774, 
and  two  Military  lodges,  one  in  1775  and  the  other  in  1776.  Johnson  was 
one  of  the  adherents  of  the  royal  cause,  and  sought  protection  of  the  British 
army  during  the  troubles  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  had  for  his  Indian 
ally  Brandt,  the  war-chief,  who  is  stated  to  have  been  a  Mason.  History 
respects  Brandt  for  his  remembrance  of  his  Masonic  vows  during  the  bloody 
scenes  of  war,  but  of  Johnson  it  says  that  "  his  eyes  had  become  blind  to  the 
Mason's  sign,  and  his  ears  deaf  to  the  Mason's  word." 

When  the  British  army  occupied  New  York  City,  in  1776,  the  lodges  there, 
with  but  a  single  exception,  —  Lodge  No.  399,  1763,  granted  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Ireland, — were  working  under  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England   (]\Ioderns).     They  all  ceased  work,  together  with  lodges  in  other 


256 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


parts  of  the  State,  during  the  war,  St.  Patrick's  Lodge,  at  Johnstown,  alone 
keeping  active. 

Attached  to  the  British  regiments  stationed  in  New  York  City  were  the 
following  Army  lodges:  No.  169  (afterward  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  3), 
chartered  in  1771,  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  by  the  Massachusetts  Grand 
Lodge,  but  transferred  to  New  York  in  1776;  No.  210,  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England  (Ancients),  chartered  in  1779,  afterward  Temple  Lodge,  No.  4 
(June  3,  1789),  and  then  Jerusalem,  No.  4,  December  2,  1789  ;  and  Solomon's 
Lodge,  No.  212,  chartered  in  November,  1780,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land (Ancients),  constituted  March  i,  1782,  granted  as  St.  Patrick's  Lodge 
in  1788.  No.  169  was  the  lodge  whose  papers  were  seized  as  a  prize  by  the 
vessel  belonging  to  Brother  Henderson,  handed  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  October  18,  1781,  and  directed  by  that  Grand  Lodge  to  be 
returned,  by  permission  of  the  Council  of  Safety  at  Philadelphia,  to  the  lodge 
at  New  York.  Among  the  papers  thus  seized  and  forwarded  was  the  warrant 
to  hold  a  new  lodge.  No.  212,  in  New  York  City,  etc.  The  forwarding  of 
the  papers  was  delayed  until  December  17,  1781,  in  order  that  the  Grand 
Master  might  obtain  information  as  to  the  treatment  of  some  brethren  who 
had  been  prisoners  in  New  York.  The  answer  being  satisfactory,  the  papers 
were  ordered  to  be  forwarded  under  care  of  a  brother  who  was  Commissary 
General.  This  lodge  had  a  record  most  favorable,  which  continued  until 
1827,  when  its  warrant  was  surrendered. 

In  response  to  an  application,  the  Duke  of  Athol,  Grand  Master  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England,  "Ancients,"  granted,  on  September  5,  1781,  a 
warrant  to  open  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  in  New  York  City.  During  the 
interval  between  the  granting  of  the  warrant  and  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Grand  Lodge,  December  5,  17S2,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  was  opened 
on  American  soil  for  the  first  and  possibly  the  only  time.  The  extract,  which 
we  give  in  full,  has  been  duly  authenticated  by  Colonel  Shadwell  H.  Gierke, 
Grand  Secretary  of  England,  as  follows  :  — 

"  Extract  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  according  to 
the  Old  Institutions,'  at  present  in  tlie  Archives  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  Free- 
masons' Hall,  London." 

"'Grand  Lodge  opened  at  4  o'clock  in  the  City  of  New  York,  North  America,  on  the  21st 
February,  An.  Do.  1782,  An.  Lap.  5782.  *  The  R .-.  W .-.  &  Rev'd  Br.  William  Walter  P.  G.  M.  Elect 
as  D.  G.  M. ;  the  R .-.  W .-.  Br.  John  St.  Browning,  Esq.,  P.  S.  G.  W.  Elect  as  S.  G.  W. ;  the  R .-.  W .-. 
&  Rev'd  Br.  John  Barkley,  P.J.G.W.  Elect  as  J.G.  W.;  the  R .-.  W .-.  Br.  Isaac  Callins,  P.M. 
of  16935  Gd.  Secy. ;  Present,  Br.  Cunningham,  Mr.  of  No.  169;  Warden,  S.  W.  of  No.  169 ;  Lounds, 
J.W.  of  No.  169;  Barclay,  P.M.  of  169;  McEwen,  P.M.  of  No.  169;  Collins,  Mr.  of  No.  210; 
Watson,  S.  W.  of  No.  210;  Grigg,  J.W.  of  No.  210;  Br.  Cock,  Mr.  of  No.  212;  Courtney,  S.W. 
of  No.  212;  Harrison,  J.W.  of  No.  212;  Hodson,  P.  M.  of  No.  212;  Crowell,  P.M.  of  No.  212; 
Drew,  Mr.  of  No.  213 ;  Fife,  S.  W.  of  No.  213 ;  Geddes,  J.  W.  of  No.  213  ;  Stokes,  P.  M.  of  No.  213. 
Installed  according  to  Ancient  usage:  Maximilian  de  Strait,  Mnster.  The  Rev'd  John  Phillip 
Erb,  S.  W.  Vice  David  Schoeph,  absent.  George  Dorg,  J.  W.  Vice  Ferd'd  Foester,  dead.  All 
matters  relative  to  this  Constitution  being  complaited  the  Gd.  Officers  aforesaid,  in  the  name  of 
the  Most  Noble  Prince  John,  Duke  of  Athol,  G.  M.,  proclaimed  the  New  Lodge  duly  constituted, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  257 

No.  215,  registered  in  Grand  Lodge  Book,  volume  8,  letter  H.,  to  be  held  in  the  Second  Reg't 
of  Anspack  Berauth.     Closed  before  7  o'clock,  adjourned  to  the  Grand  Lodge  in  London.'  " 

" '  *  N.  B.  The  Rev'd  Will'm  Walter  was  empowered  to  act  as  D.  G.  Mr.  (for  three  hours  only) 
by  an  authority  from  Wm  Dickey,  Esq''.,  D.  G.  AL' 

"  Certified  as  a  true  extract, 

"  (Signed)  Shadwell  H.  Clerke,  G.S. 
[Seal.] 

"  N.  B.  The  name  '  Browning '  above  given  is  a  mistake.     It  should  be  '  Brownrigg.' 

S.  H.  C." 

The  Lodges,  Nos.  169,  210,  "Ancient";  212,  "Ancient";  No.  52,  in  her 
Majesty's  37th  Regiment  of  Foot;  "  Moriah,"  No.  133,  in  her  Majesty's  22d 
Regiment  of  Foot ;  No.  213,  "Ancient,"  in  44th  Battahon  of  Royal  Artillery; 
No.  215,  "Ancient,"  in  2d  Regiment  of  Anspack  Berauth;  No.  441,  "Irish," 
held  in  her  Majesty's  3Sth  Regiment ;  "  Sion's,"  held  by  dispensation  in  her 
Majesty's  57th  Regiment,  were  present  and  assisted  at  the  formation  of  the 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  December  5,  1782,  of  which  Reverend 
William  Walter,  A.  M.,  was  Grand  Master.  The  principal  business  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  in  the  early  days  was  the  healing  of  "  Modern  "  Master  Masons  (in  one 
case  St.  John's  Lodge,  "  Moderns,"  made  application,  and  the  Master  and 
Wardens  were  admitted  in  the  Grand  Lodge  and  initiated  in  the  "  Ancient " 
mysteries).  The  purchase  and  acceptance  of  presents  of  lottery  tickets  also 
received  favorable  attention.  March  13,  17S3,  the  Grand  Lodge  granted  its 
first  warrant,  in  New  York  City,  to  Concordia,  No.  6.  The  Grand  Lodge  was 
at  this  time  controlled  by  the  Army  lodges.  In  the  lodge,  during  the  turmoil 
of  war,  the  Royalists  and  the  Federalists  were  wont  to  meet  upon  the  square,  — 
both  sides  meeting  upon  the  level.  When  the  time  came  for  the  evacuation 
of  New  York  by  the  British  troops,  the  Grand  Lodge,  September  19,  1783, — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Warrant  shall  be  left,  and  remain  in  the  use  of  such  brethren  as 
may  hereafter  be  appointed  to  succeed  the  present  Grand  Officers,  the  most  of  whom  being  under 
the  necessity  of  leaving  New  York  upon  the  removal  of  his  Majesty's  troops,"  etc. 

Grand  Master  Walter  resigned,  and  Brother  William  Cock  was  elected  and 
installed  Grand  Master.  February  4,  1 784,  the  three  oldest  Masters  of  differ- 
ent lodges  were  appointed  a  committee  on  charity.  Grand  Master  William 
Cock  resigned,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston  was  elected  Grand  Master,  and 
installed  by  proxy.  March  3,  i  784,  Livingston  was  personally  installed  and 
inducted  into  the  Chair  as  Grand  Master.  It  is  said  he  was  a  "  Modern  " 
Mason,  and  his  being  elected  Grand  Master  of  an  "  Ancient "  Grand  Lodge 
caused  many  of  the  "  Modern  "  lodges  to  come  forward  and  seek  admission 
into  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  to  apply  for  new  warrants,  which  were  accordingly 
granted. 

December  23,  1786,  it  was  ordered  that  all  the  lodges  in  the  State  hand 
in  their  respective  warrants,  so  that  the  rank  and  precedency  of  the  whole  might 
be  determined.     On  March  7,  1 786,  a  committee  was  appointed,  — 

"  To  consider  the  propriety  of  holding  the  Grand  Lodge  under  the  present  warrant,  and  that 
proper  measures  be  taken  to  effect  a  change,  if  it  should  be  thought  constitutional  and  expedient." 


258 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


The  committee  subsequently  reported  that  no  change  was  necessary,  except 
in  the  draft  of  the  style  of  warrant  to  be  hereafter  granted  by  the  Grand 
Lodge.  As  soon  as  the  precedency  of  the  lodges  was  established,  then  all  the 
lodges  were  to  take  out  new  warrants,  and  deliver  up  the  old  ones.  On  June  3, 
1 7S9,  the  question  of  precedency  was  settled.  The  Grand  Lodge  celebrated, 
with  much  pomp,  the  annual  recurrence  of  SS,  Johns'  Days,  at  one  of  which, 
December  21,  1785,  the  Knights  Templars,  properly  clothed,  were  at  the  head 
and  tail  of  the  procession.  The  same  ceremony  was  repeated  June  24,  1 789, 
at  which  time  the  Grand  Master  of  Georgia  was  present.  September  2,  1789, 
the  Deputy  Grand  Master  reported  that  there  was  considerable  dissension  in 
Lodge  No.  210,  on  account  of  the  Master's  absence,  and  his  taking  with  him 
the  warrant.  The  Deputy  Grand  Master,  on  petition  of  the  officers  and 
brethren,  had  issued  a  dispensation  authorizing  the  lodge  to  meet.  The 
dispensation  expired,  and  the  Master  sent  to  that  officer  the  original  warrant, 
which  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Secretary.  The  Master  also  sent 
a  petition  that  the  Grand  Lodge  should  cancel  the  old  warrant,  and  issue  a 
new  one  in  the  name  of  the  persons  mentioned  in  the  petition.  The  Grand 
Lodge  referred  the  matter  to  a  committee  composed  of  the  Masters  of  the  city 
lodges. 

The  Grand  Lodge,  on  report  of  committee,  granted  a  warrant  to  each  of 
the  two  parties  in  the  dispute.  Various  kinds  of  petitions  were  also  presented 
the  Grand  Lodge.  One  was  from  a  theatrical  brother,  asking  Grand  Lodge 
to  appear  in  regalia  at  his  benefit;  another  from  a  dancing- master,  asking 
Grand  Lodge  to  recommend  him  for  employment.  The  trouble  in  Lodge 
No.  210  was  deeper  than  appeared  on  the  surface.  After  the  Grand  Lodge 
had  granted  the  two  warrants  to  Lodge  No.  210,  some,  possibly  left  out  in  the 
cold,  obtained  from  the  Tyler  of  Lodge  No.  169  the  old  warrant  of  that  lodge, 
and  held  a  lodge  thereunder.  Realizing,  no  doubt,  their  false  position,  they 
petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge,  December  23,  1789,  acknowledging  the  impro- 
priety of  their  conduct  and  praying  forgiveness,  and  asking  for  a  new  warrant. 
At  the  subsequent  meeting  of  Grand  Lodge  a  warrant  was  refused  them,  and 
they  given  permission  to  withdraw  their  petition.  August  13,  1790,  the  Grand 
Lodge  concurred  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia  in  the  calling  of  a  conven- 
tion for  the  establishment  of  a  Supreme  Federal  Grand  Lodge.  On  October 
22,  1791,  a  letter  was  read  from  American  Union  Lodge,  No.  i,  "North-west 
of  the  River  Ohio,"  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  warrant  under  which  they  worked, 
with  by-laws  and  list  of  officers.  December  4,  1 793,  a  dispensation  for  the  term 
of  six  months  was  granted  to  a  number  of  French  refugees  from  the  Island  of 
San  Domingo,  who  had  with  them  the  proper  vouchers  of  their  establishment 
there  by  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  authorizing  them  to  work  under  them 
here.  Dissensions  soon  arose  among  the  brethren  of  this  lodge,  and  the 
dispensation  was  surrendered  before  it  expired.  The  difficulties  were  settled 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  conferring  the  first  three  degrees  of  Masonry,  in  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  259 

French  language,  on  Mr.  John  Baptist  Couret.  Why  the  conferring  of  the 
degrees  upon  a  "  profane  "  was  done  is  not  known. 

The  dissensions  between  the  "Moderns"  and  "Ancients"  and  a  number 
of  clandestine  Masons  led  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  1 793,  adopting  a  "  Grand 
Lodge  cheque-word,"  which  was  used  for  a  number  of  years,  but  changed 
December  3,  1 794.  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  6,  was  for  a  number  of  years  a 
source  of  trouble  to  the  Grand  Lodge  :  scarcely  a  meeting  was  held  but  that 
their  dissensions  were  ventilated  in  Grand  Lodge.  On  March  4,  1795,  a 
complamt  was  received  from  the  Master  and  Wardens  of  St.  John's  Mark 
Lodge,  against  the  Master  and  Wardens  of  St.  John's,  No.  6.     December  7, 

1796,  the  Grand  Lodge  resolved  "that  no  charter  or  dispensation  for  holding 
a  lodge  of  Masons  be  ever  granted  to  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever 
residing  out  of  this  State,  and  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  Grand 
Lodge."  The  French  refugees,  who  had  formerly  received  a  dispensation 
to  work  in  the  French  language,  were  originally  under  the  Grand  Orient  of 
France.  They  applied  for  a  warrant  as  ^^  L' Unite  A??iericaine,^'  No.  12,  which 
was  granted.  Their  life  as  a  lodge  was  one  continued  series  of  disputes  among 
the  officers  and  members,  which  led,  in  1797,  to  their  expelling  their  Worshipful 
Master.  The  Grand  Lodge,  on  appeal,  reinstated  the  Master.  The  lodge 
then  appointed  a  committee  to  return  the  warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  York,  and  voted  to  resume  allegiance  to  the  authority  of  the  Grand 
Orient  of  France.  The  warrant  was  restored  by  the  Grand  Lodge  to  the 
former  Master,  after  having  been  endorsed,  by  the  direction  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  "  as  continued  in  force  notwithstanding  its  surrender."     December  6, 

1797,  a  letter  was  read  from  a  person  styling  himself  Huet  Lachelle,  Deputy 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  requesting  permission  to  visit 
Grand  Lodge,  either  officially,  or  as  a  Master  Mason ;  but,  it  appearing  that 
he  had  granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge,  "  L' Union  Frafi^aise,''^  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  he  was  refused  admission.  Lachelle  subsequently,  when  before 
a  committee  of  Grand  Lodge,  refused  to  recall  the  warrant,  and  claimed  he 
had  the  right  to  establish  lodges  wherever  he  pleased. 

Paine's  Lodge,  No.  27,  asked  for  and  received  permission  to  change  its 
name  "  to  Hiram,"  because  "'  it  was  the  name  of  a  man  who  since  has  rendered 
himself  generally  odious  by  his  indecent  attacks  on  Christianity."  The 
brethren  oi  L' Unite  Americaine,  No.  12,  apologized  for  their  action  in  surren- 
dering their  warrant  and  returning  to  the  Grand  Orient,  which  was  taken  under 
a  misunderstanding  of  the  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  their  case.  A  dis- 
pensation was  granted  to  these  brethren  to  continue  for  the  space  of  six  months, 
but  the  minutes  were  to  be  kept  in  the  English  as  well  as  the  French  language. 

A  most  singular  dispensation  was  granted  on  December  25,  1797,  to  a 
number  of  brethren  confined  in  the  jail  of  the  city  and  county  for  debt,  per- 
mitting them  to  congregate  on  the  ensuing  Festival  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
and  celebrate  that  day  as  a  lodge.     A  like  dispensation  was  granted  in  1804. 


26o  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  Grand  Master,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  having  been  appointed  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  to  the  French  RepubHc,  dedined  a  reelection  on  June  3, 
iSoi,  after  having  served  since  1784.  He  was  succeeded  by  Jacob  Morton, 
who  was  installed  into  ofifice  on  June  25,  1801,  with  ceremonies  at  that  time 
no  doubt  considered  "grand,"  the  Installing  Officer,  Grand  Master-elect,  and 
Grand  Master  of  Georgia  being  received  at  the  entrance  to  the  building  by  a 
body  of  Knights  Templars,  dressed  with  the  Insignia  of  the  Order,  and  with 
drawn-swords ;  the  Grand  Master,  after  installation,  delivering  a  fraternal 
address. 

On  December  25,  1801,  Union,  Master's,  and  Temple  lodges  of  Albany, 
issued  a  circular  to  the  country  lodges  advocating  the  Grand  Lodge  meeting 
in  Albany  instead  of  New  York  City,  and  for  the  formation  of  another  Grand 
Lodge.  This  proposition  was  opposed  as  strongly  by  some  of  the  country  as 
by  the  city  lodges,  and  finally  action  was  delayed  until  1823,  when  it  was 
discussed  with  the  greatest  bitterness.  It  was  a  contention  between  the  city 
and  country,  and  very  unfortunate  for  the  Fraternity. 

While  the  Grand  Lodge  claimed  to  do  the  "Ancient"  work,  on  June  10, 
1807,  it  was  decided  that  the  loss  of  one  eye  by  a  candidate  was  not  such  a 
defect  as  to  preclude  his  initiation  into  our  mysteries. 

September  i,  18 14,  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Emergency  was  called,  when  seven- 
teen lodges  were  represented.  The  brethren  formed  in  procession  and  gave 
a  day's  labor  towards  the  erection  of  Fort  Masonic  (on  Brooklyn  Heights), 
for  the  defence  of  the  city.  After  a  day's  work  the  procession  re-formed  and 
returned  to  the  city.  On  September  7,  18 14,  a  second  day's  labor  was  con- 
tributed. On  June  5,  181 6,  the  use  of  distilled  spirits  in  lodge-rooms  was 
expressly  forbidden. 

September  2,  1818,  permission  was  granted  by  the  legislature  to  raise  money 
by  a  lottery,  for  the  erection  of  a  Masonic  hall.  July  5,  1820,  a  special  com- 
munication of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  held  to  confer  the  degree  of  the  Chair 
upon  the  Grand  Master,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  and  on  September  12,  1820, 
the  offices  of  Grand  Standard  Bearer,  Grand  Marshal,  and  Grand  Sword 
Bearer  were  created. 

March  9,  1821,  the  lodges  in  the  ten  western  counties,  through  a  conven- 
tion, petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge  that  a  Grand  Lodge  be  organized  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State.  This  was  followed  by  various  amendments  and 
additions  to  the  constitution  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  resolutions  adopted  in 
regard  to  proxy  rights  and  voting,  also  for  paying  the  mileage  and  expenses 
of  representatives.  June  12,  1822,  a  second  proposition  to  estabUsh  a  new 
Grand  Lodge  outside  of  New  York  City  was  offered.  It  was  found  that 
there  was  an  unwillingness  to  surrender  old  original  charters,  received  from 
England,  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  and  the  manner  of  establishing 
and  maintaining  Grand  Visitors  of  lodges,  as  well  as  the  system  of  represen- 
tation of  country  lodges  by  proxies  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  slowly  but  surely 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


261 


were  estranging  the  country  lodges  from  the  Grand  Lodge  organization,  which 
was  solely  a  city  institution,  so  far  as  office-bearers  and  many  local  matters 
were  concerned.  The  proxy  power  was  specially  claimed  as  an  abuse  by  the 
Grand  Lodge;  for  in  March,  1823,  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  name  of  every  person  appointed  a  proxy  shall  be  filled  up  in  open  lodge 
at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  and  at  a  regular  meeting." 

In  June  the  clash  came.  The  day  before  the  Grand  Lodge  session,  the 
country  delegates  caucused  for  Grand  Officers,  excluding  every  city  member 
as  an  officer.  The  examining  committee  of  credentials  were  instructed  to 
consider  as  regular  only  those  holding  under  the  above  resolution.  This  was 
vehemently  opposed.  An  appeal  was  taken  from  the  decision  of  the  Chair  upon 
a  question  of  order  :  the  Chair  declared  there  was  no  appeal,  and  adjourned 
Grand  Lodge  till  next  morning,  when  the  city  lodges  could  not  attend.  The 
Grand  Lodge,  however,  on  the  demand  of  at  least  one-half  of  the  members 
present,  was  immediately  convened  by  the  Junior  Grand  Warden,  reopened 
and  proceeded  to  business,  elected  Grand  Officers,  adopted  a  resolution, 
June,  1822,  which  declared  that  it  was  expedient  that  two  Grand  Lodges  be 
formed  in  the  State  of  New  York,  viz. :  the  one  already  in  the  city,  and  the 
other  out  of  the  city,  as  a  majority  of  the  lodges  consenting  to  form  a  part 
thereof  should  designate,  the  one  to  be  known  as  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge, 
New  York. 

The  city  and  country  Grand  Lodges  compromised  under  a  "  Compact  "  in 
1827,  and  united  on  June  7th,  agreeing  that  there  should  be  one  Grand 
Lodge  ;  that  the  records  should  remain  in  New  York  City ;  that  the  Grand 
Treasurer  and  Grand  Secretary  should  be  chosen  from  the  city ;  that  the 
Grand  Master  or  the  Deputy  should  be  chosen  from  the  city,  the  other  from 
the  country ;  the  two  Wardens  from  outside  the  city ;  that  the  number  of 
lodges  which  one  Master,  or  Past  Master,  might  represent  should  not  exceed 
three  ;  that  Past  Masters  should  not  be  represented  by  proxies. 

Just  prior  to  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement,  there  were  502  lodges  in  New 
York,  of  which  number,  430,  owing  to  the  excitement,  surrendered  their  war- 
rants. The  persecution  was  greatest  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  Very 
little,  if  any,  work  was  done  during  the  years  1827  to  1834.  Anti-Masonic  and 
political  affairs  had  scarcely  become  settled  when  a  new  schism  occurred.  It 
may  be  stated  that,  subsequent  to  the  "Compact  of  1827,"  and  as  the 
"  Morgan  Excitement  "  was  dying  away,  a  few  Masons  were  anxious  to  show 
their  courage  by  a  public  parade,  which  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of 
the  Grand  Lodge,  and  it  decreed  that  there  should  be  no  street  parading  even 
on  the  occasion  of  a  funeral ;  so  that,  about  1835,  all  public  processions  were 
inhibited.  In  1837  York  Lodge,  No.  367,  passed  a  resolution  that  it  would 
appear  in  public  on  the  occasion  of  the  coming  St.  John's  celebration.  It  was 
joined  by  Hibernia,  Benevolent,  and  Silentia  Lodges ;  but  they  were  notified 


252  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

at  Warren  Hall,  corner  of  Oliver  and  Henry  streets,  by  the  Deputy  Grand 
Master  and  the  Grand  Secretary,  that  their  proceedings  were  contrary  to  the 
regulations  of  Grand  Lodge. 

Henry  C.  Atwood  became  the  leading  spirit  of  those  who  were  about  to  set 
the  decree  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  defiance.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
wait  on  the  Grand  Officers  and  inquire  if  there  was  anything  in  the  constitu- 
tion which  directly  prohibited  public  parade,  and  were  of  course  informed  that 
there  was  nothing  in  the  constitution  which  directly  prohibited  parades,  but 
that  there  was  a  decree  of  the  Grand  Lodge  forbidding  it. 

H.  C.  Atwood  was  again  notified,  the  night  before,  not  to  parade,  and  the 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  Van  Benschoten,  and  the  Grand  Secretary,  James  Her- 
ring, went  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  Union  Hall,  and  warned  those  present. 
Three  hundred  voted  to  parade  and  did  parade.  On  the  succeeding  July  1 2th, 
1837,  H.  C.  Atwood  and  William  F.  Piatt  were  expelled  for  disobedience  to  the 
lawful  mandate  of  the  Deputy  Grand  Master.  The  recreant  lodges  which  formed 
St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  September  12,  1837,  were  declared  clandestine,  and 
so  remained  for  thirteen  years.  All  Masonic  intercourse  was  refused  this 
"  Union  "  by  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Europe  and  America,  until  December,  1850, 
when,  with  great  ceremony,  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  was  merged  in  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York.  It  was  the  Grand  Master  of  this  organization,  the  St. 
John's  Grand  Lodge,  that  granted  authority  to  Masonic  bodies  to  confer  the 
degrees  of  the  so-called  "  York  Rite,"  under  the  assumed  authority  of  what  is 
now  known  as  the  "  Cerneau  Rite." 

The  fact  is  singular  that  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  1850,  reversed  by  its  action 
the  decisions  given  in  1837  against  the  "  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State 
of  New  York,"  and  recognized  as  regular  that  which  it  had  before  pronounced 
illegitimate  and  clandestine,  without  any  submission  on  the  part  of  the  latter 
body.  This  union  left  two  Grand  Lodges  in  the  State  of  New  York,  —  the  St. 
John's  Grand  Lodge,  of  which  Henry  C.  Atwood  was  Grand  Master,  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York  :  of  the  latter  John  D.  Willard  was 
Grand  Master  (he  was,  in  1841,  Master  of  Apollo  Lodge  of  Troy)  ;  John  S. 
Perry,  a  Past  Master  and  Grand  Visitor  in  the  County  of  Rensselaer ;  Robert 
R.  Boyd  was  Grand  Secretary.  The  country  and  city  representatives  clashed 
on  the  old  question  of  Past  Masters,  and  their  rights  in  the  Grand  Lodge. 
One  faction  claimed  that,  in  accordance  with  ancient  usage,  according  to  the 
Ahiman  Rezon,  Past  Masters  were  not  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  The 
other  side  pointed  to  the  solemn  "Compact  of  1827,"  and  held  to  it  as  a 
"sacred  right,"  when,  on  June  5th,  at  the  Howard  House  in  Broadway,  the 
culmination  of  the  difficulties  took  place  :  and  there  were,  as  dividing  Grand 
Lodges,  that  over  which  John  D.  Willard  presided,  and  the  other  that  over 
which  Isaac  Phillips  presided.  This  latter  was  claimed  to  be  the  seceding 
body,  and  its  Grand  Secretary  was  James  Herring,  and  was  known  as  the 
"  Phillips  "  or  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York. 


IIIIH 

J'  i'l^iii  ii  I 

lifi  j    II   fill  (I  il   i 
iilT  iiffl^  III  »l  II 

^ J 


MASONIC   TEMPLE,    NEW   YORK   CITY. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  26? 

In  due  course  and  under  peculiar  circumstances,  which  had  been  warily 
brought  about,  the  Grand  Lodge  (formerly  the  PhilHps  body),  was  proclaimed 
closed  by  the  Grand  Master,  James  Jenkinson,  under  the  seal  and  signature  of 
James  Herring  as  Grand  Secretary.  The  articles  of  union  were  dated  June  7, 
1858,  which  left  John  L,  Lewis,  Jr.,  Grand  Master  of  the  United  Grand 
Lodge.  It  was  the  Phillips  Grand  Lodge  of  which  Greenfield  Pote  was  Grand 
Tyler,  and  who  was  awarded  $500.  When  that  Grand  Lodge  was  merged,  also, 
$1,000  was  given  to  James  Herring,  and  ^250  to  Frederick  W.  Herring  as 
Assistant  Grand  Secretary. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  the  differences ;  "  the  old  and  the  new  diffi- 
culties were  precisely  parallel,"  and  the  contention  was  that  the  "  conclusion 
was  inevitable  that  the  membership  of  Past  Masters  was  a  part  of  the  com- 
pact, and  the  country  lodges  were  to  receive  mileage  and  per  diem  as  the 
consideration." 

On  June  24,  1853,  the  new  schism  of  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  occurred. 
There  were  four  grievances  set  forth  for  this  new  outbreak  :  — 

"  First.  Because  of  the  election  of  Reuben  H.  Walworth,  formerly  Chancellor  of  the  State, 
to  the  office  of  Grand  Master.  The  objections  against  him  were  claimed  to  be  the  position  he 
occupied,  and  the  opinions  he  entertained  concerning  Masonry  from  1827  up  to  about  1852;  that 
for  nearly  twenty-five  years  he  was  a  non-contributing  member ;  and  furthermore,  it  was  alleged 
that  it  was  intended  to  make  him  Grand  Master  for  life. 

"  Second.    That  large  amounts  of  money  had  been  shamefully  squandered. 

"Third.     That  lodges  had  been  inordinately  taxed  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 

"  Fourth.  The  inquisitorial  exercise  of  power  by  the  Grand  Lodge  over  subordinate  lodges 
and  individual  members." 

The  strength  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  this  time  was  about  250  lodges,  70 
being  in  the  city.  This  included  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  subordinates, 
having  about  1000  members. 

Upon  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  service  of  Grand  Master  Walworth,  the 
St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  subordinates  returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  regular 
Grand  Lodge,  after  a  separation  of  about  three  years. 

About  1 85 1  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Hamburg  granted  a  warrant  to  one  of  the 
lodges  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  (Pythagoras,  No.  86),  which  was 
the  source  of  annoyance  for  some  time. 

From  the  earliest  date  the  charity  of  the  Grand  Lodge  has  been  liberally 
bestowed,  and  through  its  entire  proceedings  there  are  evidences  of  kindly 
consideration  of  the  wants  of  the  needy  and  unfortunate,  not  only  to  those 
of  their  own  household,  but  to  the  poor  of  the  world.  In  the  War  of  181 2, 
the  lodges  of  New  York  City  reUeved  the  destitution  and  suffering  of  the  people 
of  Buffalo.  March  7,  18 10,  the  Grand  Lodge  had  fifty  poor  and  orphan  chil- 
dren under  instruction  in  New  York.  December  15,  181 5,  funds  were  raised 
to  procure  a  pair  of  shoes,  one  pair  of  stockings,  an  overcoat,  and  a  hat  for 
each  scholar  in  the  free-school  under  charge  of  the  Fraternity.  On  June  7, 
1843,  a  memorial  was   read  from  Phoenix   Lodge,  No.   58,  signed  by  100 


265  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

brethren,  subscribing  $300  in  cash,  and  agreeing  to  pay  an  annual  sum  for  the 
erection  of  a  Grand  Lodge  hall  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the  founding 
of  an  "  Asylum  for  worthy  decayed  Masons,  their  widows  and  orphans."  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  Hall  and  Asylum  Fund,  which,  by  careful,  and  judi- 
cious, and  able  management  has  caused  a  magnificent  Temple  to  be  erected  at 
the  corner  of  Twenty-third  Street  and  Sixth  Avenue.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  June,  1870,  and  the  building  was  dedicated  June,  1875,  the  total  expense 
being  $1,750,000.  For  years  the  Grand  Lodge  struggled  to  free  itself  from 
an  indebtedness  of  $500,000,  so  as  to  use  the  income  from  the  building  for 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  an  asylum.  The  hall  they  were  occu- 
pying, the  asylum,  the  home  for  the  poor  brother,  his  widow  and  orphan, 
seemed  in  the  dim  future  ;  but  now  the  time  had  come,  the  man  was  here, 
the  deliverer  was  at  hand,  and  he  had  the  Masonic  fortitude  to  work  with 
earnestness,  and  with  warm,  earnest  friends  to  stand  by  him  and  to  follow  in  his 
lead.  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Frank  R.  Lawrence,  Grand  Master  of  Masons 
of  New  York  in  1889,  freed  the  temple  of  all  debt,  and  the  preliminaries  to  the 
erection  of  the  Home  and  Asylum  were  begun  in  earnest.'  It  is  to  be  erected 
in  Utica,  on  a  plateau,  overlooking  the  city,  and  containing  175  acres.  It  will 
be  supported  by  revenues  derived  from  the  rental  of  Masonic  Hall,  and  by 
voluntary  contributions.  We  give  an  engraving  of  this  Hall,  and  proposed 
Home  j  the  latter  from  Architect  William  H.  Hume's  plans.  The  distressed 
brethren,  their  widows  and  orphans,  are  now  being  relieved  with  a  liberal  hand 
by  the  subordinate  lodges. 

A  number  of  subordinate  lodges  in  different  parts  of  the  jurisdiction  have 
halls  of  their  own,  while  the  bodies  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish 
Rite  of  Freemasonry,  of  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn,  are  owners  of  mag- 
nificent and  valuable  halls. 

In  1864  the  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  by  the  legislature,  under  the 
title,  "  An  Act  to  Incorporate  the  Trustees  of  the  Masonic  Hall  and  Asylum 
Fund."  The  act  was  amended  in  1877,  by  providing  for  the  election  of  three 
instead  of  five  trustees,  to  be  selected  from  other  than  those  holding  office  in 
Grand  Lodge.  The  legislature  has  also  exempted  Grand  Lodge  property 
from  taxation. 

The  Grand  Lodge  possesses  a  valuable  library  on  which  it  expends  annu- 
ally about  $1500  for  purchase  of  books,  salary  of  Librarian,  etc. 

Of  the  original  lodges,  six  survive,  viz.  :  St.  John's,  No.  i,  1757  ;  Indepen- 
dent Royal  Arch,  No.  2,  1760 ;  Mt.  Vernon,  No.  3,  1765  ;  St.  Patrick's,  No.  4, 
1766  ;  Master's,  No.  5,  1768  ;  St.  George's,  No.  6,  1774. 

1  More  than  $100,000  was  in  hand  to  commence  the  erection  of  tlie  "  Home."  Of  this  sum, 
$75,000  was  the  avails  of  a  fair,  held  by  the  ladies,  in  New  York,  in  1887.  The  building  will  be  of 
brick  and  stone,  throe  stories  and  a  basement.  It  will  have  a  frontage  of  190  feet,  fronf  which  will 
extend  backward  three  irregular  wings,  from  50  feet  to  125  feet  deep,  the  general  outline  of  the 
ground-plan  t)eing  like  a  capital  F,  with  the  upper  part  completed  so  as  to  make  a  rectangle, 
enclosing  a  court  36  feet  by  64  feet;  the  perpendicular  Ime  of  the  letter  representing  the  northern 
and  front  side  of  the  building,  while  the  upper  horizontal  line  represents  the  western  side,  facing 
one  of  the  approaches.  This  form  is  adapted  to  admit  readily  of  enlargement.  1  he  present 
building  will  accommodate  150  people. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  26q 

This  Grand  Lodge  is  the  largest  in  number  of  lodges  and  membership 
in  America,  and  wields  an  immense  influence  in  the  Masonic  world. 

New  Jersey.  —  The  deputation  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Grand  Master  of 
England,  granted  June  5,  1730,  appointing  Daniel  Coxe  of  New  Jersey,  is 
addressed  — 

"  To  all  and  every  our  Right  Worshipful,  Worshipful  and  loving  brethren  now  residing  or  who 
may  hereafter  reside  in  the  Provinces  of  New  York,  New  Jersey  or  Pennsilvania." 

And  was  issued  — 

"  On  application  of  Daniel  Coxe  and  by  several  other  brethren,  free  and  accepted  Masons 
in  said  Provinces." 

Whatever  doubt  there  may  arise  as  to  what  Coxe  did  under  his  deputa- 
tion, it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  were  recognized  Masons  residing  in  the 
Provinces  assigned  to  him. 

The  first  warrant  known  to  be  issued  to  a  lodge  in  New  Jersey  was  granted 
by  Provincial  Grand  Master  George  Harrison  of  New  York,  on  May  13,  1761, 
for  a  lodge  at  Newark.  The  lodge  met  first  at  the  "  Rising  Sun  Tavern," 
afterward  at  the  private  residences  of  its  members.  From  1764  until  Janu- 
ary, 1768,  and  during  a  portion  of  1769,  the  meetings  were  suspended.  In  1769 
the  lodge  was  reopened,  and  continued  until  January,  1772;  then  it  ceased 
to  work  during  the  American  Revolution.  This  lodge,  as  St.  John's  Lodge, 
No.  I,  is  still  in  active  operation.  June  24,  1762,  Jeremy  Gridley,  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  granted  a 
warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Elizabeth  town,  by  the  name  of  Temple  Lodge,  No.  i. 

December  27,  1763,  the  same  Grand  Master  granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge 
at  Princeton,  by  the  name  of  St.  John's  Lodge.  Nothing  is  known  of  the  work 
done  by  these  lodges.     The  three  latter  were  "  Modern  "  lodges. 

During  1767  William  Ball,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania 
["Ancients"],  granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Baskinridge,  which  was 
known  as  No.  10.  It  has  been  stated  that  the  warrant  for  this  lodge  ema- 
nated from  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  No.  3,  at  Philadelphia,  but  this  cannot  be, 
for  there  was  a  Grand  Lodge  in  existence  in  Philadelphia,  at  that  time,  which 
granted  all  warrants  applied  for.  It  has  also  been  called  the  "  Lodge  at  Bed- 
minster,  No.  I."  It  was  also  known  as  Somerset  Lodge,  No.  i,  and  afterward 
as  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  i.  It  soon  became  extinct.  The  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania  also  granted  a  warrant,  on  December  20,  1779,  for  a  lodge  at 
Middleton,  Monmouth  County,  to  be  known  as  Lodge  No,  23,  and  on  March 
27,  1 781,  granted  a  warrant  at  Burlington  for  Lodge  No.  32.  Pursuant  to 
notice,  a  convention  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  was  held  at  New  Bruns- 
wick on  December  18,  1786,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Grand  Lodge 
in  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  It  was  organized  by  the  aforementioned  lodges. 
Those  present  at  the  formation  had  nearly  ail  seen  ser\dce  in  the  army. 

New  Jersey,  during  the  American  Revolution,  was  the  headquarters  of  both 
contending  armies,  and  here,  during  the  resting  and  recuperating  of  the  armies 


270 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


in  the  winter  months,  the  soldiers  who  were  Masons  enjoyed  Masonic  privileges 
to  the  fullest  extent.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  issued  several  war- 
rants :  among  others,  to  No.  19,  a  "  Regimental  warrant  for  the  Pennsylvania 
Artillery  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,"  which  was  granted  May  18, 
1779,  this  lodge  surrendered  its  warrant,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  later 
taken  up  by  Montgomery  Lodge,  No.  19,  of  Philadelphia,  but  of  this  there 
is  no  evidence,  except  in  the  names  of  one  or  more  of  the  members  being 
connected  with  both  lodges  ;  to  No.  31,  a  travelling  warrant  of  the  Jersey  Line, 
granted  June  17,1 784  ;  to  No.  36,  "  a  travelling  lodge  to  be  held  in  the 
respective  cantonments  of  the  New  Jersey  Brigade,"  granted  September  2, 
1 782,  but  surrendered  December  20,  1 784.  This  warrant  "  strictly  enjoins  and 
requires  that  no  citizens  be  initiated  under  said  travelling  warrant  while  in 
the  vicinity  of  any  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  within  the  United 
States,  except  when  special  dispensation  shall  be  granted  by  the  Grand  Master 
of  Pennsylvania  or  his  Deputy."  The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York, 
under  date  of  May  i8,  1782,  granted  a  warrant  for  a  Lodge  No.  2,  to  be  held 
in  the  3d  Battalion,  New  Jersey  Volunteers ;  the  name  was  changed  in  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1783  to  St.  George's.  It  was  a  lodge  composed  of  loyalists  connected 
with  the  British  Military  Line,  and  afterward,  it  is  supposed,  went  to  Nova 
Scotia. 

In  1784  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  called  in  all  the  Army  warrants. 
At  the  close  of  1779  the  headquarters  of  the  Continental  army  was  at  Morris- 
town,  New  Jersey.  The  American  Union  Lodge  attached  to  the  Connecticut 
Line  was  at  that  time  at  the  same  place.  At  the  festival  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist,  December  27,  1779,  there  were  sixty-eight  brethren  present,  one 
of  whom  was  George  Washington.  At  this  meeting  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  consider  the  appointing  of  a  Grand  Master  of  the  United  States.  The 
committee  met  Monday,  January  7,  1780,  and  an  address  was  prepared  and 
ordered  sent  out  to  the  several  Grand  Lodges  favoring  the  movement ;  and 
while  the  name  of  Washington  was  not  mentioned  in  the  address  as  a  suit- 
able person  for  Grand  Master,  yet  it  was  formally  signified  to  the  Grand 
Lodges  that  he  was  the  choice  of  the  convention. 

At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  five  dispensations  for 
lodges  were  issued.  No  action  was  taken  by  the  Grand  Lodge  towards 
framing  a  constitution  or  establishing  general  regulations  and  by-laws,  until 
January  5,  1790,  when  a  form  was  submitted  for  the  consideration  of  lodges. 
The  Grand  Lodge  adopted  the  same  on  July  6,  1 790. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  was  always  opposed  to,  and  decHned  any 
overtures  for,  the  formation  of  a  General  Grand  Lodge. 

The  Anti-Masonic  excitement  troubled  this  Grand  Lodge,  but  not  to  such 
an  extent  as  in  the  neighboring  jurisdictions.  One  lodge  after  another  was 
forced  to  yield,  until  there  remained  only  five  or  six  working  lodges,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  which  met  in  Grand  Lodge  and  perpetuated  its  existence.     Up 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE, 


271 


to  the  year  1855,  the  Grand  Lodge  held  its  meetings  in  the  lodge-room  of 
Trenton  Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Trenton,  under  an  agreement  with  that  lodge,  for 
moneys  advanced  in  building  their  lodge  building  in  1 793-1 794.  Prior  to 
that  time  it  used,  by  invitation,  the  lodge-room  of  No.  5.  The  Grand  Lodge 
released  Trenton  Lodge,  No.  5,  from  the  agreement,  in  1888,  and  now  meets 
in  the  Masonic  Temple  at  Trenton,  owned  by  a  private  association  of  Masons. 
Prior  to  1850,  a  number  of  the  lodges  owned  their  own  buildings,  but  they 
lost  control  of  them  after  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  Washington,  No.  9, 
formerly  No.  34,  at  Shrewsbury,  and  Union,  No.  11,  formerly  No.  11,  at 
Orange,  the  latter  at  present  owning  a  building  that  cost  about  $60,000. 

The  charity  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  dispensed  by  a  committee  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  until  1842.  Since  that  time  the  subordinate  lodges  have  acted 
individually.  An  effort  is  now  being  made  to  establish  a  home  for  aged  and 
indigent  Masons.  The  Grand  Lodge  has  been  singularly  free  from  any  schisms 
or  dissensions. 

Some  of  the  subordinate  lodges  had  been  at  one  time  incorporated 
by  the  State  legislature,  but  they  subsequently  surrendered  their  corporate 
privileges. 

Pennsylvania.  —  Freemasonry  presents  earlier  evidences  of  its  existence  in 
Pennsylvania  than  anywhere  else  in  the  United  States.  The  traveller  coming 
to  an  unknown  land  looks  carefully  around  for  any  traces  of  human  beings 
existing,  or  having  existed  there  before  his  arrival,  and  when  he  discovers 
the  impression  of  the  foot  or  hand,  upon  anything  movable  or  immovable,  he 
safely  recognizes  the  fact  that  he  stood  there  not  as  the  first  man,  but  as  a 
follower.  It  matters  not  if  the  man  was  a  black,  yellow,  or  white  man, 
a  Christian  or  heathen,  a  slave  or  a  free  man,  a  cultured  or  an  ignorant  man, 
a  rich  or  poor  man,  a  naked  or  clothed  man.  The  fact  that  he  was  a  man 
cannot  be  disputed  or  controverted  in  any  manner  whatsoever,  and  the 
recognition  of  his  manhood  by  his  fellows  is  an  evidence  of  the  fact  that  he 
is  endowed  with  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  the  one  who  associates  with 
him.  That  is  precisely  the  case  of  Pennsylvania  and  Freemasonry's  earher 
history. 

In  the  Pennsylva7iia  Gazette,  No.  108,  December  8,  1730,  printed  by 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Philadelphia,  will  be  found  the  following  :  — 

"  As  there  are  several  lodges  of  Freemasons  erected  in  this  Province,  and  people  have  lately 
been  much  amused  with  conjectures  concerning  them,  we  think  the  following  account  of  Free- 
masonry from  London  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  our  readers." 

This  was  followed  by  an  extract  from  a  writing  on  Masonry,  found  in  the 
desk  of  a  London  gentleman.  The  next  reference  is  published  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania Gazette,  No.  187,  Monday,  June  19,  to  Monday,  June  26,  1732,  which 

contains  the  following  :  — 

"  Philadf.lphia,  June  26th. 
"  Saturday  last  being  St.  John's  Day,  a  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of 
FREE  and  ACCEPTED  MASONS  was  held  at  the  Sun  Tavern  in  Water  street,  when,  after  a 


2/2 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


handsome  entertainment,  the  Worshipful  W.  Allen,  Esq.,  was  unanimously  chosen  Grand 
Master  oi  this  province  for  the  year  ensuing;  who  was  pleased  to  appoint  Mr.  William  Pringle 
Deputy  Master.  Wardens  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year  were  Thomas  Boude  and  Benjamin 
Franklin." 

February  27,  1884,  there  was  brought  to  light  and  photographed  an  old 
account  book  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  containing  the  accounts  of  St.  John's  Lodge. 
The  book  is  known  by  the  written  title  in  text  on  its  parchment  or  vellum 
side  "Philadelphia  City,"  "St.  John's  Lodge,  Z/<^;r  B."  This  lodge  record 
begins  June  24,  1731,  with  the  account  of  William  Button,  late  Master,  and 
closes  June  24,  1738.  On  June  24,  1732,  it  had  nineteen  members,  from 
whom  were  selected  the  Grand  Master,  his  Deputy  and  Wardens.  The 
Gazette  contains  the  notices  of  the  annual  meetings  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  up  to 
1 741.  On  June  24,  1734,  Benjamin  Franklin  was  elected  Grand  Master,  at 
which  time  St.  John's  Lodge  had  thirty-seven  members.  Brother  Clifford  P. 
MacCalla,  in  an  editorial  published  in  the  Key-Stone,  gives  the  status  of  the 
membership  of  this  St.  John's  Lodge  as  follows  :  — 

"Eight  of  them  were  members  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  viz.:  Brothers  Dr.  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  Dr.  Thomas  Bond,  Dr.  Thomas  Cadwallader,  William  Allen,  Thomas  Hopkinson, 
Philip  Syng,  Joseph  Sliippen,  and  James  Hamilton.  Eight  scientists  out  of  a  possible  twenty-three 
is  a  large  proportion.     Now  let  us  examine  the  list  in  other  relations, 

"  Nine  of  the  twenty-three  members  were  lawyers,  viz. :  Brothers  William  Allen,  John  Emer- 
son, Thomas  Hopkinson,  James  Hamilton,  John  Robinson,  William  Pkunsted,  Septimus 
Robinson,  Josiah  Rolf,  and  John  Jones. 

"  Seven  were  Judges,  viz. :  Brothers  Wm.  Allen,  Dr.  Franklin,  Thomas  Hopkinson,  Wm. 
Piumsted,  Septimus  Robinson,  Josiah  Rolfe,  and  John  Jones. 

"  P'our  were  Mayors  of  Philadelphia,  viz.:  Brothers  William  Allen,  Humphrey  Murray,  James 
Hamilton,  and  William  Piumsted. 

"Two  were  High  Sheriffs,  viz.:  Brothers  Owen  Owen  and  Joseph  Breintnall. 

"Two  were  Physicians,  viz. :  Dr.  Thos.  Bond  and  Dr.  Thos.  Cadwallader. 

"  Two  were  Coroners,  viz. :  Thomas  Boude  and  Henry  Pratt. 

"  Two  were  Governors  of  Pennsylvania,  viz. :  Brother  James  Hamilton  and  Dr.  Franklin.  .  .  . 

"Eleven  of  the  members,  viz. :  William  Pringle,  Thomas  Boude,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Christo- 
pher Thompson,  Thomas  Hart,  David  Parry,  John  Emerson,  Lawrence  Reynolds,  John  Hobart, 
Henry  Pratt,  and  Samuel  Nicholas,  on  June  5,  1732,  rendered  a  remarkable  and  valuable  Report 
to  St.  John's  Lodge,  in  the  handwriting  of  Dr.  Franklin  (the  original  of  which  is  in  the  possession 
of  George  T.  Ingham,  Esq.,  of  Atlantic  City.  N.J.),  and  which  reads  as  follows:  —  1 

"'Gentlemen  of  the  Lodge, 

"'The  Committee  you  have  been  pleased  to  appoint  to  consider  of  the  present  State  of  the 
Lodge,  and  of  the  properest  Methods  to  improve  it,  in  obedience  to  your  commands  have  met, 
and,  after  much  and  mature  Deliberation,  have  come  to  the  following  Resolutions: 

"  '  I.  That  since  the  excellent  Science  of  Geometry  and  Architecture  is  so  much  recommended 
in  our  ancient  Constitutions,  Masonry  being  first  instituted  with  this  Design,  among  others,  to 
distinguish  the  true  and  skilful  Architect  from  unskilful  Pretenders;  total  Ignorance  of  this  Art 
is  very  unbecoming  a  Man  who  bears  the  worthy  Name  and  Character  of  Mason  ;  We  therefore 
conclude,  that  it  is  the  Duty  of  every  Member  to  make  himself,  in  some  Measure,  acquainted 
therewith,  as  he  would  honor  the  Society  he  belongs  to,  and  conform  to  the  Constitutions. 

'"2.  That  every  Member  may  have  an  Opportunity  of  so  doing,  the  present  Cash  be  laid  out 
in  the  best  Books  on  Architecture,  suitable  Mathematical  Instruments,  &c. 

" '  3.  That  since  the  present  whole  Stock  is  not  too  large  for  that  purpose,  every  Member 
indebted  to  the  Lodge  pay  what  is  from  him  respectively  due  on  Monday  night,  the  nineteenth 

1  Proceedings  Grand  Lodge  Pennsylvania,  for  1885,  pp.  37-39. 


THE   AMERICAN  RITE. 


273 


Instant,  so  that  the  whole  being  ready  by  the  24th  of  June,  may  be  sent  away  by  the  first  Oppor- 
tunity. And  that  every  one  not  paying  that  Night,  be  suspended  till  he  do  pay :  For  without  Care 
be  taken  that  Rules  are  punctually  observed,  no  Society  can  be  long  upheld  in  good  Order  and 
Regularity. 

" '  4.  That  since  Love  and  Good  Will  are  the  best  Cement  of  any  Society,  we  endeavour  to 
encrease  it  among  ourselves  by  a  kind  and  friendly  conversation,  so  as  to  make  us  of  ourselves 
desire  to  meet,  but  that  all  Compulsion,  by  fining  any  Person  for  not  Meeting,  be  utterly  taken 
away  and  abolished,  except  only  Persons  in  Office,  and  others  when  a  Meeting  is  call'd  upon 
Extraordinary  Occasions. 

"  '5.  That  the  use  of  the  Balls  be  established  in  its  full  Force  and  Vigour;  and  that  no  new 
Member  be  admitted  against  the  will  of  any  present  Member;  because  certainly  more  Regard 
ought  to  be  had  in  this  way  to  a  Brother  who  is  already  a  Mason,  than  to  any  Person  who  is  not 
one,  and  we  should  never  in  such  cases  disoblige  a  Brother,  to  oblige  a  Stranger, 

" '  6.  That  any  Member  of  this  Lodge  having  a  complaint  against  any  other  Member,  shall 
first  apply  to  the  Wardens,  who  shall  bring  the  Cause  before  the  Lodge,  where  it  shall  be  consid- 
er'd  and  made  up,  if  possible,  before  the  Complainant  be  allowed  to  make  that  Complaint  publick 
to  the  World :  the  Offender  against  this  Rule  to  be  expell'd. 

"'JUNE  5,  1732. 

"  'The  Members  whose  names  are  underwritten,  being  a  Majority,  agree  unanimously  to  the 
within  Proposals  of  the  Committee  (except  the  fourth,  which  is  cross'd  out),  and  accordingly  have 
hereunto  set  their  hands.'  " 

On  June  5,  1730,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Grand  Master  of  England,  granted 
a  deputation  to  Daniel  Coxe  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  as  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  We  have  previously 
given  the  full  text  of  this  deputation.  From  the  contents  of  a  letter  (exhib- 
ited, in  1872,  at  the  Masonic  Hall,  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia),  written  by 
one  Henry  Bell,  a  taxpayer  of  Derry  Township,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  November  17,  1754,  to  Dr.  Thomas  Cadwallader  of  Philadelphia, 
he  says  :  — 

"  As  you  well  know,  I  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  first  Masonic  Lodge  in  Philadelphia. 
A  party  of  us  used  to  meet  at  the  Inn  Tavern  on  Water  Street,  and  sometimes  opened  a  lodge 
there.  Once,  in  the  fall  of  1730,  we  formed  a  design  of  obtaining  a  charter  for  a  regular  lodge,  and 
made  application  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  for  one,  but  before  receiving  it  we  heard  that 
Daniel  Coxe  of  New  Jersey,  had  been  appointed  by  that  Grand  Lodge  as  Provincial  Grand  Master 
of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  We,  therefore,  made  application  to  him,  and  our 
request  was  granted." 

The  deputation  of  Daniel  Coxe,  the  notice  in  Franklin's  Pennsylvania 
Gazette,  of  December  8,  1 730,  referring  to  "  several  lodges  of  Freemasons 
erected  in  this  Province,"  the  letter  of  Henry  Bell,  all  bear  evidence,  and 
corroborative  evidence,  that  there  were  Freemasons  in  the  habit  of  meeting  in 
Philadelphia,  about  1730.  The  lodges  in  which  these  brethren  were  wont  to 
meet  were  officered,  as  at  present,  by  Masters  and  Wardens ;  the  language  used 
to  describe  the  work  and  ceremonies  was  as  Masonic  as  the  language  used  now. 
Under  what  authority  they  worked  is  not  known  at  present,  —  doubtless,  as 
lodges  outside  of  the  radius  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  they  worked 
under  the  inherent  right  of  Masons  to  assemble  and  elect  their  Master.  Under 
whatever  authority  they  did  meet,  they  considered  themselves  lawful,  Free,  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  as  such  held  Masonic  correspondence  and  intercourse 


274 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


with  lodges  and  brethren  wherever  they  found  any  they  deemed  as  legitimate 
as  themselves.  In  1734  Benjamin  Franklin  reprinted  "Anderson's  Constitu- 
tions of  1723,"  and  advertised  its  sale.  In  publishing  this  work  Franklin 
gave  testimony,  indirectly  though  it  may  be,  of  the  source  from  whence  they 
derived  their  authority,  or  patterned  after.  June  24th  of  the  same  year  he  was 
elected  Grand  Master  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania. 
November  28th  of  the  same  year  he  wrote,  as  Grand  Master,  to  Henry  Price 
as  Grand  Master  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  asking  for  a 
deputation  confirming  the  brethren  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  privileges  they  then 
enjoyed,  etc.  He  appears  to  have  been  uncertain  of  the  power  of  Price  to 
comply  with  the  request  of  his  (Franklin's)  Grand  Lodge  ;  for  he  asks  for  a 
copy  of  the  R.-.W.-.  Grand  Master's  first  deputation,  and  of  the  instrument  by 
which  it  appears  to  be  enlarged,  etc.  The  copies  of  these  deputations  were 
never  furnished,  as  far  as  is  known.  Nor  is  there  a  single  instance  known  of 
any  further  intercourse  or  communication  between  Grand  Master  Franklin  and 
Price,  or  with  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  except  where 
Franklin  visited  that  Grand  Lodge  on  October  11, 1754,  when  he  was  received 
and  warmly  welcomed.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Price  and  his  Grand 
Lodge  would  for  one  moment  have  held  correspondence,  communication,  or 
intercourse,  Masonically,  with  Franklin  and  his  Grand  Lodge,  unless  they  were 
as  genuine  brethren  as  Price  and  his  Grand  Lodge  v/ere  themselves.  The 
Grand  Masters  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  have  been  as 
follows:  1733,  Humphrey  Murray;  1734,  Benjamin  Franklin;  1735,  James 
Hamilton;  1736,  Thomas  Hopkinson ;  1737,  William  Plumsted ;  1738, 
Joseph  Shippen;  1741,  Philip  Syng.  In  1743  Lord  John  Ward,  Grand 
Master  of  England,  appointed  Thomas  Oxnard  of  Boston  Provincial  Grand 
Master  of  all  North  America  (the  first  duly  authenticated  appointment  for 
America).  Oxnard,  on  July  10,  1749,  appointed  Benjamin  Franklin  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  Pennyslvania,  with  authority  to  appoint  other  Grand  Officers, 
hold  a  Grand  Lodge,  issue  warrants,  etc.  It  appears  that  the  intimacy  between 
Franklin  and  William  Allen  was  not  very  close  at  this  time.  Accordingly  we 
find,  on  March  13,  1750,  less  than  a  year  after  Franklin  was  appointed,  Allen 
presented  a  commission  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  conferring  on  him 
the  prerogative  of  Provincial  Grand  Master,  and  he  was  accordingly  recog- 
nized. FrankUn,  in  1 749,  while  acting  under  Oxnard's  deputation,  granted  a 
warrant  for  a  lodge  in  Philadelphia.  There  was  a  third  lodge  in  Philadelphia, 
warranted  by  Provincial  Grand  Lodge.  These  three  lodges  celebrated  St. 
John  the  Baptist's  Day,  1755,  t>y  a  procession  from  the  lodge-room  to  Christ 
Church,  where  Brother  William  Smith,  Provost  of  the  University,  preached 
a  sermon,  one  hundred  and  thirty  brethren  participating  in  the  ceremonies  of 
the  day.  The  lodge-room,  from  which  the  brethren  marched,  was  erected  in 
1754  by  the  Grand  and  First  Lodges  (this  shows  that  there  was  a  distinction 
between  the  Grand  and  other  lodges),  on  Lodge   Alley,  near   Second   and 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


275 


Chestnut  streets,  and  it  was  the  first  Masonic  hall  erected  in  America,  This 
building  was  used  in  common  by  the  "  Ancients  "  and  "  Moderns."  It  was 
used  as  a  place  of  confinement  for  the  Free  Quakers,  during  the  Revolutionary- 
War.  June  24,  1760,  Tun  Lodge,  or  Lodge  No.  3,  met  and  celebrated  St. 
John's  Day.  March  11,  1782,  the  subscribers  of  the  first  lodge  met,  and  on 
July  23,  1793,  the  trustees  appointed  by  Act  of  Assembly,  September  6,  1785, 
for  selling  the  Freemasons'  Lodge,  etc.,  having  called  a  meeting  of  members 
of  the  first  lodge  of  Freemasons,  and  they  agreeing  to  the  distribution  of  one- 
third  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale,  —  ^i533-57,  —  forwarded  the  same  to  the 
mayor  of  the  city  (who  was  a  member  of  the  first  lodge),  "to  be  applied 
towards  a  fund  for  supplying,  out  of  the  interest  thereof,  the  necessitous 
inhabitants  of  said  city  with  fuel  in  the  winter  season."  This  closes,  as  far 
as  is  known,  the  affairs  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  whose 
Grand  Master,  WiUiam  Allen,  was  elected  in  1732,  and  of  St.  John's  Lodge, 
whose  first  Master,  1730,  was  William  Button. 

A  reference  to  the  history  of  the  Craft  in  England,  from  1738,  will  be 
necessary  to  understand  the  changes  in  the  system  of  Masonry  in  this  country. 
The  secession  of  a  number  of  brethren  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  at 
that  time,  resulted  in  the  forming,  in  1751,  of  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
According  to  the  Old  Institutions  "  (or  "  Constitutions  ").  This  Grand  Lodge 
was  also  known  as  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Four  Degrees,"  on  account  of 
conferring  the  Royal  Arch.  They  were  also  known  as  the  "  Ancients,"  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  original  Grand  Lodge,  who  were  styled  '*  Moderns." 
Then  they  assumed  for  a  short  time  the  name  of  "  Ancient  York,"  under  the 
impression  that  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  all  England,"  at  York,  had  ceased  to 
exist.  Learning  this  was  not  so,  they  dropped  the  term  "  York,"  but  con- 
tinued the  use  of  the  word  "  Ancient."  The  use  of  the  term  "  Ancient  York 
Mason  "  is  therefore  misleading,  and  without  the  slightest  foundation,  Penn- 
sylvania has  in  times  past  boasted  of  its  superiority,  on  account  of  its  "  Ancient 
York  Masonry."  There  never  was  a  term  used  with  less  authority  than  this. 
What  the  Masonry  of  York  and  its  ritual  were,  no  man  or  Mason  can  tell.  Its 
prestige  came  from  "  Prince  Edwin  of  York,"  and  the  habit  of  the  Operative 
Masons  coming  together  annually  at  York,  and  there  it  all  ends.  There  never 
was  legally  constituted  a  Lodge  of  Ancient  "York"  Masons,  —  and  by  this 
we  mean  where  the  constitution,  rules,  and  regulations  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
directed  the  use  of  that  term.  It  came  into  use  without  due  consideration, 
and  is  now  going  out  of  use  because  of  its  misuse. 

About  1757,  several  persons  in  Philadelphia,  prominent  in  public,  political, 
and  private  Hfe,  were  made  Masons  according  to  the  work  of  the  "  Ancients." 
Application  was  made  to  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  according  to  the  Old 
Institutions,"  or  "  Ancients,"  for  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Pennsylvania,  which 
was  granted,  June  7,  1758,  and  it  was  numbered  69.  It  afterward  became 
No.  2  in  Pennsylvania.     This  is  the  first  warrant  granted  by  the  "  Ancients  "  in 


276 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


the  United  States.  About  the  same  time  another  warrant  was  granted  to 
Philadelphia,  which  became  No.  3.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  Master  of 
this  lodge  did  not  present  his  warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
1780,  to  have  it  affirmed  and  a  new  one  issued,  as  did  No.  2.  The  intro- 
duction of  the  "  Ancients  "  seemed  to  be  a  popular  movement.  The  brethren 
in  Philadelphia,  composing  the  old  Grand  Lodge,  were  mostly  persons  holding 
official  positions,  while  those  composing  the  new  lodge,  or  the  "  Ancients," 
were  principally  (as  stated  by  Laurence  Dermott,  Grand  Secretary  of  the 
Ancients  in  London),  "very  poor  mechanicks  (though  honest  men)."  In 
other  words,  they  were  of  the  people.  Measures  were  taken  to  establish  a 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  under  the  "Ancients,"  which,  after  considerable  delay, 
and,  as  Grand  Secretary  Laurence  Dermott  wrote  in  1765,  the  writing  of 

"  Three  warrants,  the  first  delivered  to  the  then  Grand  Officers  in  the  presence  of  Joseph 
Read  (of  the  Lodge  No.  2),  who  was  the  person  that  made  application  for  it,  and  am  told  the  ship 
and  warrant  was  taken  by  the  French.  The  second  warrant  I  delivered  to  the  Sen'r  Grand  Warden 
(now  Deputy),  and  he  to  his  servant  and  from  whence  God  knows,  all  the  account  I  can  give  ol 
it  is,  that  I  suppose  it  was  mislaid  and  consequently  lost." 

On  June  20,  1764,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  (Ancients)  granted  a 
warrant.  No.  89  in  England,  No.  i  in  Pennsylvania,  to  the 

"  Trusty  and  well  beloved  brethren  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  to  form  and  hold  a  Grand 
Lodge,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  said  Province,  independent  of  any  former  dispensation, 
warrant  or  constitution  granted  (by  us  or  our  predecessors),  to  any  part  of  America." 

William  Ball,  Esq.,  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, aforesaid,  and  the  territories  thereunto  belonging ;  Captain  Blaithwaite 
Jones,  Deputy  Grand  Master ;  Mr.  Dana  Hall,  Senior  Grand  Warden ;  Mr. 
Hugh  Lennox,  Junior  Grand  Warden.  The  warrant  was  registered  in  the 
Grand  Lodge  in  London,  Vol.  III.,  Letter  C,  and  bears  date  July  15,  1761. 
This  is  the  first  Grand  Lodge  warrant  issued  by  the  "Ancients  "  in  America. 

Owing  to  the  troubles  incident  to  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the  records 
of  this  Grand  Lodge  were  lost,  mislaid,  or  destroyed  by  some  enemies  to  the 
Royal  Art,  and  very  little  is  known,  except  by  tradition,  of  its  doings  until 
July  29,  1779,  when  the  present  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  begin,  and  have 
been  continued  without  intermission  to  the  present  day.  We  can  form  an 
idea  of  what  was  done,  by  an  examination  of  the  old  minute-books  of  the 
Lodges  Nos.  2,  and  3.  The  oldest  minute-book  known  at  present  in  Philadel- 
phia is  that  of  Lodge  No.  3,  which  is  complete  from  November  19,  1767,  to 
the  present.  This  lodge  was  known  at  first  as  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  No.  3.  Its 
first  minutes  speak  of  the  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  last  lodge  night,  thus 
showing  there  was  an  older  book  in  existence  at  that  time. 

The  minutes  [November  19,  1767]  speak  of  a  petition  from  Fort  Detroit. 
December  3,  1767,  a  brother  was  proposed  for  membership  who  had  been 
made  at  Fort  Pitt,  in  the  year  1759,  by  three  brethren,  all  Royal  Arch  Masons, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  277 

December  9,  1767,  the  lodge  decided  not  to  admit  the  brother,  — 

"A  member  of  this  Lodge  or  to  enter,  pass,  &  raise  any  person  belonging  to  the  Army  in  this 
Lodge,  as  there  is  a  lawfull  warranted  Body  of  Good  and  Able  Masons  in  the  Royal  Irish  Regi- 
ment, and  also  as  a  promise  to  that  purpose  has  been  made  to  that  body  by  our  own  Deputy 
Grand  Master  &  ourselves." 

April  6,  1770,  the  regulations  of  the  Grand  Lodge  were  presented,  but  the 
eighth  article  did  not  suit  them.  We  have  no  knowledge  of  what  this  eighth 
article  was,  or  of  the  constitution  itself,  but  the  Masters  and  Wardens  were 
directed  to  attend  Grand  Lodge  and  ask  for  explanation  of  the  same.  May  3, 
1770,  a  "Modern"  Mason  was  entered  and  passed.  November  10,  1774, 
there  were  three  "Ancient"  lodges  in  Philadelphia.  The  dissensions  of  the 
brethren  in  1778,  caused  the  placing  of  all  the  effects  of  Lodge  No.  2,  and  its 
warrant  from  England,  in  the  custody  of  Lodge  No.  3.  In  1778  the  lodge  saw 
troublous  times,  owing  to  several  of  the  members,  notably  the  Junior  Warden 
and  Secretary,  having  gone  to  the  enemy.  The  Master-elect  of  the  Lodge 
declined  to  be  installed  until  he  had  been  discharged,  by  the  High  Court  of 
Justice  of  the  State,  from  charges  of  being  a  person  inimical  to  the  States. 
He  was  afterward  discharged  with  full  confidence  of  his  innocence.  Septem- 
ber 7,  177S,  Captain  Stephen  Girard  was  initiated. 

At  the  celebration  of  St.  John's  Day,  Monday,  December  28,  1778,  the 
Grand  Lodge  and  brethren,  all  new  clothed,  formed  in  procession  (some 
three  hundred  brethren  being  present),  and  marched  to  Christ  Church,  where 
William  Smith,  D.D.,  preached  a  sermon.  \\\  the  procession  marched  "  His 
Excellency,  our  illustrious  Brother  George  Washington,  Esq.,  supported  by 
the  Grand  Master  and  his  Deputy."  A  collection  was  taken  up  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed  to  distribute  the  same  to  objects  of  charity.  Under  the 
warrant  of  the  Lodges  Nos.  2,  and  3,  the  Knight  Templar  degree  was  con- 
ferred in  1 783-1 78 7.  November  22,  1781,  the  Ahiman  Rezon,  as  abridged 
and  digested  by  Brother  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  was  adopted,  but  it  was  not  printed 
until  I  782-1 783.     It  was  dedicated  :  — 

"  To  his  Excellency  George  Washington,  Esq.,  General  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Armies  of  the  United  States  America:  In  Testimony,  as  well  of  his  exalted  Services  to  his 
Country,  as  of  that  noble  Philanthropy  which  distinguishes  Him  among  Masons,  the  following 
Constitutions  of  the  most  ancient  and  honorable  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  by  Order 
and  in  Behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  &c.,  is  dedicated,  by  his  Excellency's  most 
humble  Servant,  and  faithful  Brother,  William  Smith,  G.  Secretary.     June  24,  1782." 

The  independence  of  the  Colonies  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  propriety 
of  severing  the  official  relations  subsisting  between  the  Grand  Lodge  and 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  and  at  the  quarterly  communication  of  Grand 
Lodge  held  September  25,  1786,  it  was  — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Lodge  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  Grand  Lodge  independent  of  Great 
Britain  or  any  other  authority  whatever,  and  that  they  are  not  under  any  ties  to  any  other  Grand 
Lodge  except  those  of  brotherly  love  and  affection,  which  they  will  always  be  happy  to  cultivate 
and  preserve  with  all  lodges  throughout  the  globe." 


2/8 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


The  Grand  Lodge,  acting  by  virtue  of  a  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  was  then  closed  forever. 

"  At  a  Grand  Convention  held,  Philadelphia,  September  26,  1786,  of  Thirteen  different  Lodges, 
working  by  virtue  of  warrants  from  the  late  Grand  Lodge  ot  Pennsylvania,  with  fuil  power  uom 
their  Constituents  to  decide  upon  the  Question,  Whether  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  should 
establish  themselves  as  a  Grand  Lodge  independent  of  Great  Britain  or  any  other  authority,  and 
with  the  concurrence  of  other  Lodges,  signihed  by  letter.  It  was  unanimously 

" '  Resolved,  That  the  Lodges  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  lately 
held  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  will,  and  do  now,  form  themselves  into 
a  Grand  Lodge,  to  be  called  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Masonic  jurisdiction  thereunto 
belont^ing,  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia;  and  that  the  late  Grand  Officers  continue  to  be  the  Grand 
Officers  of  Pennsylvania,  invested  with  all  the  powers,  jurisdictions,  preeminence,  and  authority 
thereunto  belonging,  fill  the  usual  time  of  the  next  election ;  and  that  the  Grand  Lodge  and  the 
particular  Lodges  govern  themselves  by  the  Rules  and  Regulations  heretofore  established,  till 
other  Rules  and  Regulations  shall  be  adopted."  " 

The  Independent  and  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  having  been  formed,  it 
continued  on  with  its  business  as  if  there  had  never  taken  place  the  most 
important  movement  in  its  existence.  Up  to  1832  it  had  granted  217  warrants, 
and  from  these  have  sprung  a  number  of  Grand  Lodges.  To  show  how  far 
its  influence  had  reached,  we  find  the  following  lodges  were  warranted  :  — 

\r\  Delaware.  —  No.  5,  Cantwell's  Bridge;  No.  14,  Christiana  Ferry,  aflerward  Wilmington; 
No.  18,  Dover;  No.  33,  New  Castle  and  Christiana  Bridge,  alternating  each  year;  No.  44,  Duck 
Creek  Cross-roads;  No.  63,  Lewistown;   No.  96,  New  Castle. 

Maryland.  —  No.  6,  Georgetown  on  the  Sassafras;  No.  7,  Charlestown  ;  No.  15,  Falls  Point; 
No.  16,  Baltimore ;  No.  17,  Chester  Mills,  Queenstown ;  No.  29,  Cambridge. 

New  yersey. —  No.  10,  Baskinridge;   No.  23,  Middleton;   No.  32,  Burlington. 

Virginia.  —  No.  12,  Winchester;  No.  39,  Alexandria;  No.  41,  Portsmouth. 

South  Carolina.  —  No.  27,  No.  38,  No.  40,  No.  47,  Charleston. 

Georgia.  —  No.  42,  Savannah. 

North-western  Territory.  —  No.  77,  Old  Mingotown. 

Louisiana.  —  No.  90,  No.  93,  No.  112,  No.  117,  No.  118,  No.  122,  No.  129,  New 
Orleans. 

Ohio.  —  No.  105,  Zanesville. 

Indiana  Territory. —  No.  107,  Kaskaskia. 

Missouri. —  No.  109,  St.  Genevieve;  No.  iii,  St.  Louis,  Louisiana  Territory. 

Cape  Francois. —  No.  46,  St.  Domingo ;  No.  47,  Port  au  Prince;  No.  87,  Cape;  No.  88,  St. 
Mark;  No.  89,  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  St.  Domingo,  which  granted  warrants  No.  95,  Sus6 
a  Veau ;  No.  97,  No.  98,  Alricots ;  No.  99,  Arcahaye. 

Trinidad. —  No.  77,  Port  d'Espagne. 

Cuba.  —  Nos.  103,  157,  161,  166,  167  at  Havannah ;  No.  175,  181,  St.  lago. 

Mexico.  — 'i^o.  191,  Alvarado. 

South  America.  —  No.  205,  Buenos  Ayres ;  217,  Montevideo,  Uruguay  (this  was  granted  in 
1832,  the  last  foreign  lodge  warrant  issued). 

Army  Lodges.  — No  18,  in  17th  British  Regiment  of  Foot,  called  Unity  Lodge;  No.  19, 
Pennsylvania  Artillery;  No.  20,  a  regimental  warrant.  North  Carolina;  No.  27,  Military  Lodge, 
Maryland  Line;  No.  28,  Pennsylvania  Line;  No.  29,  Military  Line,  Pennsylvania;  No.  36,  Trav- 
elling Lodge  in  the  respective  cantonments  of  New  Jersey  Brigade;  No.  58,  in  the  Army  of 
United  States  (it  is  said  nearly  all  the  members  were  killed  in  the  Indian  War)  ;  No.  140,  in 
1814,  in  Army  of  the  United  States,  wherever  the  Worshipful  Master  might  at  the  time  be. 

While  at  first  the  Grand  Lodge  looked  favorably  on  the  election  of  Wash- 
ington as  General  Grand  Master,  it  afterward  opposed  any  movement  looking 


MASONIC   TEMPLE,    PHILADELPHIA. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


281 


to  the  establishment  of  a  General  Grand  Lodge,  or  the  holding  of  a  National 
Convention.  There  was  a  peculiar  affection  felt  in  Pennsylvania  for  Washing- 
ton ;  and,  while  he  was  living,  the  Grand  Lodge,  on  pubhc  occasions,  was 
several  times  honored  with  his  presence,  and  it  is  now  in  possession  of  one 
of  his  few  Masonic  letters,  also  one  of  his  aprons,  which  was  presented  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  by  his  legatees.  In  1S73,  $1000  was  appropriated  towards  the 
erection  of  a  monument  over  his  remains  at  Mount  Vernon.  In  1852  a 
block  of  marble  was  presented  for  the  Washington  Monument,  at  Washington 
City.  With  Washington,  united  in  the  affections  of  the  Craft,  was  Lafayette. 
On  his  visit  to  the  United  States,  in  1824,  his  journey  through  the  States  was 
one  continual  series  of  Masonic  receptions.  In  Philadelphia  he  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  he  was  royally  banqueted.  Loyalty  to  one's 
country  should  ever  go  with  Masonry,  and  in  1812-1814  the  Grand  Lodge  ten- 
dered its  services  to  the  Committee  of  Defence  of  the  city,  in  the  war  with 
England  at  that  time.  Upon  a  call  of  the  committee,  510  members  of  the 
Grand  and  subordinate  lodges  reported  for  duty.  Again,  in  186 2-1 863,  the 
Freemason's  Soldiers'  Relief  Association  was  recognized  and  approved  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  ;  and,  during  the  unhappy  Civil  War,  the  hospitals  in  Phila- 
delphia were  the  scene  of  many  evidences  of  a  brother's  affection  for  a  brother. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the  Grand  Lodge  received  presents  of, 
purchased  chances  themselves,  and  raised  money  in  lotteries.  It  was  then  the 
custom  of  the  day.  In  181 5  the  Grand  Officers  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  open  a  Sunday-school  in  the  Masonic  hall,  for  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  adults.  This  was  the  first  adult  Sunday-school  established  in 
the  city. 

June  24,  1834,  was  celebrated,  with  becoming  ceremonies,  "  the  Centennial 
anniversary  of  the  establishment  of  the  first  lodge  in  Pennsylvania,  of  which 
lodge  Brother  Benjamin  Franklin  was  the  first  Master."  This  could  not  be 
a  celebration  of  any  "  establishment "  by  Price,  as  it  antedates  any  claims  that 
Massachusetts  may  have  since  made.  The  Grand  Lodge  was  evidently  mis- 
taken as  to  the  time  of  this  celebration;  for  on  June  24,  1734,  Franklin  was 
elected  Grand  Master,  and  in  November,  1734,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Price, 
asking  for  a  copy  of  his  deputation,  and  the  enlargement  of  his  powers,  and 
for  a  recognition  of  the  privileges  they  were  then  enjoying.  Again,  the 
celebration  was  right  in  the  midst  of  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement,  and  the 
brethren  no  doubt  desired  some  excuse  to  show  the  antiquity  and  universality 
of  Freemasonry  in  Philadelphia.  There  was  no  place  where  the  vindictive- 
ness  of  politicians  was  exerted  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
Grand  ISIaster  and  other  officers  were  dragged  from  their  homes,  even  from 
their  beds,  and  hurried  before  the  Inquisitorial  Commission  of  the  legislature 
at  Harrisburg ;  but  as  each  one  was  brought  to  the  bar  of  the  legislature  to 
take  the  oath,  each  one  refused  to  be  sworn.  From  182S  to  1836  the  storm 
raged  with  bitterness,  but  it  finally  died  out,  leaving  Masonry  purged  of  its 


232  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

weak  members,  but  more  strongly  established  than  ever.     The  Grand  Lodge, 
in  1804,  most  truly 

"  Declared  its  settled  conviction  that  charters  of  incorporation  engrafted  on  Masonic  establish- 
ments are  by  far  the  most  serious  and  alarming  innovations  that  have  ever  threatened  their  secrecy, 
harmony,  good  order,  and  perpetuity." 

Prior  to  1S16  the  lodges  held  semi-annual  elections  for  officers,  and  always 
when  opene  i  in  the  First  degree.  After  that  time  the  elections  were  ordered 
to  be  held  annually,  and  on  December  4,  1843,  it  was  ordered  that  all  business 
of  the  lodge,  and  the  opening  and  closing,  must  be  in  the  Master's  degree. 
The  "  ancient  "  system  of  working  authorized  brethren  who  were  duly  quahfied, 
and  in  possession  of  the  higher  degrees,  to  open  and  confer  them  under  the 
"  Blue  "  lodge  warrant.  Under  such  authority.  Lodges  Nos.  3,  21,  43,  52,  and 
others,  worked  the  Royal  Arch  degree.  In  November,  1795,  the  first  Grand 
Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  the  United  States  was  opened  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia.  The  Grand  Chapter  worked  in  harmony  with  Grand  Lodge 
until  1824,  when  it  became  independent,  and  then  incorporated  the  Mark  and 
Most  Excellent  Master  degrees  into  the  Capitular  system.  The  Past  Master 
is  only  conferred  by  Grand  Lodge  authority.  In  1849  the  Grand  Lodge 
authorized  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  134,  to  loan  its  warrant  for  the  conferring  of 
the  Order  of  the  Temple  in  Encampment  No.  2,  of  Philadelphia.  Afterward 
Union  Lodge,  No.  121,  loaned  its  warrant  to  form  Union  Encampment,  No.  6. 
February  15,  1857,  the  Grand  Lodge  rescinded  the  resolution,  granting  this 
authority,  to  take  effect  after  May  i,  1857. 

In  1799  the  Grand  Lodge  set  aside  one-third  of  its  receipts  for  the  purposes 
of  charity.  This  fund  slowly  accumulated  until,  in  1826,  it  amounted  to 
$1428.10,  in  1843,  ^3842,  at  which  time,  forty-four  years  after  its  beginning, 
the  interest  was  directed  to  be  distributed  to  either  sex.  The  fund  was  increased 
by  donations  from  lodges,  chapters,  etc.,  and  in  1850  from  the  receipts  of  a 
Masonic  ball.  In  1847  the  fund  amounted  to  $4498.55,  when  it  was  set 
apart  for  the  sole  use  of  the  widows  and  children  of  deceased  brethren.  This 
fund,  known  as  the  Grand  Lodge  Charity  Fund,  is  dispensed  by  Almoners, 
and  now  amounts  to  about  $73,000. 

Stephen  Girard,  who  was  initiated  in  Lodge  No.  2,  in  1798,  died  on 
December  21,  1831,  and  bequeathed  the  sum  of  $20,000,  to  be  invested  and 
reinvested  until  it  reached  the  sum  of  $30,000,  when  the  interest  therefrom 
was  to  be  used  for  the  assistance  of  poor  and  respectable  brethren.  The  sum 
reached,  in  1844,  $31,000,  and  the  distribution  was  begun  thirteen  years  after 
its  bequest.  This  fund  is  distributed  by  the  Stewards  of  the  Stephen  Girard 
Bequest,  and  it  now  amounts  to  about  $62,200.  On  December  27,  1889, 
Right  Worshipful  Brother  Thomas  R.  Patton,  Grand  Treasurer  of  Grand 
Lodge,  who  had  been  for  seventeen  years  the  treasurer  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
Charitv'  Fund  and  the  Stephen  Girard  Bequest,  desiring  to  leave  a  memorial 
of  sacred  affection  to  the  memory  of  his  lamented  wife,  Ellen  H.  Graham 


I 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


285 


Patton,  handed  to  the  Grand  Lodge  ^25,000  "for  the  relief  of  poor  but 
respectable  widows  of  forty-five  years  of  age  and  over,  who  have  reached  that 
period  of  life  when  they  cannot  sufficiently  provide  for  themselves,  and  whose 
husband  was  a  Master  Mason  in  good  standing  in  this  Masonic  Jurisdiction 
within  three  years  of  his  death."  The  sum  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  five 
trustees  appointed  for  life  by  Brother  Patton,  and  ^500  annually  of  the  interest 
was  to  be  distributed  to  the  worthy  applicants,  the  balance  of  interest  to  be 
reinvested  until  it  reaches  the  sum  of  ^50,000,  when  Si 500  was  to  be  annually 
appropriated  from  the  interest,  to  be  distributed  by  the  Bttrsars  of  the  Thomas 
R.  Patton  Memorial  Charity  Fund.  Within  one  year  from  the  date  of  this 
donation,  relief  had  been  given  to  a  worthy  applicant,  and  the  fund  was 
increased  to  ^26,000.  On  December  27,  1890,  Right  Worshipful  Brother 
Thomas  R.  Patton  added  to  his  previous  bequest  a  second  donation  of 
^25,000,  thus  making  the  fund  ^50,000,  allowing  the  annual  distribution  of 
$1500.     These  three  funds  amount  to  over  $186,200. 

The  Masonic  Home  of  Pennsylvania  was  organized  under  act  of  the  legis- 
lature, in  1 87 1.  The  Home  for  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Pennsylvania 
was  incorporated  in  1885,  and  in  1889  the  latter  was  merged  into  the  former, 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Masonic  Home  of  Pennsylvania."  It  has  received  in 
donations  and  bequests,  up  to  December,  1889,  ^68,000  ;  has  a  fine  property, 
located  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  The  encouragement  given  by  the  Craft 
to  the  practical  exhibition  of  Freemasonry,  and  its  strong  hold  on  the  sympathies 
and  support  of  those  who  are  able,  is  not  better  exemplified  than  in  the  various 
Masonic  homes  and  asylums  springing  up  here  and  there  in  America.  It  is 
the  new  day,  the  new  duty.  In  Pennsylvania  it  was  not  a  new  idea ;  the  seed 
was  planted  in  the  Grand  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar  of  Pennsylvania 
years  before  it  showed  any  signs  of  life,  but  when  it  did  spring  up,  in  Girard 
Mark  Lodge  of  Philadelphia,  it  found  careful  nurture,  and  to-day  the  Home 
shelters  some  twenty-five  brethren,  who,  having  wrought  their  Mason's  work, 
are  now  resting  and  waiting  for  their  wages.  It  will  not  require  a  very  vivid 
imagination  to  sketch  this  home  (of  which  we  give  a  view)  as  it  will  appear 
in  a  few  years  if  it  only  receives  the  support  it  should.  A  vast  building, 
surrounded  by  ample  grounds,  sheltering  the  old  Mason,  his  wife  or  his  widow, 
his  children  or  his  orphans,  the  sick,  the  decrepit ;  the  helpless  brother 
cheered,  supported,  and  comforted  by  his  more  fortunate  "  companion."  God 
help  the  poor  Mason,  God  bless  the  poor  Mason,  God  favor  those  who  favor 
him  and  those  near  and  dear  to  him. 

The  present  Grand  Lodge  has  been  governed  :  first,  by  the  Ahiman  Rezon, 
by  Dr.  William  Smith,  1783,  based  upon  the  Dermott  Ahiman  Rezon  of  1756  ; 
second,  the  Ahiman  Rezon  of  April  11,  1824,  in  which  the  .A-iiderson  Consti- 
tutions of  1723  is  substituted  for  Dermott's  ;  third,  the  Ahiman  Rezon  of  1857  ; 
fourth,  the  Ahiman  Rezon  of  1868 ;  fifth,  the  Ahiman  Rezon  of  1877. 

This  Grand  Lodge  has  met  in  eleven  different  halls :    first,  in  1 784,  in 


285  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Freemasons'  Lodge,  the  hotne  of  the  ''Moderns'' ;  second,  in  1786,  in  Lodge- 
Room,  Videll's  Alley ;  third,  1 790,  in  Free  Quaker  Meeting-House,  Fifth  and 
Arch  streets;  fourth,  in  1799,  in  Independence  Hall;  fifth,  1802,  in  Penn- 
sylvania Freemasons'  Hall,  814  Filbert  Street,  the  first  hall  of  the  "Ancients  "  ; 
sixth,  18 10,  in  Masonic  Hall  on  Chestnut  Street,  near  Sixth,  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1819;  seventh,  again  in  Pennsylvania  Freemasons'  Hall;  eighth,  1820,  in 
Masonic  Hall,  Chestnut  Street,  rebuilt ;  ninth,  1835,  in  Washington  Hall,  Third 
and  Spruce  streets;  tenth,  1855,  in  New  Masonic  Hall,  Chestnut  Street; 
eleventh,  in  Masonic  Temple,  Broad  and  Filbert  streets,  dedicated  1873,  the 
cost  of  which  was  about  $1,750,000.  Many  of  the  lodges  throughout  the 
State  have  their  own  halls,  the  finest  being  at  Pittsburgh,  erected  at  a  cost  of 
about  $425,000.  The  library  of  the  Grand  Lodge  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
ones  in  the  country. 

The  Masonic  Temple  in  Philadelphia  is  the  finest  and  largest  Masonic 
building  in  the  world ;  it  is  devoted  exclusively  to  Freemasonry.  One  of  its 
halls,  the  Egyptian  Hall,  lately  decorated  by  "  the  Art  Association  of  the 
Masonic  Temple,"  is  unique  in  decoration  and  is  said  to  be  the  finest  speci- 
men of  Egyptian  decoration  outside  of  Egypt.  This  room  is  known  as  the 
"William  J.  Kelly  testimonial,  to  his  brother,  Thomas  R.  Patton,"  and  was 
paid  for  by  Brother  Kelly  as  a  testimony  of  a  brother's  regard  for  a  brother. 
We  give  an  engraving  of  this  hall ;  also  of  the  Temple. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  maintains  "  that  Freemasonry  is  a  law 
unto  itself;  "  that 

"  A  Grand  Lodge  is  created  by  lodges.  When  three  or  more  lawfully  warranted  and  duly 
constituted  lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  constitute  and  establish  a  Grand  Lodge,  these 
lodges  confer  on  this  Grand  Lodge  those  powers  which  are  necessary  to  make  it  a  controlling 
Masonic  power.  The  territorial  jurisdiction  then  attaches.  The  Grand  Lodge  having  been 
organized,  its  jurisdiction  declared,  and  the  Grand  Lodge,  out  of  whose  former  jurisdiction  the 
new  Grand  Lodge  has  claimed  jurisdiction,  recognizing  it,  then  and  there  such  Grand  Lodge 
has  breathed  into  it  the  breath  of  sovereign  and  supreme  Masonic  life  and  powers."  .  .  . 

"  There  is  but  one  example  of  a  creation  of  life  like  unto  it,  and  that  was  the  creation  of  man. 
The  body  was  first  made,  shaped,  formed,  endowed  with  its  functions,  and  then  there  was  breathed 
into  it  the  vital  principle  which  constituted  it  a  living  body  with  an  immortal  spirit.  So  it  is  with 
the  creation  of  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  It  is  the  recognition,  the  acknowl- 
edgment, of  its  vital  powers  that  consummates  the  fulness,  completeness,  the  entirety  of  a  Supreme 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  Craft." 

It  has  defined  its  understanding  of  the  word  "  clandestine  "  as  follows  :  — 

"The  true  meaning,  the  Masonic  interpretation  oi  clandestine  is,  that  it  is  unlawful.  Whatever 
is  without  the  seal  of  lawful  Masonic  authority  is  clandestine.  Whatever  act  or  proceedings, 
claiming  to  be  Masonic,  and  tried  and  tested  from  inception  to  conclusion,  must  be  Masonically 
lawful  or  lawfully  Masonic,  or  they  are  clandestine." 

Delaware.  —  There  is  an  uncertainty  as  to  which  was  the  first  lodge  insti- 
tuted in  Delaware.  It  is  said  that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  in  1764, 
warranted  Union  Lodge,  No.  121,  at  Middletown,  for  General  Marjoribank's 
Regiment.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  granted  warrants  to  Lodge 
No.  J,  at  Cantwell's  Bridge,  on  June  24,  1765.     This  warrant  was  surrendered 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


289 


and  renewed  March  5,  1798  ;  and  was  surrendered  January  30,  1816,  in  order 
to  unite  in  forming  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Delaware  :  to  Lodge  No.  14,  at 
Christiana  Ferry,  afterward  Wilmington,  granted  December  27,  1769;  sur- 
rendered and  renewed  January  22,  1789;  was  vacated  September  15,  1806, 
for  un-Masonic  proceedings  taken  by  it  in  the  establishment  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Delaware :  to  Lodge  No.  j8,  at  Dover,  Kent  County,  granted 
August  26,  1775;  surrendered  and  renewed.  May  31,  17S7:  to  Lodge  No. 
33,  at  New  Castle  and  at  Christiana  Bridge,  "  one  year  at  one  place  and  the 
ensuing  year  at  the  other"  ;  granted  April  3,  1780  ;  surrendered  and  renewed, 
March  i,  1790;  vacated  September  15,  1806,  for  un-Masonic  conduct  taken 
by  it  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland  :  to  L.odge  No.  44,  at 
Duck  Creek  Cross  Roads ;  granted  June  24,  1 7S5  ;  surrendered  and  renewed, 
September  6,  1 790 ;  had  ceased  long  since  :  to  Lodge  No.  63,  at  Lewistown  ; 
granted  May  28,  1794  ;  vacated  April  7,  1806  :  to  Lodge  No.  g6,  the  Delaware 
Hiram  Lodge,  at  Newark;  granted  December  6,  1802;  vacated  September 
15,  1806,  for  un-Masonic  conduct  taken  by  it  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Delaware. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland  granted  a  warrant  to  St.  John's  Lodge  in 
Laureltown,  Sussex  County,  on  September  18,  1792.  It  became  delinquent 
to  Grand  Lodge,  and  its  warrant  was  forfeited,  June  13,  1800.  June  6,  1806, 
it  petitioned  to  be  revived,  but  was  refused,  and  Grand  Lodge  w^arranted  a 
new  lodge  named  ''  Hope,"  on  the  same  day  and  at  the  same  place.  Nine 
brethren,  said  to  represent  Lodges  No.  31,  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  Nos. 
33,  96,  and  14,  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  met  at  the  town  hall  in  Wil- 
mington, and  resolved  that,  as  a  matter  of  right,  and  for  the  general  benefit 
of  Masonry,  they  ought  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  within  said  State,  and  did 
then  proceed  to  form  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Delaware.  A  committee  of 
five  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  set  of  regulations.  The  meeting  adjourned 
to  June  7,  t8o6,  when  twelve  brethren  were  present.  They  proceeded  to 
the  appointment  of  Grand  Officers,  pro  tempore,  and  thereupon,  opened  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Delaware,  without  any  previous  installation.  Warrants  were 
granted  without  any  charge  except  the  Secretary's  fees  for  executing  them, 
etc.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  to  whom  the  proceedings  had  been 
referred,  refused  to  recognize  them,  for  the  reason  that  five  lodges  at  least 
were  indispensably  necessary  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  (it  will  be  noted  there 
were  only  four  lodges  at  the  formation  of  Grand  Lodge) ;  and  that  three  of 
the  lodges  were  indebted  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  for  fees  and 
dues.  Accordingly,  these  warrants  were  vacated.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Mary- 
land also  refused  to  recognize  the  new  Grand  Lodge,  and  in  1808  the  charter 
of  Hope  Lodge  was  annulled.  The  action  taken  by  Pennsylvania  and  Mary- 
land did  not  seem  to  affect  the  new  Grand  Lodge,  and  in  1816  the  Lodge 
No.  5,  Cantwell's  Bridge,  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  joined  the 
new  Grand  Lodge,  by  permission  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  thus 
making  five. 


290 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


The  Grand  Lodge  was  not  much  affected  by  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement, 
and  held  its  annual  meetings  with  regularity  during  that  and  to  this  time. 

Maryland.  —  In  the  Maryland  Gazette  of  Annapolis,  of  1750,  appears  the 
following,  which  furnishes  the  earliest  reference  to  Freemasonry  in  this  juris- 
diction, as  far  as  is  at  the  present  known :  — 

"  On  Wednesday,  the  27th  day  of  December,  1749,  the  Festival  of  St.  John,  the  Evangelist,  and 
the  anniversary  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Brotherhood  connected  with  the  Lodge  in  Annapolis,  with  several  of  the  Order 
fi-om  the  country,  celebrated  the  day.  At  12  o'clock,  the  whole  company,  about  30  in  number, 
went  in  procession  with  white  gloves  and  aprons,  from  the  house  of  their  Brother  Middleton,  bemg 
preceded  by  their  Master,  Wardens,  and  Grand  Stewards,  to  the  Church,  where  an  excellent 
sermon,  adapted  to  the  occasion,  was  preached  by  their  Brother,  Rev.  Mr.  Brogden;  after  sermon 
they  returned  in  the  same  manner  from  Church  to  the  Indian  King  [hotel]  where,  having  dined 
elegantly,  they  elected  their  Master  and  other  officers  for  the  year,  and  then  proceeded  in  the 
above  order  to  the  Great  Council  Room  (of  the  State  House),  where  they  made  a  ball  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  ladies,  and  the  evening  was  spent  with  innocent  mirth  and  gaiety." 

Eight  months  after  this  celebration  of  December  27,  1749,  on  August  12, 
1750,  Thomas  Oxnard  of  Boston,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  North  America, 
granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Annapolis.  By  what  authority  (except  the 
"inherent  right"  to  meet),  these  brethren  met  at  AnnapoHs  so  many  months 
prior  to  the  Oxnard  warrant  being  granted  is  not  known. 

The  Mai-yland  Gazette  notices  that  this  lodge  was  existing  in  1761,  1763, 
and  1764,  after  which  dates  nothing  whatever  regarding  it  is  known. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland  has  the  record-book  of  a  lodge  held  at 
Leonardtown,  St.  Mary's  County.  The  first  record,  dated  June  6,  1759, 
refers  to  money  received  for  the  use  of  the  lodge,  "  at  a  lodge  formerly  held 
at  this  place."  The  records  extend  over  a  period  of  three  years,  and  although 
they  appear  to  be  full  and  complete,  there  is  nothing  in  them  to  indicate  the 
authority  under  which  the  lodge  was  held. 

On  August  8,  1765,  Lord  Blaney,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Joppa,  Baltimore,  now  Hartford, 
County.  The  minutes  commence  November  i,  1765,  and  close  July  18,  1766, 
at  which  time  the  lodge  adjourned  until  the  22d  May,  1767,  because  of  "the 
room  where  the  present  lodge  is  held  being  unfit."  It  was  thought  that,  by  the 
date  named,  "  there  will  be  a  house  convenient  to  hold  the  said  lodge."  This 
lodge  had  a  regular  existence  until  February  21,  1782,  when  it  obtained  a 
warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  (Ancients)  of  Pennsylvania.  It  had  previously 
supposed  itself  to  be  an  "  Ancient "  lodge,  having  adopted  a  by-law  that  no 
one  who  had  been  admitted  in  a  "  Modern  "  lodge  should  be  admitted  a 
member  without  taking  the  obligations  of  an  "  Ancient "  Mason  ;  but  in  May, 
1 781,  one  of  its  members  who  made  application  to  visit  Lodge  No.  15,  at 
Baltiniore  (which  had  been  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania, 
"Ancients,"  in  1770),  was  refused  for  being  a  ^'Modern  "  Mason. 

The  lodge  deputed  one  of  the  members  to  take  the  warrant  to  the  Grand 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  201 

Lodge  at  Philadelphia,  "to  have  their  important  opinion"  whether  it  was 
Ancient  or  Modern.  That  body  decided  that  it  was  a  "  Modern  "  warrant, 
but  informed  the  brethren  that  if  five  of  their  members  would  go  to  Baltimore 
and  be  "initiated  in  Lodge  No.  i6,"  they  would  become  truly  "Ancient,"  and 
a  warrant  would  be  granted  to  them.  This  course  was  followed,  and  a  warrant 
was  issued  February  i,  1782,  as  Lodge  No.  35.  The  lodge  was  requested  to 
send  delegates  to  the  convention  that  was  held  April  17,  1 787,  at  Talbot  Court- 
House,  which  reorganized  or  revived  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland ;  but 
although  a  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  Lodge  No.  15,  at  Baltimore, 
with  "  Full  power  to  assent  or  dissent  to  any  matter  laid  before  them  respecting 
the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge,"  it  was  not  represented  at  any  meeting  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  until  May,  1 794,  when  it  came  under  its  jurisdiction  as  Belle 
Air  Lodge,  No.  14,  its  meetings  being  held  alternately  at  Joppa  and  Belle 
Air,  and  subsequently  at  Slate  Ridge.  In  a  few  years  it  became  dormant, 
but  in  I  Si  I  it  was  revived  as  Mount  Ararat  Lodge,  No.  44,  and  is  still  active. 

The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  (Ancients)  of  Pennsylvania  granted  warrants 
for  nine  lodges  in  Maryland,  as  follows  :  Lodge  No.  6,  at  Georgetown,  Kent 
County,  in  1766;  No.  7,  at  Chestertown,  in  the  same  county,  in  the  same 
year;  Nos.  15  and  16,  at  Baltimore,  in  1770;  No.  17,  at  Queenstown,  Queen 
Anne  County,  in  1773;  No.  29,  at  Cambridge,  Dorchester  County,  in  1780; 
No.  34,  at  Talbot  Court-House  (Easton),  in  1781  ;  No.  35,  at  Joppa,  Baltimore 
County,  in  1782;  and  No.  37,  at  Princess  Anne,  Somerset  Cojnty,  in  1782. 
An  Army  or  Travelling  Lodge,  No.  27,  was  warranted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1780,  for  the  benefit  of  the  "  Maryland  Line  "  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary army. 

Six  of  these  lodges  were  located  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  then  the  most 
important  part  of  the  State.  On  the  17th  June,  1783,  two  months  after  Con- 
gress had  issued  the  peace  proclamation,  the  lodges  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
convened  at  Talbot  Court-House  (Easton),  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a 
Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary- 
land. There  were  five  lodges  represented  by  deputies,  one  lodge  more  than 
participated  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  in  171 7.  The 
convention  had  no  precedent  to  guide  its  proceedings,  for  just  such  a  condi- 
tion had  never  occurred  in  the  history  of  Masonry  before.  These  lodges  had 
all  been  "  warranted  "  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
that  Grand  Lodge  itself  owed  allegiance  to  the  Grand  Lodge  (Ancients)  of 
England. 

There  were  present  at  this  convention,  as  a  deputy  from  Lodge  No.  7,  of 
Chestertown,  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Smith,  who  was  at  the  time  Grand  Secre- 
tary of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  although  residing  in  Maryland,  and 
Dr.  John  Coats,  Past  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Pennsylvania,  then  a  resident 
of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  A  Master  Mason's  lodge  was  opened, 
when  it  was  unanimously 


2Q2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  several  lodges  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  consider  it  as  a  matter 
of  ri^ht  and  that  they  ought  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  independent  of  tlie  Grand  Lodge  at 
Philadelphia." 

But  when  the  convention  proposed  to  go  into  an  election  of  ofificers  for  a 
Grand  Lodge,  Brother  Smith,  Deputy  from  Lodge  No.  7,  stated  that  "  he  was 
not  authorized  to  elect  such  officers."  It  was  determined  to  petition  the 
Grand  Lodge  in  Philadelphia  for  a  warrant  for  a  Grand  Lodge  to  be  held  on 
the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  when  the  convention  adjourned  until  the  31st 
day  of  July,  following. 

The  convention  reassembled  agreeably  to  adjournment.  "  The  Rev.  Dr. 
Smith,  being  a  Grand  Officer,  took  the  chair."  The  same  lodges  were  in 
attendance  as  at  the  former  session,  with  the  exception  of  No.  37,  of  Somerset 
County,  which  was  not  represented  ;  but  No.  6,  of  Georgetown,  was  in  attend- 
ance, and  was  represented,  as  were  all  the  other  lodges,  by  its  Master  and 
Wardens,  and  not  by  deputies,  as  at  the  former  session.  The  resolution 
adopted  at  the  previous  session,  regarding  the  right  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge 
"  independent  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,"  was  unanimously  reaf- 
firmed. It  was  further  determined  that  the  Grand  Lodge  should  be  a  moving 
lodge  ;  "  that  is  to  say,  it  shall  sit  at  different  places  at  different  times  ;  "  also, 
that  "  said  Grand  Lodge  shall  have  quarterly  communications."  The  conven- 
tion then  proceeded  to  ballot  for  Grand  Officers,  when  Dr.  Coats  was  elected 
Grand  Master,  and  Charles  Gardiner,  Grand  Secretary. 

Grand  Master  Coats  addressed  a  letter,  dated  August  18,  1783,  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  he  expressed  his  strong  attachment  to  the 
brethren  from  Pennsylvania,  but  from  particular  circumstances  he  found  it 
most  convenient  to  reside  in  Maryland.  After  stating  that  he  was  not  the 
proposer  of  the  movement,  he  gave  his  reason  for  concurring  in  the  views  of 
Brother  Dr.  Smith,  "and  every  member  of  the  different  lodges,"  as  to  the 
necessity  for  their  course  of  action.  To  this  communication  no  reply  appears 
to  have  been  received,  and  he  addressed  another  communication  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  dated  October  16,  1783,  in  which  he  refers  to  the 
former  letter,  and  gives  notice  that  the  next  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
would  be  held  at  Chestertown,  December  i8th. 

To  these  communications  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  through  its 
Deputy  Grand  Secretary,  Joseph  Howell,  Jr.,  replied  under  date  December  5, 
1783.  In  his  letter  Brother  Howell  stated  that  the  delay  in  returning  an 
answer  to  the  communication  was  "  in  consequence  of  a  sense  of  doubt  and 
delicacy  they  felt  respecting  their  determination."  While  they  were  in  a 
great  measure  obliged  to  differ  in  sentiment  with  the  brethren  in  Maryland, 
yet  they  frankly  acknowledged  their  ignorance  as  "from  what  authority  a 
warrant  could  be  issued."  In  conclusion  he  intimated  that  it  is  the  opinion 
of  his  Grand  Lodge  that  the  dues  of  the  several  lodges  "should  \)Q  paid  to  the 
time  of  your  forming.^* 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  20^ 

The  Grand  Lodge  assembled,  according  to  adjournment,  December  iSthj 
but,  on  account  of  the  severe  weather,  a  number  of  the  brethren  were  pre- 
vented from  attendmg,  and  the  meeting  was  not  organized  until  the  next  day, 
when  Grand  Master  Coats  delivered  an  address,  in  which  he  gives  an  account 
of  his  visit  to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Philadelphia.  He  stated  that  as  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and  being  on  the  spot,  he 
requested  a  meeting  be  convened  that  the  whole  matter  might  be  investi- 
gated. "To  this  lodge  of  emergency,"  he  addressed  himself,  "making  a  full 
statement  of  the  rights  which  the  Maryland  lodges  claimed  that  they  possessed 
of  establishing  an  independent  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State,  and  of  the  reasons 
which  impelled  them  to  the  formation  of  such  a  body." 

It  would  seem  that  his  arguments  were  satisfactory  to  the  Grand  Master 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  met  with  approval,  but  there  were  many  members  who 
made  objections  which  had  weight.  The  result,  therefore,  was  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  meet  Grand  Master  Coats,  and  any  members  of  the 
Maryland  lodges  then  in  the  city,  for  conference ;  also,  to  inquire  whether 
the  Grand  Lodge  had  power  and  authority  to  grant  a  warrant  to  form  another 
Grand  Lodge,  and  to  report  at  the  next  quarterly  communication.  As  far  as 
the  records  in  possession  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland 
show,  no  report  was  made  by  the  committee. 

At  the  same  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  it  was  resolved  that,  in  case  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  refused  to  give  a  charter,  "  we  think  we  have 
power  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  within  ourselves."  After  resolving  that  the 
next  meeting  should  be  held  at  Cambridge,  June  17,  1784,  the  Grand  Lodge 
adjourned. 

Summonses  were  issued  by  the  Grand  Secretary,  Brother  Charles  Gardiner, 
"  to  the  Masters  of  the  different  lodges  in  the  State  of  Maryland,"  to  meet 
with  their  Wardens,  the  Grand  Master,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  at 
the  time  designated.  But  "  from  accident  and  other  causes,"  there  was  no 
meeting  on  that  day ;  nor  was  there  any  meeting  held,  as  far  as  the  records 
show,  until  three  years  subsequently.  What  this  "  accident "  was,  and  what 
were  the  "  other  causes  "  that  prevented  the  brethren  from  assembling,  it 
would  be  of  much  interest  to  know.  Although  the  Grand  Lodge  failed  to 
meet  according  to  "agreement,"  the  subordinate  lodges  considered  their 
allegiance  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  severed,  as  they  were  not 
thenceforth  represented  in  that  body. 

April  17,  1787,  by  a  concert  of  action,  and  in  compliance  with  the  sum- 
mons issued  by  the  Grand  Secretary,  the  officers  of  the  several  lodges  on  the 
Eastern  Shore  met  at  Talbot  Court- House,  when,  having  reviewed  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  former  convention,  and  in  order  "  to  give  efficacy  to  what  was 
heretofore  transacted  upon  this  subject,  and  still  observing  the  propriety  and 
necessity  of  so  important  a  measure,"  they  agreed  to  establish  a  Grand  Lodge 
and  appoint  Grand  Officers  for  the  purpose.     Brother  Coats  was  reelected 


2Q4  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Grand  Master,  and  Charles  Gardiner  reelected  Grand  Secretary.  It  would 
seem  that  the  brethren,  in  order  to  avoid  any  possible  difificulty  that  might 
arise  in  the  future  as  to  the  regularity  or  legality  of  their  former  proceedings, 
thus  reorganized  X\\t  Grand  Lodge.  And  from  this  date,  April  17,  1787,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland  dates  its  formation. 

The  three  lodges  on  the  Western  Shore,  Nos,  15  and  16  at  Baltimore  and 
No.  35  at  Joppa,  did  not  participate  in  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
although  No.  15  authorized  a  member  of  No.  7,  of  Chestertown,  to  represent 
it  in  the  convention,  but  the  letter  of  authorization  did  not  reach  the  brother 
in  time.  It  was,  however,  represented  at  the  meeting  held  August,  1787,  and 
subsequently  received  a  charter  as  Washington  Lodge,  No.  3.  This  lodge  is 
still  existing.  Lodge  No.  16  came  under  the  jurisdiction  in  1795,  as  St.  John's 
Lodge,  No.  20,  but  it  was  short-lived,  never  being  represented  afterward ; 
while  No.  35,  as  stated,  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in 
1794,  as  Belle  Air  Lodge,  No.  14,  and  is  now  existing  as  Mount  Ararat  Lodge, 
No.  44. 

It  would  seem  that  there  was  a  difference  in  sentiment  in  Lodge  15,  regard- 
ing the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  consequence  of  which  some  of  the 
members  refused  to  sanction  the  action  of  the  lodge  in  that  respect,  and,  in 
concert  with  some  of  the  members  of  No.  16,  applied  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Virginia  for  a  dispensation  to  open  a  new  lodge,  which  was  granted  April  28, 
1788,  as  Baltimore  Union  Lodge,  No.  21.  This  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Virginia  was  clearly  irregular.  But  little  of  this  lodge  is  known,  except 
that  it  was  represented  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  generally  by  proxy, 
until  1 793.  It  was  certainly  existing  as  late  as  March  6th  of  that  year ;  for  the 
distinguished  Mason,  PhiHp  P.  Eckel,  held  a  dimit  from  it  bearing  that  date. 

After  the  reorganization  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  April  17,  1787,  the  increase 
in  the  establishment  of  new  lodges  became  rapid ;  no  less  than  twenty  war- 
rants were  issued  during  the  first  thirteen  years  of  its  existence,  for  lodges  in 
various  parts  of  the  State.  But  it  is  evident  this  increase  was  too  rapid  ;  more 
lodges  were  organized  than  could  be  sustained,  for  seven  of  the  twenty  new 
lodges  became  dormant  before  the  year  1800.  In  1794  the  communications 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  were  removed  to  Baltimore,  where  they  have  since  been 
continuously  held,  except  the  communication  of  1806,  which  was  held  at 
Easton. 

In  addition  to  the  lodges  of  which  mention  has  been  made,  there  are  traces 
of  seven  others  in  the  State  in  the  early  days,  viz. :  St.  Andrew's  at  Georgetown, 
now  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  1737;  at  Joppa,  1750;  at  Port  Tobacco, 
Charles  County,  pripr  to  1759;  at  Talbot  Court-House,  1763;  near  Liberty- 
town,  Frederick  County,  prior  to  the  Revolution ;  at  Fleecy  Dale,  in  same 
county,  prior  to  1 790 ;  and  a  "  Hibernian  "  Lodge  at  Baltimore,  held  under 
authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland,  about  1797.  But  nothing  whatever 
is  known  of  either  of  these  lodges  except  the  fact  that  they  existed. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  295 

Four  lodges  were  warranted  by  this  Grand  Lodge  in  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  one  in  the  State  of  Delaware  ;  these,  however,  afterward  withdrew  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  the  Grand  Lodges  in  their  respective  jurisdictions. 

The  spread  of  Masonry  in  the  State  was  quite  rapid  between  1820  and 
1830,  eighteen  charters  having  been  issued  for  the  formation  of  new  or  the 
revival  of  dormant  lodges.  But  shortly  after  the  date  last  named  one  lodge 
after  another  surrendered  or  forfeited  its  charter,  so  that  by  the  year  1840 
there  were  but  thirteen  active  lodges  in  the  State,  and  they  with  a  member- 
ship of  less  than  three  hundred.  This  decline  in  Masonry  in  Maryland,  —  and 
it  was  equally  as  great  in  other  jurisdictions, — was  caused  by  the  Anti-Masonic 
excitement  which  swept  over  the  entire  country. 

But  about  the  year  1845  a  decided  change  for  the  better  took  place.  The 
lodges  were  aroused  from  the  torpid  inactivity  into  which  they  had  fallen,  into 
activity  and  vigor,  and  by  the  year  1850  ten  new  lodges  were  formed  and  a 
number  of  the  dormant  lodges  revived. 

In  1822  they  occupied  the  Masonic  Hall  on  St.  Paul  Street,  but  in  the 
year  1857  the  increase  in  the  number  of  lodges  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  was 
so  great  that  the  inadequacy  of  this  hall  was  acknowledged  by  all.  It  was 
finally  determined  to  sell  it  and  build  the  present  new  Temple  on  Charles 
Street,  which  was  completed  in  1869,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  $500,000.^ 

The  hall  on  St.  Paul  Street  was  built  in  great  part  by  funds  raised  by  lottery, 
at  a  cost  of  $35,000,  and  was  in  its  day  considered  a  handsome  and  commo- 
dious building. 

In  1797  a  petition  w-as  made  to  the  legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation, 
but  from  some  cause  it  was  not  obtained  until  1822.  In  1866  the  act  was 
amended,  giving  enlarged  property-holding  qualifications,  and  changing  the 
title  from  "  Free  and  Accepted  "  to  "  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons." 

In  1797  the  trustees  of  the  Grand  Charity  Fund  were  constituted  "The 
Grand  Stewards'  Lodge,"  which  was  first  composed  of  eight  brethren  appointed 
annually,  and  presided  over  by  the  Deputy  Grand  Master.  It  afterward  was 
composed  of  the  Masters  of  the  lodges  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  a  Past 
Master  from  each  lodge  in  the  State.  This  body  grew  in  influence  and  power, 
and  gradually  became  the  manager  of  the  general  business  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 
Jurisdiction  was  given  to  it  in  matters  of  discipline,  and  it  was  constituted  an 
intermediate  court  of  appeals.  It  continued  in  existence  until  1872,  when 
the  Grand  Stewards'  Lodge  was  legislated  out  of  existence. 

In  1845  steps  were  taken  for  the  founding  of  a  "Beneficial  Society  among 
the  brethren  of  Maryland,"  and  a  committee  termed  the  "  Trustees  of  the 
Grand  Charity  Fund"  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  same.  Appropria- 
tions to  this  fund  were  made  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  Grand  Chapter  and  lodges, 
which  was  so  judiciously  managed  that  by  the  year   1865   it  amounted  to 

1  Destroyed  by  fire  December  25  (Christmas),  1890,  together  with  valuable  Masonic  papers 
and  records  contained  therein. 


296 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR Y. 


;^54,ooo,  when  the  entire  sum  was  invested  in  the  new  Temple.  Until  1872 
the  interest  was  annually  credited  to  the  fund,  when  it  amounted  to  $80,402.82. 
Since  which  no  report  has  been  made  by  the  trustees,  and  until  the  resump- 
tion of  the  payment  of  dividends  upon  the  stock  debt,  the  Grand  Charity 
Fund  exists  only  in  name. 

September  18,  1793,  the  Grand  Lodge  and  several  of  its  subordinates,  in 
concert  with  Lodge  No.  22,  of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
the  Capitol  at  Washington,  Brother  President  Washington  presiding  and  con- 
ducting the  ceremonies  by  request.  May  16,  1814,  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Masonic  hall  on  St.  Paul  Street  was  laid  by  the  Grand  Master. 

On  July  4,  1815,  by  request  of  the  legislature,  the  Grand  Master  laid  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Washington  Monument  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  which 
was  the  first  monument  ever  erected  to  the  memory  of  our  illustrious  Brother 
Washington. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1828,  by  request  of  the  Directors  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  first  or  foundation-stone  of  that 
great  enterprise.  Grand  Master  Benjamin  C.  Howard,  assisted  by  Grand 
Master  Thomas  Kittera,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Grand  Master  D.  W.  Patterson, 
of  Virginia,  officiating. 

August  8,  1829,  the  Grand  Lodge,  by  request  of  the  Board  of  Directors 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Susquehanna  Railroad  Company  (now  the  Northern 
Central),  laid  the  first  or  foundation-stone  of  that  important  work. 

On  Tuesday,  October  12,  1880,  during  the  week  of  festivities  held  to  com- 
memorate the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  City 
of  Baltimore,  the  Grand  Lodge,  Grand  Chapter,  and  the  Grand  Commandery, 
with  a  number  of  Templars  from  the  adjoining  jurisdictions,  held  a  grand 
parade.  But  the  largest,  and  perhaps  the  most  imposing,  Masonic  procession 
ever  held  in  the  jurisdiction,  was  that  held  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration 
of  the  Centennial  of  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  May  12,  1887,  there 
being  over  5000  Master  Masons  in  line. 

The  Grand  Lodge  has  been  called  upon  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  many 
churches  and  other  public  buildings.  Among  the  most  important  were,  the 
Antietam  National  Cemetery,  September  17,  1867  ;  the  new  City  Hall,  Balti- 
more, October  17,  1867  ;  the  new  Post-office,  Baltimore,  November  21,  1882  ; 
and  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum,  Frederick,  May  31,  1S71.  It  also  partici- 
pated in  the  ceremonies  of  unveiling  the  De  Kalb  Statue  at  Annapolis,  August 
16,  1886. 

The  Fraternity  in  Maryland  has  ever  been  noted  for  its  conservatism,  and 
as  a  consequence  its  increase  in  membership  has  not  kept  pace  with  that  of 
other  jurisdictions.  Another  cause  for  this  has  been  the  heavy  burden  of  debt 
under  which  the  Grand  Lodge  has  labored  for  more  than  twenty  years  past, 
growing  out  of  the  building  of  the  new  Temple.  This  debt,  however,  has 
been  steadily  decreasing  for  a  number  of  years  past. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  297 

District  of  Columbia. — What  is  known  as  the  District  of  Columbia,  in 
I  789  embraced  territory  ceded  by  the  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia. 

The  first  lodge  of  Freemasons  therein  was  formed  under  warrant  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  The  petition  for  this  lodge  was  presented 
from  some  brethren  in  Alexandria  to  Grand  Lodge,  on  September  2,  1 782,  and 
ordered  to  lie  over.  On  February  3,  1783,  the  petition  presented  on  Sep- 
tember 2d,  last,  from  several  brethren  of  Alexandria  in  Virginia  for  a  warrant 
to  hold  a  lodge  there,  was  ordered  to  lie  over  to  the  next  communication :  — 

"  In  consequence  of  Brother  Adam,  the  proposed  Master  thereof,  being  found  to  possess  his 
knowledge  of  Masonry  in  a  clandestine  manner,  since  which  the  said  Brother  Adam  having  gone 
through  the  several  steps  of  Ancient  Masonry  in  lodge  No.  2  of  Philadelphia;  It  was  ordered  that 
the  said  petition  be  complied  with,  and  that  the  Secretary  present  Brother  Adam  with  a  warrant  to 
hold  a  lodge  of  Ancient  Masons  in  Alexandria,  in  Virginia,  to  be  numbered  39.  Brother  Robert 
Adam  was  then  duly  recommended,  and  presented  in  form  to  the  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Master  in 
the  chair  for  installation  as  Master  of  Lodge  No.  39,  to  be  held  in  the  borough  of  Alexandria,  in 
Fairfax  County,  Virginia,  and  was  accordingly  installed  as  such." 

After  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  this  lodge  surrendered  its 
Pennsylvania  warrant,  and,  on  April  28,  1788,  received  a  warrant  from  Grand 
lyodge  of  Virginia.  In  1789  it  asked  to  have  its  old  warrant  returned  ;  but  the 
latter  Grand  Lodge  decided  it  was  improper  to  comply  with  the  request.  Decem- 
ber 12,  1804,  a  request  to  have  its  name  changed  to  Alexandria-Washington 
Lodge  was  presented  to  Grand  Lodge,  which  ordered  a  new  warrant  to  be 
issued  with  the  new  name.  This  did  not  meet  the  approval  of  the  lodge,  as 
George  Washington  was  named  in  the  warrant  as  Master.  An  authenticated 
copy  of  the  resolution  authorizing  the  change  of  name  was  ordered  to  be 
attached  to  the  original.  This  lodge  did  not  take  any  part  in  the  formation 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland  issued  warrants  to  lodges  as  follows  :  April 
21,  1789,  to  Potomac  Lodge,  at  Georgetown;  some  of  its  members  moved  to 
Port  Tobacco,  and  opened  a  branch  lodge  there,  which  was  soon  super- 
seded by  a  charter  for  St.  Columba,  No.  10  ;  the  old  lodge  ceased  May, 
1794:  was  revived  October  22,  1795,  as  Columbia  Lodge;  it  first  met 
November  7,  1795,  and  ceased  December  12,  1796:  November  10,  1806, 
it  was  again  revived  as  Potomac  Lodge,  No.  43:  September  12,  1793,  to 
Federal  Lodge,  at  Washington;  November  8,  1802,  to  Columbia  Lodge, 
at  Washington;  and  May  14,  1805,  to  Washington-Naval  Lodge,  at  Wash- 
ington. The  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  on  November  29,  1796,  issued  a 
warrant  to  Brooke  Lodge,  which  was  afterward  called  Alexandria-Brooke 
Lodge,  at  Alexandria.  December  11,  1810,  these  five  lodges  decided 
that  it  was  right  and  expedient  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  was  duly  formed  February  19,  iSii. 
Alexandria- Washington  Lodge  did  not  join  in  the  movement,  and  refused  to 
leave  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  under  which  it  continued  by  common  con- 
sent.    The  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  met  the  hearty  approval  of  the 


298 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Grand  Lodges  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  new  Grand  Lodge,  being 
located  at  the  seat  of  the  National  Government,  could  not  help  but  keep  up 
an  active  existence.  On  September  18,  1793,  the  lodge  assisted  in  the  cere- 
mony of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  Capitol  of  the  United  States,  with 
Masonic  ceremonies  by  President  Washington.  As  a  Grand  Lodge  it  laid  the 
comer-stone  of  the  new  Capitol,  on  July  4,  1851,  and  the  dedication  and  plac- 
ing of  the  pinnacle  of  the  Washington  Monument,  and  its  dedication  within 
the  last  few  years.  It  was  the  centre  of  the  movement  to  form  a  National 
Grand  Lodge,  which  never  met  the  approval  of  the  several  Grand  Lodges.  In 
1846,  when  the  territory  south-westerly  of  the  Potomac  River  was  retroceded 
to  Virginia,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  assumed  the  Masonic  jurisdiction  of 
Alexandria. 

The  Anti-Masonic  excitement  caused  but  little  discomfort,  and  soon  passed 
away.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia  has  always  been,  and  is 
now,  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition. 

Virginia.  —  In  1741  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  granted  a  warrant  to 
St.  John's  Lodge,  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  this  may  be  said  to  be  the  first 
lodge  organized  in  that  jurisdiction.  On  April  15,  i  775,  the  Lodge  of  Kilwin- 
ning, Scotland,  warranted  Calvin  Point  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  at  Falmouth. 
March  9,  1756,  Blandford  Lodge  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scot- 
land. On  July  21,  1758,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  chartered  the  Lodge 
of  Fredericksburg,  the  warrant  being  still  preserved.  But  it  is  probable  that 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  granted  this  lodge  a  dispensation  earlier, 
as  records  exist  from  September  i,  1752.  This  is  the  lodge  in  which  Wash- 
ington was  made  a  Mason,  on  November  4,  1752. 

On  December  22,  1 753,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  "  Modems,"  granted 
a  warrant  to  the  Royal  Exchange  Lodge,  No.  173,  in  the  borough  of  Norfolk, 
in  Virginia ;  this  lodge  was  kept  on  the  English  Register  until  1813. 

August  I,  1755,  the  same  Grand  Lodge  granted  a  warrant  to  "Lodge  at  the 
Swan  Tavern,"  Yorktown  ;  it  was  numbered  205  :  it  was  not  erased  from  the 
English  Register  until  181 3.  November  6,  1773,  the  same  Grand  Lodge 
granted  a  warrant  to  Lodge  at  Williamsburg,  numbered  364 ;  also  same  day  to 
Lodge  at  Botecourt,  No.  365  :  this  was  also  retained  on  English  Register  until 
the  year  1813. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  granted  warrants  October  4,  1768,  to 
Lodge  No.  12,  Winchester,  which  was  surrendered  and  renewed  March  17, 
1787,  and  surrendered  January  5,  1807,  to  join  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia; 
February  3,  1783,  to  Lodge  No.  39,  Alexandria,  Fairfax  County,  joined  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia;  June  26,  1784,  to  Lodge  No.  41,  Portsmouth,  sur- 
rendered and  renewed  June  24,  1790;  vacated  April  7,  1806.  The  Grand 
Orient  of  France  granted  warrants,  in  1785,  for  a  lodge  at  Portsmouth,  and  in 
1849  for  a  lodge  at  Richmond. 

Cornelius  Hamet  of  Norfolk,  while  in  name  Provincial  Grand  Master, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  299 

exercised  none  of  the  prerogatives  of  that  high  office.  Representing  as  he 
did  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  lodges  were  petitioned  for  and  warranted 
without  a  word  of  reference,  or  recommendation,  to  or  from  him. 

A  convention  of  the  delegates  from  five  lodges,  from  five  different  jurisdic- 
tions in  Virginia,  met,  on  May  6,  1777,  at  the  city  of  Williamsburg,  and  then 
adjourned  to  May  13,  1777,  when  a  so-called  Grand  Lodge  was  formed. 

On  April  28,  1788,  Alexandria  Lodge,  No.  39,  sent  a  communication  that 
they  desired  to  surrender  their  present  warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  obtain  one  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia.  A  warrant 
was  granted  as  Alexandria  Lodge,  No.  22.  December  12,  1804,  the  lodge 
petitioned  that  it  might  be  known  thereafter  as  the  "Alexandria-Washington 
Lodge,  No.  22."  The  petition  was  granted,  for  which  the  lodge  paid 
j[^\o.  April  29,  1 791,  the  Grand  Lodge  adopted  and  ordered  to  be  printed 
the  "  Book  of  Constitutions,"  approved  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  known  as  "  Smith's  Ahiman  Rezon."  The  work  was  so  imperfectly  done, 
typographically,  that  it  was  rejected,  and  the  book  ordered  to  be  burnt.  A 
brother  offered  to  print  a  new  edition  of  the  Ahiman  Rezon.  Permission  was 
granted,  and  a  motion  in  the  Grand  Lodge  to  purchase  250  copies  was  rejected. 
It  is  known  as  "  Read's  Ahiman  Rezon."  The  Grand  Lodge  adopted  the 
work  as  taught  by  Jeremy  L.  Cross,  who  taught  the  Thomas  Smith  Webb  work. 

In  1 798  the  Grand  Lodge  prohibited,  under  the  penalty  of  expulsion,  the 
visiting  by  any  member  of  a  lodge  in  Virginia  of  the  lodges  of  the  "  Ancients." 

The  Anti-Masonic  excitement  considerably  affected  the  lodges,  and  weak- 
ened many  of  the  members,  but,  when  it  passed  over,  Masonry  was  stronger 
than  ever.  On  February  22,  1858,  the  Grand  Lodge  dedicated  the  monu- 
ment erected  at  Richmond  to  the  memory  of  Brother  George  Washington. 
The  ceremonies  were  said  to  be  grand  and  inspiring.  They  also  laid,  with  full 
Masonic  ceremonies,  the  corner-stone  of  the  monument  erected  by  the  United 
States  Government  to  commemorate  the  surrender  of  Yorktown.  The  Craft 
are  building,  and  have  nearly  completed,  an  imposing  hall  or  Temple  for 
Masonic  purposes,  to  cost  nearly  $150,000. 

West  Virginia.  —  The  Civil  War  of  1861,  and  years  following,  resulted  in 
the  division  of  the  State  of  Virginia  and  the  formation  of  a  portion  thereof, 
in  June,  1863,  into  the  separate  State  of  West  Virginia.  All  communication, 
between  the  subordinate  lodges  in  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  State 
forming  West  Virginia,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  had  been  suspended 
for  nearly  three  years,  and  the  meetings  held  were  irregular  in  more  particulars 
than  one.  The  vicissitudes  of  war  and  the  failure  to  meet  regularly  raised  a 
doubt  of  the  right  of  renewing  the  meetings  without  the  direct  authority  of 
a  Grand  Lodge.  Counsel  and  advice  were  solicited  from  the  neighboring 
jurisdictions  ;  and  the  favorable  suggestions  made  by  them  led  to  the  issuing 
of  a  circular  by  Fairmont  Lodge,  No.  9,  addressed  to  the  lodges  in  what  is 
now  known  as  West  Virginia,  for  a  convention  to  meet  on  December  28,  1863. 


^QQ  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  meeting  adjourned  to  February  22,  1864,  and  again  to  June  24,  1864, 
when,  eight  lodges  being  represented,  it  was  resolved  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge. 
Grand  Officers  were  elected,  and  a  day  fixed  for  the  installation  of  the  Grand 
Officers.  At  the  time  designated  for  the  performance  of  this  duty,  it  was 
learned  that  there  had  been  some  irregularity  in  the  action  of  the  convention, 
and  the  Grand  Officers  refused  to  be  installed.  A  new  convention  was 
called  for  April  12,  1865,  when  new  Grand  Officers  were  elected;  and  on 
April  12,  1865,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West  Virginia  was  formed,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  was  directed  to  be  used  until  there 
was  one  adopted  by  the  nev/  Grand  Lodge.  The  Grand  Lodge  has  performed 
many  official  public  duties,  such  as  the  laying  of  corner-stones  for  churches, 
monuments,  schools,  town  halls,  and  libraries.  The  following  lodges,  all 
warranted  by  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  took  part  in  the  formation  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  West  Virginia  :  Fairmont,  No.  g,  Fairmont ;  Marshall  Union, 
No.  jy,  Moundville ;  Alorgantown,  No.  gj,  Morgantown  ;  Oliio,  A^o.  loi, 
Wheeling ;  Wellsbiirg,  N'o.  108,  Wellsburg ;  Fetterman,  No.  J08,  Grafton ; 
Cameron,  No.  180,  Cameron.  With  the  closing  of  the  war  the  lodges  became 
prosperous  and  Masonry  popular. 

North  Carolina.  —  The  earliest  knowledge  we  have  of  Freemasonry  in 
North  Carolina  is  the  warranting  of  a  lodge  at  Wilmington,  on  Cape  River, 
in  the  Province  of  North  Carolina,  in  March,  1754,  being  No.  213  on  the 
Register,  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  It  was  not  put  on  the  list  till  1756,  and 
was  continued  on  it  until  18 13. 

On  August  21, 1 767,  a  warrant  was  granted  to  the  Royal  White  Hart  Lodge, 
at  Halifax,  North  Carolina,  No.  338,  and  it  was  also  kept  on  the  Enghsh 
Register  until  18 13. 

Cornelius  Hamett,  Provincial  Grand  Master  for  Virginia,  who  had  resided 
for  a  number  of  years  at  Wilmington,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  promoter 
of  the  lodge  at  Wilmington. 

The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  granted  a  warrant  for  "  the 
First  Lodge  at  Crown  Point,  in  Pitt  County."  The  records  of  the  registering 
of  this  lodge  are  missing,  but  it  was  on  the  rolls  in  1766  and  1767,  it  making 
its  returns  to  the  Grand  Lodge  up  to  the  latter  year.  December  30,  1767, 
Thomas  Cooper  was  appointed  by  Acting  Grand  Master  Henry  Price,  Deputy 
Grand  Master  of  North  Carolina,  with  power  to  establish  lodges  there.  What 
was  done  under  this  deputation  is  not  known.  January  14,  1771,  Joseph 
Montfort  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master  of,  and  for,  America,  by  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort ;  and  he,  it  is  said,  issued  the  warrant  to  the  Royal  White 
Hart  Lodge  at  Halifax.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  also  issued  a 
Regimental  warrant  for  North  Carolina,  as  No.  20.  The  date  of  its  granting 
is  not  known.  It  was  subsequently  vacated.  In  1771  a  Grand  Lodge  was 
formed  which  met  at  Newbern  and  Edenton.  The  records  were  deposited, 
previous  to  the  Revolutionary  War,  at  the  latter  place,  which  were  subse- 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^01 

quently  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  and  the  labors  of  Grand  Lodge  suspended. 
In  1787,  December  9th,  an  attempt  was  made  to  reorganize  the  Grand  Lodge. 
There  were  present  the  following  lodges  :  Unanimity  ;  St.  John's,  No.  2  ;  Royal 
Edwin,  No.  4 ;  Royal  White  Hart,  No.  403  ;  Royal  William,  No.  8  ;  Union, 
at  Fayetteville  ;  Blandford ;  Bute;  and  Old  Cone. 

Grand  Officers  were  elected  and  duly  installed.  The  numbering  of  the 
lodges  first  claimed  the  attention  of  Grand  Lodge;  and,  on  June  25,  1791, 
the  lodges  were  all  renumbered,  and  new  charters  ordered  to  be  issued.  In 
1797  the  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  by  the  General  Assembly  of  North 
Carolina.  Many  of  the  subordinate  lodges  were  also  incorporated.  In  1842 
the  question  of  establishing  a  Masonic  seminary  of  learning  was  broached,  and 
the  discussion  continued  to  1856,  and  finally  resulted  in  St.  John's  College 
being  established  at  Oxford.  In  1872  the  Grand  Lodge  converted  it  into  an 
orphan  asylum.  It  is  now  doing  a  vast  amount  of  good,  being  assisted  finan- 
cially by  the  State  and  by  benevolent  citizens.  The  storm  of  Anti-Masonry 
did  not  interfere  materially  with  the  working  of  the  lodges.  The  Grand 
Lodge,  by  resolution,  sympathized  with  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Rhode  Island, 
New  York,  and  Vermont,  and  assured  them  of  their  support  for  the  efficient 
and  consistent  course  they  pursued  in  the  contest.  The  first  hall  erected  for 
Masonic  purposes  in  North  Carolina  was  at  Raleigh,  in  18 12.  A  hall  was  also 
early  built  in  Wilmington. 

The  Grand  Lodge  owns  a  library  valued  at  ^600. 

South  Carolina.  —  The  first  Masonic  lodge  in  South  Carolina  was  war- 
ranted in  1735,  by  Lord  Weymouth,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  and  was  granted  to  Solomon's  Lodge  at  Charleston.  Its  first  meet- 
ing was  held  Thursday,  October  28,  1736.  In  this  year,  1736,  the  Earl  of 
Loudoun,  then  Grand  Master  of  England,  issued  a  deputation  to  John  Ham- 
merton  (who  was  the  first  Master  of  Solomon's  Lodge  as  above),  appointing 
him  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  South  Carolina.  Hammerton,  acting  under  this 
authority,  organized  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  on  December  27,  1737,  which 
continued  until  1777.  At  the  same  time  (1735)  that  the  warrant  was  granted 
to  the  Charleston  Solomon's  Lodge,  a  warrant  was  granted  for  a  lodge  of  the 
same  name  at  Wilmington,  North  Carolina.  By  some  mistake  the  Charleston 
lodge  was  not  entered  on  the  Register,  while  the  Wilmington  one  was.  The 
former  was  put  on  the  Register  in  1760,  with  precedence  allowed  to  1735. 
The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  in  1735,  granted  a  warrant  to  a 
number  of  brethren  from  Boston  to  open  a  lodge  at  Charleston.  This  lodge 
met  at  the  "  Harp  and  Crown,"  but  probably  existed  only  for  a  few  years. 
Hammerton  resigned  after  a  few  months'  service,  and  James  Graeme  was 
appointed  to  serve  to  the  end  of  the  year,  after  which  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  was  authorized  to  elect  their  Grand  Master.  Graeme  was  elected  and 
reelected  Grand  Master  until  1740,  when  John  Houghton  was  elected. 
Hammerton  was  elected  again  in  1 741,  and  Benjamin  Smith  in  1742.     The 


202  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

foregoing  information  is  obtained  from  the  current  public  newspapers,  and  it 
has  been  suggested  that  the  pubUcations  were  stopped  in  1742,  and  until  1751, 
on  account  of  the  law  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  forbidding  the  printing 
of  the  proceedings  of  any  lodge.  Solomon's  Lodge  worked  uninterruptedly 
until  181 1,  when  it  suspended  work  until  181 7  ;  it  was  then  revived,  and  con- 
tinued active  until  1838;  it  was  then  dormant  until  1841,  when  it  was  again 
revived,  and  continues  until  the  present.  The  following  additional  lodges  were 
warranted  by  Grand  Lodge  of  England  :  1 743,  "  Prince  George,"  at  George- 
town, Virginia;  May  3,  1755,  "  Union,"  Charleston ;  March  22,  1756,  "A 
Master's  Lodge  "  at  Charleston  (these  lodges  were  not  put  on  the  Register  until 
1760);  February  8,  1763,  "St.  Mark's."  There  were  also  lodges  at  Port 
Royal,  at  Beaufort,  and  St.  George's,  at  Dorchester,  said  to  have  been  in 
existence  about  1756  ;  but  nothing  is  known  of  their  history. 

These  were  all  what  are  known  as  "Modern"  lodges.  In  1787  the  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Lodge  declared  itself  independent  of  England,  and  took  the 
title  of  "The  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  South  Caro- 
lina." In  1759  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  granted  a  warrant  to  "  Union 
Kilwinning,^^  but  the  members  being  members  of  Union  Lodge,  which  was 
warranted  in  1755,  did  not  accept  the  warrant,  but  did  adopt  the  name.  The 
Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  continued  it  on  its  Registry  for  years,  although  no 
returns  were  ever  made. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  England  ("  Ancients  ")  warranted  lodges  as  follows  : 
October  10,  1764,  at  Charleston,  No.  92  ;  September  30,  1774,  at  Charleston, 
No.  190;  May  26,  1786,  at  Charleston,  No.  236.  The  members  of  the  latter. 
No.  236,  had  been  warranted  by  the  "Moderns,"  but  one  of  the  members  went 
to  Philadelphia  and  was  made  an  "  Ancient "  Mason.  On  his  return  he 
caused  the  others  to  follow  his  example,  and  applied  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ancients,  at  London,  for  a  warrant ;  hence  the  warrant  No.  236.  The  Provin- 
cial Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  ("  Ancients  ")  warranted  lodges  :  December 
23,  1872,  at  Charleston,  No.  t^Z;  July  12,  1783,  "6"/.  Andrew's''  Lodge, 
Charleston,  No.  40,  surrendered  and  renewed  May  25,  1787,  surrendered 
September  24,  1787;  November  22,  1786,  at  Charleston,  No.  4y,  sur- 
rendered. On  December  27,  1785,  a  petition  for  a  warrant  to  hold  a  lodge 
at  Winnsburgh,  South  Carolina,  was  granted  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania.  No  record  is  made  of  this  lodge  on  the  Register  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  it  coming  at  the  same  time  as  the  application  for  a  lodge  at  Reading, 
and  also  one  at  Cape  Francois,  possibly  it  was  the  same  lodge  as  No.  47,  as 
above.  These  lodges  united,  March  24,  1787,  in  forming  the  "Grand  Lodge 
of  Ancient  York  Masons  of  South  Carolina."  The  rivalry  between  the  two 
Grand  Lodges  was  most  bitter,  and  led  to  the  most  unfraternal  actions.  The 
"  Ancients  "  were  said  to  be  everywhere  zealous,  aggressive,  and  intolerant 
towards  the  so-called  "  Moderns."  The  latter  seemed  to  hold  strictly  to  the 
principle  that  "  profanes  "  must  seek  them,  while  the  rapid  growth  of  their  rivals 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^03 

gave  indications  of  "  proselyting."  The  Ancients  increased  much  more  rapidly 
than  the  Moderns.  Both  Grand  Lodges  were  incorporated  by  the  legislature. 
The  records  of  neither  were  printed,  and,  singularly,  both  have  been  lost. 
On  December  31,  1808,  the  two  Grand  Lodges  were  united,  as  the  "Grand 
Lodge  of  South  Carolina,"  This  union  was  of  short  duration  ;  one  of  the 
Ancient  lodges,  "  St.  John's,"  claimed  that  the  formation  of  the  United  Grand 
Lodge  was  irregular  and  illegal,  because  no  "  Modern  "  Mason  could  become 
"Ancient"  without  going  through  the  Ancient  ceremonies.  By  its  persistent 
action  and  the  assistance  of  a  number  of  the  country  lodges,  the  attention  of 
the  Grand  Lodges  of  the  United  States  was  called  to  the  irregularities,  and 
a  number  of  these  denounced  the  United  Grand  Lodge  and  interdicted  its 
members.  A  convention  was  called  by  the  dissatisfied  "  Ancients,"  and  on 
May  15,  1809,  the  former  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons  was  revived. 
This  increased  the  bitterness,  and  the  matter  was  carried  into  the  courts.  The 
revived  Grand  Lodge  received  the  strong  support  of  the  other  Grand  Lodges. 
Finally,  after  mutual  concessions,  on  December  27,  181 7,  the  two  Grand 
Lodges,  viz. :  the  "United  "  Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina  and  "The  Grand 
Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons  "  of  South  Carolina,  again  united  under  the 
title  of  "  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Freemasons  of  South  Carolina.^'' 
August  2  and  3,  1837,  the  corner-stone  of  a  Masonic  hall  was  laid  in  Charles- 
ton. On  April  27,  1838,  a  fire  which  devastated  Charleston  destroyed  this 
new  hall,  together  with  all  the  furniture  and  records  of  the  Grand  and  subor- 
dinate lodges.  A  new  hall  was  built  and  dedicated  in  1841,  which  was  torn 
down  and  replaced  by  the  present  Masonic  Temple,  which  was  dedicated 
December  10,  1872.  Its  cost  was  $50,000.  The  Grand  Lodge  continued  its 
meetings  during  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement. 

The  Grand  Lodge  has  always  been  opposed  to  the  formation  of  a  National 
Grand  Lodge.  Of  the  old  lodges  there  exist  at  present :  "  Solomon,  No.  i  "  ; 
"  Clinton,  No.  3  "  ;  "  Union  Kilwinning,  No.  4  "  ;  "  Washington,  No.  5  "  ; 
"  Friendship,  No.  9  "  ;  "  Winnsboro,  No.  11  "  ;  "  Orange,  No.  14."  Of  these, 
Orange,  No.  14,  is  the  only  one  that  has  never  suspended  work  since  its 
constitution,  May  28,  1789. 

Georgia.  —  Freemasonry  was  introduced  into  Georgia  by  those  brethren 
who  were  sent  out  to  the  "  new  Colony  of  Georgia  "  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England.  Many  of  the  Grand  Officers  were  named  in  the  charter  of  the 
Colony  of  Georgia,  by  the  king's  letters-patent.  In  1735  Lord  Viscount  Wey- 
mouth, Grand  Master  of  England,  warranted  Solomon's,  No.  139,  at  Savannah, 
in  the  Province  of  Georgia.  Prior  to  1 799  this  lodge,  sometimes  called  the 
Arms  Lodge,  met  at  the  tavern  kept  by  Mr.  Clark,  Whittaker  Street,  Savannah. 
After  1799  it  met  at  the  Masonic  Hall,  Whittaker  Street.  The  other  lodges 
were  :  in  1774,  Unity,  No.  2,  Savannah,  No.  371  on  the  Registry  of  England ; 
in  1775,  the  Grenadiers'  Lodge,  Savannah,  No.  386.  Solomon's  Lodge  was 
reorganized  in  1784.     The  two  latter  lodges  have  disappeared,  leaving   no 


.Q.  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

trace  of  their  existence.  October  29,  1784,  a  warrant  was  granted  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  as  No.  42,  at  Savannah.  December  16,  1786, 
the  lodges  above-mentioned  organized  "The  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Most 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  according 
to  the  Old  Institution  of  the  State  of  Georgia,"  electing  William  Stephens  as 
Grand  Master,  June  4,  1 799,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the 
City  Exchange.  December  4,  1819,  the  office  of  Grand  Lecturer  was  estab- 
lished, and  the  following  year  his  compensation  was  fixed  at  $30,  to  be  paid 
by  each  lodge  he  might  visit.  Li  182 1  the  office  was  abolished.  March  21, 
1824,  the  corner-stones  of  the  monuments  to  Greene  and  Pulaski  were  laid, 
the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  presiding  at  the  ceremonies.  While  Masonry  flour- 
ished in  Savannah,  it  was  not  so  in  the  lodges  outside  of  that  city,  and  by 
1 81 8,  it  is  said.  Masonry  had  almost  disappeared.  In  1820  a  new  constitution 
was  adopted,  by  which  the  quarterly  meetings  of  March  and  June  were  to  be 
•  held  in  Savannah,  and  those  in  September  and  December  in  the  capital  of 
the  State,  ]\Iilledgeville  ;  the  annual  election  for  Grand  Officers  to  be  held 
in  March,  at  Savannah.  While  this  was  intended  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
conflicting  interests  of  the  upper  and  lower  portions  of  the  State,  and  thereby 
better  the  condition  of  affairs,  it  virtually  made  two  Grand  Lodges,  only  one 
uf  which,  that  at  Savannah,  had  authority  to  elect  Grand  Officers.  There 
was  a  strong  feeling  by  the  country  members  against  those  of  Savannah,  and 
at  the  meetings  one  body  would  undo  what  the  other  had  done.  A  conven- 
tion was  held,  with  the  approval  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  December,  1826, 
and  adopted  a  new  constitution,  abolished  quarterly  communications,  and  fixed 
the  place  of  meeting  at  Milledgeville.  The  Grand  Lodge  in  Savannah  refused 
to  recognize  the  new  order  of  things,  and  elected  the  Grand  Officers  at  the 
usual  time,  in  March,  1827. 

The  Milledgeville  Grand  Lodge  met  December  3,  1827,  as  provided  in  the 
new  constitution,  and  elected  their  Grand  Master.  The  committees  were 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  Grand  Lodge  property  in  Savannah,  and  the 
election  in  March  was  declared  null  and  void.  The  members  of  the  lodges 
adhering  to  the  Savannah  Grand  Lodge  were  expelled.  The  feeling  between 
the  adherents  of  the  two  Grand  Lodges  became  most  bitter,  the  more  so  as  one 
of  the  Savannah  lodges,  No.  8,  continued  with  the  "  up  country,"  or  Milledge- 
ville Grand  Lodge,  while  the  rest  of  the  Savannah  lodges  remained  with  the 
"  low  country,"  or  Savannah  Grand  Lodge.  Among  these  was  Union,  No.  3, 
in  which  Royal  Arch  Masonry  first  made  its  appearance  in  Georgia.  This 
lodge  had  an  elegant  room  in  Bull  Street,  corner  of  Bay  Lane,  in  which  the 
old  Grand  Lodge  held  its  meetings.  In  the  course  of  time,  Solomon's  Lodge, 
No.  I,  was  the  sole  adherent  of  the  Savannah  Grand  Lodge.  In  the  midst 
of  these  troubles  among  themselves  came  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement,  and 
it  had  its  effect  on  the  Fraternity.  January  5,  1837,  efforts  looking  to  a  recon- 
ciliation were  begun  which  ended  on  November  6,  1889,  in  the  removal  of  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


305 


sentence  of  expulsion  of  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  i  ;  the  Master  of  it  was 
admitted  to  the  Grand  Lodge  and  apologized  for  its  action,  and  its  old  num- 
ber and  rank  were  restored  to  it,  and  Masonry  resumed  a  united  front, 
demonstrating  fully  that  "  Masonry  has  more  to  fear  from  those  who  are 
within  its  portals  than  from  those  who  are  without." 

Masonic  halls  have  been  erected  :  in  Augusta,  by  Social  Lodge,  No.  i  ;  in 
Savannah,  by  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  i  ;  in  Macon,  by  Macon  Lodge,  No.  5, 
in  1850 ;  in  Milledgeville,  by  Benevolent  Lodge,  in  1856  ;  in  Rome,  in  1866  ; 
and  in  Macon,  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  1872,  The  Grand  Lodge  supported 
the  Masonic  Female  College  at  Covington  up  to  1874,  when  it  gave  it  up,  and 
in  1S78  returned  the  property  to  the  city.  The  Grand  Lodge  is  incorpo- 
rated by  the  legislature,  which  act,  according  to  the  Supreme  Court  decisions, 
incorporates  the  subordinate  lodges.  The  Civil  War  severely  checked  the 
growth  of  the  Fraternity.     It  is,  however,  now  most  prosperous. 

Florida. — As  early  as  1768  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  granted  a 
warrant  to  a  lodge  in  East  Florida,  at  St.  Augustine,  of  which  James  Grant,  the 
provisional  governor  of  Florida,  was  Master,  and  he  was  appointed  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Southern  District  of  North  America. 
On  January  17,  1759,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  ("Ancients")  warranted 
a  lodge,  to  the  14th  Regiment  of  Foot,  which  was  numoered  58^5.  The 
lodge  became  dormant,  and  on  March  6,  1776,  "a  renewal  of  the  warrant, 
No.  58,  to  14th  Regiment  of  Foot,  whenever  they  should  require  it,  at  present 
at  St.  Augustine,"  was  ordered.  The  warrant  was  renewed  March  20,  1777. 
January  3,  1788,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  "Ancients,"  granted  a  warrant 
to  No.  204,  St.  Augustine,  in  East  Florida;  but,  on  January  17,  1780,  the  fee 
of  warrant  No.  204  was  ordered,  "  Returned  to  the  late  Grand  Secretary,  it 
not  being  recorded."  There  was  a  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  i,  in  West 
Florida,  but  of  its  origin  or  history  nothing  is  known  except  that  a  memorial 
from  the  brethren  of  that  lodge  was  read  in  Grand  Lodge  or"  Pennsylvania 
("Ancients  ")  on  July  8,  1783.  What  the  memorial  recited  is  not  known,  but 
Grand  Lodge  ordered  warrant  No.  40,  to  be  placed  at  the  discretion  of  the 
Master  of  Lodge  No.  ■^t'^,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The  Grand  Lodge 
of  South  Carolina  ("Ancients")  issued  a  warrant.  No.  30,  for  a  lodge  at 
St.  Augustine,  which  "  became  extinct  in  consequence  of  a  decree  by  the 
King  of  Spain."  The  same  Grand  Lodge  granted  a  warrant  for  Lodge 
No.  56  at  Pensacola.  Nothing  is  known  of  this  lodge.  June  30,  1820,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina  issued  a  warrant  in  place  of  No.  30  at  St. 
Augustine,  called  "  Floridian  Virtues";  and,  on  June  29,  1821,  renewed  the 
Lodge  No.  56  at  Pensacola,  under  the  name  of  "  Good  Intention."  The  same 
Grand  Lodge  granted  a  warrant  to  Esperanza,  No.  47,  at  St.  Augustine.  These 
lodges  became  extinct  or  were  suspended.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia  also 
granted  a  warrant  to  "  San  Fernando,  No.  28,"  at  St.  Augustine.  The  Grand 
Lodge  of  Alabama,  on  December  19,  1825,  warranted  Jackson  Lodge,  at 
Tallahassee.     It  was  suspended,  charter  forfeited,  and  restored. 


3o6 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


The  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia,  December  2,  1828,  warranted  Washington 
Lodge,  at  Quincy,  and  December  8,  1829,  Harmony  Lodge  at  ALarianna. 
July  6,  1830,  three  of  these  lodges  organized  the  "Grand  Lodge  for  the 
Territory  of  Florida."  This  was  the  first  territorial  Grand  Lodge  organized 
in  America.  The  Anti-Masonic  excitement  had  nearly  spent  its  fury  when  this 
Grand  Lodge  was  organized,  and  so  it  experienced  little  trouble  therefrom. 
This  Grand  Lodge  organized  Lodge  No.  8,  which  was  located  about  twenty 
miles  from  Tallahassee,  and  before  the  State  line  was  determined.  It  was 
soon  found  that  it  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia. 
The  matter  was  settled  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Florida  surrendering  juris- 
diction, as  soon  as  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia  accepted  the  lodge,  and  the 
Master  and  Wardens  were  elected,  ex  officio,  honorary  members  of  Grand 
Lodge  of  Florida,  and  it  was  declared  that  its  number  should  never  be 
assigned  to  any  other  lodge.  The  three  original  lodges  are  still  active 
working  lodges.  The  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  under  the  Territorial 
government.  The  subordinate  lodges  are  not  incorporated,  but  hold  their 
properties  under  trustees.  There  is  a  project  under  consideration  for  the 
erection  of  an  asylum  or  home  for  Masons.  It  has  a  fund  of  nearly  $5000 
for  this  purpose.  A  fire  in  1888  destroyed  the  archives  and  library  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  Halls  have  been  built  at  Tallahassee,  Quincy,  Pensacola,  Key 
West,  and  elsewhere,  and  the  brethren  are  now  raising  a  fund  for  a  hall  at 
Jacksonville. 


Mze^£^ 


(P./^e 


DIVISION   VI. 


SECOND  MERIDIAN,  I. 


History  of  the  Eastern  Mississippi  Valley,  and  the  Lakes  :  The  Grand  Lodges 
of  Ohio,  Itidiana,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  a?id  Louisiana. 

By  Charles  E.  Meyer,  P.M., 
Melita  Lodge,  No.  2gs,  of  Pennsylvania. 


CHAPTER   III. 
Grand  Lodges  of  the  Eastern  Mississippi  Valley,  and  the  Lakes. 

Ohio. — Jeremy  Gridley,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  St.  John's  Grand 
Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  issued  a  charter,  February  15,  1776,  to  Captain  Joel 
Clark  and  Lieutenant  Jonathan  Heart,  and  other  officers  of  the  army,  for  an 
Army  lodge,  to  be  known  as  "  American  Union,"  "  for  the  benefit  of  the 
brethren  in  the  Connecticut  Line  of  the  army."  The  lodge  was  duly  organ- 
ized at  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  in  the  month  of  March  following.  During 
seven  years  of  the  war  this  lodge  followed  the  army,  holding  its  meetings 
at  the  various  points  where  it  was  encamped,  and  making  Masons  of  many 
prominent  and  distinguished  army  ofificers.  x\t  the  conclusion  of  the  war, 
the  lodge  "was  closed,"  "to  stand  closed  until  the  Master  should  call  them 
together." 

Among  the  pioneers  to  the  Muskingum  River,  in  North-west  Territory,  were 
Jonathan  tieart  and  Rufus  Putnam,  the  Master  and  a  Past  Master  of  this  lodge. 
There  were,  likewise,  a  number  of  brethren  who  had  been  members  of  the 
Military  Lodge,  No,  10,  also  warranted  by  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  of 
Massachusetts. 

Ten  of  these  brethren  assembled  in  the  village  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  and 
prepared  a  petition  to  Jonathan  Heart,  Master  of  the  American  Union  Lodge, 
who  resided  at  Fort  Harman,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  asking  for  his 
protection  and  recognition. 

307 


3o8 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Brother  Heart  in  reply  expressed  a  doubt  whether  the  warrant  in  his  posses- 
sion "  affords  protection,"  as  there  are  only  two  who  were  actually  enrolled 
members.     But  to  remove  this  objection  he  stated  :  — 

"There  are  two  others  who  are  members  and  residents  in  this  county,  but  at  too  great  a 
distance  to  attend.  There  are  also  two  of  the  petitioners  who  were  constant  visitors  of  this  lodge 
during  the  war,  one  of  them  a  Past  Master  (Brother  Benjamin  Tupper),who  by  custom  is  a 
member  of  all  lodges.  There  are  also  others  of  the  petitioners  who  have  frequently  visited  the 
lodge." 

He  waived,  however,  any  scruples  he  might  have  entertained  as  to  the 
regularity  of  his  proceedings  in  the  matter,  and  consented  to  the  request  of 
the  brethren,  and,  on  June  28,  1790,  he  opened  American  Union  Lodge, 
No.  I,  in  due  form,  of  which  he  was  elected  Master,  and  Colonel  Benjamin 
Tupper  and  General  Rufus  Putnam,  Wardens.  In  the  address  forwarded  to 
the  Grand  Lodges  at  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  the  New  England  States, 
asking  recognition,  the  hope  is  expressed,  if  errors  have  been  committed,  "  that 
their  steps  may  be  guided  into  the  paths  they  ought  to  take." 

September,  1791,  a  short  time  previous  to  the  fatal  battle  on  the  Miami 
River,  known  as  St.  Clair's  defeat,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  issued 
a  warrant  to  Governor  Arthur  St.  Clair  and  General  Josiah  Harmer  to  hold  a 
lodge  at  the  village  of  Cincinnati,  to  be  known  as  Nova  Cesarea,  No.  10,  of 
which  Dr.  William  Burnet  was  Master.  The  disastrous  campaigns  with  the 
Indians  gave  no  opportunity  to  open  this  lodge,  and  it  was  not  organized  until 
December  27,  1794.  Brother  Edward  Day,  who  was  made  a  Mason  in  Lodge 
No.  35,  Joppa,  Maryland,  acted  as  Master  at  its  fornnation.  October  19, 
1803,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Connecticut  granted  warrants  for  Erie  Lodge, 
No.  47,  at  W^arren,  Trumbull  County,  and  New  England  Lodge,  No.  49,  at 
Worthington,  to  be  in  force  one  year  after  the  fonnation  of  a  Grand  Lodge 
in  Ohio. 

On  St.  John's  Day,  June  24,  1805,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
granted  a  warrant  for  the  Lodge  of  Amity,  No.  105,  to  be  held  at  Zanesville, 
of  which  Brother  Lewis  Cass,  who  afterward  became  distinguished  as  a 
soldier  and  statesman,  was  the  first  Master.  Permission  was  given  to  the 
lodge  to  meet  either  at  Zanesville  or  at  Springfield  [Putnam],  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river. 

In  consideration  of  the  situation  of  the  lodge  in  a  new  country,  and  the 
difficulties  to  be  overcome  by  it,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  presented 
this  lodge  with  a  set  of  jewels,  which  are  still  in  the  possession  of  the 
lodge. 

On  March  18,  1806,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  granted  a  warrant  to 
Cincinnati  Lodge,  No.  13,  of  which  Brother  V/illiam  Goforth  was  the  first 
Master.  At  a  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  six  lodges  above  named  (all  in 
the  State  at  the  time),  held  at  Chillicothe,  Monday,  January  4,  1808,  Brother 
Robert  Olivar,  of  American  Union  Lodge,  was  called  to  the  chair  and  George 


MASONIC    TEMPLE,    CINCINNATI,    OHIO. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  2  1 1 

Todd  appointed  Secretary.  For  unknown  reasons  the  representatives  from 
New  England  Lodge,  No.  48,  were  excluded  from  the  convention,  which 
continued  its  sessions  during  four  days.     It  was  then 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  in  the  State  of  Ohio," 

When  General  Rufus  Putnam  was  elected  first  Grand  Master.  After  deter- 
mining that  the  first  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  should  be  held  at 
Chillicothe,  January  2,  1809,  the  convention  adjourned.  Brother  Putnam,  the 
Grand  Master-elect,  not  attending  at  the  time  appointed,  the  Deputy  Grand 
Master,  Brother  Thomas  Henderson,  took  the  chair  and  opened  the  Lodge  in 
due  form  and  according  to  ancient  usage.  American  Union  Lodge  not  being 
represented,  and  New  England  Lodge  excluded,  there  were  but  four  lodges 
represented.  It  was  considered  doubtful  if  four  lodges  could  form  a  Grand 
Lodge.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  determine  if  the  Grand  Lodge  could 
transact  business  with  representatives  of  four  lodges  only.  The  Grand  Lodge 
agreed  to  the  report  of  this  committee,  which  was  in  favor  of  proceeding. 

The  constitution  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  was  adopted,  pro 
tempore,  for  the  government  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  Deputy  Grand  Master 
was  installed  by  the  Senior  Grand  Warden,  who  then  installed  the  remain- 
ing officers  elected  by  the  convention  January  7,  1808.  The  Grand  Master- 
elect,  Brother  Putnam,  on  account  of  age  and  infirmity  having  declined  the 
office,  the  annual  election  being  held,  the  Deputy,  Brother  Samuel  Hunting, 
was  elected  Grand  Master  and  Brother  Lewis  Cass,  Deputy  Grand  Master. 
The  regularity  of  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  was  never 
questioned  by  the  several  Grand  Lodges.  Dermott's  Ahiman  Rezon,  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  "  Ancients,"  was  understood  to  require  five  lodges  to  form  a 
Grand  Lodge.  It  was  like  many  of  the  laws  of  Masonry  at  that  time,  not 
strictly  followed  even  by  the  Grand  Lodges  (Pennsylvania  excepted),  who 
claimed  to  practise  this  system  of  Masonry. 

American  Union  Lodge  was  not  represented  after  the  first  convention,  but 
refused  to  become  a  member  of  the  new  Grand  Lodge,  claiming  to  have 
inherent  rights  of  priority  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  After  considerable  contro- 
versy, it  was  declared  clandestine,  and  Masonic  intercourse  prohibited. 

In  1816  a  petition  was  received  from  some  of  its  members,  praying  for  a 
charter,  and  a  new  one  was  granted  by  the  name  of  American  Union  Lodge, 
No.  I,  in  which  reference  was  made  to  the  former  charter  and  showing  that  it 
was  a  revival  of  the  former  lodge.  This  lodge  was  represented  in  Grand  Lodge 
until  about  1829,  when  it  became  dormant,  but  was  revived  in  1842,  and  haa 
since  been  an  active  and  thriving  lodge. 

The  lodge.  Nova  Cesarea,  did  not  participate  in  the  organization  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  It  surrendered  its  charter  from  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  on 
December  10,  1805.  Twenty  of  its  former  members  applied  for  a  restoration 
of  the  charter,  stating  that  it  had  been  illegally  surrendered.     The  Grand 


312 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Lodge  of  New  Jersey  found  that  the  surrender  was  illegal,  but  inasmuch  as  a 
Grand  Lodge  had  been  formed,  it  could  not  restore  the  charter  and  could 
only  commend  the  petitioners  to  that  Grand  Lodge  for  redress.  Application 
was  made  in  1812  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  for  a  charter,  which  was 
granted  upon  condition  that  all  dues  should  first  be  paid  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  Jersey.  The  lodge  is  now  one  of  the  most  active  and  thriving  in  the 
State,  and  is  known  as  Cesarea- Harmony  Lodge,  No.  2. 

All  the  lodges  that  participated  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
except  Cincinnati,  are  now  at  work  and  in  a  prosperous  condition.  In  1830 
there  were  ninety-four  chartered  lodges  and  seven  under  dispensation.  Shortly 
after  this  date,  owing  to  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement,  the  representation  in 
Grand  Lodge  began  to  fall  off,  which  continued  (notwithstanding  some  new 
lodges  were  formed),  until  1837,  when  the  lowest  point  was  reached,  there 
being  but  seventeen  lodges  represented  that  year.  Li  the  following  year,  how- 
ever, there  was  an  improvement  which  continued  and  to  such  an  extent  that 
at  the  1842  communication  thirty-five  lodges  were  represented,  and  from  this 
time  forth  the  growth  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  has  been  highly  satisfactory. 

The  Grand  Lodge  has  no  local  Masonic  dwelling-place,  meeting  at  such 
different  places  in  the  jurisdiction  as  may  have  been  agreed  upon  at  the  pre- 
vious annual  session.  Many  of  the  lodges  and  other  Masonic  bodies  have 
halls  of  their  own,  some  of  which  are  beautiful  and  well  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  the  Fraternity. 

The  Grand  Lodge,  Grand  Chapter,  Grand  Council,  and  Grand  Com- 
mandery  of  Ohio  are  now  digesting  plans  for  the  raising  of  funds,  preparing 
plans  and  estimates  for  the  formation  of  a  Masonic  Home  in  Ohio  ;  nothing, 
however,  will  be  done  in  the  way  of  building  until  the  fund  in  hand  amounts 
to  $100,000. 

Indiana.  —  Freemasonry  was  introduced  into  the  Territory  now  known  as 
the  State  of  Indiana  as  early  as  1795,  by  those  connected  with  Army  lodges 
on  the  north-west  frontier,  August  31,  1808,  Vincennes  Lodge,  No.  15,  located 
at  the  village  of  Vincennes,  then  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Territory,  was 
the  first  lodge  organized,  by  virtue  of  a  dispensation  issued  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Kentucky.  Its  first  work  was  the  conferring  of  the  Third  degree 
upon  Colonel  John  Gibson,  at  the  time  Secretary  of  the  Territorial  government 
and  a  prominent  officer  in  the  army,  from  Revolutionary  times. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  also  warranted  the  following  lodges : 
Union,  No.  29,  at  Madison,  August  31,  1815  ;  Blazing  Star,  No.  36,  at 
Charlestown,  August  25,  1816;  Melchisedec,  No.  43,  at  Salem;  Lawrence- 
burg,  No.  44,  at  Lawrenceburg,  and  Pisgah,  No.  45,  at  Corydon,  August  25, 
181 7,  Dispensations  were  issued  shordy  after  181 7  by  the  Grand  Master  of 
Kentucky  for  two  other  lodges  :  Switzerland,  at  Switzerland  ;  and  Rising  Sun, 
at  Rising  Sun,  The  Grand  Master  of  Ohio  issued,  in  1816  or  181 7,  a  dispen- 
sation for  Brookville- Harmony  Lodge,  No.  41,  at  Brookville. 


MASONIC    TEMPLE,   INDIANAPOLIS,   IND. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


315 


These  nine  lodges  (all  that  were  then  in  the  State  of  Indiana),  assembled 
in  general  convention  at  Corydon,  on  December  3,  181 7,  when  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge. 

The  reasons  assigned  for  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge  were  similar  in 
character  to  those  used  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky,  and  which  were 
patterned  from  those  used  by  the  brethren  of  Maryland  in  their  communica- 
tions to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  The  convention  met  at  Madison, 
January  12,  1818,  at  which  time  the  chartered  lodges,  six  in  number,  sepa- 
rated from  those  under  dispensation,  three  in  number,  and  proceeded  to 
organize  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State  of  Indiana.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
election  for  Grand  Master,  and  Deputy  Grand  Master,  all  but  Master  Masons 
retired  ;  the  Master's  lodge  was  closed,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  opened  in  the 
Past  Master's  degree,  when  the  Grand  Master  and  the  Deputy  were  installed 
in  ample  form,  and  received  the  customary  salutations  and  congratulations. 
The  Past  Master's  lodge  was  closed,  and  a  Master  Mason's  lodge  was  opened, 
and  the  remaining  officers  were  installed. 

On  January  15th  a  constitution  of  twenty-four  sections  was  adopted,  and 
the  "  Illustrations  of  Masonry,"  by  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  were  adopted  for  the 
work  and  government  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  its  subordinates. 

New  charters  were  issued  to  the  lodges  upon  surrender  of  the  old  ones. 
The  representatives  of  Melchisedec  Lodge  surrendered  its  charter,  but  by 
instruction  of  their  lodge  declined  to  receive  a  new  one.  Four  of  the  lodges 
organized  by  the  Grand  Lodge  are  now  in  existence,  viz.  :  Vincennes,  No.  i  ; 
Union,  No.  2  ;  Lawrenceburg,  No.  4  ;  Rising  Sun,  No.  6. 

There  is  no  reference  made  in  the  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  the 
Anti-Masonic  excitement  as  in  any  manner  affecting  the  Fraternity  in 
Indiana. 

Prior  to  1828  the  Grand  Lodge  met  at  various  towns  and  cities.  In  that 
year,  however,  the  Grand  Lodge  removed  to  Indianapolis,  where  it  has  since 
been  located.  In  1848  the  Grand  Lodge  erected  a  Masonic  hall  at  Indian- 
apolis, which  was  torn  down  in  1875,  and  a  Temple  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$200,000.  The  rental  received  from  this  building  is  $6000  yearly.  About 
one-fourth  of  the  lodges  in  the  State  have  their  own  halls  or  temples. 

A  Grand  Charity  Fund  was  started  some  years  ago,  Jto  which  were  appro- 
priated the  amounts  received  for  charters  and  dispensations ;  but  it  was 
discontinued  some  time  ago,  and  each  lodge  was  left  to  collect  and  distribute 
its  own  charity  funds. 

Michigan.  —  April  27,  1764,  George  Harrison,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of 
New  York,  granted  a  warrant  to  open  a  lodge  at  Detroit,  to  be  known  as  Zion 
Lodge,  No.  I,  to  a  number  of  brethren  belonging  to  the  6oth  Royal  American 
Regiment.  It  was  intended  to  be  a  INIihtary  lodge ;  but  evidently  became 
local,  for  the  warrant  was  used  long  after  the  regiment  left.  Its  records  are 
supposed  to  have  been  destroyed  in  the  fire  that  consumed  Detroit  in  1805. 


3i6 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


It  is  not  known  how  long  the  lodge  continued  active,  nor  can  anything  con- 
nected with  its  history  be  learned.  The  original  warrant,  however,  is  in  the 
archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

Warrants  were  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  (Moderns)  for  two 
lodges  at  Detroit,  No.  289,  in  1773,  and  No.  320,  in  1783,  also  for  St.  John's 
Lodge,  No.  373,  at  Mackinaw  in  1 785.  These  were  purely  "  MiUtary  lodges," 
having  been  issued  to  British  regiments;  and  when  England,  in  1796,  sur- 
rendered Michigan  soil  to  the  United  States,  the  warrants  went  with  the 
regiments. 

Two  years  prior  to  this  date,  September  7,  1794,  a  warrant  was  issued  by 
the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  for  Zion  Lodge,  No.  10.  Whether 
this  was  a  revival  of  the  Zion  Lodge,  No.  i,  of  1764,  or  an  amalgamation  with 
it,  is  not  knowTi.  In  1S06  the  members  applied  to  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York  for  a  warrant,  at  the  same  time  surrendering  the  original 
warrant  received  in  1764,  but  not  the  one  received  from  the  Canadian  Grand 
Lodge.  The  warrant  was  granted  September  3,  1S06,  under  the  original  name 
and  number,  Zion  Lodge,  No.  i. 

The  records  of  this  lodge  have  fortunately  been  preserved  ;  and  from  them 
it  is  learned  that,  in  consequence  of  the  capture  of  Detroit  by  the  British  forces, 
August  16,  1812,  it  was  resolved  to  close  the  lodge  until  September  12th; 
but  at  that  date,  finding  that  the  military  conflict  continued  longer  than  was 
anticipated,  it  was  agreed  that  the  charter,  jewels,  and  implements  of  the  lodge 
should  be  deposited  with  a  certain  brother  for  safe  keeping,  and  the  lodge  then 
adjourned  for  one  year.  Owing  to  the  stirring  events  of  the  war  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, the  lodge  did  not  resume  work  until  some  time  after  the  conclusion 
of  peace,  when,  the  charter  having  lapsed,  application  was  made  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York  for  its  renewal.  This  request  was  granted,  but  the  lodge 
was  to  be  known  in  future  as  Zion  Lodge,  No.  62  ;  and  on  April  15,  1816, 
Brother  General  Lewis  Cass,  formerly  of  Ohio,  but  now  governor  of  the 
Territory  of  Michigan,  was  elected  its  Master.  In  1819,  the  original  warrant 
of  1764  having  been  found,  its  number  was  changed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  York  from  No.  62  to  No.  3,  because  it  was  regarded  as  the  third  lodge 
in  point  of  date  on  the  Registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

Until  the  year  182 1,  this  lodge  was  the  sole  representative  of  Freemasonry 
on  the  soil  of  Michigan.  On  September  5th  of  that  year  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  York  granted  a  warrant  for  Detroit  Lodge,  No.  337.  Three  other 
lodges  were  soon  after  organized  in  the  Territory  by  the  same  authority,  as 
follows  :  Oakland  Lodge,  No.  343,  at  Pontiac,  Oakland  County,  March  7, 
1822  ;  Menominee,  No.  374,  in  the  town  of  Green  Bay  (now  in  Wisconsin), 
September  i,  1824;  and  Monroe  Lodge,  No.  375,  in  Monroe,  December  i, 
1824. 

On  June  24,  1826,  these  four  lodges,  all  in  the  Territory,  except  Oakland, 
No.  343,  met  in  convention  in  the  city  of  Detroit  for  the  purpose  of  forming 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^IQ 

a  Grand  Lodge.  A  constitution  was  agreed  upon,  and  at  an  adjourned  meet- 
ing held  July  31st,  Grand  Officers  were  elected,  Brother  Lewis  Cass  being 
elected  Grand  Master. 

There  are  no  minutes  of  this  body  known  to  exist ;  the  only  knowledge 
there  is  regarding  its  brief  career  has  been  derived  from  the  records  and 
documents  in  the  possession  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

The  new  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the  Territorial  Coun- 
cil of  Michigan,  April  27,  1827,  and  four  new  lodges  were  organized  under  its 
authority,  viz. :  Stony  Creek,  Western  Star,  St.  Cloud,  and  Friendship.  As 
stated,  little  of  the  doings  of  this  body  are  known,  but  in  a  letter  written  by 
four  brethren  who  had  been  connected  with  it,  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York,  January  10,  1844,  it  is  said  that,  sometime  in  1829,  because  of  the 
political  bitterness  and  private  animosity  of  the  Anti-Masons  of  that  day,  a 
regular  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  held  in  which  a  resolution  was 
passed  to  suspend  labor  for  the  ti?ne  being,  and  recommending  the  subordinate 
lodges  to  do  the  same.  All  the  subordinate  lodges  in  the  Territory,  except 
Stony  Creek,  complied  with  the  advice  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  For  eleven 
years,  with  the  exception  of  this  one  lodge,  Masonic  silence  prevailed  in  this 
jurisdiction,  and  until  the  flood  of  political  Anti-Masonry  had  spent  its  fury. 

It  was  not  until  Zion,  Detroit,  and  Oakland  Lodges  applied  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  York  for  warrants,  which  were  granted,  June  8,  1844,  that  the 
attempts  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  were  successful.  Two  years  prior  to  this,  the 
brethren  at  Niles,  Berrien  County,  received  a  charter  for  St.  Joseph  Lodge, 
No.  93  ;  the  legal  representatives  of  these  four  assembled  in  convention  at 
Detroit,  September  1 7, 1844,  adopted  a  constitution,  and  elected  Grand  Officers. 
And  thus  was  organized  the  present  Grand  Lodge  of  Michigan.  Recognition  was 
at  once  and  cordially  extended  to  it  by  all  the  Grand  Lodges  in  the  country. 
The  illegal  Grand  body  which  had  been  acting  during  the  four  years  was 
dissolved,  and  all  its  property  transferred  to  the  new  Grand  Lodge,  which  has 
since  had  a  most  prosperous  existence. 

Three  of  the  lodges  forming  the  Grand  Lodge  are  existing,  viz. :  Zion, 
No.  I  ;  Detroit,  No.  2  ;  St.  Joseph  Valley,  No.  3. 

The  Grand  Lodge  owns  no  building  or  temple  in  its  own  right,  but  many 
of  its  lodges  own  halls  or  temples. 

The  present  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  April  2,  1864,  but  the  incor- 
poration of  subordinate  lodges  is  forbidden.  It  is  a  movable  Grand  Lodge, 
holding  its  communications  at  different  places.  The  office  of  the  Grand 
Secretary  is  located  at  Grand  Rapids. 

The  Masonic  Home  Association  of  Michigan  was  formed  a  few  years  since, 
for  the  purpose  of  providing  a  home  for  indigent  Master  Masons,  their  widows 
and  orphans.  The  work  has  been  carried  on  by  voluntary  contributions  from 
the  various  Masonic  bodies  in  Michigan,  and  from  members  and  friends  of  the 
Fraternity.    The  Grand  Lodge  voted  ^3000  to  the  Association,  but  assumes  no 


320 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


responsibility  for  its  control  or  management.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
the  Grand  Lodge,  May  i,  1889,  The  site  selected  contains  thirty- three 
acres  of  land  within  two  miles  of  the  city  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  and 
within  easy  access  to  several  railroads.  The  building  is  now  completed,  and 
was  dedicated,  January  28,  1891.  It  will  have  accommodations  for  one 
hundred  inmates  (that  is,  for  Michigan  Masons,  their  widows  and  orphans)  : 
its  cost,  including  grounds,  was  $80,000. 

Illinois.  —  On  September  24,  1805,  Israel  Israel,  Grand  Master  of  Penn- 
sylvania, granted  a  dispensation  for  the  space  of  six  months  for  Western 
Star  Lodge,  No.  107,  at  Kaskaskie,  an  ancient  town,  and  then  quite  flourish- 
ing, in  the  Indian  Territory.  A  warrant  was  granted,  June  2,  1806,  and  the 
lodge  was  duly  constituted,  September  13th,  following.  This  was  the  first  lodge 
known  to  have  been  estabhshed  in  that  extensive  territory,  now  comprising 
the  States  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  and  a  portion  of  Minnesota.  August  28, 
1 81 5,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  granted  a  charter  for  Lawrence  Lodge, 
at  Shawneetown  ;  and  on  October  6,  1819,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee 
granted  a  charter  for  Libanus  Lodge,  at  Edwardsville.  A  dispensation  for 
Temple  Lodge,  at  Belleville,  was  issued  by  the  Grand  Master  of  Tennessee, 
June  20,  1820,  but  was  surrendered  in  1821. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  also  issued  warrants  in  Illinois,  as  follows  : 
Olive  Branch,  October  3,  1822  ;  Vandalia,  at  VandaHa,  October  8,  1822  ; 
Sangamon,  at  Springfield,  October  9,  1822  ;  Union,  at  Jonesboro,  October 
24,  1822;  and  Edon,  at  Covington,  October  8,  1822:  Albion  Lodge  was 
organized  at  Albion,  under  a  dispensation  issued  by  the  Grand  Master  of 
Indiana,  March  12,  1822. 

A  convention  of  delegates  from  the  foregoing  lodges,  except  Sangamon, 
met  at  Vandalia  on  December  9,  1822,  and  adopted  a  constitution,  and  for- 
warded it  to  the  lodges  for  their  consideration.  December  i,  1823,  eight 
lodges  being  represented,  the  Grand  Lodge  was  formally  organized,  and  the 
Grand  Master  was  installed  by  the  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Missouri.  This 
Grand  Lodge  ceased  to  exist  about  1827,  and  with  its  demise  every  lodge  in 
the  State  was  so  effectually  blotted  out  that  no  trace  of  any  of  them,  after  June 
24,  1827,  has  been  found.  The  reason  for  this  may  possibly  be  that  the  Anti- 
Masonic  excitement  was  just  beginning  to  run  its  race. 

October  13,  1827,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  "ordered  a  dispensation 
for  Bodley  Lodge,  No.  97,  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  there  being  no  lodge  in  the 
State."  A  warrant  was  granted,  August  30,  1836.  It  also  warranted  Equality, 
No.  102,  at  Equality,  August  29,  1837  ;  and  Ottawa,  No.  114,  at  Ottawa,  Sep- 
tember I,  1840;  and  a  dispensation  was  issued  by  the  Grand  Master  of 
Kentucky  for  Friendship  Lodge,  at  Dixon,  in  1840. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  again  warranted  the  following  lodges : 
Franklin,  at  Alton,  in  1827;  Harmony,  at  Jacksonville,  in  1838;  Springfield, 
at  Springfield,  Temperance,  at  Vandalia,  and  Far  West,  at  Galena,  in  1839; 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^23 

Mount  Moriah,  at  Hillsboro,  and  Clinton,  at  Carlisle,  in  1S40.     A  dispensa- 
tion was  also  issued  for  Columbus  Lodge,  No.  20,  at  Columbus,  in  1839. 

A  convocation  of  Masons  composed  of  delegates  from  several  of  the 
subordinate  lodges  in  Illinois  was  held  in  the  town  of  Jacksonville,  on  January 
30,  1840,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  correspond  with  the  several  lodges  in  the 
State  and  to  ask  their  cooperation  and  assistance,  and  request  their  attend- 
ance, by  representatives  or  proxy,  at  a  convocation  to  be  held  at  Jacksonville, 
April  6,  1840.  In  compliance  with  this  call,  a  convention  assembled  at 
Jacksonville,  April  6,  1840.  Six  of  the  eight  chartered,  and  one  of  the  three 
lodges  under  dispensation,  were  represented,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois 
was  formed. 

On  April  2Sth,  following,  on  motion,  all  but  Past  Masters  having  retired,  a 
convocation  of  Past  Masters  was  declared  open,  and  the  Grand  Master  was 
installed  by  "  proxy,''  and  the  Grand  Honors  paid  him  agreeably  to  ancient 
form  and  usage.  Warrants  were  issued  to  the  lodges  represented  and  they 
were  numbered  according  to  the  date  of  their  institution,  but  some  of  the 
lodges  did  not  take  new  warrants  until  1844. 

The  Grand  Secretary  was  directed  to  make  inquiry  of  the  officers  of  the 
late  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois,  what  disposition  was  made  of  the  jewels  and 
furniture  of  said  body.  This  is  the  only  reference  found  on  the  records  to 
the  old  Grand  Lodge. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  not  only  continued  to  maintain  lodges  in 
Illinois,  but  it  granted  charters  for  several  new  lodges  after  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Illinois  was  fully  organized.  It  was  not  until  1845,  and  after  a  continued  and 
earnest  discussion  by  correspondence,  that  Missouri  rehnquished  jurisdiction. 

On  February  10,  1850,  a  fire  occurred  in  the  city  of  Peoria,  which  destroyed 
the  office  of  the  Grand  Secretary,  and  all  the  books,  papers,  and  records  of 
the  Grand  Lodge,  including  the  manuscript  proceedings  of  the  last  communi- 
cation. The  Grand  Lodge  was  convened  at  Springfield,  April  8,  1850,  when 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  restore  the  records  and  proceedings  as  far  as 
possible.  Neither  of  the  lodges  participating  in  the  first  Grand  Lodge  are 
existing,  but  four  of  those  participating  in  the  organization  of  the  present 
Grand  Lodge  in  1840  are  at  work,  viz.:  Bodley,  No.  i;  Equahty,  No.  2; 
Harmony,  No.  3  ;  and  Springfield,  No.  4. 
I*  October  i,  and  2,  1889,  the  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois  was  celebrated. 

This  Grand  Lodge  was  incorporated  in  1855,  and  is  one  of  the  largest 
Grand  Lodges  in  the  United  States. 

An  association,  under  the  name  of  the  Illinois  Masonic  Orphans'  Home, 
was  organized  under  an  act  of  incorporation,  on  April  20,  1SS5, — 

"  To  provide  and  maintain  a  home  for  the  nurture,  and  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  culture 
of  indigent  children  of  deceased  Freemasons  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  a  temporary  shelter  and 
asylum  for  sick  or  indigent  widows  of  such  deceased  Freemasons." 


324 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


This  home  is  now  in  active  operation,  ably  managed  and  carefully  caring 
for  the  orphans  of  the  Craft ;  it  occupies  its  own  building,  which  is  large  and 
roomy  and  every  way  creditable  to  the  Craft. 

The  Grand  Lodge  does  not  own  temple  or  hall.  Many  of  the  subordinates 
own  halls.  In  1890  there  was  laid  the  foundation-stone  in  Chicago  of  an 
immense  building  of  eighteen  stories  high,  the  upper  portion  of  which  (the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  stories),  is  to  be  used  by  the  Fraternity.  The 
grounds  cost  $1,100,000,  and  the  structure  when  completed,  not  less  than 
$2,000,000.  It  is  to  be  fire-proof  throughout  and  finished  in  marble,  alabaster, 
and  onyx,  with  mosaic  floors.  The  principal  entrance  to  the  building  will  be 
through  an  archway  opening  [see  illustration]  42  feet  high  and  28  feet  wide. 
The  main  rotunda  will  occupy  3700  square  feet.  This  court  will  be  supplied 
with  fourteen  elevators  in  a  semicircle  facing  the  entrance  on  State  Street. 
These  will  have  facilities  for  lifting  between  30,000  and  36,000  people  per  day. 
Instead  of  numbering  the  different  stories  i,  2,  3,  4,  etc.,  they  will  be  called 
by  names  as  of  streets.  This  order  of  affairs  continues  until  the  seventeenth 
story,  when  the  Masonic  apartments  are  reached.  The  roof  is  to  be  laid  out 
like  a  garden,  with  plants  and  flowers  during  the  summer.  The  view  from  this 
point  will  be  the  finest  in  Chicago.  The  faces  of  the  walls  will  be  of  brown- 
stone  and  terra  cotta. 

Wisconsin.  —  December  27,  1823,  there  was  an  informal  meeting  of 
brethren  held  at  the  house  of  a  brother,  a  farmer,  at  or  near  Fort  Howard  or 
Green  Bay,  in  Wisconsin,  then  a  part  of  Michigan  Territory,  when  it  was 
determined  to  apply  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  for  a  dispensation  to 
open  a  lodge  of  Freemasons.  This  in  due  time  was  granted  to  ten  brethren, 
seven  of  whom  were  officers  in  the  United  States  army,  and  three  citizens  of 
the  neighborhood.  A  warrant  was  granted  to  Menominee  Lodge,  No.  374, 
on  December  3,  1824.  This  lodge  participated  in  the  organization  of  the  old 
Grand  Lodge  of  Michigan  in  1826,  and  remained  under  its  jurisdiction  until 
the  demise  of  that  body  in  1829.  It  continued  to  work  until  1830,  when  it 
became  dormant. 

October  11,  1842,  twelve  years  after  the  extinction  of  Menominee  Lodge,  a 
warrant  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  for  Mineral  Point  Lodge, 
at  Mineral  Point,  and  on  October  12,  1843,  the  same  body  granted  a  warrant 
for  Melody  Lodge,  at  Platteville. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois  issued  a  warrant  under  date  October  2,  1843, 
for  Milwaukee  Lodge,  at  Milwaukee. 

Very  soon  after  the  organization  of  these  three  lodges,  their  representatives 
assembled  in  convention  at  Madison,  December  18,  1843,  ^^'^^  organized  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Wisconsin. 

The  precedent  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  by  so  small  a  number  as  three 
lodges  was  established  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mississippi, 
in  1818.     Since  that  period  the  following  Grand  Lodges  have  been  organized 


MASONIC    TEMPLE,    CHICAGO,    ILL 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^27 

by  the  representatives  of  three  lodges,  viz. :  Cahfornia,  Nebraska,  Wisconsin, 
Colorado,  Montana,  Arizona,  and  Indian  Territory. 

Mineral  Point  Lodge,  No.  i,  and  Melody  Lodge,  No.  2,  are  still  at 
work. 

Kentucky.  —  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  was  organized,  October  16, 
1800,  and  was  the  first  Grand  Lodge  formed  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

While  Kentucky  was  still  a  part  of  Virginia,  the  Freemasons,  residing  in  the 
town  and  vicinity  of  Lexington,  applied  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia  for 
authority  to  open  and  hold  a  lodge.  The  application  being  granted,  a  war- 
rant was  issued,  November  17,  1788,  for  Lexington  Lodge,  No.  25.  This 
lodge,  so  far  as  known,  was  the  first  lodge  organized  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains. 

Three  other  lodges  were  organized  in  Kentucky  under  the  same  authority, 
as  follows  :  Paris  Lodge,  No.  35,  at  Paris,  Bourbon  County,  November  25, 
1791  ;  Georgetown  Lodge,  No.  46,  at  Georgetown,  November  29,  1796  ;  and 
Frankfort  Hiram  Lodge,  No.  57,  at  Frankfort,  December  11,  1799.  Early  in 
1800  a  dispensation  was  issued  for  Abraham,  afterward  Solomon's  Lodge,  at 
Shelbyville. 

On  September  8,  1800,  delegates  from  five  lodges  assembled  at  Masons' 
Hall,  in  Lexington,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Grand  Lodge. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  an  address  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Virginia,  giving  the  reasons  that  induced  the  lodges  to  separate  from  its 
jurisdiction,  among  others  that :  — 

"The  Grand  Charity  Fund,  an  important  object  of  the  Institution,  cannot  be  extended  to  any 
brother  or  family  in  Kentucky,  by  reason  of  the  distance  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia. 

"  The  difficulty,  from  the  same  cause,  of  being  represented  in  the  Grand  Lodge  and  from 
receiving  the  visits  of  the  Grand  Master  and  other  visitors." 

In  accordance  with  the  resolution  of  the  convention,  the  representatives  of 
the  five  lodges  assembled  at  Lexington,  October  16,  1800.  A  Master  Mason's 
lodge  was  opened  in  due  form,  and  the  Masters  of  the  several  lodges  pro- 
duced their  charters,  also  the  authorities  under  which  they  represented  their 
respective  lodges,  and  a  Grand  Lodge  was  regularly  formed. 

The  seal  of  Lexington  Lodge  was  adopted  as  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
until  a  proper  one  could  be  prepared.  The  lodges  surrendered  their  charters 
and  received  new  ones,  which  were  numbered  according  to  the  date  of  their 
institution,  upon  the  payment  of  a  small  fee  each,  Abraham  Lodge  under 
dispensation  paying  double. 

The  Grand  Lodges  of  the  country  soon  extended  fraternal  recognition,  and 
thus  most  happily  and  harmoniously  was  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Freemasons  estab- 
lished in  the  land  that  had  been  known  as  " Kain-tuck-ee,"  —  "The  Dark  and 
Bloody  Ground."  It  issued  warrants  for  lodges  in  the  following  Territories  and 
States  :  Tenn.,  Mo.,  Ind.,  Ohio,  Miss.,  111.,  La.,  and  Ark. 

A  Grand  Charity  Fund  was  started  as  early  as  1802,  levying  a  tax  of  ^i 


328 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


on  every  initiation  into  a  subordinate  lodge,  and  for  every  initiation  in  the 
Grand  Lodge,  $5.     In  185S  this  fund  had  increased  to  $22,029.57. 

Delegates  from  the  several  lodges  assembled  at  Lexington,  October  6, 
1806.  for  the  purpose  of  drafting  constitutional  rules  and  regulations.  After 
due  consideration,  regulations,  consisting  of  twenty-six  articles,  were  adopted. 
These  were  published  under  a  modified  form  in  1808.  As  these  regulations 
were  predicated  upon  the  Virginia  Ahiman  Rezon,  which  was  mainly  a  revision 
of  Smith's  "Ahiman  Rezon  of  Pennsylvania,"  and  which  in  turn  was  an  adap- 
tation of  Dermott's,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  may,  therefore,  be  said 
to  have  been  organized  under  the  system  of  the  "  Ancients." 

In  1 8 14  the  bearer  of  a  challenge,  that  passed  between  two  Master  Masons, 
to  fight  a  duel,  was  tried  and  suspended  for  one  year  by  his  lodge.  Upon 
appeal  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  committee,  to 
whom  the  matter  was  referred,  the  sentence  was  set  aside,  and  that  of  repri- 
mand was  substituted.  Some  few  years  later  the  Grand  Master,  William  H. 
Richardson,  emboldened,  doubtless,  by  this  leniency,  fought  a  duel  with  a 
member  of  his  own  lodge.  At  the  181 8  communication,  the  Grand  Master 
and  his  opponent,  Benjamin  W.  Dudley,  were  cited  to  appear  before  the  Grand 
Lodge  for  having  engaged  in  a  duel.     It  was  then 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Lodge  have  jurisdiction  to  inquire  into  the  charge,"  etc. 

On  motion  of  Brother  Henry  Clay,  a  committee  was  appointed  "  to  pro- 
duce a  reconciUation  between  them."  The  next  day  the  committee  reported, 
recommending,  as  a  substitute  for  the  resolution  of  expulsion  then  pending, 
suspension  from  the  privileges  of  Masonry  for  one  year.  The  recommendation 
was  adopted.  September  i,  18 19,  funeral  rites  were  held  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
and  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  ]^>Iasons,  in  respect  for  the  memory  of 
Thomas  Smith  Webb,  who  died  in  July,  previously.  A  novel  feature  of  the 
procession,  on  the  occasion,  was  the  presence  of  nine  boys,  sons  of  Master 
Masons,  three  bearing  the  banners  of  Wisdom,  Strength,  and  Beauty,  and  six 
carrying  baskets  of  flowers. 

In  1824  the  corner-stone  of  a  IMasonic  hall  was  laid  in  Lexington.  Two 
years  afterward,  the  building  that  was  erected  thereon  was  consecrated  by  the 
Grand  Chapter.  A  large  part  of  the  funds  used  in  the  erection  of  this  building 
were  raised  by  lottery,  authorized  by  an  act  of  the  legislature.  At  La  Grange 
there  is  a  monument  to  the  Masonic  Poet-Laureate,  Rob  Morris,  LL.D. 

In  1867  the  Masonic  Widows'  and  Orphans'  Home  was  incorporated.  The 
Grand  Lodge,  when  it  was  necessary  to  raise  means  for  the  extension  of  the 
building  and  its  maintenance,  authorized  a  tax  upon  its  members.  Several 
discouraging  circumstances  interfered  with  the  work.  The  Home  is  now  occu- 
pied, and  many  orphans  are  cared  for  who  otherwise  would  have  been  thrown 
on  a  cold  world.     We  give  an  illustration  of  this,  the  pioneer  Home, 

Tennessee.  —  The  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  issued  warrants  for  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


331 


following  lodges  in  Tennessee,  which  was  formerly  a  part  of  North  Carolina  : 
St.  Tammany,  No.  29,  at  Nashville,  December  17,  1796  ;  Tennessee,  No.  41, 
at  Knoxville,  November  30,  1800  ;  Greenville,  No.  43,  at  Greenville,  December 
II,  1801  ;  Newport,  No.  50,  at  Newport,  December  5,  1805;  Overton,  No. 
51,  at  Rogersville,  November  21,  1807;  Hiram,  No.  55,  December  11,  1S09, 
at  Franklin;  King  Solomon,  No.  52,  at  Gallatin,  December  9,  1808  ;  and  two 
lodges  organized  under  dispensation,  as  follows  :  Rhea,  afterward  Western 
Star,  at  Port  Royal,  May  i,  181 2;  and  Cumberland,  No.  60,  at  the  town  of 
Nashville,  June  24,  181 2. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  granted  a  warrant,  September  18,  1805, 
for  Philanthropic  Lodge  at  Clover  Bottom,  Davidson  County.  This  was 
regarded  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  as  an  invasion  of  its  jurisdic- 
tion, and  led  to  considerable  controversy  and  correspondence.  The  Grand 
Lodge  of  Kentucky  finally,  on  August  25,  181 2,  becoming  sensible  that  it 
"  had  encroached  upon  the  Masonic  geographic  limits  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,"  revoked  the  charter  it  had  granted, 
but  requesting  permission  for  the  lodge  to  work  until  June  24,  181 3,  which 
was  accorded. 

A  convention  was  held  at  Knoxville,  December  2,  iSii,  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  a  Grand  Lodge  in  the  State  of  Tennessee.  The  assent  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  and  the  Grand  Master  of  North  Carolina  was  solicited  for  the 
formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  The  convention  then  adjourned  to  meet, 
August  10,  181 2,  when  at  the  request  of  the  Grand  Master  of  North  Carolina, 
it  was  agreed  to  postpone  the  further  consideration  of  the  organization  of  a 
Grand  Lodge  until  after  the  next  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  North  Carolina. 

In  October,  18 13,  a  communication  was  received  from  Grand  Master 
Williams,  directing  the  lodges  in  the  State  to  assemble  by  their  representatives, 
in  the  town  of  Knoxville,  on  December  27,  1813,  to  constitute  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Tennessee.  In  compliance  therewith  delegates  from  the  eight 
active  lodges  in  the  State  assembled  at  the  time  and  place  designated.  A 
warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina,  bearing  date  September 
30,  181 3,  was  read,  in  which  the  lodges,  either  by  themselves  or  by  their 
representatives,  were  authorized  and  empowered  to  constitute  a  Grand  Lodge 
for  the  State  of  Tennessee ;  the  Convention  then  proceeded  to  the  choice  of 
a  Grand  Master,  when  Brother  Thomas  Claborne,  attorney-at-law  and  mem- 
ber of  the  general  assembly,  was  unanimously  chosen  and  installed  according 
to  the  ancient  Rites  and  Landmarks. 

The  other  officers  were  then  elected,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  was  opened  in 
the  Third  degree  and  adopted  a  constitution.  This  constitution  provided  for 
four  communications  in  each  year  at  the  place  where  the  legislature  shall  sit, 
but,  in  1 8 19,  this  was  changed  to  yearly  communications.  Past  Masters  of 
regular  lodges  were  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge.     Lodges  were  forbidden 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

to  confer  the  Past  Master's  degree  upon  any  brother  unless  elected  to  preside 
over  a  lodge,  or  as  preparatory  for  a  higher  degree  :  in  the  latter  case,  a 
dispensation  from  the  Grand  Master  was  required. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee  is  the  only  Independent  Grand  Lodge 
in  the  United  States  that  was  organized  by  authority  of  a  warrant;  for  the 
instrument  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  does  not  simply 
permit  the  lodges  to  withdraw  their  allegiance  from  it,  but  it  prescribed  con- 
ditions ;  in  fact,  it  was  almost  identical  in  phraseology  with  the  warrants  or 
deputations  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England,  for  Provincial  Grand 
Lodges  in  the  Colonies  and  Provinces. 

It  was  held  by  some  of  the  brethren  that  by  the  formation  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  the  charters  of  the  lodges  were  dissolved;  accordingly  several  of  the 
lodges  applied  for  and  received  dispensations.  The  Grand  Lodge  decided 
that,  until  a  seal  and  other  materials  necessary  for  issuing  warrants  could  be 
procured,  the  lodges  warranted  by  North  Carolina  could  work  under  their  old 
warrants,  and  those  who  had  received  dispensations  could  work  under  the 
same.     In  1816  it  was  declared  that 

"  The  Supreme  Masonic  jurisdiction  over  all  lodges  of  Ancient  York  Masons  held  in  Ten- 
nessee, is  duly  vested  in  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  that  it  is  the  acknowledged  right  of  all  regular 
warranted  lodges  so  far  as  they  have  ability  and  numbers  to  make  Masons  in  the  higher  degrees." 

Authority,  therefore,  was  given  for  a  Royal  Arch  chapter  to  be  held  in 
Nashville,  by  the  name  of  Cumberland  Chapter,  to  open  lodges  and  work  in  the 
several  degrees  of  Past  Master,  Mark  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and 
Royal  Arch  Mason,  under  the  sanction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  ;  the  Grand 
Master  to  have  authority  to  grant  dispensations  to  work  said  degrees,  pro- 
vided the  applicants  for  such  dispensation  should  pay  the  sum  of  $20  to  the 
Grand  Charity  Fund. 

May  4,  1825,  Brother  General  Lafayette  and  his  son.  Brother  George 
Washington  Lafayette,  visited  the  Grand  Lodge.  Brother  Lafayette  was 
introduced  by  Brother  Andrew  Jackson  and  received  with  Grand  Honors. 
Grand  Master  Tannehill  made  him  an  address  of  welcome,  to  which  Brother 
Lafayette  feelingly  responded.  Previous  to  his  admission  he  had  been  elected 
an  honorary  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

The  annual  contribution  of  ^10  from  each  of  the  subordinate  lodges  was 
constituted  a  Grand  Charity  Fund. 

From  about  1825  to  1838,  political  party  strife,  added  to  the  Anti-Masonic 
excitement,  ran  very  high  in  Tennessee,  and  political  differences  bred  private 
controversies,  which  unfortunately  found  their  way  into  the  lodges. 

Tennessee,  during  the  Civil  War,  was  the  theatre  of  great  and  important 
military  operations,  in  consequence  of  which  many  of  the  lodges  suspended 
labor.  The  Grand  Lodge  did  not  hold  its  communications  in  1861  and  1862  ; 
but  after  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1865,  Masonry  revived,  and  its  growth  for  a 
few  years  was  quite  rapid. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  <,-^ 

The  Grand  Lodge  does  not  own  any  property  in  its  own  right,  but  occupies 
and  uses  the  Masonic  hall  at  Nashville,  which  is  the  property  of  Cumberland 
Lodge,  No.  8.  This  building  stands  on  the  ground  upon  which  was  erected, 
about  1820,  the  first  Masonic  hall  in  Tennessee. 

Of  the  eight  lodges  participating  in  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
four  are  still  existing,  viz. :  Overton,  No.  5  ;  Hiram,  No.  7 ;  Cumberland, 
No.  8  ;  and  Western  Star,  No.  9. 

An  effort  was  started  during  1889  to  found  a  "Masonic  Widow  and  Orphans' 
Home."  The  sum  of  $10,000  has  been  raised  by  voluntary  contributions  and 
donations.  It  is  estimated  that  $8000  more  will  be  required  to  complete  the 
main  building. 

Alabama. — The  history  of  Freemasonry  in  Alabama  is  so  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  history  of  the  Fraternity  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  —  in  which 
is  included  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  —  that  to  speak  of 
it  would  be  but  a  repetition  of  what  has  been  said  elsewhere.  Therefore, 
only  the  lodges  at  present  located  in  the  State  of  Alabama  will  be  noted. 
The  Grand  Lodge  of  Alabama  was  formed  by  the  following  lodges,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  which  signed  the  printed  copy  of  the  constitution  on  June  15, 
182 1,  viz.  :  Madison  Lodge,  No.  21,  at  Huntsville,  warranted  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Kentucky,  on  August  28,  1812;  Alabama  Lodge,  No.  21,  of 
Huntsville,  warranted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  October  6,  181 8; 
Alabama  Lodge,  No.  5 1,  at  Claiborne,  warranted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  South 
Carolina,  in  1S19  ;  Rising  Virtue  Lodge,  at  Tuskaloosa,  warranted  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  October  5,  1819  ;  Halo  Lodge,  originally  granted 
a  dispensation  by  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  at 
Cahawba,  April  4,  1820  (this  lodge  worked  under  the  dispensation  which  was 
not  surrendered  until  October,  182 1);  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Georgia,  January  24, 
1821,  warranted  Halo  Lodge,  No.  21  ;  Moulton  Lodge,  at  Moulton,  warranted 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  October  5,  1820  ;  Russellville  Lodge,  U.  D., 
at  Russellville,  dispensation  issued  by  the  Grand  Master  of  Tennessee,  October 
3,  1820;  Farrar  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Elyton,  granted  dispensation  by  the  Grand 
Master  of  Tennessee,  March  5,  182 1  ;  and  St.  Stephen's  Lodge,  at  St.  Stephens, 
warranted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina,  December  14,  1S16.  There 
were  two  lodges  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of  the  State,  Washington  and 
Tuscumbia,  both  warranted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee.  On  investiga- 
tion it  was  found  that  Tuscumbia  had  been  working  without  reporting  to 
any  Grand  Lodge,  but  it  soon  became  extinct ;  and  Washington  Lodge  soon 
surrendered  its  warrant.  The  name  of  Madison  Lodge  was  soon  after  changed 
to  Helion,  and  Alabama  Lodge  at  Huntsville  was  changed  to  Bethsaida.  These 
two  lodges  subsequently  consolidated  under  the  name,  Helion,  No.  i,  and  still 
exists.  Rising  Virtue,  No.  4,  Moulton,  No.  6,  and  Farrar,  No.  8,  are  also 
existing ;  while  the  others  named  have  long  gone  out  of  existence. 

The  constitution  provided  for  three  Deputy  Grand  Masters.     December  6, 


134 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXR Y. 


1836,  there  not  being  a  quorum  present,  and  after  waiting  for  three  days, 
those  who  were  present,  no  doubt  influenced  by  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement, 
declared  the  Grand  Lodge  extinct.  The  Grand  Lodge  was  then  formally 
reorganized,  a  new  constitution  adopted.  Grand  Officers  elected,  old  warrants 
re-granted  and  confirmed.  The  greatest  drawback  the  Grand  Lodge  there- 
after experienced  was  the  regulation  which  declared  forfeited  the  warrants 
of  any  lodge  that  failed  to  be  represented  at  Grand  Lodge  for  two  successive 
years.  There  was  no  reserving  clause ;  it  was  absolute.  Of  the  original 
lodges,  there  are  but  three  working  at  present :  Rising  Virtue,  No.  4  ;  Moulton, 
No.  6  ;  Farrar,  No.  8. 

The  Grand  Lodge  is  incorporated  by  the  legislature. 

Mississippi.  —  Masonry  was  introduced  into  Mississippi  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Kentucky,  which  warranted  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Natchez,  on 
October  16,  1801.  This  lodge  continued  until  August  30,  18 14,  when  it  surren- 
dered its  warrant  and  property  to  the  Grand  Lodge.  On  August  31,  1815,  a 
dispensation  was  granted  to  several  of  the  old  members  for  a  new  lodge  by  the 
same  name,  and  a  warrant  was  granted  on  August  27,  181 6.  August  13,  181 6, 
the  Grand  Master  of  Tennessee  issued  a  dispensation  to  Jackson  Lodge,  at 
Natchez,  and  on  October  8,  1816,  the  Grand  Lodge  warranted  the  same  under 
the  name  of  Andrew  Jackson  Lodge.  October  16,  181 7,  the  same  Grand 
Lodge  granted  a  warrant  to  Washington  Lodge,  No.  17,  at  Port  Gibson.  July 
27,  1 81 8,  these  three  lodges,  by  their  representatives,  met  in  Natchez  and 
formed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mississippi,  and  elected  and  installed  its  Grand 
Officers.  February  3,  18 19,  an  emergent  communication  of  Grand  Lodge 
was  held  to  take  action  in  relation  to  forming  a  lottery  to  raise  money  to  pur- 
chase a  site  and  erect  thereon  a  Masonic  edifice.  The  legislature  granted  the 
privilege  asked  for.  In  1824  it  was  reported  that  the  lottery-scheme  had 
not  proved  a  financial  success,  and  the  lodges  were  recommended  to  open 
books  to  receive  subscriptions  to  .build  the  new  hall.  September  30,  1826, 
the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  Fort  Gibson;  June  25,  1827,  the  corner-stone  of  a  Masonic  hall  was  laid 
in  Natchez,  and  the  hall  was  dedicated,  June  24,  1829. 

In  1845  the  Grand  Lodge  began  the  investigation  of  the  workings  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana,  the  result  of  which  was,  that,  from  1846  to  1852, 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mississippi  granted  five  warrants  for  New  Orleans,  two 
for  Lafayette,  and  one  for  Franklin,  in  the  State  of  Louisiana.  In  1852  these 
warrants  had  all  been  returned  or  ceased,  and  all  edicts  against  Louisiana 
were  recalled  and  annulled. 

Louisiana. — April  28,  1793,  Laurent  Sigur  holding  a  Rose  Croix  patent 
from  Nancy,  France,  assisted  by  several  French  refugees  from  the  West  Indies, 
held  a  preliminary  meeting  in  New  Orleans.  Presuming  that  the  Rose  Croix 
patent  authorized  the  working  of  a  lodge,  they  initiated  two  candidates  in  June, 
and  admitted  two  in  September  and  November,  1793.     They  applied  to  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


335 


Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina  "Ancients,"  for  a  warrant,  under  which  they 
opened  "Par/ait  Union  Lodge,''  No.  29.  In  1794  a  member  of  this  lodge,  who 
had  been  expelled  for  cheating  and  gambling,  with  other  brethren  of  the  French 
Rite,  applied  to  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  at  Marseilles,  France,  which  granted 
provisional  privileges  December  27,  1798,  to  Polar  Star  Lodge.  The  history  of 
these  lodges,  both  now  in  existence,  is  remarkable.  In  1803  the  Grand  Orient 
of  France  granted  a  full  charter  to  this  lodge  as  No.  4263,  under  which  it  was 
re-constituted  November  11,  1804.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  granted 
the  following  warrants  to  Louisiana:  May  18, 180 1,  to  No.  90,  Lodge  La  Candeur, 
New  Orleans,  surrendered  March  i,  1802,  at  the  same  time  a. warrant  was  granted 
to  No.  93,  Lodge  La  Charitie,  New  Orleans,  which  joined  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Louisiana  J  to  No.  112,  September  15,  1808,  the  Desired  Reunion  Lodge,  New 
Orleans  ;  to  No.  117,  October  27,  1810,  Lodge  La  Cojicorde,  New  Orleans,  sur- 
rendered April  19,  181 3,  joined  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana;  to  No.  118, 
October  27,  18 10,  Perseverance  Lodge,  surrendered  March  19,  1813,  joined 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana;  to  No.  122,  November  19,  1810,  Harmony 
Lodge,  New  Orleans.  This  lodge  kept  its  minutes  in  English.  To  No.  129, 
June  3,  181 1,  Lodge  U Etoile  Folaire,  New  Orleans,  surrendered  April  19, 
1813,  joined  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana.  These  lodges  all  had  Royal  Arch 
chapters  attached  to  them  and  working  under  their  warrants.  September  22, 
1807,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  warranted  Louisiana  Lodge,  No.  i,  at 
New  Orleans,  the  first  lodge  there  to  work  in  the  English  language. 

October  13,  181 1,  the  Master  of  Polar  Star  Lodge,  No.  4263,  which  worked 
the  Modern  or  French  Rite  under  Grand  Orient  of  France,  stated  that  in 
consequence  of  the  difference 

"  That  had  always  existed  and  continues  to  exist  between  the  Masons  of  the  Modern  or  French 
Rite  and  those  of  the  York  Rite,  the  Master  Masons  composing  the  lodge  had  applied  to  and 
obtained  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  a  charter  for  the  York  Rite  (No.  129),  wht-n  the 
lodge  unanimously  decreed  that  the  workings  of  Polar  Star  Lodge,  No.  4263,  shall  be  postponed 
indefinitely." 

Articles  of  agreement  were  entered  into  between  Polar  Star,  No.  4263, 
under  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  and  Polar  Star,  No.  129,  under  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  without,  however,  any  authority  from  that  Grand  Lodge, 
and  the  lodge  was  thenceforth  known  as  Polar  Star,  No.  129. 

At  the  time  Polar  Star  Lodge  ceased  to  work  the  French  Rite,  a  number 
of  Masons  from  San  Domingo,  and  who  had  recently  arrived  from  Jamaica, 
were  actively  engaged  in  organizing  a  lodge  of  the  Scottish  Rite.  They 
received  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Consistory  of  Jamaica  for  Bienfaisance 
Lodge,  No.  I,  June  22,  181 1.  Owing  to  financial  embarrassments  and  other 
circumstances,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  ask  Concord  Lodge,  No. 
1 1 7,  under  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  to  receive,  by  one  general  affiliation, 
all  the  members  of  Bienfaisance  Lodge,  No.  i.  A  favorable  response  being 
received,  the  next  day  Bienfaisance  ceased  to  exist. 


336 


COSMOPOLITAN-  FREEMASONRY. 


Up  to  this  date  (1812)  all  the  lodges  that  had  been  established  in  Louisiana 
(twelve)  were  located  in  New  Orleans.  Of  these,  but  seven  were  in  full 
activity,  and  all  were  working  what  is  known  as  the  "York  Rite,"  viz. :  Perfect 
Union,  Charity,  Louisiana,  Concord,  Perseverance,  Harmony,  and  Polar  Star,- 
Three  delegates  from  each  of  these  lodges  assembled  as  a  "  Grand  Committee," 
April  18,  1S12,  in  the  hall  of  Perfect  Union  Lodge,  to  provide  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State  of  Louisiana. 

Louisiana  Lodge,  No.  i,  declared,  "  It  would  be  inexpedient  at  present  to 
join  in  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge." 

Harmony  Lodge,  No.  122,  under  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  withdrew 
from  the  convention  called  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  Grand  Lodge. 
The  withdrawal  of  this  and  Louisiana  Lodge,  the  only  two  English-speaking 
lodges,  was  deeply  regretted ;  but  it  did  not  interrupt  the  labors  of  the  con- 
vention. Saturday,  June  20,  181 2,  was  appointed  as  the  time  for  the  election 
of  officers.  Accordingly,  on  that  day,  the  Grand  convention  assembled  in  the 
hall  of  Perfect  Union  Lodge,  and  elected  officers.  The  installation  took 
place  on  July  11,  1812,  at  which  time  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  was 
formed.  A  constitution  and  general  regulations  were  adopted,  August  15  th. 
Charters  were  delivered  to  the  five  lodges  according  to  seniority  :  Parfait 
Unio7i,  Charity,  Concord,  Perseverance,  and  Polar  Star.  In  the  charters 
issued  to  the  lodges,  as  well  as  in  the  constitution,  the  claim  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  exclusive  jurisdiction  is  clearly  asserted. 

Circular-letters  were  addressed  to  the  other  Grand  Lodges,  requesting 
recognition  and  fraternal  correspondence.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania 
at  first  hesitated  to  extend  recognition,  but  when  placed  in  possession  of  all  the 
facts,  extended  its  recognition,  April  13,  1813.  In  1 818  compUcations  growing 
out  of  the  many  questions  of  the  claims  of  the  "  York  "  and  "  Scottish  "  Rites 
previously  raised,  again  manifested  themselves,  producing  discord  and  confusion 
that  was  not  entirely  settled  and  healed  until  i860. 

The  Grand  Orient  of  France  granted  a  warrant  for  a  lodge  to  work  in  the 
French  Rite  in  New  Orleans,  April  21,  1818,  under  the  name  ''La  Triple 
Bienfaisance,  No.  yjig  "  to  which  was  attached  a  chapter  of  Rose  Croix. 
Some  of  the  members  of  Concord  and  Perseverance  Lodges  affiliated  with  this 
lodge,  and  their  example  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  some  of  the  others. 
Polar  Star  Lodge,  which  ceased  to  work  in  iSii  under  its  charter  received 
from  the  Grand  Orient,  and  had  obtained  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Pennsylvania,  resolved  to  reorganize  the  old  Polar  Star  Lodge,  No.  4263  ; 
accordingly,  on  February  14,  1819,  officers  were  elected  under  directions 
received  from  the  Grand  Orient,  from  which  body  a  charter  was  obtained,  in 
1820,  empowering  the  lodge  to  cumulate  the  French  and  Scotch  Rites.  All 
the  members  of  the  French  Rite  lodge.  Polar  Star,  No.  4263,  were  members 
of  the  York  Rite  Polar  Star  Lodge,  No.  5.  The  system  of  dual  membership 
thus  inaugurated  was  soon  imitated  by  others ;  the  Grand  Lodge  granting  a 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^37 

charter  to  a  number  of  members  of  the  French  lodge,  Triple  Bienfaisance, 
No.  73 ig,  under  the  name  of  Triple  Bienfaisance,  No.  20. 

The  French  Rite  now  became  popular  in  New  Orleans,  and  many  life  mem- 
bers of  the  Grand  Lodge  belonged  to  it ;  but,  as  it  had  not  been  recognized 
by  the  Grand  Lodge,  its  lodges  were  considered  clandestine  organizations.  To 
obtain  recognition  it  was  necessary  to  amend  the  constitution.  To  thus  amend, 
it  was  necessary  to  submit  the  proposed  amendment  to  all  the  lodges  ;  but  as  it 
was  feared  the  country  lodges,  who  worked  the  ''York  Rite,"  would  not  favor 
the  amendment,  it  was  determined  by  the  city  lodges  to  act  without  consulting 
them.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  held  November  16,  1831, 
resolutions  were  adopted,  recognizing  as  regular  the  three  rites,  and  authorizing 
the  lodges  to  receive  as  visitors,  or  as  candidates  for  affiliation,  members  of 
the  French  and  Scotch  Rites. 

At  this  time  there  was  one  lodge  cumulating  the  French  and  Scotch  Rites 
and  two  of  the  French  Rite  in  New  Orleans,  working  under  charters  from  the 
Grand  Orient  of  France,  and  at  same  time  holding  charters  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Louisiana. 

The  life  members,  or  Past  Masters,  or  Past  Grand  Officers,  who  were  mem- 
bers of  the  lodges  in  New  Orleans,  had  obtained  complete  control  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  Almost  all  the  Grand  Officers  and  many  of  the  life  members 
belonged  to  the  French  Rite,  and  were  actively  engaged  in  advancing  its 
interests. 

The  French  Rite  was,  however,  confined  to  New  Orleans.  The  seven 
lodges  in  the  country  parishes,  with  the  exception  of  two,  worked  in  the 
English  language,  and  were  composed  chiefly  of  Americans,  many  of  whom 
had  been  initiated  in  other  jurisdictions  in  the  United  States.  For  them  the 
French  Rite  possessed  no  attractions,  and  the  Grand  Lodge,  as  long  as  they 
paid  their  dues,  exercised  little  or  no  supervision  over  them. 

On  November  7,  1824,  the  Grand  Lodge  granted  a  charter  for  Lafayette 
Lodge,  No.  25.  Shortly  after  this  date,  April  14,  1825,  the  distinguished 
brother,  after  whom  this  lodge  was  named,  visited  New  Orleans,  and  was 
received  and  welcomed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  with  great  enthusiasm.  Among 
the  large  number  of  brethren  present  were  a  number  of  the  members  of  Har- 
mony Lodge,  warranted  by  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  which  had  never 
come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  had  been  for  a  long 
time  in  a  dormant  condition.  As  this  was  the  only  lodge  that  worked  in  the 
English  language  (Louisiana  Lodge  having  ceased  in  1819),  its  dormant  con- 
dition left  the  American  Masons  without  a  common  centre  of  reunion.  To 
supply  this  want,  a  number  of  its  former  members  resolved  to  apply  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  for  a  charter.  The  request  was  granted,  and  a 
new  lodge,  Harmony,  No.  26,  was  constitued,  March  4,  1826. 

The  creation  of  this  lodge  led  to  important  results.  Being  the  only  lodge 
working  in  English,  in  New  Orleans,  it  rapidly  increased  in  membership ;  but 


338 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


the  old  prejudices  were  carried  into  the  new  lodge,  and,  in  1828,  a  number  of 
the  members  withdrew  from  it,  and  formed  Louisiana  Lodge,  No.  32.  The 
prejudices  of  the  remaining  members  of  Harmony  Lodge  now  found  vent  in 
declaring  war  against  the  French  Rite.  It  had  long  been  a  custom  of  the 
lodges  in  New  Orleans  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  two  SS.  John. 
Each  lodge  appointed  a  committee  to  visit  the  sister  lodges,  to  whom  they 
carried  letters  of  credence  and  congratulation.  The  lodge-room  was  arrayed 
in  holiday  attire  and  decked  with  flowers,  and  after  the  lodge  was  opened  the 
deputations  were  admitted,  congratulations  exchanged,  and  the  feast  closed 
with  a  banquet,  to  which  brethren  from  otlier  lodges  were  invited. 

The  anniversary  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  June  24,  1828,  was  selected  by 
Harmony  Lodge  as  the  proper  time  to  declare  war  on  the  French  Rite  lodges. 
Accordingly,  when  the  deputation  from  "  Triple  Bieiifaisance,  No.  7Jig,'"  was 
announced,  it  was  refused  admittance  ;  they  were  informed  that  "  Harmony 
Lodge,  No.  26,  only  recognized  as  Masons  those  who  were  members  of  the 
'York  Rite.'  "  The  Grand  Lodge  was  appealed  to  for  redress  for  the  "delib- 
erate insult,"  but  that  body  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  press  the  complaint 
against  Harmony  Lodge,  resolving  to  await  further  developments. 

On  the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  the  same  year,  deputations  from 
all  three  of  the  French  Rite  lodges  separately  applied  to  Harmony  Lodge  for 
admission,  which  was  refused,  each  being  informed  that  the  lodge  only  recog- 
nized as  Masons  those  belonging  to  the  "York  Rite."  Formal  complaint  was 
made  against  Harmony  Lodge  by  the  three  lodges,  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  which 
body  postponed  the  consideration  of  the  subject  from  time  to  time  ;  but  on 
July  2,  1 83 1,  resolutions  censuring  Harmony  Lodge  were  proposed  in  the 
Grand  Lodge,  but  the  Grand  Master  refused  to  submit  them  to  the  Grand 
Lodge.  Two  weeks  afterward,  however.  Harmony  Lodge  receded  from  the 
position  it  had  taken,  alleging  that  its  opposition  to  the  French  Rite  lodges 
arose  from  their  owing  allegiance  to  a  "  Foreign  Masonic  Power,"  and  prom- 
ising to  conform  to  whatever  the  Grand  Lodge  might  decree  in  the  matter. 
At  a  subsequent  quarterly  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  the  three 
French  Rite  and  the  three  Scotch  Rite  lodges  were  recognized  as  regular,  by 
which  the  reconciliation  of  the  contending  factions  was  consummated  and 
fraternal  intercourse  restored. 

On  October  15,  1832,  a  new  code  of  general  regulations  was  adopted  by 
the  Grand  Lodge,  in  which  the  system  of  Masonic  government  that  had 
existed  since  its  formation  was  subverted,  and  numerous  innovations  intro- 
duced from  the  Scotch  and  French  Rites.  The  Grand  Lodge  was  declared 
to  be  the  "  only  lawgiver  of  Symbolic  lodges  "  in  the  State,  but  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Craft  was  entrusted  to  three  Symbolic  Chambers,  one  for  each 
Rite,  and  each  composed  of  fifteen  members,  whose  acts  were  subject  to  the 
approval  or  disapproval  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  old  system  of  represen- 
tation was  retained,  but  only  life  members  were  entitled  to  vote  and  hold 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


339 


office  in  the  Grand  Lodge ;  and  in  order  to  give  this  class  supreme  control 
over  its  deliberations,  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Master  was  circumscribed. 
The  code  was  not  only  complicated  and  contradictory,  but  in  all  essential 
particulars  conflicted  with  the  constitution  of  1819,  which  was  not  repealed. 

This  code  of  regulations,  which  was  patterned  after  that  of  the  Grand 
Orient  of  France,  led  to  great  confusion  and  many  irregularities.  The  lodges 
working  the  "York  Rite  "  denounced  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  as  an  illegal 
organization  because  it  sanctioned  the  cumulation  of  Rites,  but  for  a  time  they 
were  powerless  to  correct  the  code.  Among  the  unaffiliated  Masons  in  New 
Orleans  were  several  Mississippians,  who  determined  to  seek  the  intervention 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  their  State,  in  which,  after  a  time,  they  were  so 
successful  that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mississippi  declared,  by  resolution,  that 

"  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  being  composed  of  a  cumulation  of  Rites,  cannot  be  recog- 
nized as  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons." 

It  therefore  expressed  its  willingness  to  grant  dispensations  and  charters 
to  any  legal  number  of  "Ancient  York"  Masons  in  Louisiana,  who  would  make 
application  for  the  same.  This  action  becoming  known  in  New  Orleans,  a 
number  of  the  Masons,  who  had  secretly  sympathized  with  the  movement, 
renounced  their  allegiance  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  during  the  year  1847 
seven  dispensations  for  new  lodges  were  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Mississippi,  in  New  Orleans  and  suburbs.  These  subsequendy  having  received 
charters,  met  in  convention,  March  8,  1848,  and  organized  the  "Louisiana 
Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  York  Masons."  A  constitution  was  adopted,  officers 
elected  and  installed,  and  new  charters  issued  to  the  lodges. 

This  body  continued  in  existence  for  two  years,  during  which  time  it 
granted  charters  for  eighteen  lodges,  but  failed  to  obtain  recognition  from  any 
Grand  Lodge,  except  Mississippi. 

In  January,  1849,  an  effort  was  begun  to  heal  the  existing  dissensions. 
This  was  happily  consummated,  March  4,  1850,  by  the  adoption  and  ratifica- 
tion of  "articles  of  union"  by  the  contending  Grand  Lodges,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  which  was  submitted  to  a  convention  of 
all  the  lodges  (fifty-six)  in  the  State,  held  at  Baton  Rouge,  June,  1850,  and 
almost  unanimously  adopted. 

This  peaceful  condition  of  affairs  was  not  destined  to  be  of  long  duration. 
The  Scottish  Rite  bodies,  which  were  introduced  into  New  Orleans  as  early 
as  1 8 13,  and  which  tended  no  little  to  the  complication  of  affairs  in  the  juris- 
diction, contended  that  the  Grand  Lodge  had  violated  a  "  concordat "  entered 
into  in  1833,  by  renouncing  jurisdiction  over  all  Symbolic  lodges,  except  those 
of  the  "York  Rite,"  resolved  to  "  resume  authority  over  Symbolic  lodges  of  the 
Scottish  Rite  under  a  Supreme  Council."  Three  of  such  lodges  surrendered 
their  charters  to  the  Grand  Lodge  and  passed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Supreme  Council,  in  which  body  dissensions  soon  after  arose,  which  resulted 


340 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


in  the  formation  of  an  illegal  Supreme  Council  by  Joseph  Foulhouze,  who,  in 
1856,  commenced  making  Masons  at  sight,  and  succeeded  in  causing  two 
lodges  to  withdraw  their  allegiance  from  the  Grand  Lodge.  This  Supreme 
Council  of  Foulhouze  was  recognized  by  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  in 
consequence  of  which  nearly  all  the  Grand  Lodges  of  the  world  declared 
non-intercourse  with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France.  Failing  in  the  attempt  any 
longer  to  create  dissensions  among  the  Fraternity,  this  so-called  Supreme 
Council,  about  1870,  ceased  to  become  a  disturbing  element  of  any  account. 

From  1850  to  1873  (embracing  years  of  war,  pestilence,  and  famine),  there 
was  an  increase  of  membership.  From  1873  to  1887  there  was  a  continuous 
decline,  —  from  7700  to  3500  members,  —  since  which  time  there  has  been 
a  decidedly  healthy  increase. 

The  Anti-Masonic  excitement  was  not  felt  in  Louisiana.  The  Grand  Lodge 
has  owned  its  hall  on  St.  Charles  Street  since  1853.  It  has  also  a  lot,  and  has 
laid  the  foundation  for  a  new  hall  on  St.  Charles  Avenue,  worth  $60,000.  Its 
present  hall  is  worth  $50,000.  Masonic  charity  has  been  most  liberally 
bestowed  by  La  Relief  Lodge,  No.  i,  of  New  Orleans. 

The  Grand  Lodge  has  been  incorporated  since  181 6.  The  Grand  Lodge 
library  is  valuable,  and  consists  of  over  3000  volumes. 

Three  of  the  lodges  organized  prior  to  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
are  existing :  Perfect  Union,  No.  i  ;  Perseverance,  No.  4 ;  and  Polar  Star, 
No.  I. 

Acknowledgment.  —  In  concluding  the  brief  history  of  the  Grand  Lodges,  in  the  Division 
and  part  of  a  Division  assigned  me,  I  desire  to  make  my  acknowledgments,  for  valuable  informa- 
tion rendered,  to  Brothers  Henry  L.  Stillson,  of  Vermont ;  L.  C.  Hascall,  of  Boston  ;  Sereno  D. 
Nickerson,  Grand  Secretary  of  Massachusetts  ;  Henry  R.  Cannon,  Past  Grand  Master  of  New 
Jersey;  Joseph  K.  Wheeler,  Grand  Secretary  of  Connecticut ;  Edwin  Baker,  Grand  Secretary  of 
Rhode  Island;  Warren  G.  Reynolds,  Grand  Secretary  of  Vermont;  D.  W.  Bain,  Grand  Secretary 
of  North  Carolina;  Charles  Iiiglesby,  Grand  Secretary  of  South  Carolina;  Andrew  M.  Wolihin, 
Grand  Secretary  of"  Georgia;  Myles  J.  Greene,  M.D.,  Grand  Secretary  of  Alabama;  DeWitt  C. 
Dawkins,  Grand  Secretary  of  Florida;  James  C.  Batchelor,  M.D.,  Grand  Secretary  of  Louisiana; 
E.  H.  M.  Ehlers,  Grand  Secretary  of  New  York ;  E.  T.  Schultz,  author  of  History  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Maryland;  and  to  the  four  great  Masonic  works  :  "The  History  of  Freemasonry,"  by 
Robert  Freke  Gould,  the  English  and  American  editions,  with  Drummond's  Addenda  ;  Lane's 
"  List  of  Lodges,  or  Masonic  Records,  1717-1886  "  ;  "  The  History  of  Freemasonry  in  New  York," 
by  Charles  T.  McClenachan ;  and  the  "  Early  Records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,"  by 
the  Library  Committee. 


Z^^^yMy 


(P,/H^. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


SECOND  MERIDIAN,  II 


341 


History  of  the  Western  Mississippi  Valley :  The  Grand  lodges  of  Texas ^ 
Arkansas,  Mifinesota,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Dakota,  North  Dakota,  Nebraska, 
Kansas,  and  the  Indian  Territory. 

By  C.  E.  Gillett,  33°,  P.E.C., 
Commandery  No.  11,  K.T.  ;   Grand  Almofier,  Grand  Lodge  of  California. 


Preface. —  In  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  seeds  of  Masonic  truth  were  planted 
in  American  soil,  and  its  principles  of  Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity  commenced  bearing  fruit ; 
so  that  when,  in  1776,  the  ever-memorable  "  Declaration  of  Independence  "  was  to  be  signed  by 
those  who  pledged  their  "  lives,  fortunes,  and  sacred  honor,"  to  advance  and  sustain  the  principles 
of  Free  Government,  fifty-two  out  of  the  fifty-six,  who  signed  that  Charter  of  Liberty  and  Equality, 
were  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

We  know  that  Masonic  lodges  have  been  the  staunch  friends  and  supporters  of  free  speech, 
free  thought,  and  freedom  to  worship  God  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  Light  that  shines  upon 
their  altars,  and  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened  conscience ;  but  wkence  these  lodges  originated,  when 
and  where  located,  and  who  were  the  men  who  gave  direction  to  the  movements  to  secure  to  the 
people  their  inalienable  rights  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  are  historic  matters, 
which  are  not  readily  obtained  by  a  majority  of  the  brethren. 

But  to  present  these  facts,  and  give  even  an  epitomized  history  of  the  formation  of  the  early 
lodges  and  Grand  Lodges  in  the  States  and  Territories  in  the  great  valley  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  in  the  limited  space  which  has  been  allotted,  is  a  task  difficult  to  perform.  I  can,  therefore, 
give  only  a  few  of  the  facts  and  figures  connected  with  its  early  Masonic  history.  The  great  diffi- 
culty is  to  know,  when  looking  over  the  great  mass  of  such  available  matter,  what  to  retain  l  and 
what  to  cast  aside. 

Wherever  dates  are  given  in  this  work,  great  care  has  been  exercised  to  have  them  correct. 
I  have  had  what  I  consider  good  authority  for  the  dates  given,  though  they  do  not  always  agree 
with  those  now  in  general  use.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  give  my  authority  for  such  changes, 
but  limited  space  forbids.  I  will  add,  however,  that  to  aid  me  in  this  work,  I  have  had  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  all  the  Grand  Lodges  of  the  United  States  and  British  North  America ;  historic  data 
furnished  by  the  several  Grand  Secretaries,  and  other  prominent  brethren ;  many  of  the  Free- 
mason's Monitors  and  Registers  published  from  1800  to  1826;  Macoy's  "  Masonic  Directory" 
and  "Cyclopaedia  of  History";  and  the  "Masonic  Records  (1717  to  1886)  of  the  Four  Grand 
Lodges  and  the  'United  Grand  Lodge'  of  England,"  by  John  Lane,  F.C.A.,  P.M.;  also  the 
hearty  cooperation  and  assistance  of  the  Grand  Secretaries  of  the  various  Grand  Lodges,  whose 
history  has  been  reviewed ;  and  for  which  courtesies  and  favors,  the  writer  desires  now  to  express 

due  acknowledgment  and  thanks. 

C.  E.  G. 
Oakland,  Cal.,  August,  1890. 

[1  It  is  but  fair  to  state  that  the  MSS.  of  the  histories  of  the  Grand  Lodges  located  west  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  written  by  Brothers  Gillett  and  Sherman,  were  necessarily  condensed  in  order 
to  bring  the  subject-matter  within  the  space  at  our  command,  and  the  limits  assigned  to  "  Second 
Meridian,  II.,  of  Division  VI.,"  and  the  "  Third  Meridian,"  comprising  Division  VII.  —  ED.] 


.  ,  ~  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
Gr-^nd  Lodges  of  the  Western  Mississippi  Valley. 

Texas.  —  In  1683  La  Salle  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Guadaloupe,  and 
explored  the  adjacent  country ;  this  laid  the  foundation  of  the  French  claims. 
The  Spaniards,  in  1692,  formed  the  first  settlement  at  San  Antonio,  under  the 
name  of  New  Philippines. 

After  France  relinquished  her  claim  to  Louisiana,  in  1803,  the  Province  of 
Texas  became  disputed  territory.  In  1828,  eight  years  before  Texas  achieved 
her  independence  upon  the  battle-field  of  San  Jacinto,  Stephen  F.  Austin  (the 
father  of  Texas),  H.  H.  League,  Eli  Mitchell,  Joseph  White,  and  Thomas  M. 
Duke  met  at  the  litde  village  of  San  Felipe,  on  the  Brazos  River,  and  formed 
the  first  Masonic  convention  ever  held  upon  the  soil  of  Texas,  the  record  of 
which,  having  recently  been  "brought  to  light,"  I  give  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Craft. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  ancient  York  Masons,  held  in  the  town  of  San  Felipe  de  Austin,  on  the  nth 
day  of  February,  1828,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the  expediency  of  petitioning 
the  Grand  York  Lodge  of  Mexico  for  granting  a  charter  or  dispensation  for  organizing  a  subordi- 
nate lodge  at  this  place,  the  following  brethren  were  present:  Brothers  H.  H.  League,  Stephen  F. 
Austin,  Ira  Ingram,  Eli  Mitchell,  Joseph  White,  G.  B.  Hall,  and  Thomas  M.  Duke. 

"  On  motion  of  Brother  Ira  Ingram,  and  seconded,  Brother  H.  H.  League  was  appointed 
Chairman,  and  Thomas  M.  Duke,  Secretary. 

"  On  motion  of  Brother  Stephen  F.  Austin,  and  seconded,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  we 
petition  to  the  Grand  York  Lodge  of  Mexico  for  a  charter  or  dispensation  to  organize  a  lodge  at 
this  place,  to  be  called  the  Lodge  of  Union. 

"  On  balloting  for  officers  of  the  lodge,  the  following  brothers  were  duly  elected :  Brother  S.  F. 
Ausdn,  Master;  Brother  Ira  Ingram,  Senior  Warden;  and  Brother  H.  H.  League,  Junior 
Warden. 

"(Signed)         H.  H.  LEAGUE,  Chairjnan. 

"  Attest :  Thomas  M.  Duke,  Secretary." 

Brother  Stephen  F.  Austin,  before  he  removed  from  St.  Louis  to  Texas, 
was  a  member  of  St.  Louis  Lodge,  No.  3,  holding  a  charter  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  town  of  St.  Louis,  in  the  then  unoccupied 
Masonic  Territory  of  Missouri. 

About  this  time  intense  excitement  existed  in  Mexico  on  the  subject  of 
suppressing  the  Masonic  societies,  in  obedience  to  a  Bull  fulminated  against 
them  by  the  reigning  Pope.  Indeed,  in  a  short  time,  all  men  of  influence  in 
the  country  were  upon  the  side  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  political  factions, 
which  were  said  to  be  under  the  guidance  of  the  several  Scotch  and  English 
lodges. 

The  "  Ecossais  "  (or  Scotch)  lodges  were  composed  of  large  proprietors 
and  persons  of  distinction,  who  were  men  of  moderate  and  conservative 
principles. 

The  "Yorkonas'"  (or  York  Masons)  were  opposed  to  the  Central  or  Royal 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


343 


Government,  and  were  in  favor  of  the  entire  expulsion  of  the  Spanish  from 
Mexico.  Towards  the  close  of  1S27,  Don  Jose  Montano  published  his  plan 
for  the  forcible  reform  of  the  governmant,  in  order  to  counteract  the  growing 
influence  of  the  "Yorkonas.'^  Civil  war  soon  after  raged,  and  in  the  struggle 
that  followed,  the  rival  Masonic  bodies  lost  their  power  and  prestige,  and  were 
rent  into  fragments.  Owing  to  this  distracted  state  of  affairs,  the  enterprise 
of  forming  a  lodge  at  San  Felipe  was  permitted  to  die  out. 

In  the  winter  of  1S34-1835,  five  Master  Masons,  having  made  themselves 
known  as  such  to  one  another,  after  consultation  and  much  deliberation, 
resolved  to  take  measures  to  establish  a  lodge  in  Texas.  This  was  at  a 
time  when  every  movement  in  Texas  was  watched  with  jealousy  and  distrust 
by  the  Mexican  government ;  hence  this  resolution  was  not  formed  without  a 
full  appreciation  of  its  responsibilities  and  consequences  to  the  individuals 
concerned.  It  was  well  known  that  Freemasonry  was  particularly  odious 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood,  whose  political  influence  in  the  country  at 
that  time  was  all-powerful.  The  dangers,  therefore,  attendant  upon  an  organi- 
zation of  Masons  at  this  time  were  neither  few  nor  unimportant.  The  five 
brethren  whose  "  fervency  and  zeal "  for  our  beloved  Institution  induced  them 
to  throw  aside  all  fears  of  personal  consequences,  and  resolve  to  establish  a 
lodge,  were  :  John  H.  Wharton,  Asa  Brigham,  James  A.  E.  Phelps,  Alexander 
Russell,  and  Anson  Jones,  and  they  appointed  a  time  and  place  of  meeting 
to  concert  measures  to  carry  their  resolutions  into  effect.  In  the  meantime 
another  Master  Mason,  Brother  J.  P.  Caldwell,  united  with  them. 

The  place  of  meeting  was  back  of  the  town  of  Brazoria,  near  General  John 
Austin's  place,  in  a  little  grove  of  wild  peach,  or  laurel,  —  a  spot  which  had 
been  selected  by  that  distinguished  soldier  and  citizen  as  a  family  burying- 
ground.  Here,  in  this  secluded  spot,  out  of  the  way  of  "cowans  and 
eavesdroppers,"  the  brethren  felt  secure  and  alone  ;  and,  under  such  circum- 
stances, at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  a  day  in  March,  1835,  was  held  the 
first  formal  Masonic  meeting  in  the  Republic  of  Texas. 

The  six  brethren  above  named  were  present  at  the  meeting  "at  the 
grove,"  and  it  was  decided  to  petition  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  for  a 
dispensation  to  form  and  open  a  lodge.  Funds  were  raised,  and  in  due  time 
a  petition  was  signed  and  forwarded  to  New  Orleans,  having  been  previously 
signed  by  another  Master  Mason,  Brother  W.  D.  C.  Hall.  The  officers  named 
in  the  petition  were  :  for  Worshipful  Master,  Anson  Jones ;  Senior  Warden, 
Asa  Brigham  ;  Junior  Warden,  J.  P.  Caldwell ;  who  respectively  filled  these 
offices  until  the  close  of  1837. 

After  some  delay  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  Holland  Lodge,  No.  2,^, 
U.  D.,  which  was  instituted,  and  opened  at  Brazoria  on  the  27th  day  of 
December,  1835.  The  lodge  held  its  meetings  at  Brazoria,  in  the  second 
story  of  the  old  court-house,  which  room  was  afterward  occupied  by  St. 
John's  Lodge,  No.  5. 


-^  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

About  this  time  the  difficulties  with  Mexico  broke  out  into  open  hostilities, 
and  Masonic  work  was  very  much  retarded. 

The  last  meeting  of  Holland  Lodge  at  Brazoria  was  held  in  February,  1836, 
for  in  the  following  month  (March)  the  town  was  abandoned.  Soon  after 
Urrea,  at  the  head  of  a  detachment  of  the  Mexican  army,  took  possession 
of  the  place,  and  the  records,  books,  jewels,  and  everything  belonging  to  the 
lodf^e  were  destroyed  by  them,  and  the  brethren  scattered  in  every  direction. 
In  the  meantime  a  charter  for  Holland  Lodge,  No.  36,  had  been  issued  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana,  and  was  taken  to  Texas  by  Brother  John  M. 
Allen,  which,  together  with  some  letters  from  the  Grand  Secretary,  was 
delivered  to  Brother  Anson  Jones  by  Brother  Allen,  while  on  the  march  on 
the  prairie  between  Groce's  and  San  Jacinto.  These  documents  were  "  safely 
deposited  "  by  Brother  Jones  in  his  saddle-bags,  and  by  him  carried  to  the 
encampment  of  the  army  on  Buffalo  Bayou,  at  Lynchburg.  Afterward,  the 
charter  and  papers  were  taken  safely  to  Brazoria ;  but  no  attempt  was  ever 
made  to  revive  the  work  of  the  lodge  at  that  place. 

In  October,  1837,  however,  it  was  reopened  at  the  city  of  Houston.  In 
the  meantime  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  issued  charters  for  Milam  Lodge, 
No.  40,  at  Nacogdoches,  and  McFarlane  Lodge,  No.  41,  at  St.  Augustine. 

Holland  Lodge,  No.  36,  was  the  only  one  established  in  Texas  prior  to  its 
separation  from  Mexico. 

In  pursuance  of  an  invitation  from  Holland  Lodge,  No.  ■^d,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 
held  at  the  city  of  Houston,  by  virtue  of  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Louisiana,  and  addressed  to  the  different  lodges  in  the  Republic  of  Texas,  a 
convention  of  Masons  was  held  in  the  city  of  Houston,  December  20,  1837. 
The  convention  organized  with  Brother  Sam  Houston  as  chairman  and 
Brother  Anson  Jones  as  secretary.  Delegates  were  present  from  Holland 
Lodge,  No.  36,  held  at  the  city  of  Houston ;  from  Milam  Lodge,  No.  40, 
held  at  the  town  of  Nacogdoches. 

At  their  request.  Brother  G.  H.  Winchell  was  appointed  to  represent 
McFarlane  Lodge,  No.  41,  held  at  the  town  of  St.  Augustine. 

On  motion,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  several  Lodges  of  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  now  represented,  organize  themselves 
into  a  Grand  Lodge  by  the  name  of  the  '  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Republic  of  Texas,  and  the  Masonic 
Jurisdiction  thereunto  belonging.' '' 

The  Grand  Officers  were  chosen,  and  Anson  Jones  was  elected  Grand 
Master. 

For  the  present,  the  constitution  and  regulations  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Louisiana  were  adopted,  and  a  committee  of  two  from  each  of  the  lodges 
represented  in  the  convention  was  appointed  to  draft  a  form  of  constitution 
for  the  Grand  Lodge. 

The  time  for  holding  the  first  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  the  third 
Monday  in  April,  1S3S,  and  the  place  at  the  city  of  Houston.     An  extract  of 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


345 


the  proceedings  of  the  conventfon  was  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Telegraph, 
and  the  convention  adjourned  sine  die. 

On  April  i6  (third  Monday),  1838,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Republic  of 
Texas  met  and  was  opened  in  ample  form. 

The  committee  on  constitution,  etc.,  not  being  ready  to  report,  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  called  from  labor  to  refreshment  from  time  to  time,  until  May  7, 
1838,  when  the  committee  presented  a  constitution,  which  was  read,  dis- 
cussed, and  laid  over  until  the  next  day  at  7  p.m.,  at  which  time  the  discussion 
was  continued,  and  a  new  committee  of  five  appointed  to  examine  the  con- 
stitution as  amended,  prepare  a  code  of  by-laws,  and  "  report  on  the  evening 
of  the  loth  inst.,"  at  which  time  a  constitution  was  adopted. 

At  this  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  a  charter  was  granted  to  Temple  Lodge, 
No.  4,  in  the  city  of  Houston,  —  warrants  having  been  issued  to  Holland 
Lodge,  No.  I,  Houston;  Milam  Lodge,  No.  2,  Nacogdoches;  and  McFarlane 
Lodge,  No.  3,  St.  Augustine. 

By  this  constitution  the  Grand  Lodge  was  authorized  to  collect  ^50  for  each 
dispensation,  and  $70  for  each  charter  granted,  ^2  for  each  degree  conferred 
and  each  affiliation,  $2  annually  for  each  member,  and  $5  for  each  diploma. 

These  fees  were  reduced  when  the  constitution  was  revised  in  December, 
1 84 1,  and  again  in  January,  1848,  at  which  time  Anderson's  Ancient  Charges 
were  published  with  the  constitution. 

The  constitution  provided  :  "  That  ten  per  cent  of  all  the  revenues  accruing 
to  this  Grand  Lodge  be  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  education,  and  the 
same  shall  not  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  for  any  other  purpose."  February 
2,  1840,  the  Grand  Master  was  authorized  to  employ  Brother  Walton  as 
Grand  Lecturer,  and  they  established  the  fees  for  the  degrees  and  affiliation 
in  subordinate  lodges  as  follows:  E.  A.  degree,  ^20;  passing,  $15;  rais- 
ing, $15  ;  affiliation,  $5.  These  were  reduced  at  the  annual  communication, 
in  1841,  to  the  following  rates:  initiation,  ^15;  passing,  ^10;  raising,  ^10; 
affiliation,  $3. 

The  Grand  Secretary  was  allowed  for  his  services  for  the  year  1841, 
$125,  Texas  treasury  notes  ;  and  the  Treasurer  was  authorized  to  pay  the  same. 
Texas  money,  at  that  time,  was  worth  only  about  twenty-five  cents  on  the 
dollar,  so  that  the  salary  of  the  Grand  Secretary  amounted  to  about  ^31, 
par  funds.  He  was  authorized,  in  1843,  "  to  receive  exchequer  bills,  at  par,  in 
payment  of  all  Grand  Lodge  dues  for  the  past  year."  Charters,  dispensations, 
etc.,  to  be  paid  for  in  par  funds,  or  equivalent. 

January  12,  1846,  Texas  having  been  received  into  the  family  and  sister- 
hood of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  necessary  changes  in  its  constitution 
were  made  by  dropping  the  word  "  Republic,"  and  it  became  the  "  Grand 
Lodge  of  Texas." 

At  the  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Texas,  held  January  12, 
1847,  it  was 


^.5  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  intemperate  use  of  ardent  spirits,  profane  swearing,  and  gambling  are 
derogatory  to  the  vital  principles  of  Ancient  Freemasonry,  and  that  any  brother  being  guilty  of 
either  of  these  baneful  vices,  shall  by  the  lodge  be  first  admonished,  then  reprimanded,  and  if  he 
still  persist,  it  shall  be  the  duly  of  the  lodge  to  suspend  or  expel  him. 

"  Resolved,  further.  That  any  lodge  neglecting  or  refusing  to  attend  to  the  above  duties  shall 
be  subject  to  the  censure  of  the  Grand  Lodge." 

At  the  same  communication  a  resolution  was  adopted  requesting  the 
subordinate  lodges  to  solicit,  receive,  and  report  the  names  of  individuals  who 
are  willing  to  donate  and  convey  lands  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  the  annual 
proceeds  of  which  are  to  be  applied  to  establishing  a  college. 

From  the  tone  and  spirit  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  it  is  evident  that 
the  tenets  and  principles  of  Freemasonry  were  understood  by  a  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Texas,  even  in  that  isolated  country  and 
early  day,  and  that  the  Masonic  pioneer  carried  his  Masonry  with  him  when 
he  migrated  there,  and  it  was  now  bringing  forth  good  fruit. 

During  1846  a  portion  of  the  archives,  blank  charters,  certificates,  etc.,  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  city  of  Austin. 

In  October,  1850,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  George  Fisher,  W.  M. ; 
Louis  C.  Mertens,  S.  W. ;  Julian  Pezenty,  J.W. ;  and  eight  others,  to  open 
"Union  Lodge,"  at  Panama,  New  Grenada,  which,  in  January,  1851,  was 
continued  for  another  year.  Panama  at  that  time  was  crowded  to  over- 
flowing with  people  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  on  their  way  to  or  from 
the  golden  shores  of  California ;  and  the  brethren  of  the  "  Mystic-tie  " 
residing  there  had  a  herculean  work  to  do,  which  they  nobly  performed, 
although  their  own  ranks  were  continually  changing  and  thinning  out.  A 
charter  was  granted  to  Union  Lodge,  No.  82,  on  January  21,  1852. 

In  1855  Grand  Secretary  A.  S.  Ruthven  reported  that  Union  Lodge,  No.  82, 
at  Panama,  had  surrendered  its  charter ;  but  why  it  had  done  so,  he  had  not 
been  fully  informed. 

The  Grand  Charity  and  Educational  Fund  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Texas,  in 
1857,  amounted  to  $3354.30.     In  1889  it  amounted  to  $21,000. 

All  the  lodges  that  were  represented  at  the  convention  which  organized  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Texas,  in  December,  1837,  are  now  in  existence,  strong  and 
vigorous.  They  are:  Holland  Lodge,  No.  i,  Houston;  Milam  Lodge,  No. 
2,  Nacogdoches ;  McFarlane,  now  Redland,  No.  3,  St.  Augustine. 

The  minimum  fee  for  the  degrees  is  $30.  The  amount  of  dues  charged 
in  the  subordinate  lodges  is  fixed  and  regulated  by  the  lodges  themselves, 
without  any  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

The  legislature  of  Texas  has  ever  been  in  sympathy  with,  and  friendly  to, 
the  Masonic  Fraternity,  as  was  the  Congress  of  the  Republic  of  Texas,  they 
having,  on  the  30th  of  January,  1845,  granted  articles  of  incorporation.  The 
legislature  of  the  State  again  incorporated  them,  April  28,  1846;  and  on 
March  19,  1879,  the  articles  of  incorporation  were  amended  and  renewed 
by  the  legislature. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


347 


Notwithstanding  that,  in  1835,  there  were  no  buildings  in  Texas  for  lodge 
purposes,  and  the  first  meetings  of  the  Fraternity  were  held  under  a  tree, 
there  are  now  hundreds  of  Masonic  halls  where  the  brethren  can  securely 
meet  for  the  practice  of  brotherly  love,  reUef,  and  truth.  Notable  among  these 
is  the  Grand  Lodge  Temple  in  the  city  of  Houston,  completed,  about  1873, 
at  a  cost  of  $130,000. 

The  jurisdiction  is  divided  into  fifty-two  Masonic  districts,  each  under  the 
care  and  supervision  of  a  District  Deputy  Grand  Master,  thirty-eight  of  whom 
made  their  reports  to  the  Grand  Master  before  the  last  annual  communication. 

Arkansas.  —  There  is  a  tradition,  though  vague  and  uncertain,  that  Masonry 
was  first  introduced  into  Arkansas  by  the  Spanish,  nearly  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  ago,  and  that  the  "  Post  of  Arkansas  "  was  the  place  where  they 
estabhshed  a  lodge.  How  long  it  existed,  or  what  it  did,  there  is  neither  voice 
to  answer  nor  record  to  show. 

In  the  year  18 18  Brother  Andrew  Scott  received  the  appointment  of 
Superior  Judge  of  the  Territory  of  Arkansas.  At  that  time  Brother  Scott  was 
acting  as  Worshipful  Master  of  a  Masonic  lodge  at  Potosi,  Washington  County, 
Missouri,  working  under  a  dispensation. 

As  Brother  Scott  was  about  to  leave  Potosi,  the  officers  and  brethren  of  the 
lodge  thought  it  advisable  to  surrender  their  letters  of  dispensation,  and 
accordingly  did  so.  Brother  Scott  at  the  same  time  praying  the  Grand  Lodge 
for  permission  to  retain  the  lodge  jewels  to  present  to  the  first  Masonic  lodge 
in  Arkansas,  which  was  granted. 

Brother  Scott  settled  at  the  Post  of  Arkansas,  the  then  seat  of  government 
of  the  Territory.  November  29,  1819,  a  number  of  brethren  petitioned  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky  for  a  dispensation  for  "Arkansas  Lodge,"  at  the 
Post  of  Arkansas.  A  charter  was  granted,  and  on  the  first  day  of  December 
Brother  Robert  Johnson  was  installed  Worshipful  Master  of  Arkansas  Lodge, 
U.  D.,  and  the  aforesaid  jewels  were  presented  to  said  lodge  by  Brother  Scott. 

When  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to  Little  Rock,  many  of  the 
brethren  dimitted,  and  the  lodge  surrendered  the  dispensation.  Brother 
Scott  again  obtained  permission  to  retain  the  jewels,  to  be  presented  to  the 
next  oldest  lodge  of  Arkansas  Territory. 

For  a  period  of  fifteen  years  there  seems  to  have  been  no  movement  in 
Arkansas  towards  establishing  a  Masonic  lodge.  During  this  period  the  Anti- 
Masonic  excitement  raged  with  intense  fury;  but,  in  the  year  1836,  a  number 
of  brethren  petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee  for  a  dispensation  for 
a  new  lodge  at  Fayetteville,  Washington  County,  to  be  called  "  Washington 
Lodge."  The  petition  was  granted,  and  Brother  Scott  presented  said  lodge 
with  the  aforesaid  jewels. 

In  1839  Brothers  A.  Scott,  A.  Lewis,  and  others,  upon  recommen.dation  of 
Washington  Lodge,  No.  i,  obtained  from  William  Gilchrist,  Most  Worshipful 
Grand  Master  of  Arkansas,  a  dispensation  for  Clarksville  Lodge  (afterward 


348 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


No.  57),  at  Clarksville.  Washington  Lodge,  No.  i,  having  obtained  a  charter 
and  a  new  set  of  jewels,  presented  the  aforesaid  jewels,  through  the  District 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  Clarksville  Lodge.  In  1845 
Clarksville  Lodge  surrendered  its  charter ;  and  the  Grand  Lodge  appointed 
John  H.  Strong,  Worshipful  Master  of  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  9,  to  take  possession 
of  all  money,  books,  papers,  and  furniture  belonging  to  said  lodge,  and  send 
the  same  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  granting  permission  to  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  9, 
to  retain  the  historic  jewels  for  its  own  use  and  benefit ;  in  whose  possession 
they  remained  until  October  27,  1857,  when  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  9,  by 
resolution,  presented  the  aforesaid  jewels  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas. 

On  the  2d  day  of  November,  1838,  the  following  lodges  met  in  conven- 
tion at  Little  Rock,  to  wit :  Washington  Lodge,  No.  82,  Fayetteville  ;  Western 
Star  Lodge,  No.  43,  Little  Rock ;  Morning  Star  Lodge,  No.  42,  Post  of 
Arkansas  ;  Mt.  Horeb,  U.  D.,  Washington. 

Washington  Lodge,  No.  82,  working  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Tennessee,  was  also  represented.  The  convention,  by  unanimous 
consent  of  all  the  delegates,  adopted  a  constitution  for  the  government  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas ;  whereupon  a  Grand  Lodge  was  opened  in  due 
and  ancient  form,  the  officers  thereof  were  elected  and  installed  according 
to  the  most  ancient  usages  and  customs  of  the  Fraternity ;  and,  on  the  2  7th 
day  of  November,  aforesaid,  the  convention  adjourned  svie  die. 

The  charter  of  Washington  Lodge,  No,  82,  dated  at  Nashville,  Tennessee, 
October  3,  1837,  was  found  in  a  deserted  store,  in  Fayetteville,  by  Brother  B.  F. 
Little,  of  Pioneer  Lodge,  No.  22,  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  a  member  of 
an  Iowa  Regiment,  in  October,  1862,  and  was  sent  by  him  to  A.  O.  Sullivan, 
Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri.  On  October  5,  1866, 
Brother  G.  F.  Gouley,  the  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri, 
sent  the  charter  to  Brother  W.  D.  Blocker,  at  that  time  Grand  Secretary  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas,  who,  on  November  14,  1866,  gave  it  to  Brother 
J.  H.  Van  Hoose  j  he  returned  it  to  Washington  Lodge,  No.  i,  December  7, 
1866,  and  the  lodge  on  November  27,  1879  (by  Brother  Van  Hoose),  pre- 
sented it  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas,  to  be  kept  among  its  archives. 

Of  the  old  lodges,  Washington,  No.  i  (formerly  No.  82),  Fayetteville,  and 
Western  Star,  No.  2  (formerly  No.  43),  at  Little  Rock,  still  survive  and  give 
promise  of  a  long  and  useful  future. 

Morning  Star  Lodge,  No.  3,  died  many  years  ago.  The  principal  cause  of 
its  decay  is  attributable  to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  from  the 
"Post  of  Arkansas"  to  Little  Rock. 

The  names  selected  by  the  brethren  for  Lodges  No.  2  and  No.  3,  were 
singularly  appropriate  :  Morning  Star,  No.  3,  was  chosen  for  the  lodge  at 
"  Arkansas  Post,"  being  near  the  eastern  border  of  the  territory,  while  Little 
Rock,  the  location  of  Western  Star,  No.  2,  was  on  the  western  border  of 
civihzation.    What  a  constellation  has  since  clustered  around  these  "  Stars  "  ! 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^40 

Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  No.  4,  at  Washington,  struggled  along  until  1880, 
when  it  stopped  making  its  report  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  and,  in  1884,  the 
charter  was  withdrawn. 

The  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  1838,  firmly  fixed  and  established 
Freemasonry  in  Arkansas,  although  its  progress  was  not  rapid  for  several 
years.  The  first  charters  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas  were  : 
to  Clarksville,  No.  5,  in  1839;  Van  Buren,  No.  6;  Napoleon,  No.  7;  and 
Golden  Square,  No.  8,  in  1840;  Franklin,  No.  9,  in  1843;  ^'^^  Mount  Zion, 
No.  10,  in  1844.     None  were  granted  in  1845. 

On  November  25,  1846,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas  was  duly  incorpo- 
rated by  an  act  of  legislature  of  the  State,  by  which  every  subordinate  lodge 
in  the  State  was  fairly  and  legally  protected. 

In  his  address  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  1850,  Most  Worshipful  E.  H 
Enghsh,  G.  M.,  strongly  recommended  the  establishment  of  an  educational 
institution  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  to  be  known  as  St.  John's  College.  Seven 
years  later  the  corner-stone  was  laid.  Li  1873  the  committee  on  education 
reported  that  a  wing  to  the  main  college  had  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  $16,000, 
and  that  103  students  were  in  attendance,  38  of  whom  were  beneficiaries.  In 
1877  Colonel  L.  Baier  arranged  with  the  Grand  Lodge  to  take  the  building, 
conduct  the  school,  and  pay  all  expenses.  In  1881  Colonel  Baier  was 
stricken  with  meningitis  and  resigned,  and  Colonel  W.  J.  Alexander  succeeded 
to  his  place.  In  1883  Colonel  Alexander  abandoned  his  contract,  and  the 
school  was  closed,  and  has  remained  closed.  Nor  has  the  Grand  Lodge  been 
able  to  effect  a  lease  or  sale  of  the  property. 

On  the  19th  day  of  December,  1876,  the  building  in  which  the  Masonic 
lodges  were  held,  and  in  which  was  the  Grand  Secretary's  office,  in  the  city 
of  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  was  destroyed  by  fire.  [See  note  accompanying 
statistics  of  Arkansas.]  So  quickly  did  the  fire  progress  that  neither  the 
lodge-room  nor  Grand  Secretary's  office  were  opened.  Hence  all  of  the 
records,  books,  papers,  etc.,  pertaining  to  the  Grand  Secretary's  office  were 
destroyed. 

In  1883  a  resolution  was  adopted  to  establish  a  Masonic  and  general 
library,  and  an  appropriation  of  $100  was  made  from  the  funds  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  for  library  purposes. 

After  the  annual  communication  was  closed,  on  November  28,  1888,  the 
Grand  Lodge  celebrated  its  fiftieth  anniversary.  The  hall  was  opened  to 
the  public,  and  the  gathering  was  presided  over  by  the  Grand  Master.  The 
exercises  were  opened  with  prayer.  After  the  proceedings  of  the  convention 
held  at  Little  Rock,  November  21,  1838,  which  formed  the  Grand  Lodge,  had 
been  read,  and  a  brief  histcry  of  the  lodges  represented  at  its  formation,  he 
introduced  Brother  John  P.  Karns,  a  member  of  Western  Star  Lodge,  No. 
43,  who  was  present  at  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  he  being,  so  far  as 
known,  the  only  person  then  living  who  was  present  on  that  occasion.     Brother 


2^0  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Karns,  in  an  imprompfu  way,  gave  some  very  interesting  and  entertaining  inci- 
dents connected  with  tlie  history  and  progress  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  after  which 
Past  Grand  IMaster  WilHams  delivered  a  short  address  appropriate  to  the 
occasion. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  the  brethren,  ladies,  and  visitors  repaired 
to  Concordia  Hall,  where  an  elegant  banquet  was  served  to  over  five  hundred 
persons,  and  toasts  were  given  and  appropriate  responses  made  by  Past  Grand 
Masters  Van  Hoose,  Bell,  and  others  of  Arkansas,  and  by  Most  Worshipfuls 
J.  Eichbaum  and  Nisbet  of  Pennsylvania.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  response 
to  the  twelfth  toast,  the  company  arose  and  joined  in  singing  "Auld  Lang 
Syne,"  and  dispersed. 

In  1 88 7  the  I\Iasonic  Fraternity  at  Fort  Smith,  having  in  1S70  become  the 
owners  of  a  lot,  made  a  move  towards  the  erection  of  a  temple  in  which  they 
could  hold  their  meetings,  and  be  "  at  home."  As  it  was  the  desire  of  the 
sisters  and  brothers  of  Brother  Barnard  Baier,  who  died  September  24,  1886, 
that  some  suitable  and  durable  monument  should  be  erected  to  his  memory, 
the  heirs  above  named  selected  a  committee,  requesting  them  to  formulate  a 
plan  to  carry  out  their  designs  and  wishes,  pledging  them  $10,000  towards 
its  accomplishment.  The  committee  decided  to  erect  a  memorial  edifice,  to 
be  known  as  the  "Baier  Memorial  Temple,"  which,  with  the  help  of  Brother 
J.  H.  T.  Main  (who  contributed  $4000),  and  the  Fraternity  at  Fort  Smith, 
provided  for  the  erection  of  a  fine  three-story  building,  which  was  dedicated 
to  the  uses  and  purposes  of  Freemasonry  in  due  and  ancient  form,  on  Decem- 
ber 2,  18S9,  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge. 

The  constitution  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas,  adopted  in  1873,  fixes 
the  following  rates  for  fees  and  dues,  to  wit :  for  every  dispensation,  S30,  and 
for  the  charter,  $20  additional.  Each  lodge  to  pay  the  Grand  Lodge  $5 
annually,  also  $1  for  each  degree  conferred,  and  25  cents  for  each  member 
on  the  roll  at  the  date  of  the  returns. 

The  minimum  fee  for  the  degrees  is  $25,  and  the  dues  are  fixed  and 
regulated  by  the  subordinate  lodges. 

Minnesota. — The  act  organizing  the  Territory  of  Minnesota  was  passed 
March  3,  1849.  The  Territorial  governor  arrived  in  May,  following,  and  other 
Territorial  officers  soon  thereafter.  In  the  seventh  number  of  the  Minnesota 
Chronicle,  issued  July  12,  1849,  appeared  the  following  notice  :  — 

"  Masonic  — All  members  of  the  Order  who  may  be  in  St.  Paul  en  Monday  next  (the  i6th 
inst.),  are  fraternally  invited  to  attend  a  convention  to  be  held  at  the  American  House  at  half-past 
seven  o'clock,  P.M.    Punctual  attendance  is  requested.  —  B." 

In  response  to  the  call,  a  goodly  number  assembled,  not  at  the  American 
House,  but  at  the  school-house,  and  resolved  to  apply  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ohio  for  a  dispensation  for  a  lodge  of  Masons.  A  petition  was  drawn  up,  and 
it  was  signed  by  twelve  brethren. 


MASONIC    TEMPLE,    DULUTH,    MINN. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^53 

The  dispensation  was  granted  August  8,  1849,  for  St.  Paul  Lodge,  appoint- 
ing C.  K.  Smith,  W.  M. ;  Jer.  Hughes,  S.  W. ;  and  D.  F.  Brawley,  J.  W.  The 
lodge  met  regularly,  and  they  did  considerable  work.  Owing,  however,  to 
local  troubles  in  the  lodge,  a  charter  was  not  granted  them  until  January 
24,  1853. 

On  October  12,  1S50,  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Wisconsin 
issued  a  dispensation  to  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  59,  at  Stillwater,  and  appointed 
F.  K.  Bartlett,  W.  M. ;  Benjamin  Allen,  S.  W. ;  and  William  Holcomb,  J.  W. 
On  June  9,  1852,  a  charter  was  granted.  Though  St.  Paul  Lodge  received  its 
dispensation  one  year  before  St.  John's  Lodge,  the  brethren  of  St.  John's 
Lodge  received  their  charter  over  seven  months  before  the  brethren  at 
St.  Paul. 

During  1852  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois  issued  a 
dispensation  to  Alfred  E.  Ames,  W.  M. ;  William  Smith,  S.  W. ;  Isaac  Brown, 
J.  W. ;  for  Cataract  Lodge,  No.  121,  at  St.  Anthony's  Falls,  and  on  October  5, 
1852,  a  charter  was  granted. 

Delegates  from  these  three  lodges  met  at  the  lodge-room  of  St.  Paul  Lodge, 
No.  I,  on  Wednesday,  February  23,  1853,  to  take  measures  to  form  a  Grand 
Lodge. 

Of  this  convention  Alfred  E.  Ames  was  president,  and  A.  T.  C.  Pierson, 
secretary. 

These  resolutions  were  adopted  :  — 

"  That  it  is  the  deliberate  opinion  of  this  convention  that  the  permanent  good  of  Masonry 
demands  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge  for  Minnesota. 

"That  we  proceed  to  the  preliminaries  for  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge,  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution  and  regulations  for  the  government  thereof." 

The  next  day  a  constitution  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  following 
Grand  Officers  were  elected  :  Alfred  E.  Ames,  M.  W.  G.  M. ;  A.  Goodrich, 
D.  G.  M. ;  D.  F.  Brawley,  G.  S.  W. ;  A.  Van  Vorhes,  G.  J.  W. 

The  Grand  Lodge  was  opened,  the  officers  duly  installed,  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Minnesota  legally  organized. 

Charters  were  granted  :  to  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  i ;  Cataract  Lodge,  No.  2  ; 
and  St.  Paul  Lodge,  No.  3. 

March  5,  1853,  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  Territory  granted  a  charter 
of  incorporation  to  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  charter  was  amended  February 
28,  1885,  and  is  still  in  force.  June  21,  1853,  a  dispensation  was  issued  to 
Brother  D.  M.  Coolbaugh,  \N.  M. ;  J.  N.  Barbur,  S.  W. ;  E.  A.  Hodsdon,  J.  W. ; 
for  Hennepin  Lodge,  No.  4,  at  MinneapoHs.  A  charter  was  granted  January  2, 
1 85 4,  on  which  day  a  charter  to  open  a  new  lodge  at  St.  Paul,  by  the  name 
of  "Ancient  Landmark,  No.  5,"  was  granted. 

January  i,  1855,  a  charter  was  granted  to  Shakopee  Lodge,  No.  6.  January 
9,  1856,  charters  were  granted  to  Dakota  Lodge,  No.  7,  and  Red  Wing  Lodge, 
No.  8.     The  charter  of  St.  Paul  Lodge  was  surrendered  to  the  Grand  Lodge, 


354 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


and  upon  the  petition  of  fourteen  Master  Masons,  of  St.  Paul,  praying  for  a 
charter,  one  was  granted  to  St.  Paul,  No.  3,  and  the  furniture  and  jewels  of 
the  late  St.  Paul  Lodge  were  donated  to  the  new  lodge. 

January  11,  1856,  the  revised  constitution  and  general  regulations  were 
adopted,  by  which  the  fee  for  a  charter  was  $45  ;  dispensation,  $20 ;  charter 
afterward,  S25  ;  for  every  degree  conferred,  $1  ;  and  for  every  member  of  one 
year's  standing  in  the  lodge,  $1 

January  6,  1857,  charters  were  granted  :  to  Faribault  Lodge,  No.  9  ;  Pacific 
Lodge,  No.  10;  Mantorville  Lodge,  No.  11  ;  Mankato  Lodge,  No.  12;  Hen- 
derson Lodge,  No.  13 ;  Wapahasa  Lodge,  No.  14  ;  St.  Cloud  Lodge,  No.  15  ; 
Monticello  Lodge,  No.  16  ;  Hokah  Lodge,  No.  1 7  ;  and  Winona  Lodge,  No.  18, 

January,  1858,  charters  were  granted:  to  Minneapolis  Lodge,  No.  19; 
Caledonia  Lodge,  No.  20  ;  Rochester  Lodge,  No.  21 ;  Pleasant  Grove  Lodge, 
No.  22  ;  North  Star  Lodge,  No.  23  ;  and  Wilton  Lodge,  No.  24. 

At  the  ninth  annual  communication.  Right  Worshipful  John  Penman 
presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge  a  venerable  copy  of  "  The  Bishop's  Bible," 
imprinted  at  London,  by  Robert  Baker,  a.d.  1600. 

No  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  held  in  1862. 

Most  Worshipful  A.  T.  C.  Pierson  served  as  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  from  January,  1856,  to  October,  1863. 

April  21,  1868,  the  entire  property  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  including  the  Grand  Lodge  library,  in  which  were  the  pro- 
ceedings of  its  sister  Grand  Lodges  and  all  of  its  own,  prior  to  that  date. 

In  January,  1869,  the  Grand  Lodge  dedicated  the  lodge-room  of  the  new 
Masonic  hall  at  St.  Paul. 

The  three  original  lodges  which  formed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota, 
except  that  of  St.  Paul,  No.  3,  which  was  reorganized  in  1856,  are  still  on  the 
roll  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  are  in  a  flourishing  condition.  The  Grand 
Lodge  adopted  the  "  Anderson  Constitutions  "  as  the  basis  of  their  constitution. 
The  i?iinimum  fee  for  the  degrees  is  ^15,  though  most  city  lodges  charge 
$50,  and  elsewhere,  usually,  $30.  Each  lodge  regulates  its  own  dues  ;  but  they 
are  required  to  pay  to  the  Grand  Lodge  $\  for  each  degree  conferred,  and 
40  cents,  annually,  for  each  member.  The  dues  in  subordinate  lodges  vary  from 
$2  to  $4. 

June  24,  1856,  was  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  State  Historical  Society 
building,  and  also  the  proposed  Masonic  Temple  at  St.  Paul.  The  following 
corner-stones  of  public  buildings  in  Minnesota  have  been  laid  by  the  Grand 
Lodge : — 

Aug.  II,  1874 Masonic  Hall  at  East  Minneapolis. 

Oct.  13,  1885 Court-House  and  City  Hall,  St.  Paul  — 2000  Masons  in  line. 

May  29,  1886 Exposition  Building,  Minneapolis. 

Aug.  9,  1887 State  School  for  Dependent  Children  at  Owatonna. 

June  20,  1888 new  City  Hall,  Winona. 

Sept.  4,  1888 Masonic  Temple,  Minneapolis  —  cost  $350,000. 

June    9,  1889 Public  School,  Worthington  — cost  330,000. 

July  4,  1889 Masonic  Temple,  Litchfield. 

Aug.  28,  1889 Masonic  Temple,  Duluth. 


MASONIC    TEMPLE,    MINNEAPOLIS,    MINN. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


357 


Owing  to  the  financial  depression  of  1857,  the  Masonic  Hall,  the  erection 
of  which  was  commenced  in  1856  at  St.  Paul,  passed  into  other  hands,  and 
was  completed  for  other  uses. 

Cataract  Lodge,  No.  2,  at  Minneapolis,  in  1874  erected  a  Masonic  hall, 
which  they  still  occupy.  This  was  the  first  one  built  in  the  State,  of  which 
there  are  now  quite  a  number,  notably  at  Litchfield,  Mankato,  Red  Wood 
Falls,  Winona,  Minneapolis,  and  Duluth. 

The  Minneapolis  Temple  at  Minneapolis  is  just  completed  at  a  cost  of 
over  $300,000.  Its  dimensions  are  88  feet  on  Hennepin  Avenue  by  153  feet 
on  Sixth-street,  and  it  is  eight  stories  high.  It  contains  three  "  Blue  "  Lodge 
hallSj  a  Chapter,  Council,  and  Commandery  hall,  a  Consistory  hall,  armory 
and  drill  room,  80  by  114  feet,  and  is  without  doubt  the  most  complete  and 
elegant  Masonic  edifice  in  the  North-West,  and  of  which  (by  the  courtesy  of 
Brother  John  A.  Schlener),  we  give  an  illustration.^ 

The  Masonic  Temple  at  Duluth,  now  in  process  of  erection,  will,  when 
completed,  be  as  well  adapted  for  the  uses  of  the  various  Masonic  bodies,  and 
fully  as  comfortable  and  convenient,  as  the  Temple  at  Minneapolis,  though  not 
as  large  or  imposing  a  structure. 

At  the  time  of  the  fire,  in  1868,  the  Grand  Lodge  had  quite  a  Masonic 
library,  and  there  were  therein  several  very  rare  and  valuable  works,  which 
cannot  be  replaced.  Within  the  past  year  provisions  have  been  made  for 
building  up  the  Grand  Lodge  library.  Recently  the  widow  of  the  late  Grand 
Secretary,  Mrs.  Pierson,  has  presented  the  Grand  Lodge  with  his  fine  hbrary. 

Missouri.  —  To  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  early  history  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  it  is  well  known  that  the  first  settlers  of  Upper  Louisiana  (as 
Missouri  was  formerly  called),  were  French,  who  came  by  the  way  of  Canada. 

To  facilitate  and  protect  communication  between  Canada  and  her  posses- 
sions in  the  Mississippi  Valley  was  a  favorite  scheme  with  France  ;  and,  in  order 
to  effect  this,  she  caused  a  chain  of  military  posts  to  be  established  along  the 
lakes,  and  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Settlements  rapidly  sprang  up 
between  these  posts,  one  of  which,  St.  Genevieve,  was  of  some  importance  as 
early  as  1763. 

Here  was  concentrated  the  lead  trade,  as  also  a  trade  in  furs  and  peltries. 
In  November,  1763,  Pierre  Liguiste  Laclede,  who  had  received  from  the 
Director  General  the  exclusive  privilege  to  trade  with  the  Indians  of  Missouri 
and  those  west  of  the  Mississippi,  arrived  at  St.  Genevieve  ;  but  finding  no 
place  suitable  for  the  storage  of  his  goods,  and  being  still  too  far  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri  River,  proximity  to  which  was  an  object  of  great 

1  It  is  built  of  Ohio  white  sand-stone,  and,  architecturally  speaking,  is  of  Romanesque  design. 
The  Hennepin  Avenue  front  is  interspersed  with  numerous  striking  features,  emblematic  of  the 
Masonic  Order,  always  welcome  to  the  eye  of  the  Craft.  The  building  is  thoroughly  fire-proof  in 
construction,  and  its  interior  arrangements  for  light,  heat,  ventilation,  and  access  are  the  very  best 
known  to  modern  science  and  experience.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  (1888)  by  the  Grand 
Master  of  Minnesota,  Hon.  John  H.  Brown,  assisted  by  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  on 
that  memorable  occasion,  able  and  interesting  addresses  were  also  made  by  Hon.  William  Lochren 
and  the  Rev.  Robert  Forbes. 


oeS  COSMOPOLITAN-  FREEMASONRY. 

importance  to  him,  he  started  on  a.  reconnoitring  trip  up  the  Mississippi 
River.  On  the  15th  of  February,  1764,  Laclede  and  his  party  landed  at 
the  spot  where  the  city  of  St.  Louis  now  stands.  Here  they  proceeded  to  cut 
down  the  trees  and  draw  the  lines  of  a  town,  which,  in  honor  of  Louis  XV. 
of  France,  he  named  St.  Louis,  a  town  which  afterward  became  the  capital  of 
Upper  Louisiana,  and  is  now  the  commercial  capital  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 
In  those  days  Philadelphia  was  the  leading  commercial  city  of  the  United 
States ;  and  it  was  from  Philadelphia  that  the  merchants  of  St.  Genevieve  and 
St.  Louis  procured  their  goods,  and  thither  they  went  once  in  every  year  for 
that  purpose. 

Several  of  them,  while  in  that  city,  on  one  of  these  occasions,  were  initiated 
into  our  mysteries  in  the  old  French  Lodge,  No.  73  on  the  Register  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania ;  in  process  of  time  there  were  numbers  to 
warrant  them  in  taking  the  necessary  steps  to  form  a  lodge.  Accordingly,  on 
proper  appUcation,  in  the  year  1807-8,  a  warrant  of  constitution  was  granted, 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  for  Louisiana  Lodge,  No.  109,  to  be 
held  in  the  town  of  St.  Genevieve,  Territory  of  Louisiana,  Otho  Strader  being 
its  first  Master,  Dr.  Aaron  Elliott  and  Joseph  Hertick,  Wardens.  It  included 
Pierre  Chouteau  and  Bartholomew  Berthold,  the  founders  of  the  great  fur 
company,  and  many  of  those  who  were  subsequently  prominent  merchants  of 
St.  Louis,  and  others,  became  members  of  this  lodge.  This  was  the  first  lodge 
established  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Missouri. 

During  the  War  of  181 2  affairs  in  this  Territory  were  much  disturbed 
and  unsettled,  resulting  in  the  decline  of  work  in  the  lodge,  until,  finally, 
about  the  year  1825,  it  entirely  ceased  its  work. 

In  the  year  1809-10  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  granted  a  charter 
to  St.  Louis  Lodge,  No.  iii.  When  this  lodge  commenced  its  labors,  zvho 
were  its  officers,  or  when  it  ceased  to  exist,  I  have  not  been  able  to  procure 
information. 

A  dispensation  for  a  lodge  at  the  town  of  Jackson,  now  in  the  county  of 
Cape  Girardeau,  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Indiana,  in  1820;  and, 
subsequently,  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  on  October  3,  1815,  granted  a  dispen- 
sation to  Missouri  Lodge,  No.  12,  in  St.  Louis,  in  the  Missouri  Territory; 
and,  on  October  8,  1816,  they  granted  a  charter  for  the  same.  A  dispensation 
was  granted  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  of  Tennessee,  on  Novem- 
ber 28,  1818,  to  Elkton  Lodge,  No.  24,  at  or  near  Elkton;  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  granted  a  charter  thereto,  October  3,  181 9. 

The  Grand  Master  of  Tennessee  also  issued  a  dispensation,  November  28, 
1818,  to  "Joachim"  Lodge,  No.  25,  at  Herculaneum,  Missouri  Territory. 
On  October  5,  1819,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee  granted  a  charter  to  the 
same.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  on  July  5,  181 9,  granted  a  dispen- 
sation to  St.  Charles  Lodge,  No.  28,  at  St.  Charles.     On  October  5,  181 9, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ofg 

a  charter  was  granted  to  the  same.  The  name  was  changed,  February,  1821, 
to  "  Hiram,"  under  a  new  charter.  The  annual  returns  of  these  lodges,  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  together  with  many  valuable  records  and 
papers  of  interest  to  the  Masonic  student  and  historian,  were  destroyed  in 
Tennessee  during  the  late  Civil  War,  and  it  is  not  possible  now  to  obtain  a 
roll  of  their  membership  between  181 6  and  1820. 

On  the  22d  day  of  February,  1821,  in  pursuance  of  an  invitation  sent  by 
Missouri  Lodge,  No.  12,  to  the  several  lodges  in  the  State,  the  representatives 
of  these  lodges  assembled  in  the  hall  of  Missouri  Lodge,  No.  12,  in 
St.  Louis,  and  resolved  to  organize  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State  of  Missouri. 
They  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  same  place,  April  23,  182 1,  and  organized  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri.  The  lodges  represented  were  :  Missouri,  No.  12  ; 
Joachim,  No.  26  ;  and  St.  Charles,  No.  28.  Joachim  Lodge,  No.  2,  ceased  to 
work  April  7,  1825,  when  its  charter  was  arrested;  and,  on  April  4,  1826, 
Hiram  Lodge,  No.  3,  at  St.  Charles,  surrendered  its  charter,  leaving  Missouri 
Lodge,  No.  I,  the  only  survivor  of  the  lodges  which  organized  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Missouri.  The  last  of  the  original  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Missouri,  in  1821,  was  Brother  John  D.  Daggett  of  Missouri  Lodge,  No.  i, 
P.  D.  G.  ]\L,  P.  G.  Treas.,  and  P.  G.  Sec,  who  died  in  St.  Louis,  May  10,  1874, 
in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 

At  the  meeting  held  April  21,  1821,  the  proceedings  of  convention,  held 
February  22, 182 1,  were  read,  and  the  convention  adjourned  until  the  next  day, 
at  3  o'clock  P.M. ;  at  which  time  they  met,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  and  the 
representative  from  St.  Charles  Lodge,  No.  28,  having  arrived  and  taken  his 
seat,  made  the  constitutional  number  of  subordinate  lodges  necessary  to 
organize  a  Grand  Lodge.  All  Past  Masters  present  were  allowed  to  vote  at 
this  meeting.  An  election  of  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  was  then  held,  and 
the  Grand  Officers  were  elected.  Brother  T.  F.  Reddick  having  been  chosen 
as  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master. 

The  first  semi-annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri 
was  held  at  St.  Louis,  May  4,  182 1.  A  procession  was  formed  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Baptist  church,  where  the  ceremony  of  the  installation  of  the 
Grand  Officers  was  performed,  in  conformity  with  the  ancient  customs  of 
the  Fraternity.  The  procession  was  again  formed  and  the  brethren  returned 
to  the  lodge-room.  A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  draft  a  code  of 
by-laws,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  adjourned  until  •'  to-morrow  evening  at  6 
o'clock  ;  "  at  which  time  the  committee  on  by-laws  reported  a  code,  consisting 
of  twenty  sections,  which  were  severally  read  and  adopted.  Provisions  were 
made  for  granting  new  charters  to  the  subordinate  lodges,  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion, and  for  sending  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  to  each  of  such  lodges ;  when 
the  Grand  Lodge  adjourned  until  4  o'clock  p.m..  May  6,  182 1. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  met  pursuant  to  adjournment.  The  Most 
Worshipful   Grand   Master  was  authorized  to  open  communication  with  the 


^gQ  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

different  Grand  Lodges  in  the  United  States,  and  the  Grand  Secretary  was 
authorized  to  print  fifty  copies  of  the  by-laws,  constitution  and  proceedings  of 
the  Grand  Lodge,  for  the  use  of  Grand  Lodges.  On  the  loth  day  of  August, 
182 1,  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  granted  letters  of  dispensation  to 
Harmony  Lodge,  No.  4,  at  Louisiana. 

The  first  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  A.  F. 
and  A.  M.,  was  held  at  St.  Louis,  October  i,  1821. 

A  communication  was  received  from  Brother  Samuel  A.  January,  of  Har- 
mony Lodge,  No.  4,  that  by  virtue  of  an  authority  given  by  the  Most  Worshipful 
Grand  Master  he,  on  the  25th  day  of  September,  182 1,  proceeded  to  constitute 
and  consecrate  said  lodge,  and  to  install  the  officers  thereof  in  form  ;  and  it 
being  represented  that  the  letter  of  dispensation  granted  to  said  lodge  had 
been  considered  by  them  as  a  charter,  it  was,  —  on  motion,  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  charter  granted  to  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  4,  by  the  Most  Worshipful 
Grand  Master  '  in  Vacation,"  be  recognized  and  confirmed." 

A  petition  for  a  charter  was  received  from  Unity  Lodge,  Jackson,  Missouri. 
It  was  granted,  on  condition  that  the  petitioners  procure  a  recommendation 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Indiana,  "  by  whose  authority  they  had  worked 
under  dispensation." 

It  appears  that  $19.75  was  collected  at  this  meeting  for  the  charity  fund 
of  the  Grand  Lodge,  which  dates  from  the  first  communication.  The  receipts 
were  $96.50. 

A  charter  was  granted  to  Olive  Branch  Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Alton,  Illinois,  and 
to  Franklin  Union  Lodge,  No.  7  ;  also  letters  of  dispensation  for  a  lodge  at 
Vandalia,  Illinois,  at  the  semi-annual  communication,  held  in  St.  Louis,  April 
I,  1822. 

The  Grand  Lecturer  reported  that  he  had  visited  nearly  every  lodge  in  the 
State,  having  been  engaged  fifty-six  days  in  visiting  and  lecturing,  with  marked 
success.  At  this  communication  charters  were  granted  :  for  Vandalia  Lodge, 
No.  8  ;  Sangamon  Lodge,  No.  9  ;  and  Eden  Lodge,  No.  10. 

At  the  semi-annual  communication  April  7,  1823,  the  question  of  forming 
a  General  Grand  Lodge  of  the  United  States  was  introduced  and  discussed, 
and  while  in  favor  of  a  general  convention  of  delegates  from  the  several 
Grand  Lodges  in  the  United  States,  the  Grand  Lodge  thought  it  "  impohtic 
and  unnecessary  "  to  establish  a  General  Grand  Lodge. 

August  31,  1828,  the  foundation-stone  of  a  Presbyterian  church,  about  to 
be  erected  at  St.  Louis,  was  laid. 

April  29.  1825,  a  special  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  held  at  St. 
Louis.  The  Chair  stated  that  General  Lafayette,  a  Brother  Mason  and  an 
Officer  of  the  Revolution,  had  arrived  in  the  city,  and,  on  motion,  he  was 
duly  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  wait  upon  Brother  Lafayette,  inform  him  of  his  election  as  an 
honorary  member,  and  to  solicit   his   attendance   at  the   present   meeting. 


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VROPOoBD    MASONIC    TEMPLE,    KANSAS   CITY.    MO. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


363 


After  a  short  absence  the  committee  returned,  accompanied  by  Brother 
Lafayette  and  his  son,  George  Washington  Lafayette,  who  were  received  by 
the  Lodge  standing,  and  an  address  deUvered,  to  which  Brother  Lafayette 
rephed,  and  was  then  conducted  to  a  chair  in  the  Grand  East. 

On  motion,  a  ballot  was  taken  and  Brother  George  Washington  Lafayette 
was  duly  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  Brother  Lafay- 
ette again  addressed  the  Lodge,  and  with  his  son  withdrew. 

The  communications  were  regularly  held  in  April  and  October,  of  every 
year  during  the  Anti-iNLasonic  excitement,  until  October,  1S32,  when,  —  in 
accordance  with  a  resolution  passed  on  April  3,  1832,  "that  hereafter  this 
Grand  Lodge  shall  hold  one  communication  in  the  year,  which  shall  be  on 
the  first  Monday  of  October,"  —  the  Grand  Lodge  convened  October  9,  1S33, 
and,  after  a  two  days'  session,  adjourned  to  meet  at  Columbia,  on  Monday, 
December  2,  1833,  where  a  session  lasting  two  days  was  held.  The  annual 
communication  of  1834  was  held  at  the  same  place,  November  13th,  and  14th. 

No  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  held  in  1835,  and  the  Grand 
Officers  elected  in  1834  held  over  until  1836.  The  communication  of  1836 
was  held  at  Columbia.  October  3d,  4th,  and  5th,  the  officers  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  were  elected  and  installed,  the  Grand  Treasurer  ordered  to  transmit 
the  records  and  effects  of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  St.  Louis  within  a  reasonable 
time,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  was  duly  closed.  The  annual  communications  for 
1837-38-39  and  40,  were  held  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  in  October  of  each  year. 

In  1840  a  revised  code  of  by-laws  was  submitted  and  adopted.  Article  L 
of  which  provided,  that 

"  The  annual  meetings  of  the  Grand  Lodge  shall  be  held  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  on  the 
second  Monday  of  October  in  each  and  every  year,"  etc. 

Section  10  fixed  the  fee  for  warrants  of  dispensation,  $20 ;  charter  or  con- 
stitution, $10,  with  an  additional  fee  of  $3  to  be  paid  to  the  Grand  Secretary. 

Subordinate  lodges^  were  required  to  pay  75  cents  annually  to  the  Grand 
Lodge,  for  each  member  belonging  to  their  lodge  at  the  time  of  making  their 
annual  reports;  and  also,  25  cents,  annually,  for  each  member  thereof,  as  a 
Grand  Charity  Fund. 

In  1 88 1  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  the  advisabihty  of  estab- 

1  The  fine  illustration  is  that  of  a  Temple,  in  course  of  construction  at  Kansas  City,  to  cost 
;jS5oo,ooo.  The  expense  of  the  site  was  ^165,000.  The  Kansas  City  Journal  of  January  25,  1891, 
says :  "  According  to  the  plans  the  Temple  will  be  nine  stories  in  height  above  the  basement,  and 
will  have  a  frontage  of  140  feet  on  Baltimore  Avenue,  142  feet  on  Tenth-street,  and  it  will  extend 
back  to  the  alleys  on  the  north  and  east  side  of  the  site.  The  main  entrance  of  the  building  will 
be  twenty-five  feet  wide,  and  it  will  be  on  Tenth-street,  on  a  level  with  the  sidewalk.  'I'he  distance 
from  the  sidewalk  on  the  Tenth-street  front  to  the  top  of  the  cornice  will  be  124  feet.  In  the 
centre  of  the  building  will  be  a  tower  or  belfry  224  feet  in  height  above  the  sidewalk.  .  .  .  The 
main  halls  above  the  first  story  of  the  building  will  be  fourteen  feet  wide,  and  the  side  halls  eight 
feet  wide.  They  will  be  finished  with  tesselated  marble  floors  and  marble  wainscoting,  and  the 
Masonic  lodge-rooms,  halls,  and  apartments  will  be  finished  in  hard  wood,  and  embellished  with 
beautiful  decorations  and  hangings.  In  all  the  different  Masonic  departments  new  features  lor 
conferring  degrees  will  be  introduced,  which  will  not  be  found  in  any  other  secret  society  temple  in 
the  United  States."  — ED. 


264  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

lishing  an  "  Indigent  Home  "  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  mem- 
bers. This  committee  was  continued  until  the  annual  communication  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  in  1884,  when  they  made  a  report  favoring  the  enterprise.  In 
1885  the  committee  submitted  a  printed  report;  a  Board  of  Directors  was 
elected  and  organized,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  pledged  $10,000  to  the  "Masonic 
Home."  In  18S7  the  Directors  reported  that  the  proceeds  from  "Charity 
Day,"  during  the  Knights  Templar  conclave  week,  in  September,  1886,  was 
$32,000,  and  that  they  held  pledges  from  Masonic  bodies  or  individuals 
amounting  to  $37,442.  Noah  M.  Given,  the  President  of  the  Board  of 
Directors,  made  a  comprehensive  report  to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  its  session  in 
1888,  who  said  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Board  that  the  Home 
should  be  located  near  St.  Louis. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1888,  the  Board  of  Directors 
selected  and  purchased  a  tract  of  fifteen  acres  of  ground,  on  Delmar  Avenue, 
West  St.  Louis,  on  which  was  a  two-story  brick  building  with  mansard  roof, 
containing  twenty  rooms,  with  out-buildings  and  improvements,  for  $40,000. 

A  superintendent  and  a  matron  were  selected,  and  took  possession  of  the 
"  Home  "  April  i,  1889.  It  was  dedicated  by  the  Grand  Lodge  June  15,  1889  ; 
and  on  July  31,  1889,  the  report  shows  that  the  assets  of  the  Home  were  nearly 
$100,000  more  than  their  liabilities.     Certainly  a  most  creditable  showing. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  has  always  been  a  most  zealous  opponent  of 
intemperance,  gambling,  and  kindred  vices,  and,  in  1887,  declared  saloon- 
keeping  to  be  a  Masonic  offence. 

Iowa.  —  A  dispensation  was  granted  by  the  Right  Worshipful  Joab  Bernard, 
of  St.  Louis,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  to  Hiram 
C.  Bennett,  M.  ;  William  Thompson,  S.  W. ;  and  Evan  Evans,  J.  W. ;  to  consti- 
tute Des  Moines  Lodge,  at  Burlington,  Des  Moines  County,  Iowa.  It  was 
duly  constituted,  November  20,  1840;  and,  on  October  20,  1841,  a  charter 
was  granted,  by  the  name  of  Des  Moines  Lodge,  No.  41. 

Iowa  Lodge,  at  Bloomington  (afterwards  Muscatine),  in  Muscatine  County, 
was  constituted  February  4,  1841,  by  dispensation  granted  by  the  same 
authority.  On  the  20th  of  October,  1841,  a  charter  was  granted  this  lodge, 
by  the  name  of  Iowa  Lodge,  No.  42. 

Dubuque  Lodge,  at  Dubuque,  county  of  Dubuque,  was  constituted  Octo- 
ber 10,  1842,  by  dispensation;  and  on  the  loth  of  October,  1843,  Dubuque 
Lodge,  No.  62,  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri. 

On  October  10,  1842,  Iowa  City  Lodge,  at  Iowa  City,  was  constituted  by 
dispensation;  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  granted  a  charter  to  Iowa 
Lodge,  No.  63,  October  10,  1843. 

A  Masonic  convention  was  held  at  Iowa  City,  Iowa  Territory,  on  the  loth 
day  of  May,  1843,  composed  of  delegates  from  Iowa,  Dubuque,  and  Iowa 
City  lodges. 

In  pursuance  of  a  resolution,  the  representatives  of  the  several  lodges 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


365 


above  named  met  at  the  hall  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  on  the  nth  day 
of  October,  1843,  and  recommended  that  the  chartered  lodges  of  the  Territory 
meet  in  convention  at  Iowa  City,  on  the  first  Tuesday  (2d  day)  of  January, 
1844;  and  further,  that  they  take  with  them  the  charter  and  by-laws  of  their 
several  lodges,  and  deposit  the  same  with  the  Grand  Lodge  at  its  formation. 

A  meeting  of  delegates  from  the  four  chartered  lodges  of  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  in  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  working  under  charters  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  assembled  at  the  hall  of  Iowa  City  Lodge, 
No.  (>T^,  in  Iowa  City,  Iowa  Territory,  on  the  2d  day  of  January,  1844,  in 
pursuance  of  a  recommendation  of  the  convention  of  the  representatives  from 
the  lodges  aforesaid,  held  at  the  hall  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  at  its 
annual  communication,  in  October,  1843.     ^^  was 

"Resolved,  That  delegates  in  attendance  from  lodges  in  the  Territory  working  under  dispen- 
sation [Keokuk  and  Clinton],  in  good  standing  with  their  Grand  Lodges,  be  permitted  to  take 
seats  in  this  body,  and  participate  in  its  discussions." 

The  delegates  from  lodges  under  dispensation,  however,  did  not  avail 
themselves  of  the  privileges  extended  to  them  by  the  resolution. 

The  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  were  elected,  as  follows  :  Oliver 
Cock,  M.  W.  G.  M.  ;  Timothy  Fanning,  G.  S.  W.  ;  William  Reynolds,  G.  J.  W. ; 
B.  S.  Olds,  G.  T. ;  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  G.  S.  The  convention,  on  motion, 
adjourned  sine  die. 

Right  Worshipful  Ansel  Humphreys,  D.  D.  G.  M.,  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Missouri,  as  Grand  Master,  pro  tempore,  thereof,  assisted  by  Brothers  Stephen 
Whicher  and  Isaac  Magoon,  of  Bloomington,  as  Grand  Junior  and  Senior  War- 
dens,/r^  te^npore,  Brother  T.  S.  Wilson  of  Dubuque,  as  Deputy  Grand  Master, 
pro  tempore,  and  Brother  Joseph  Williams  of  Bloomington,  as  Grand  Secre- 
tary,/;-^ tempore,  opened  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  in  the  Third  degree,  in 
due  and  ancient  form,  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Iowa  and  installing  the  Grand  Officers- elect  of  the  same  ;  when  the  Grand 
Officers-elect,  and  brothers,  under  the  direction  of  Brother  H.  T.  Hugins  of 
Burlington,  Grand  Marshal,/;-<7  tejnpore,  marched  in  procession  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  where  an  oration  was  delivered  by  the  Honorable  Brother 
Joseph  Williams,  the  Grand  Officers-elect  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  were 
installed,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  constituted  in  due  and  ancient  form.  The 
procession  returned  to  the  hall  of  Iowa  City  Lodge,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Missouri  was  closed.  Then  Brother  Humphreys  inducted  Most  Worshipful 
Oliver  Cock,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  into  the  Oriental 
Chair,  who  ordered  the  Grand  Secretary  to  summon  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa. 
This  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  pro- 
ceeded to  open  the  same  in  due  and  ancient  form,  in  the  Third  degree. 

Charters  were  granted  as  follows  :  Des  Moines  Lodge,  No.  i,  at  Burlington  ; 
Iowa  Lodge,  No.  2,  at  Bloomington;  Dubuque  Lodge,  No.  3,  at  Dubuque; 
and  Iowa  City  Lodge,  No.  4,  at  Iowa  City. 


256  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  movement  thus  inaugurated  was  ordered  continued  :  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  next  installation  of  Grand  Officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  be  in  public,  and 
the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  procure  some  brother  to  deliver  an  address  on  the  occasion." 

The  Grand  Lodge  was  then  called  from  labor  to  refreshment.  On  Tuesday 
morning,  the  Grand  Lodge  was  called  to  labor  again.  Clinton  Lodge  at 
Davenport,  Keokuk  Lodge  at  Keokuk,  and  Rising  Sun  Lodge  at  Montrose, 
surrendered  their  dispensations  and  charters,  and  took  charters  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa. 

In  1847  the  Most  Worshipful  Oliver  Cock,  G.  M.,  in  his  opening  address, 
among  other  matters  called  the  attention  of  the  Grand  Lodge  to  the  subject 
of  a  Masonic  library  ;  to  which  he  alludes  as  follows  :  — 

"  It  has  been  suggested  to  me  that,  if  a  certain  amount  of  the  funds  of  the  Grand  Lodge  should 
be  set  apart  each  year  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  books  for  the  Grand  Lodge,  a  very  respectable 
library  might  thus  be  collected  without  the  amount  expended  being  felt  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 
This  seems  to  me  a  matter  worthy  of  your  consideration." 

The  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee,  who  reported  as  follows  :  — 

"The  subject  appears  to  be  one  of  very  great  importance  to  the  interests  of  Masonry,  more 
so  to  us,  perhaps,  in  the  far  West,  where  the  means  of  obtaining  Masonic  information  is  much 
more  limited  than  in  older  settled  countries." 

The  committee  admitted  that  the  finances  of  the  Grand  Lodge  would  not 
then  allow  the  expenditure  of  money,  even  for  so  desirable  an  object,  yet 
believed  that  something  should  be  done,  and  a  commencement  made ;  and 
recommended  that  an  appropriation  of  five  dollars  be  voted,  to  be  expended 
under  the  direction  of  the  Grand  Secretary,  for  procuring  such  information  in 
furtherance  of  this  object  as  he  may  see  proper.  With  this  "fund"  the  Grand 
Secretary  procured  a  copy  of  the  "Trestle  Board";  one  of  the  "Masonic 
Melodies,"  by  Brother  Powers  of  Massachusetts ;  a  copy  of  the  "  Book  of  the 
Masonic  Constitutions,"  published  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  subscribed  for  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Freemason's 
Monthly  Magazine.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Masonic  library  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa.  To  this,  through  the  zeal  and  exertion  of  Most 
AVorshipful  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  have  been  added  year  by  year  such  works 
of  Masonic  literature  as  could  be  found,  until,  in  1883,  the  Grand  Lodge 
purchased  the  entire  "Bower  Collection,"  for  the  sum  of  $4000;  a  collection 
that  Most  Worshipful  Robert  F.  Bower,  late  of  Keokuk,  had  been  years  in 
collecting,  and  which  could  not  be  duplicated  for  twice  the  amount  the  Grand 
Lodge  paid  therefor.  This  collection  contained  over  2700  bound  volumes  of 
miscellaneous  works,  besides  a  very  large  number  of  Masonic  periodicals,  pro- 
ceedings, pamphlets,  addresses,  medals,  etc. 

In  1883  the  Grand  Lodge  appointed  a  committee  on  construction  of  a 
library  building.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  May  7,  1884,  and  one  year 
later  the  library  was  moved  into  the  building,  and  the  rooms  opened  to  the 
public.    The  building  erected  for  the  library  and  Grand  Lodge  purposes  is 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


369 


located  at  Cedar  Rapids.  It  was  intended  to  be  fire-proof,  so  that  to-day  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  has,  without  doubt,  the  best  Masonic  Ubrary  in  the 
United  States,  if  not  in  the  world.     Of  this  building  we  give  an  illustration. 

The  value  of  the  real  estate  owned  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  for  the 
Grand  Lodge  Masonic  Library,  is  ^5000 ;  value  of  building,  $35,000 ;  of 
library,  $35,000;  of  its  archaeological  and  miscellaneous  collection,  $5000; 
making  a  total  of  $80,000.  A  catalogue  of  the  library  was  published  with 
the  proceedings  in  1858,  and  one  published  separately  in  1873  and  1883  : 
the  last  included  the  "Bower  Collection." 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  was  formed  under  the  "  Anderson  Constitu- 
tions," and  uses  the  "  Webb  work."  The  Grand  Lodge,  as  well  as  its 
subordinates,  has  always  responded  promptly  and  nobly  when  called  upon 
for  aid  and  assistance  by  the  unfortunate,  either  at  home  or  abroad. 

The  Fraternity  has  erected  Masonic  Temples,  or  halls,  at  Muscatine,  Osca- 
loosa.  Council  Bluffs,  Davenport,  and  Lyons.  The  one  at  Lyons  was  erected 
by  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  in  1871,  and  is  still  occupied  by 
them,  in  connection  with  the  bodies  of  the  "York  Rite." 

The  mini  in  urn  fee  for  the  degrees  is  $20,  and  the  dues  $2. 

Dakota.  —  It  can  truthfully  be  said  that,  Masonically,  Dakota  is  Iowa's 
daughter;  for,  on  the  27th  day  of  April,  1862,  Most  Worshipful  Thomas  H. 
Benton,  Jr.,  issued  a  dispensation  to  T.  J.  Dewitt,  W.  M. ;  A.  G.  Fuller,  S.  W. ; 
M.  R.  Luse,  J.  W.,  and  seven  others,  to  open  Dakota  Lodge  at  Fort  Randall, 
Dakota  Territory ;  and  at  the  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Iowa,  held  at  Keokuk  June  4,  1862,  this  dispensation  was  referred  to  the 
Grand  Master  to  renew,  if  he  deemed  it  for  the  interests  of  the  Craft. 

On  August  10,  1862,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  Jr.,  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the 
29th  Regiment,  Iowa  Infantry,  —  hence  he  had  very  little  time  to  devote  to 
his  duties  as  Grand  Master,  which  devolved  upon  E.  A.  Guilbert,  D.  G.  M. 
In  his  address  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  June  2,  1862,  Deputy  Grand 
Master  Guilbert  makes  no  allusion  to  Dakota  Lodge,  or  its  dispensation, — 
hence  I  judge  it  was  not  renewed,  —  but  he  reports  that,  on  December  5,  1862, 
he  issued  to  the  Rev.  Melancthon  Hoyt,  and  the  requisite  number  of  brethren, 
a  dispensation  to  form  a  lodge  at  Yankton,  Dakota  Territory. 

A  charter  was  granted  to  this  lodge  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  on  June 
3,  1863,  as  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  166.  The  original  petition  for  this  lodge 
was  presented  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota  May  2,  1889. 

January  14,  1869,  the  Grand  Master  of  Iowa  granted  a  dispensation  to 
organize  Incense  Lodge,  at  Vermillion,  Dakota,  and  on  June  2,  1869,  a  charter 
was  granted  to  Incense  Lodge,  No.  257. 

Most  Worshipful  John  Scott,  Grand  Master  of  Iowa,  on  March  23,  1870, 
issued  a  dispensation  to  open  a  lodge  at  Elk  Point,  Union  County,  Dakota, 
which  in  June,  1870,  was  conditionally  continued  for  one  year;  and  on  June 
8,  187 1,  a  charter  was  granted  to  Elk  Point  Lodge,  No.  288,  located  at  Elk 
Point,  Dakota. 


o^O  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  Grand  Master  of  Iowa,  on  July  13,  1S73,  issued  a  dispensation  to 
open  Minnehaha  Lodge,  at  Sioux  Falls,  Dakota.  And  on  June  4,  1874,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  granted  a  charter  to  the  same,  numbered  328. 

On  February  6,  1875,  the  Grand  Master  of  Iowa  granted  a  dispensation  to 
form  and  open  Silver  Star  Lodge  at  Canton,  Lincoln  County,  Dakota,  and 
also,  on  February  16,  1875,  to  open  Mount  Zion  Lodge  at  Springfield,  Bon 
Homme  County :  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  granted  charters  to  Silver  Star 
Lodge,  No.  345,  and  Mount  Zion  Lodge,  No.  346,  on  June  3,  1875. 

This  comprises  all  the  lodges  in  Dakota,  chartered  prior  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  in  1875  ;  and,  as  the  dispensations  and 
charters  were  all  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Dakota  is  her  legitimate  offspring. 

A  convention  of  delegates,  from  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  166;  Incense 
Lodge,  No.  257;  Elk  Point  Lodge,  No.  288;  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  345  ; 
Minnehaha  Lodge,  No.  328,  assembled  at  the  hall  of  Elk  Point  Lodge, 
No.  288,  in  the  city  of  Elk  Point,  Dakota,  June  22,  1875.  A  committee  on 
credentials  was  appointed.  It  was  decided  that  a  Grand  Lodge  should  be 
organized  for  Dakota. 

On  the  following  day  a  constitution  and  code  of  by-laws  were  adopted,  and 
officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  elected.  Brother  T.  H.  Brown  of  No.  328,  being 
elected  Grand  Master. 

The  Grand  Officers  and  brethren  marched  in  procession  to  the  Baptist 
church,  where  an  oration  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Brother  J.  H.  Magoffin, 
and  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota  were  installed  by  Past  Grand 
Master  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  of  Iowa.  The  Grand  Lodge  was  constituted  in 
due  and  ancient  form ;  the  procession  returned  to  the  hall  of  Incense  Lodge, 
and  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  their 
respective  duties. 

On  motion,  the  charters  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  166;  Incense  Lodge, 
No.  257  ;  Elk  Point  Lodge,  No.  288  ;  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  345  ;  Minnehaha 
Lodge,  No.  328;  and  Mount  Zion  Lodge,  No.  346,  were  deposited  with  the 
Grand  Lodge  :  and  new  charters  were  reissued  to  said  lodges,  numbered  from 
one  to  six,  consecutively,  duly  signed  and  attested. 

Shiloh  Lodge,  No.  105,  at  Fargo,  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Minne- 
sota, January  14,  1874  ;  and  Bismarck  Lodge,  at  Bismarck,  U.  D.,  and  afterward 
(June  12,  1876),  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota,  did  not  unite 
with  the  lodges  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  who  composed  the 
convention  that  organized  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  June  21,  1875  ;  and 
as  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota  claimed  jurisdiction  over  them,  it  caused  a 
good  deal  of  correspondence  between  the  two  Grand  Lodges.  Shiloh  Lodge 
surrendered  its  charter  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  in  June,  1879,  ^^*^ 
Bismarck  did  the  same  in  June,  1880 ;  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota  reissued 
charters  to  both,  free  of  charge. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  371 

A  charter  was  granted  on  June  13,  1877,  to  form  and  open  a  lodge  at 
Deadwood,  Dakota,  as  Deadwood  Lodge,  No.  7.  On  May  7,  1878,  a  dispen- 
sation was  granted  for  a  lodge  to  be  held  at  Pembina,  in  Northern  Dakota. 
This  dispensation  was  renewed  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  at  its  annual  communi- 
cation in  June,  1878. 

A  dispensation  was  granted,  on  the  25th  day  of  November,  1878,  to  form 
and  open  a  lodge  at  Flandreau,  to  be  known  as  Flandreau  Lodge.  At  the 
annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  June,  1879,  both  of  these 
dispensations  were  renewed  for  another  year. 

On  June  12,  1879,  a  charter  was  granted  to  form  and  open  a  lodge  at 
Lead  City,  Dakota,  to  be  known  as  Golden  Star  Lodge,  No.  9. 

June  9,  1880,  charters  were  granted  :  to  Pembina  Lodge,  No.  10,  at  Pem- 
bina; Flandreau  Lodge,  No.  11,  at  Flandreau;  Casselton  Lodge,  No.  12, 
at  Casselton;  Kampseka  Lodge,  No.  13,  at  Watertown ;  Gate  City  Lodge, 
No.  14,  at  Gary;  Acacia  Lodge,  No.  15,  at  Grand  Forks. 

June  II,  1889,  the  Grand  Master  not  being  present,  his  address  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  was  read  by  the  Grand  Secretary.  In  referring  to  the  division 
of  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  he  says  :  — 

"  Congress  at  its  recent  session  provided  for  the  division  of  the  Territory  and  its  admission 
into  the  Union  as  the  States  of  South  and  North  Dakota.  The  people  of  South  Dakota  have 
already  practically  adopted  a  constitution,  and  there  is  no  doubt  but  each  of  the  proposed  States 
will  become  such  in  fact,  in  a  few  months." 

He  commended  the  subject  to  the  consideration  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

It  was  referred  to  a  special  committee  of  seven,  to  prepare  and  present 
special  resolutions  upon  that  subject.  The  committee,  after  presenting  a 
preamble,  reciting  the  causes  that  rendered  a  division  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
desirable  and  proper,  offered  the  following  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  :  — 

"  ist.  Resolved,  That  in  response  to  the  unanimously  expressed  desire  of  the  representatives 
from  the  lodges  existing  in  Dakota  north  of  the  seventh  standard  parallel,  this  Grand  Lodge  does 
hereby  accord  to  the  representatives  from  what  is  known  as  North  Dakota,  with  fraternal  regard 
and  kind  wishes,  full,  free,  and  cordial  consent  to  withdraw  from  this  Grand  Lodge  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge,  to  be  known  as  the  '  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,' 
to  occupy  and  hold  exclusive  Masonic  jurisdiction  in  all  that  portion  of  Dakota  north  of  the 
seventh  standard  parallel. 

"  2d.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  ten  be  at  once  appointed  to  report  a  just  and  equitable 
division  of  all  moneys  and  other  Grand  Lodge  property." 

The  following  report  was  adopted  :  — 

"  From  the  best  information  at  hand,  we  have  appraised  the  property  of  this  Grand  Lodge  as 
follows :  — 

Grand  Lodge  Jewels $i33-oo 

Binding  LibraVv 375-Oo 

One  Wooden  Desk 82.00 

Seven  Bookcases 179.00 

One  Table lo-oo 

Grand  Secretarv's  Seal 12.00 

Grand  Master's  Seal •  •  ■ ; 6.00 

Library,  independent  of  the  amount  paid  out  for  binding 800.00 

Cash  on  hand  in  excess  of  accrued  obligations 2991.79 

Total $4590.79 


-,^2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  There  are  seventy-three  constituent  lodges  in  South  Dakota,  and  twenty-six  in  North  Dakota, 
not  including  those  to  whom  charters  have  been  granted  at  this  communication. 

"  But  your  committee  have  agreed  to  recommend  the  division  of  the  property  and  funds  in  the 
proportion  of  one-third  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota,  and  two-thirds  to  be  retained  by 
the  present  Grand  Lodge. 

"  This  will  give  to  the  new  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  the  sum  of  ^1530.26. 

"Your  committee  are  pleased  to  state  that  their  work  has  been  characterized  by  the  most 
perfect  harmony  and  good  feeling. 

"  We  recommend  that  an  order  be  drawn  on  the  Grand  Treasurer,  in  favor  of  the  Grand 
Treasurer  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  "North  Dakota,  for  the  sum  of  ^1530.26." 

Article  II.,  of  the  constitution  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  was  amended 
to  read  as  follows  :  — 

"Article  IL  The  Grand  Lodge  so  to  be  organized  shall  be  styled  and  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  South  Dakota." 

Past  Grand  Master  George  H.  Hand  then  duly  installed  Most  Worshipful 
George  V,  Ayers,  Grand  Master,  and  the  other  elected  and  appointed  officers 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  South  Dakota  ;  also,  Most  Worshipful  James  W.  Cloes, 
Grand  Master,  and  the  elected  and  appointed  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  North  Dakota,  for  the  ensuing  year.  Most  Worshipful  T.  H.  Brown  offered 
the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  :  — 

"  Be  it  resolved,  that  each  Past  Elective  Grand  Officer  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  being  a  member 
of  a  lodge  in  North  Dakota,  as  well  as  each  Elective  Grand  Officer  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North 
Dakota,  be,  and  is  hereby  constituted  an  honorary  member  of  this  Grand  Lodge." 

Most  Worshipful  Brother  Blatt,  on  behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  presented 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  with  the  Grand  Lodge  jewels  ;  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  South  Dakota  was  then  closed  in  ample  form. 

North  Dakota. — On  the  12th  day  of  June,  1889,  the  representatives  of 
the  lodges  north  of  the  seventh  standard  parallel  in  the  Territory  of  Dakota, 
who  were  in  attendance  at  the  fifteenth  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota, 
held  at  the  city  of  Mitchell,  having  been  previously  instructed  by  their  respec- 
tive lodges,  met  in  convention  to  take  action  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  North  Dakota. 

The  convention  was  called  to  order  by  Most  Worshipful  Brother  H.  M. 
Wheeler.  The  following  lodges  were  represented  :  Shiloh,  No.  8 ;  Pembina, 
No.  10;  Casselton,  No.  12;  Acacia,  No.  15;  Bismarck,  No.  16;  James- 
town, No.  19;  Valley  City,  No.  21;  Cereal,  No.  29;  Hillsboro,  No.  32; 
Crescent,  No.  36  ;  Cheyenne  Valley,  No.  41  ;  Ellendale,  No.  49  ;  Sanborn, 
No.  5 1  ;  Mackey,  No.  63  ;  Hiram,  No.  74  ;  Minnewaukan,  No.  75  ;  Tongue 
River,  No.  78 ;  Bathgate,  No.  80 ;  Euclid,  No  84 ;  and  Golden  Valley, 
No.  90. 

It  was  unanimously 

"  Resolved,  That  this  convention  deem  it  expedient,  and  for  the  good  of  Masonry,  that  a 
Grand  Lodge  be  organized  for  North  Dakota." 

After  due  consideration,  the  convention  adopted  a  constitution  and  code 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


Z7l 


of  by-laws  for  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota,  and  proceeded  to  elect,  by 
ballot,  the  Elective  Grand  Officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge ;  and  the  convention 
adjourned  to  9  o'clock  a.m.  June  13,  1889,  at  which  hour  the  convention  met. 
On  motion,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  first  annual  communication  of  this  Grand  Lodge  be  held  in  the  city  of 
Grand  P'orks,  commencing  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  June,  A.L.  5890,  A.D.  1890." 

An  invitation  having  been  extended  to  the  members  of  the  convention  to 
take  part  in  the  installation  of  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  and 
that  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  be  installed  at  the  same 
time  and  place,  on  motion,  the  invitation  was  accepted,  and  the  convention 
adjourned. 

Past  Grand  Master  Hand,  on  invitation,  assumed  the  Grand  East,  and 
appointed  Leonard  A.  Rose,  Grand  Marshal,  pro  tempore.  He  then  duly 
installed  the  Grand  Officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  for  the 
ensuing  year,  James  W.  Cloes,  Jamestown,  being  the  first  Grand  Master. 

Immediately  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  and  at 
the  hour  of  12  m.,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  met  at  the  hall  of 
Resurgam  Lodge,  No.  31,  in  the  city  of  Mitchell,  and  was  opened  in  ample 
form.  All  of  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  were  present,  except  the  Grand 
Chaplain ;  and  the  representatives  of  twenty  chartered  lodges  responded. 
Right  Worshipful  Charles  T.  McCoy,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Dakota,  presented  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  a  Masonic  work  entitled, 
*'The  General  History  of  Freemasonry,"  as  a  nucleus  for  a  Grand  Lodge 
library.  The  action  taken  by  the  members  present,  in  convention  assembled, 
prior  to  the  opening  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  was  confirmed  and  adopted,  as  a 
part  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota.     It  was  also 

'^Resolved,  That  the  subordinate  lodges  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  shall  be 
numbered  according  to  the  date  of  their  respective  charters,  and  that  the  said  charters  be  called 
in,  properly  indorsed,  and  reissued  to  said  lodges  forthwith,  bearing  the  numbers  from  one  to 
twenty-seven,  consecutively,  signed  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  and  attested  in  due 
form  by  the  Grand  Secretary." 

On  motion  of  Brother  T.  J.  Wilder,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  was 
extended  to  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota ;  and  all  Past  Elec- 
tive Grand  Officers,  as  well  as  all  the  Present  Elective  Grand  Officers  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Dakota,  were  made  honorary  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

The  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  appointed  the  various  committees,  and 
the  committee  on  resolutions  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions, 
which  were  unanimously  adopted  :  — 

"  Whereas,  In  the  division  of  the  Grand  Lodge  property,  our  brethren  residing  in  South  Dakota 
have  beautifully  exemplified  the  tenet  of  brotherly  love,  and  exhibited  a  spirit  of  benevolence,  not 
equalled  heretofore  in  the  history  of  Masonry;  and, 

"  Whereas,  In  the  presentation  to  this  Grand  Lodge  of  the  jewels  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Dakota,  our  brethren  have  added  another  golden-link  to  the  indissoluble  chain  of  sincere  affection 
which  joins  the  Grand  Lodges  of  North  and  South  Dakota ;  Therefore,  be  it 


274  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Grand  Lodge  are  hereby  gratefully  tendered  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Dakota  for  the  kindness,  consideration,  and  generosity  which  they  have  shown  towards 
us  in  the  division  of  the  Grand  Lodge  property. 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  Grand  Lodge  jewels  we  recognize  and  acknowledge  a  lasting  memorial 
of  our  past  fraternal  relations,  an  offering  of  love  and  affection  that  shall  forever  unite  and  cement 
us  to  our  brethren  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  South  Dakota,  our  appreciation  of  which  was  best 
spoken  in  tears  of  gratitude  and  thoughts  expressed  in  silence." 

The  first  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  was  then 
closed  in  ample  form,  having  at  that  time  30  chartered  lodges  and  1322 
members.  The  fee  for  dispensation  is  $20,  and  $3  fee  to  Grand  Secretary ; 
for  every  charter,  $30 ;  for  a  charter  to  a  lodge  that  has  not  worked  under 
dispensation,  the  fee  is  ^50  :  the  minimum  fee  for  the  degrees  is  $25. 

Brother  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  Past  Grand  Master  of  Iowa,  presented  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  881  bound  volumes,  as  the  beginning  of  a  library,  on  condition 
that  he  should  be  reimbursed  for  the  binding,  which,  after  consultation,  was 
accepted. 

On  May  14,  1890,  a  consignment  of  three  boxes  of  books  was  received, 
being  a  donation  of  the  valuable  Masonic  library  of  Most  Worshipful  Brother 
William  Blatt,  of  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North 
Dakota.  This  munificent  gift  was  appropriately  acknowledged  by  the  Grand 
Lodge. 

There  has  never  been  a  Grand  Lodge  in  the  United  States,  or  North 
America,  which,  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  could  make  a 
like  favorable  showing,  as  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Dakota  at  its  first  annual 
communication  in  June,  1890. 

Nebraska.  — Among  the  early  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Bellevue,  in  Sarpy 
County,  Nebraska  Territory,  were  several  members  of  the  Craft,  who,  in  1854, 
after  due  deUberation,  resolved  to  petition  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Illinois  for  a  dispensation,  authorizing  them  to  form  and  open  a 
lodge  at  Bellevue.  The  petition  was  signed  by  L.  B.  Kinney,  A.  R.  Gilmore, 
P.  G.  McMahan,  George  Hepner,  A.  W.  Hollister,  A.  H.  Burtch,  and  A. 
Lockwood,  and  was  forwarded  to  T.  O.  Wilson,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  lUinois,  in  the  fall  of  1854,  and  he  notified  James  L.  Ander- 
son, Grand  Master  of  Illinois ;  but  receiving  no  reply,  Deputy  Grand  Master 
T.  O.  Wilson,  early  in  February,  1855,  granted  a  dispensation  to  open  and 
form  Nebraska  Lodge,  at  Bellevue,  Nebraska  Territory.  This  was  the  first 
dispensation  granted  for  a  lodge  in  the  Territory  of  Nebraska.  The  first  meeting 
of  the  lodge  was  held  April  3,  1855,  ^^  the  second  story  of  the  old  trading- 
post,  then  owned  by  Brother  Peter  A.  Sarpy, 

In  order  to  elude  observation  from  the  natives,  "  the  Omahas,"  and  preserve 
the  secrets  of  the  Craft,  large  Mackinaw  blankets  were  hung  around  the  room 
until  the  desired  end  was  accomplished.  The  first  lodge  of  Master  Masons 
was  regularly  opened  by  the  following  officers  :  L.  B.  Kinney,  W.  M.  ;  L.  L. 
Bowen,  S.  W. ;  A.  Lockwood,  J.  W. ;  A.  W.  Hollister,  Sec. ;  and  W.  Barnum, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


37f 


Treas.  The  altar  used  on  this  occasion  was  a  bale  of  Indian  blankets.  At 
this  meeting  Isaiah  H.  Bennett  petitioned  for  the  degrees ;  but  he  died  before 
the  next  meeting  of  the  lodge  (May  29,  1855).  The  first  degree  conferred 
by  this  lodge  was  the  Entered  Apprentice  upon  General  Peter  A.  Sarpy,  in  the 
hall  of  Council  Bluffs  Lodge,  Iowa,  in  the  fall  of  1855. 

A  charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois,  October  3,  1855,  ^^ 
Nebraska  Lodge,  No.  184,  at  Bellevue,  Nebraska  Territory ;  and  on  September 
23, 185  7,  it  was  granted  a  charter  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska,  as  Nebraska 
Lodge,  No.  I.  A  dispensation  was  granted  May  10,  1855,  by  the  Grand 
Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  to  Charles  A.  Goshen,  Lewis  Hax, 
William  Anderson,  William  D.  Gage,  John  H.  Hight,  A.  B.  Woolston,  and 
N.  B.  Giddings,  to  open  a  lodge  at  Nebraska  City,  by  the  name  of  Giddings 
Lodge,  which  dispensation  was  continued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri, 
May  28,  1855.  The  lodge  was  organized  under  its  dispensation  May  29,  1855, 
N.  P.  Giddings  being  its  first  Worshipful  Master;  C.  A,  Goshen,  Senior 
Warden ;  and  Lewis  Hax,  Junior  Warden.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri, 
on  May  28,  1856,  granted  a  charter  for  Giddings  Lodge,  No.  156,  and 
appointed  Brother  S.  Redfield,  Past  Master  of  Jerusalem  Lodge,  No.  99,  of 
Indiana,  special  deputy  to  constitute  the  lodge  and  install  its  officers,  which 
was  done  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1856.  After  several  preliminary  meet- 
ings of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  living  at  Omaha,  in  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1856-57,  a  petition,  signed  by  John  H.  Sahler,  Robert  Shields,  William  R. 
Demarest,  A.  R.  Gilmore,  George  Armstrong,  and  fourteen  others,  was  sent 
to  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa,  John  F.  Sanford,  M.  D., 
who,  on  January  9,  1857,  granted  a  dispensation  to  form  and  open  Capital 
Lodge,  at  Omaha,  by  authority  of  which,  on  January  26,  1857,  the  brethren 
assembled  in  an  upper  room  of  the  "  Pioneer  Block,"  and  opened  a  lodge  of 
Master  Masons.  On  June  3,  1857,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa  granted  a 
charter  for  Capital  Lodge,  No.  loi,  at  Omaha,  Nebraska.  The  charter  was 
received  at  Omaha,  June  29,  1857  ;  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  Ira  A.  W. 
Buck,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Illinois,  having  been  deputized  for  that  purpose, 
constituted  Capital  Lodge,  No.  loi,  and  installed  its  officers  in  due  form.  In 
September,  1857,  a  call  appeared  in  the  Nebraska  Advertiser,  inviting  all 
Masons  in  good  standing,  in  the  county  of  Nebraska,  to  meet  at  the  residence 
of  Brother  Jesse  Noel,  in  Brownville,  on  the  26th  day  of  September,  to 
consider  the  propriety  of  forming  a  lodge  in  Brownville.  In  pursuance  of 
said  invitation,  fifteen  brethren  met,  and  organized.     It  was 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient,  and  for  the  good  of  Masonry,  that  we  form  a  permanent 
Masonic  organization,  and  apply  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  for  a  dispensation  for  Nemaha 
Valley  Lodge." 

While  these  preparations  were  being  made,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska 

was  instituted ;  and  the  appUcation  was  made  to  that  body  for  a  dispensation. 

A  convention  was  held  September  23,  1857,  at  Omaha  City,  Nebraska,  at 


■h7^ 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


which  it  was  "  Deemed  highly  expedient  to  organize  a  Grand  Lodge  for  this 
Territory."  A  lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  opened.  A  committee  on  cre- 
dentials was  appointed,  who  reported  that  the  representatives  of  Nebraska 
Lodge,  No.  184;  Giddings  Lodge,  No.  156;  Capital  Lodge,  No.  loi ;  were 
entitled  to  seats  in  the  Grand  Lodge  there  to  be  formed.  The  Grand  Officers 
were  elected,  among  whom  was  R.  C.  Jordan,  of  Omaha  City,  Grand  Master. 

The  Grand  Officers  were  duly  installed  by  Most  Worshipful  I.  A.  W,  Buck, 
of  Illinois,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska  was  then  declared  regularly 
organized.  A  committee  to  report  a  constitution,  by-laws,  and  rules  of  order 
for  the  government  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  was  appointed.  The  name  of 
"Giddings"  Lodge  was  changed  to  "Western  Star"  Lodge;  and  charters 
were  granted  to  Nebraska  Lodge,  No.  i,  at  Bellevue;  Western  Star  Lodge, 
No.  2,  at  Nebraska  City;  and  Capital  Lodge,  No.  3,  at  Omaha  City. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  and  procure  the  passage  of  an  act  of 
incorporation  for  the  Grand  Lodge,  at  the  ensuing  session  of  the  general 
assembly  of  Nebraska. 

The  first  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska  was 
convened  at  Nebraska  City,  June  2,  1858. 

The  Grand  Master  reported  that,  on  October  20,  1S57,  he  granted  a  dispen- 
sation to  form  and  open  Nemaha  Lodge,  No.  4,  at  the  city  of  Brownville  ; 
on  January  18,  1858,  to  form  and  open  Temple  Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Omadi ; 
and  on  the  same  date  to  form  and  open  Plattsmouth  Lodge,  No.  6,  at  the  city 
of  Plattsmouth. 

Cornelius  Moore's  "Craftsman"  was  adopted  as  ihe Monitor  for  use  by  the 
lodges  in  the  jurisdiction. 

Charters  were  granted,  June  5,  1861,  to  Summit  Lodge,  No.  7,  Parkville, 
Colorado ;  and  Rocky  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  8,  at  Gold  Hill,  Colorado. 
Decatur  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Decatur,  was  granted  a  charter,  June  3,  1862. 
On  August  24,  1863,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  open  "Loup  Fork" 
Lodge,  at  Columbus,  Nebraska  Territory;  and  a  charter  was  granted  to 
Columbus  Lodge,  No.  8,  at  Columbus,  June  24,  1864.     On  November  17, 

1863,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  open  "Idaho  Lodge,"  at  Nevada  City, 
Idaho.  June,  1863,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  open  "Bannock  Lodge," 
at  Bannock  City,  Idaho;  and  on  July  30,  1863,  a  dispensation  to  open 
"Monitor  Lodge,"  in  the  ist  Nebraska  Regiment,  Infantry,  located  in  the 
field.  This  dispensation  was  surrendered  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska, 
June  22,  1866.     The  dispensation  to  Bannock  Lodge  was  renewed  June  24, 

1864.  "The  Webb-Preston  Work,"  as  taught  by  Barney,  Cross,  and  others, 
was  adopted  as  the  work  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska,  in  June,  1864. 

Columbus  Lodge,  No.  8,  located  at  Columbus,  Nebraska  Territory,  was 
chartered  June  24,  1864.  A  charter  was  granted  to  Falls  City  Lodge,  No.  9, 
at  Falls  City,  on  June  23,  1865.  On  June  22,  1866,  Solomon  Lodge,  No.  10, 
at  Fort  Calhoun;  Convert  Lodge,  No.  11,  at  Omaha;  and  Nebraska  City 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  37^ 

Lodge,  No.  12,  at  Nebraska  City,  were  granted  charters  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Nebraska.  In  pursuance  of  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Nebraska,  the  Grand  Master  appointed  a  standing  committee  on  "  Orphan 
Schools,"  of  one  from  each  subordinate  lodge.  A  dispensation  was  granted 
by  the  Grand  Lodge,  June  22,  1866,  to  open  "Cedar  Lodge,"  at  Rulo ;  and 
on  June  19,  1867,  a  charter  was  granted  to  the  lodge,  under  the  name  of 
"Orient  Lodge,  No.  13."  The  Grand  Master  of  Nebraska,  on  July  3,  1866, 
granted  a  dispensation  for  Fremont  Lodge,  No.  15,  at  Fremont,  Douglass 
County;  and,  on  June  20,  1867,  it  was  granted  a  charter.     Also  on  May  23, 

1867,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  open  a  lodge  at  Peru,  in  Nemaha 
County,  Nebraska  Territory;  a  dispensation  having  been  granted  in  1862, 
for  a  lodge  to  be  located  at  that  place,  which,  owing  to  the  vicissitudes  of 
war,  was  surrendered  with  its  property  to  the  Grand  Lodge.  A  charter  was 
granted  Peru  Lodge,  No.  14,  June  19,  1867,  and  the  furniture  formerly 
belonging  to  Peru  Lodge,  U.  D.,  was  returned  to  Peru  Lodge,  No.  14. 

In  1867-68  dispensations  were  granted  as  follows:  July,  1867,  Rising  Star 
Lodge,  Rock  Bluffs,  Cass  County;  December  7,  1867,  Tecumseh  Lodge, 
Tecumseh,  Johnson  County;  January  29,  1868,  Eureka  Lodge,  Arago,  Rich- 
ardson County;  January — ,1868,  Gumming  City  Lodge,  Gumming  City, 
Washington   County;   January — ,1868,  Ashland   Lodge,  Ashland;    May  4, 

1868,  Lincoln  Lodge,  Lincoln,  Lancaster  County.  Charters  were  granted  as 
follows  :  June  24,  1868,  to  Eureka  Lodge,  No.  16  ;  Tecumseh  Lodge,  No.  17  ; 
Ashland  Lodge,  No.  18  :  on  June  25,  1868,  to  Lincoln  Lodge,  No.  19  ;  Rock 
Bluff  Lodge,  No.  20;  and  Gumming  City  Lodge,  No.  21  (name  changed  to 
"Washington  Lodge,"  No.  21,  October  27,  1869). 

In  April,  1868,  Grand  Secretary  J.  N.  Wise  inaugurated  the  project  of  a 
Grand  Lodge  library,  issuing  circulars  to  the  several  Grand  Lodges  in  the 
United  States,  asking  for  donations  of  such  books  as  were  suitable,  and  the 
brethren  might  be  pleased  to  favor  them  with ;  and  at  the  annual  communi- 
cation in  June,  1868,  he  reported  that  he  had  received  about  ninety  volumes. 
The  Grand  Secretary  was  appointed,  ex  officio,  librarian  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Nebraska. 

On  October  28,  1869,  charters  were  granted  :  to  Tecumseh  Lodge,  No.  17, 
in  place  of  one  destroyed  by  fire;  Macon  Lodge,  No.  22,  at  Plattsmouth ; 
Pawnee  Lodge,  No.  23,  at  Pawnee  City ;  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  24,  at  Omaha ; 
and  Lafayette  Lodge,  No.  25,  at  Lafayette,  Nemaha  County. 

June  22,  1870,  charters  were  granted  :  to  Beatrice  Lodge,  No.  26  ;  and,  on 
June  23,  1870,  to  Jordan  Lodge,  No.  27,  at  West  Point;  Wyoming  Lodge, 
No.  28,  at  South  Pass,  Wyoming ;  Hope  Lodge,  No.  29,  at  Hillsdale,  Nemaha 
County,  Nebraska;  and  to  Blue  River  Lodge,  No.  30,  located  at  Milford, 
Seward  County,  Nebraska. 

At  the  annual  communication  held  at  Nebraska  City,  June,  1866,  Brother 
O.  H.  Irish  offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  :  — 


--g  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  That  a  standing  committee  of  one  from  each  subordinate  lodge  be  appointed,  of  which  the 
Grand  Master  sha!)  be  chairman,  to  take  measures  to  form  an  institution  for  the  education  of 
the  orphans  of  deceased  Masons," 

The  committee  to  report  in  detail  at  the  next  annual  communication. 

In  1 86 7  the  committee  reported  that  the  object  met  with  favor  and  general 
approbation  with  the  brethren  of  the  subordinate  lodges,  and,  in  accordance 
with  their  recommendation,  an  annual  tax  of  one  dollar,  —  upon  every  member 
of  each  subordinate  lodge  in  the  State,  and  of  two  dollars  upon  each  non- 
affiliated Mason  in  the  State,  —  was  levied,  for  the  "Orphan  Educational 
Fund  " ;  and,  also,  that  each  lodge  hold,  annually,  a  festival  or  fair,  and  that 
the  proceeds  should  be  appropriated  to  said  fund.  In  1868  it  was  reported 
that  the  non-affiliated  had  paid  $86  into  the  "  Orphan  Educational  Fund," 
and  the  members  of  subordinate  lodges  $596. 

At  the  communication  held  October,  1869,  the  standing  resolution,  requir- 
ing an  annual  fair  or  festival  to  be  held  by"  each  subordinate  lodge,  was 
repealed.  In  1870  the  annual  tax,  upon  each  member  of  a  subordinate  lodge, 
was  reduced  from  $1  to  50  cents;  and  on  non-affiliates,  from  $2  to  $1.50; 
and,  in  1872,  the  tax  of  50  cents  upon  each  member  was  repealed.  The 
trustees  of  the  "Orphan  School  Fund  "  reported  $7,011.41,  on  hand  June  i, 
1875  ;  and,  on  May  31,  1889,  the  fund  amounted  to  $16,914. 

At  the  annual  communication,  in  1888,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
organize  a  "  Masonic  Home  "  for  Nebraska.  In  June,  1889,  the  incorporation 
of  the  "  Nebraska  Masonic  Home  "  was  fully  completed,  with  a  capital  stock 
not  exceeding  $500,000,  with  shares  of  the  par  value  of  $100  ;  the  "Home  " 
to  be  managed  by  a  board  of  twelve  trustees.  At  that  date  the  amount  of 
the  "Masonic  Home  Fund"  was  $5000,  and  accrued  interest  $279.17; 
total,  $5,279.17. 

Kansas.  —  Originally  forming  a  portion  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  from 
France  in  1803,  Kansas  was  organized  a  separate  Territory  in  1854.  Immi- 
gration from  the  North  and  South  set  in,  and  two  parties,  imbued  with 
antagonistic  doctrines,  were  formed.  A  struggle,  incessant  and  bitter,  ensued, 
resulting  in  serious  conflicts  of  arms  and  much  loss  of  life  and  property,  so 
that  the  country  was  known  for  years  as  "  Bleeding  Kansas."  Between  the 
years  1855  and  1859,  four  different  constitutions  were  framed  and  voted  on; 
October  4,  1859,  one  prohibiting  slavery  was  adopted  ;  and,  in  January,  1861, 
Kansas  was  admitted  as  the  thirty-fourth  State  of  the  Federal  Union. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  early  settlers  in  Kansas  were 
imbued  with  the  principles  of  liberty  and  equality,  the  foundation-principles 
of  Freemasonry,  as  will  be  more  fully  demonstrated  by  the  history  of  the 
Fraternity  in  that  State. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  Kansas  were  brethren  of  the  "  Mystic-tie,"  who, 
being  actuated  by  a  sincere  love  of  the  Order  and  a  desire  to  extend  its 
benign   principles,  began  to  lay  the  foundation  upon  which  has  since  been 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^^g 

erected  the  now  prosperous  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  of  Kansas. 

Whenever  a  sufficient  number  of  the  Craft  were  found  in  any  community 
to  warrant  the  organization  of  a  lodge,  all  differences  of  opinion,  political  or 
otherwise,  so  bitterly  and  determinedly  contested,  were  laid  aside,  and  the 
brethren  at  once  engaged  in  the  great  and  glorious  work,  as  drawn  upon  the 
trestle-board  for  their  guidance. 

The  first  lodges  were  organized  and  set  at  work  by  authority  of  the  Most 
Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Missouri. 

A  dispensation  was  issued,  August  4,  1854,  to  John  W.  Chivington  and 
others,  to  "  Open  a  lodge  at  the  house  of  Matthew  R.  Walker,  in  Wyandotte 
Territory,  to  be  called  Kansas  Lodge  "  ;  a  charter  was  granted  this  lodge 
October  30,  1855.  On  October  6,  1854,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  John 
W.  Smith  and  others,  to  open  a  lodge  at  Smithfield,  Kansas,  to  be  called 
Smithfield  Lodge;  this  lodge  was  also  granted  a  charter  October  30,  1855. 
A  dispensation  was  issued  to  Richard  R.  Rees  and  others,  December  30,  1854, 
to  open  a  lodge  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  to  be  called  Leavenworth  Lodge ; 
for  which  a  charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  November 
2,  1855.  These  were  the  three  lodges  that  organized  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Kansas.  On  September  24,  1855,  a  dispensation  was  issued  to  Joseph  S. 
Cowan  and  others,  to  open  a  lodge  at  Lawrence,  Kansas ;  and  a  dispensation 
was  issued,  October  20,  1855,  to  John  H.  Sahler  and  others,  to  open  a  lodge 
at  Kickapoo,  Kansas,  to  be  called  Kickapoo  Lodge.  On  May  29,  1856,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  recommended  that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas 
grant  charters  to  these  last  two  lodges,  which  was  done. 

On  November  14,  1855,  delegates  from  Smithton  Lodge,  No.  140,  and 
Leavenworth  Lodge,  No.  150,  met  at  Leavenworth.  Brother  W.  P.  Richard- 
son was  elected  chairman,  and  R.  R.  Rees  acted  as  secretary ;  and,  as  there 
was  no  delegate  present  from  Wyandotte  Lodge,  No.  153,  the  convention 
adjourned  to  December  27,  1855.  'The  convention  met  December  27,  1855, 
pursuant  to  adjournment.  No  representative  being  present  from  Wyandotte 
Lodge,  it  was  decided  to  organize  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Territory  of  Kansas, 
and  send  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  to  Wyandotte  Lodge 
for  their  approval  and  cooperation ;  and  when  that  was  done,  the  Grand 
Officers  were  to  be  installed,  and  proclamation  made  that  the  Grand  Lodge 
was  fully  organized. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  report  a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the 
government  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  who  made  a  report  which  was  adopted. 
The  proceedings  were  ordered  published  in  the  Kansas  Herald,  and  the 
convention  adjourned,  to  meet  at  the  Masonic  hall  at  "  early  candle-light." 
The  Grand  Officers  were  elected,  among  them  being  Most  Worshipful  Richard 
R.  Rees,  Grand  Master. 

Delegates  from  all  the  chartered  lodges  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 


3So 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Masons,  in  Kansas  Territory,  assembled  at  the  Masonic  hall,  March,  1856, 
in  the  city  of  Leavenworth.  A  committee  on  credentials  was  appointed, 
who  reported  delegates  present  as  follows:  from  Kansas  Lodge,  No.  153; 
from  Smithton  Lodge,  No.  140;  from  Leavenworth  Lodge,  No.  150. 

The  action  of  the  convention,  held  December  27,  1855,  was  approved,  but 
as  a  doubt  existed  as  to  the  entire  regularity  and  legality  of  the  proceedings 
cf  that  convention,  they  proceeded  to  again  organize  a  Grand  Lodge  of 
Kansas,  and  Most  Worshipful  R.  R.  Rees,  Grand  Master,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  brethren  present,  opened  a  Grand  Lodge. 

The  committee  on  constitution  and  by-laws  read  a  report  which  was 
accepted ;  the  constitution  was  read,  and  unanimously  adopted  as  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  an  election  of  Grand  Ofificers  was  held.  The 
three  present  Masters  of  the  chartered  lodges  under  the  jurisdiction  installed 
Most  Worshipful  Richard  R.  Rees  as  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Kansas. 

July  14,  1856,  charters  were  granted:  to  Kickapoo  Lodge,  No.  4,  at 
Kickapoo ;  Washington  Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Atchison;  and  Lawrence  Lodge, 
No.  6,  at  Lawrence. 

By  resolution,  on  October  20,  1856,  "  Kansas  Lodge,  No.  3,"  was  hereafter 
to  be  known  as  '•  Wyandotte  Lodge,"  No.  3,  and  a  charter  was  issued. 

October  19,  1857,  charters  were  granted  :  to  Union  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Fort 
Riley ;  Bourbon  Lodge,  No.  8,  at  Fort  Scott ;  Sliawnee  Lodge,  No.  9,  at  Big 
Springs ;  and  one,  conditionally,  to  Geary  Lodge. 

The  dispensations  to  Tecumseh,  Delaware,  and  Topeka  Lodges,  U.  D., 
were  continued  until  the  next  annual  communication.  The  Grand  Master 
reported,  October  18,  1858,  the  demise  of  Geary  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Lecompton, 
and  that  he  had  granted  a  dispensation  for  Lecompton  Lodge  at  that  place ; 
also  for  lodges  at  Leavenworth,  Manhattan,  Emporia,  Oskaloosa,  Elk  City, 
Paris,  and  Ottumewa. 

At  this  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  charters  were  granted  :  to  King 
Solomon  Lodge,  No.  10,  at  Leavenworth;  Ottumewa  Lodge,  No.  11,  at 
Ottumewa;  Emporia  Lodge,  No.  12,  at  Emporia;  Lecompton  Lodge,  No. 
13,  at  Lecompton;  Oskaloosa  Lodge,  No.  14,  at  Oskaloosa;  Tecumseh 
Lodge,  No.   15,  at  Tecumseh. 

The  Grand  Master,  Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  Grand  Secretary  were 
reelected,  officers  were  duly  installed,  an  appropriation  of  $50  made  for  a 
jewel  for  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  to  be  presented  at  next  annual 
communication,  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  the  Right  Worshipful  Charles 
Mundee  for  his  services  as  Grand  Secretary  for  the  last  three  years,  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  closed  in  ample  form. 

October  18,  1859,  charters  were  granted  as  follows  :  Lafayette  Lodge,  No. 
16,  at  the  city  of  Manhattan ;  Topeka  Lodge,  No.  17,  at  the  town  of  Topeka  ; 
Stanton  Lodge,  No.  1 8,  at  the  town  of  Stanton ;  Olathe  Lodge,  No.  1 9,  at  the  town 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


381 


of  Olathe ;  Elk  Creek  Lodge,  No.  20,  at  Elk  City ;  Grasshopper  Falls  Lodge, 
No.  21,  at  the  town  of  Grasshopper  Falls;  Paris  Lodge,  No.  22,  at  the  town 
of  Paris;  Palmyra  Lodge,  No.  23,  at  the  town  of  Palmyra;  Osage  Valley 
Lodge,  No.  24,  at  the  town  of  Osawatomie;  High  Prairie  Lodge,  No.  25,  in 
Leavenworth  County;  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  26,  at  the  city  of  Atchison; 
Neosho  Lodge,  No.  27,  at  the  town  of  Leroy. 

At  the  election  of  Grand  Officers,  October  19th,  the  Grand  ISIaster  and 
Grand  Secretary  were  reelected.  The  dispensations  to  Oskaloosa,  Auraria, 
and  Pacific  Lodges  were  continued  until  next  annual  communication ;  Dela- 
ware Lodge,  U.  D.,  not  having  complied  with  the  requirements  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  was  declared  extinct. 

The  fee  for  a  charter  was  raised  from  $10  to  $20.  On  October  18,  1859, 
the  Grand  Lodge  opened  in  the  Entered  Apprentice  degree,  and  proceeded 
to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  a  university  about  to  be  erected  in  the  city  of 
Lawrence. 

The  dispensation  for  the  lodge  at  Denver  City  had  been  returned,  as  that 
lodge  and  Auraria  were  situated  so  near  together  that  the  interests  of  the 
Fraternity  were  fully  supplied  by  the  older  lodge.  Deputy  Grand  Master 
•Fairchild  reported  that  he  had  granted  a  dispensation  for  a  lodge  at  Hiawatha, 
Brown  County ;  and  had  renewed  the  dispensation  of  Arcana  Lodge,  at  Doni- 
phan, Doniphan  County.  Charters  were  granted  :  to  Eldora  Lodge,  No.  28, 
at  Eldora;  Pacific  Lodge,  No.  29,  at  Humboldt;  Aubry  Lodge,  No.  30, 
at  Aubry;  Arcana  Lodge,  No.  31,  at  Doniphan;  Auburn  Lodge,  No.  32, 
at  Auburn ;  Mound  City  Lodge,  No.  33,  at  Mound  City ;  also,  to  Golden 
City  Lodge,  No.  34,  at  Golden  City,  Colorado,  when  said  lodge  returns  to 
the  Grand  Secretary  its  dispensation. 

October  15,  1861,  charters  were  granted:  to  Hiawatha  Lodge,  No.  35, 
at  Hiawatha,  Brown  County;  Nevada  Lodge,  No.  ^d,  at  Nevada  City, 
Colorado  Territory;  and  Auraria  Lodge,  No.  37,  at  Denver  City,  Colorado 
Territory. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas  was  organized  under  the  "  Anderson  Consti- 
tutions," and  continues  its  allegiance  thereto. 

The  three  lodges  that  participated  in  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Kansas,  in  1885,  are  all  in  a  healthy  and  prosperous  condition  to-day. 

The  Craft  in  Kansas,  as  a  rule,  have  never  looked  upon  the  incorporation 
of  the  Grand  Lodge,  or  its  subordinate  lodges,  with  any  great  degree  of 
favor,  for  there  seem  to  be  many,  and  some  very  serious,  objections  to  the 
incorporation  of  either  body,  though  several  of  the  subordinate  lodges  have 
incorporated  under  the  general  statutes  of  Kansas,  and  thus  far  nothing  has 
occurred,  by  reason  of  such  incorporation,  to  disturb  the  harmony  of  said 
lodges. 

Although  the  early  history  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas  was  one  of  strife  and 
discord,  peace  and  harmony  have  ever  reigned  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas, 


3S2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

there  having  been  no  schism  or  internal  disturbance  of  any  nature,  to  unsettle 
or  disturb  the  craft. 

The  finances  of  the  Grand  Lodge  are  in  an  excellent  condition,  and 
have  been  so  since  its  organization.  This  is  what  may  be  truthfully  said 
of  nearly  all  of  the  subordinate  lodges  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand 
Lodge. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  framers  and  codifiers  of  the  laws  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  from  time  to  time,  has  been  such  as  to  prevent  the  raising  of  an 
amount  of  funds  much  in  excess  of  what  was  absolutely  necessary  to  defray 
the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  Grand  body,  and  the  setting  aside  of  a  reason- 
able amount  for  charitable  purposes,  hence  there  has  not  been  accumulated 
any  great  amount  of  funds  for  investment. 

They  have  not  yet  in  Kansas  organized  any  charity,  such  as  may  be  found 
in  Kentucky,  lUinois,  Missouri,  and  some  other  States,  the  Grand  Lodge 
providing  for  special  cases  only;  and  the  subordinate  lodges  have  adopted 
the  same  rule.  Each  year  a  certain  amount  is  set  aside  to  be  used  in  the 
way  of  aiding  a  needy  brother,  his  widow  and  orphans  :  this  they  deem  the 
best  plan  for  helping  the  destitute. 

The  fee  for  the  three  degrees  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  in  the  jurisdiction 
of  Kansas,  is  S30,  and  the  dues  in  the  lodges  vary  from  $3  to  $5  per  annum. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas  has  a  very  complete  file  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  several  Masonic  Grand  bodies,  and  various  other  Masonic  works  in 
its  library,  but  there  is  no  pubhc  hbrary  under  its  fostering  care. 

As  yet,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas  has  never  deemed  it  wise  for  them  to 
engage  in  building  a  Masonic  temple,  though  several  attempts  have  been 
made  in  that  direction,  but  without  success.  Quite  a  number  of  the  subordi- 
nate lodges  in  the  jurisdiction,  however,  have  provided  themselves  with  neat 
and  very  comfortable  homes,  many  of  which  would  do  credit  to  lodges  in 
older  jurisdictions. 

Indian  Territory.  —  Freemasonry  was  first  introduced  into  the  Lidian 
Territory  about  forty  years  ago,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas  instituting 
Cherokee  Lodge,  No.  21,  at  Tahlequah. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas  granted  charters  for  other  lodges  in  Indian 
Territory,  as  follows:  On  November  4,  1852,  to  Choctaw  Lodge,  No.  52,  at 
Doaksville ;  on  November  9,  1853,  to  Flint  Lodge,  No.  74,  at  FHnt,  Cherokee 
Nation;  on  November  9,  1855,  to  Muscogee  Lodge,  No.  93,  at  Old  Creek 
Agency.  These  lodges  continued  working  until  the  Civil  War  broke  out  in 
1 86 1,  when  work  was  suspended.  Muscogee  Lodge  lost  its  hall  and  furniture, 
and  in  1867  its  charter  was  withdrawn  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas.  It 
was  restored  to  them  in  1874,  but  the  number  was  changed  to  90,  and  the 
location  to  Eufaula. 

July  22,  1868,  a  dispensation  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Master  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas,  to  Brother  J.  S.  Murrow  and  others,  for  a  lodge 
at  Boggy  Depot,  Choctaw  Nation,  to  be  called  Ok-la-ho-ma,  and  a  charter 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


383 


(No.  217)  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas,  November  17, 
1868.  November  27,  1870,  a  dispensation  was  granted  for  Doaksville  Lodge  ; 
and  November  7,  1871,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas  issued  a  charter  for 
Doaksville  Lodge,  No.  279. 

August  26,  1873,  a  dispensation  was  granted  for  a  lodge  at  Caddo,  in  the 
Choctaw  Nation,  to  be  called  Caddo;  and  on  October  14,  1873,  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Arkansas  granted  a  charter  for  Caddo  Lodge,  No.  311.  A  conven- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Indian  Territory 
met  at  Caddo,  October  5,  1874.  The  following  lodges  were  represented: 
Muscogee,  No.  90;  Doaksville  Lodge,  No.  279  ;  Caddo  Lodge,  No.  311. 

A  constitution  was  read,  considered  section  by  section,  and  adopted  as  a 
whole.     Most  Worshipful  Granville  McPherson  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

On  Tuesday,  October  6,  1S74,  the  Grand  Officers,  elect  and  appointed, 
were  duly  installed.  The  Grand  Lodge  then  adopted  its  by-laws  and  a  code 
of  by-laws  for  subordinate  lodges.  A  resolution  passed  authorizing  the  Grand 
Master  and  Grand  Secretary  to  make  the  proper  indorsement  on  the  charters 
of  the  lodges  now  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  to  number  them  accord- 
ing to  their  respective  dates.  Grand  Representatives  were  appointed  near 
the  Grand  Lodges  of  Arkansas,  Virginia,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  and  Maryland. 

The  lodges  which  were  represented  in  the  convention  which  organized  the 
Grand  Lodge  were  :  Muscogee,  Doaksville,  and  Caddo,  and  were  renumbered 
I,  2,  and  3.  There  were  three  other  chartered  lodges  in  the  Territory  at  the 
time  of  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  :  Flint,  No.  74,  and  Ok-la-ho-ma, 
No.  217,  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas;  and  Alpha  Lodge, 
No.  122,  chartered  October  17,  1872,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas. 
Before  the  next  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  (September 
1875),  Ok-la-ho-ma  Lodge  sent  its  charter  to  the  Grand  Secretary,  for 
indorsement,  etc.,  and  became  No.  4  of  the  lodges  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Indian  Territory.  This  saved  the  life  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  and  made  it  a  legal  Grand  body.  Charters  were  granted  to  Vinita 
Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Vinita,  Cherokee  Nation;  and  to  Valley  Lodge,  No.  6,  at 
Paul's  Valley,  Chickasaw  Nation,  September  7,  1875.  September  6,  1876, 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Indian  Territory  granted  charters  to  Elm  Springs  Lodge, 
No.  7,  at  Erin  Springs,  Chickasaw  Nation ;  and  to  Colbert  Lodge,  No.  8,  at 
Colbert  Station,  Chickasaw  Nation.  September  4,  1877,  charters  were  granted 
to  McAlester  Lodge,  No.  9,  at  McAlester,  Choctaw  Nation ;  and  to  Cherokee 
Lodge,  No.  10,  at  Tahlequah,  Cherokee  Nation.  Brothers  J.  S.  Murrow  and 
R.  J.  Hogue,  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Correspondence,  presented  the 
first  report  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  which  was  printed  with  its  proceedings. 

Before  the  close  of  1877,  Flint  Lodge,  No.  74,  the  last  of  the  lodges  in  this 
jurisdiction  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas,  sent  its  charter  to 
the  Grand  Secretary  for  indorsement,  and  was  placed  on  the  roll  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Indian  Territory,  as  Flint  Lodge,  No.  11.     November,  18 78, 


^54  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Alpha  Lodge  surrendered  its  charter  (granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Kansas),  into  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Master. 

The  first  Masonic  hall  erected  in  Indian  Territory  was  built  by  Ok-la-ho-ma 
Lodge,  No.  217,  at  Boggy  Depot,  in  1869,  and  cost  $2000.  In  1872,  when 
the  first  railroad  built  in  the  Territory  passed  twelve  miles  away  from  the 
town,  it  killed  the  place,  and  the  hall  had  to  be  abandoned.  The  lodge  then 
spent  a  like  amount  on  a  hall  at  A-to-ka ;  and  just  as  it  was  completed,  in 
December,  1876,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  They  then  bought  a  garret  over  a 
store  for  $500,  and  that  was  burned.  Nothing  daunted,  the  plucky  little 
lodge  then  built  a  brick  hall  costing  $2000,  and  furnished  it  completely  and 
beautifully. 

Cherokee  Lodge,  No.  12,  has  recently  erected  a  large  and  handsome  hall 
at  Tahlequah.  The  Grand  Lodge  has  no  "  abiding  place,"  and  by  vote  at 
each  annual  communication  elects  where  the  next  one  shall  be  held.  The 
Grand  Lodge  of  Indian  Territory  had  to  borrow  the  funds  to  pay  its  expenses 
for  seal,  stationery,  and  printing,  the  first  year  after  it  was  organized,  and  for 
the  first  five  years  had  to  exercise  the  strictest  economy  in  all  its  expenditures. 

The  Grand  Lodge  is  not  incorporated,  and  works  under  the  "  Anderson 
Constitutions."  The  minimum  fee  for  the  degrees  is  $30.  The  yearly  dues 
for  the  subordinate  lodges  are  regulated  by  the  lodges  themselves,  and  are 
usually  about  $3  a  year. 

In  1 88 1  the  Grand  Secretary  commenced  gathering  books,  magazines,  and 
proceedings,  for  a  Grand  Lodge  library,  and  has  met  with  marked  success. 
A  proposition  was  made  at  the  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  in 
1888,  to  found  a  "  Masonic  Orphanage."  A  committee  was  appointed,  and 
$500  was  pledged  by  the  brethren  present,  in  aid  of  that  object.  In  1889  the 
committee  made  an  encouraging  report,  which  gives  assurance  that  the  orphans 
are  not  to  be  left  uncared  for,  and  that  the  brethren  will  exemplify  the 
Masonic  virtues,  in  caring  for  these  helpless  and  dependent  wards. 


DIVISION   VII. 


THIRD  MERIDIAN. 


History  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  Rocky  Mountaitis  to  Mexico :  The  Gratid 
Lodges  of  California,  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  Montana,  Nevada, 
Utah,  IVyoniing,  Arizona,  Colorado,  New  Mexico ;  Freemasonry  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  Alaska,  Mexico,  and  Central  America. 

By  Edwin  A.  Sherman,  33°, 

Vice-President  of  the  Pacific  Division  of  the  National  Convention  of  Masonic 
Veteran  Associations  of  the  United  States ;  Secretary  of  the  Masonic 
Veteran  Association  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  etc.,  etc.,  etc} 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  territory  embraced  in  the  Grand  Third  Meridian,  or  the  Grand  Division 
of  the  Pacific,  was  a  half  a  century  ago  comparatively  a  terra  incognita,  the 
greater  portion  of  which  was  marked  on  the  maps  as  "  Regions  Unexplored." 

Along  the  frontier  line  of  civilization,  and  advancing  with  it  as  it  advanced, 
was  Freemasonry,  erecting  its  altars  here  and  there  as  the  desire  of  social 
intercourse  marked  its  way.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  in  1807  and 
1809  chartered  two  lodges  in  Missouri,  as  did  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee, 
which  chartered  others,  and  these  uniting  and  agreeing  in  convention  on  April 
23,  182 1,  formed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri.  On  November  20,  1840,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  chartered  a  lodge  in  Burlington,  Iowa,  and  within 
four  years  this  lodge  was  one  of  those  which  formed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Iowa. 
From  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  and  Alabama  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Arkansas  was  formed. 

The  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  in  1846,  1847,  and  1848, — 
in  which  the  writer  participated,  —  resulted  in  the  cession,  by  treaty,  of  what  is 
now  known  as  California,  Nevada,  Utah,  Wyoming,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and 
Arizona,  equal  in  extent  to  the  whole  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Missis- 

1  Assisted  by  C.  E.  Gillett.  The  histories  of  the  several  Grand^  Lodges,  written  by  them,  are 
designated  by  the  initials,  at  the  end  of  each  :  "  E.  A.  S.,"  and  "  C.  E.  G." 


386 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR V. 


sippi  River,  excepting  the  State  of  Wisconsin.  Before  the  United  States 
army  had  a  chance  to  withdraw  or  even  the  treaty  was  drawn,  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Missouri  granted  a  charter  to  Multnomah  Lodge,  at  Oregon  City, 
Oregon,  in  what  is  known  as  the  Willamette  Valley,  which  was  the  first  lodge 
of  Masons  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  on  January  19,  1848,  created  an 
unparalleled  excitement  throughout  the  world,  and  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  all  conditions  of  men  rushed  to  San  Francisco  and  other  noted  places. 
Among  this  host  were,  no  doubt,  many  Masons,  who  sought  the  privileges  and 
pleasures  of  fraternal  intercourse.  May  10,  1848,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mis- 
souri chartered  Western  Star,  No.  98,  at  Benton  City,  near  the  head-waters  of 
the  Sacramento  River.  November  9,  1848,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  chartered  California  Lodge,  No.  13,  but  the  lodge  was  not  ready 
for  work  until  a  year  later.  January  31,  1849,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Con- 
necticut chartered  Connecticut  Lodge,  No.  76,  at  Sacramento  City,  which  was 
not  organized  for  work  until  January  8,  1850. 

Subsequent  to  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  it  was 
discovered  that  a  lodge  had  been  working  at  Nevada  City,  under  the  name  of 
Lafayette  Lodge,  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Wisconsin,  but  it  had  lost 
its  charter  and  property  by  the  burning  of  its  hall.  A  new  charter  was  granted 
to  it  under  the  name  of  Nevada  Lodge,  No.  13,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Cali- 
fornia, May  7,  1 85 1. 

It  was  also  discovered  afterward  that  a  dispensation  had  been  granted  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois,  in  March,  1849,  ^^^  ^  lodge,  as  prescribed  by  the 
Constitutions  of  Masonry,  in  any  State  or  Territory  where  no  Grand  Lodge 
existed.  In  the  spring  of  1850  it  commenced  its  labors  at  Marysville  under 
said  dispensation,  and  the  lodge  continued  work  until  after  the  organization 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  when,  on  November  27,  1850,  it  received 
its  charter  as  Marysville,  No.  9. 

The  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  had  granted 
a  dispensation  for  New  Jersey  Lodge,  which  also  found  a  lodgement  at  Sacra- 
mento City,  and  was  opened  December  4,  1849. 

A  dispensation  had  been  issued  in  1849  ^7  the  Grand  Master  of  the 
spurious  and  clandestine  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana,  to  "  Davy  Crockett 
Lodge,"  which  had  found  a  lodgement  at  San  Francisco,  but  which,  on  dis- 
covery of  its  illegality,  was  promptly  ignored  by  genuine  brethren  and  soon 
ceased  to  have  an  existence. 

The  same  clandestine  authority  had  also  granted  a  dispensation  to  a  lodge 
in  blank  which  was  located  at  last  in  Benicia,  and  the  name  afterward  inserted. 
This  lodge  was  more  fortunate  than  "  Crockett  Lodge,"  for  its  representative 
concealed  its  true  origin  and  managed  to  secure  personal  recognition,  and 
became  the  secretary  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  constitution  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  California,  April  17  and  18,  1850,  at  Sacramento.  —  E.  A.  S. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^S? 

CHAPTER  V. 

Grand  Lodges  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  Rocky  Mountains,  etc. 

California.  —  In  our  Introduction,  immediately  preceding  this  chapter,  we 
incidentally  referred  to  several  lodges  constituted  by  charter  or  by  dispensa- 
tion, but  of  two,  "Western  Star"  had  a  distinct  locality  designated  for  it, 
which  did  not  then  exist,  —  and  the  lodge  had  to  lay  out  a  town  and  give  it 
the  name  mentioned  in  the  charter,  that  of  "  Benton  City,"  but  it  soon  after 
removed  to  Shasta,  where  it  has  ever  since  remained,  for  a  period  of  nearly 
forty-two  years,  —  and  California  Lodge,  No.  13,  at  San  Francisco. 

Never  was  there  such  a  sudden  confusion  of  tongues  as  occurred  on  the 
soil  of  California  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  of  1848,  and  the  year  of  1849. 
Freemasonry  moved  among  the  sick,  attending  to  their  wants,  smoothed  the 
pillows  of  the  dying,  and  tenderly  buried  the  dead,  though  there  were  no 
lodges  known  to  be  in  existence  in  California  at  that  time.  But  Masonic 
Relief  Associations  were  formed,  contributions  freely  given,  hospitals  were 
constructed  of  tents  and  such  other  material  as  could  be  procured,  but  at 
enormous  expense.  Cemeteries  were  hastily  located  in  close  proximity  to 
the  "  Canvas  Cities,"  Masonic  funeral  ceremonies  were  performed  impromptu, 
and  the  acacia  was  dropped  into  the  grave  ;  the  last  fraternal  honors  and 
tributes  were  paid  to  the  stranger  dead,  by  brethren  unknown  to  them  when 
hving,  and  this,  too,  without  a  Master  of  a  lodge  or  any  duly  authorized  body 
of  Masonry  to  perform  the  ceremonies. 

It  is  said  that  the  first  Masonic  funeral  in  California  took  place  in  San 
Francisco,  early  in  1849,  before  a  lodge  was  opened  in  that  city,  and  was  held 
over  the  remains  of  a  brother  found  drowned  in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco. 
Who  he  was  or  whence  he  came  was  never  known.  On  the  body  of  the 
deceased  was  found  a  silver  mark  of  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  upon  which  were 
engraved  the  initials  of  his  name.  His  person  was  literally  pictured  with 
tattooed  designs,  embracing  all  the  emblems  of  Freemasonry.  The  deceased 
and  unknown  brother,  who  had  been  a  living  chart  of  the  emblems  of  Free- 
masonry, was  buried  with  Masonic  honors  in  what  was  known  as  "Verba 
Buena  Cemetery,"  since  known  as  the  "  Sand  Lot,"  in  front  of  the  City  Hall. 

Early  in  the  fall  of  1849  rumors  were  afloat  in  San  Francisco  that  sundry 
persons  were  in  possession  of  documents  purporting  to  be  warrants  or  dispen- 
sations for  lodges,  but  nothing  definite  could  be  learned  for  a  time. 

Colonel  Jonathan  Drake  Stevenson,  who  had  commanded  a  regiment  of 
New  York  volunteers  during  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  who  arrived  in  Cali- 
fornia on  the  6th  of  March,  1847,  with  his  command,  had  returned  from  the 
mines  and  taken  up  his  residence  in  San  Francisco.  Brother  Stevenson, 
being  a  Mason  of  the  true  and  tried  school,  did  not  propose  to  have  the  Order 


388 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


he  so  much  loved  compromised  or  represented  by  unworthy  characters,  so  he 
set  about  examining  the  credentials  of  those  who  claimed  to  have  authority  to 
open  lodges.  He  soon  met  with  the  late  distinguished  Brother  Levi  Stowell, 
whom  he  found  in  possession  of  a  genuine  authority ;  and,  after  consultation 
with  others  of  like  pure  motives,  he  assisted  in  organizing  what  is  now  Cali- 
fornia Lodge,  No.  I,  of  San  Francisco,  which  held  its  first  meeting,  November 
9,  1S49. 

On  the  9th  day  of  November,  1848,  a  charter  was  issued  by  the  Most 
Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  open  and  hold  a 
lodge  at  San  Francisco,  California,  to  be  called  "Cahfoi-nia  Lodge,  No.  13, 
F.  and  A.  M."  upon  its  Register.  It  afterward  became  No.  i  under  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  California. 

The  charter  of  Western  Star  Lodge,  No.  98,  was  granted  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  May  10,  1848,  for  a  lodge  in  "  Benton  City," 
Upper  Cahfornia.  This  lodge  became  No.  2,  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
California. 

The  charter  of  Connecticut  Lodge,  No.  75,  was  granted  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Connecticut,  on  January  31,  1849,  to  open  and  continue  a  lodge  in 
the  Territory  of  California. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  organization  and  first  meeting  of  this 
lodge,  the  following  incidents  are  necessary  to  be  related  :  — 

About  the  last  of  August,  or  first  of  September,  in  1849,  Dr.  R.  H.  McDon- 
ald, now  President  of  the  Pacific  Bank  of  San  Francisco,  opened  an  office  in 
a  canvas-covered  shanty  on  K  Street,  near  Sixth-street,  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  Horse  Market  Exchange,  at  Sacramento.  A  friend  of  his  from 
the  State  of  Illinois,  a  rattling  sort  of  a  fellow,  who  had  a  good  heart  within 
him,  came  to  Brother  McDonald,  and  said  :  — 

"  Doctor,  I  am  going  to  the  mines.  When  I  was  coming  across  the  Plains  and  along  the 
Humboldt  Valley  [now  in  the  State  of  Nevada],  I  saw  piled  up  in  the  sand  by  the  side  of  the 
road  a  lot  of  books ;  and  on  a  card  fastened  to  a  stick,  this  notice,  '  Help  yourself.'  There  were  a 
great  many  fine  books  in  the  heap,  and  among  them  this  large,  red  morocco-covered  Bible, 
with  gilt  edges.  As  I  could  not  pack  more  than  one  book  along  with  me,  I  took  this  Bible  and 
brought  it  through ;  as  I  am  going  to  the  mines  and  cannot  take  it  with  me,  and  as  you  are  sort 
of  religious,  I'll  give  it  to  you." 

So  Brother  McDonald  took  it.  A  day  or  two  afterward,  in  the  early  part 
of  September,  1849,  several  written  notices  were  found  posted  up  on  trees 
near  the  horse  market,  calling  a  meeting  of  all  Master  Masons  in  good  stand- 
ing, to  meet  in  the  upper  part  of  a  building  on  the  north  side  of  K  Street, 
about  a  hundred  feet  westerly  of  Sixth-street.  The  litde  garret  was  packed 
with  brethren,  who  were  nearly  all  strangers  to  one  another.  The  meeting  was 
called  to  order  by  Brother  John  A.  Tutt.  Some  brother  made  a  motion  that 
Dr.  R.  H.  McDonald  take  the  chair,  which  was  carried.  To  the  surprise  of 
Brother  McDonald, —  for  he  did  not  know  a  soul  present,  —  as  he  approached 
the  box  which  was  used  as  a  chair,  another  individual  stepped  forward  also  to 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


389 


take  it.  Then  there  occurred  an  amusing  scene,  as  two  tall  men,  six-footers, 
stood  looking  each  other  in  the  face.  "Are  you  Dr.  R.  H.  McDonald?  and 
have  you  any  monopoly  of  the  name  of  McDonald?"  said  he  of  the  Pacific 
Bank.  "  I  am  Dr.  R.  H.  McDaniel,  but  generally  known  as  Dr.  R.  H. 
McDonald,  by  mistake  of  calling  my  name,"  said  the  latter.  Mutual  expla- 
nations followed,  when  Brother  R.  H.  McDonald  gave  way  to  Brother 
R.  H.  McDaniel,  the  man  really  nominated,  who  at  once  took  the  chair,  and 
the  meeting  was  duly  organized.  When  it  became  necessary  to  ascertain  who 
were  Masons,  it  was  discovered  that  there  was  no  Bible  present,  and  nothing 
could  be  done  without  one.  Dr.  R.  H.  McDonald  then  said,  "  Please  wait  a 
few  moments,  and  I  will  get  one."  He  then  went  out  and  brought  in  this 
pioneer  Bible,  that  had  been  thrown  away  on  the  Humboldt  desert.  The 
meeting  then  organized  a  INIasonic  association  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and 
distressed  brethren  who  were  constantly  arriving  from  across  the  Plains. 
Soon  after,  it  was  discovered  that  a  charter  for  a  Masonic  lodge  was  in  exist- 
ence in  the  hands  of  a  brother,  issued  to  "  Connecticut  Lodge,  No.  75."  The 
brethren  composing  the  association  then  dissolved  that  body,  and  on  January 
8,  1850,  organized  under  the  charter  of  Connecticut  Lodge,  No.  75,  and 
Brother  R.  H.  McDonald  presented  that  lodge  with  the  pioneer  Bible  before 
mentioned. 

The  lodge  secured  the  grant  of  the  "  Red  House,"  on  the  south-east  corner 
of  J  and  Fifth  streets,  in  which  to  hold  its  meetings,  which  was  then  the  best 
building  for  that  purpose  in  Sacramento.  Scarcely,  however,  had  the  lodge 
moved  into  its  quarters,  when  the  proprietor  rented  the  stories  below  for  other 
purposes  not  satisfactory  to  the  lodge.  So  "  Connecticut  Lodge,  No.  75," 
gathered  up  its  altar,  Bible,  furniture,  and  jewels,  and  removed  farther  down  J 
Street,  between  Front  and  Second  streets,  on  the  north  side  of  the  street, 
where  the  old  Masonic  hall,  known  as  the  "  English  Block,"  was  afterward 
erected ;  and  there  the  lodge  met,  until  the  convention  was  called  to  organize 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  in  April  following.  "  Connecticut  Lodge,  No. 
75,"  surrendered  its  charter  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  when  consti- 
tuted, and  received  a  new  charter  under  the  name  of  "Tehama  Lodge,  No.  3." 

The  Bible  which  Brother  McDonald  presented  to  that  lodge  was  the  one 
used  when  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  was  organized,  April  19,  1850. 

The  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  New  Jersey,  on  March  i,  1849,  issued  a 
dispensation  to  open  a  lodge  in  the  Territory  of  California,  etc.  It  seemed  to 
have  been  a  sort  of  a  roving  commission,  with  the  power  of  the  Worshipful 
Master,  or  the  brethren,  to  appoint  his  successors  until  the  next  regular  com- 
munication of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey.  The  lodge  seemed  to  exist 
continuously,  and  assumed  the  functions  and  privileges  of  an  independent 
chartered  lodge.  It  seems  to  have  been  recognized  by  both  Connecticut 
Lodge,  No.  75,  at  Sacramento,  and  by  "Western  Star,  No.  98,"  in  the  prelimi- 
nary action  taken  early  in  March,  1850,  to  have  delegates  appointed  or  elected 


^QO  COSMOPOLITAX  FKEEMASOXKY. 

to  a  convention  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge.  It  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
appoint  a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  a  Grand  Lodge 
of  California,  and  on  March  12,  1850,  sent  an  invitation  to  California  Lodge, 
No.  13,  at  San  Francisco,  to  unite  with  them,  the  members  of  which  were 
justly  indignant  at  not  having  been  consulted  in  the  beginning. 

On  March  iSth,  a  brother  of  New  Jersey  Lodge,  U.  D.,  visited  California 
Lodge  and  proposed,  in  behalf  of  the  Sacramento  lodges,  to  rescind  all  action 
taken,  if  California  Lodge  would  join  them  in  the  formation  of  a  Grand  body. 
The  latter  body  appointed  a  committee,  who  reported  on  March  21st,  recom- 
mending the  lodge  to  join  their  sister  lodges  in  the  formation  of  a  Grand 
Lodge,  provided  there  were  three  regularly  organized  lodges  within  the  Terri- 
tory, which  report  was  adopted  by  the  lodge,  and  New  Jersey  Lodge,  U.  D., 
remained  in  shitu  quo,  until  the  assembling  of  the  convention  to  form  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  California. 

Benicia  Lodge,  U.  D.,  from  the  spurious  organization  in  Louisiana,  con- 
cealing its  true  paternity,  appointed  its  delegates  to  the  convention  to  form 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  California. 

A  convention  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  assembled  at  the  Masonic 
hall,  in  Sacramento  City,  State  of  California,  on  the  17th  day  of  April, 
1850,  and  was  duly  organized  at  10  o'clock  a.m.,  by  the  appointment  of 
Past  Grand  Master  of  Maryland,  Brother  Charles  Gilman,  of  San  Francisco, 
chairman,  and  Brother  B.  D.  Hyam,  of  spurious  Benicia  Lodge,  secretary. 
It  was  then  on  motion  — 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  examine  the  credentials  of  delegates 
from  the  several  lodges  in  this  State  to  this  convention,  and  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  authority 
in  them  vested,  to  organize  and  constitute  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the 
State  of  California." 

The  following  were  found  represented  :  California  Lodge,  No.  13,  located 
at  San  Francisco ;  New  Jersey  Lodge,  located  at  Sacramento  City ;  Con- 
necticut Lodge,  No.  75,  located  at  Sacramento  City;  Western  Star  Lodge, 
No.  98,  located  at  Benton ;  Benicia  Lodge,  located  at  Benicia. 

The  committee  "appointed  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  credentials  of 
representatives  to  this  convention,  respectfully  report  "  :  — 

"That  they  have  examined  the  charters  of  California  Lodge,  No.  13,  Connecticut  Lodge, 
No.  75,  and  Western  Star  Lodge,  No.  98,  the  dispensation  of  New  Jersey  Lodge,  and  the  credentials 
of  the  representatives  of  said  lodges,  and  of  the  representative  of  Benicia  Lodge,  and  have  ascer- 
tained the  following  facts,  viz. :  — 

"'The  dispensation  of  New  Jersey  Lodge  bears  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,  and  the  signature  of  Edward  Stewart,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  that  State,  and  is 
dated  March  i,  A.D.  1849,  a.l.  5849.  This  dispensation  authorizes  Brother  Thomas  Youngs 
and  others  to  open  a  lodge  in  the  Territory  of  California,  with  power  to  continue  the  same  through 
themselves,  or  their  successors,  until  the  next  regular  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  Jersey,  or  until  their  charter  is  granted.  Brother  Thomas  Youngs,  named  in  said  dispensa- 
tion as  the  first  Worshipful  Master  of  the  lodge  authorized  thereby  to  be  opened,  conveyed  the 
same  to  Brother  John  E.  Crockett,  and  certifies  this  fact  on  the  back  of  the  dispensation.    With 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ,qj 

the  authority  thus  granted,  Brother  Crockett  opened  New  Jersey  Lodge  in  Sacramento  City,  on 
the  4th  day  of  December,  1849,  and  said  lodge  is  now  in  active  and  successful  operation. 

"  'The  charter  of  Western  Star  Lodge  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri. It  bears  date  May  10,  A.D.  1S48,  a. L.  5848,  and  has  the  signatures  of  the  Grand  Officers 
and  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  affixed.  This  charter  authorizes  the  brethren  named 
to  open  and  hold  a  lodge  in  Benton  City,  Upper  California,  to  be  called  "  Western  Star  Lodge, 
No.  98."  Brother  S.  Woods  accordingly  opened  said  lodge  in  Benton  City,  on  30th  of  October, 
A.D.  1849,  which  is  now  performing  Masonic  work. 

" '  The  charter  of  Connecticut  Lodge,  No.  75,  is  dated  January  31,  A.D.  1849,  A.L.  5849,  and 
bears  the  signatures  of  the  Grand  Officers  and  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut. It  grants  full  power  to  open  and  condnue  a  lodge  in  the  Territory  of  California. 
Connecticut  Lodge  was  therefore  opened  in  Sacramento  City,  by  Brother  Fenner,  on  the  8th 
day  of  January  last,  and  continues  in  successful  operation. 

"  '  The  charter  of  California  Lodge,  No.  13,  authorizes  the  brethren  named  therein  to  open  and 
hold  a  lodge  in  San  Francisco.  This  charter  bears  date  November  9,  1848,  A.L.  5848,  and  has 
affixed  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  the  signatures  of  the  Grand  Officers  of  the  District  of 
Columbia.  In  conformity  with  the  authority  thus  derived,  Brother  Stowell  opened  California 
Lodge,  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  in  October,  1849,  and  wns  reelected  Worshipful  Master  on 
St.  John's  Day  last,  which  office  he  still  retains.  This  lodge  is  also  in  successful  operation,  and  is 
duly  represented  in  this  convention. 

" '  Your  committee  have  also  examined  the  credentials,  properly  drawn  and  certified,  of  Brother 
B.  D.  Hyam,  from  Benicia  Lodge,  located  at  Benicia;  but  they  have  not  received  either  a  dispen- 
sation or  a  charter,  or  any  other  Masonic  information  of  the  existence  of  said  Benicia  Lodge.' " 

The  foregoing  report  having  been  read,  it  was,  on  motion, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  committee  on  credentials  be  received  and  considered  in 
sections." 

After  a  due  examination  of  the  same,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  judgment  of  this  convention,  California  Lodge,  No.  13,  Connecticut 
Lodge,  No.  75,  and  Western  Star  Lodge,  No.  98,  are  legally  constituted  and  chartered  lodges  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  that  the  representatives  of  said  lodges  here  present  are  duly 
authorized  and  qualified  to  organize  and  constitute  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State  of  California." 

On  motion  of  Brother  J.  D.  Stevenson,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  representative  from  Benicia  Lodge  and  all  other  Master  Masons  in  good 
standing,  now  present,  be  invited  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  of  this  convention." 

April  19,  1850,  the  convention  adopted  a  constitution.  A  lodge  of  Master 
Masons  was  opened  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and  opening,  in  Masonic 
form,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. Brother  Charles  Oilman  was  appointed  Worshipful  Master.  The 
lodge  was  opened  in  ancient  Masonic  form.     It  was  then,  on  motion, 

"Resolved,  That  an  election  for  Grand  Officers  be  held  forthwith." 

The  election  being  had,  agreeable  to  the  requisitions  of  the  constitution, 
the  Worshipful  Master  announced,  as  being  duly  elected.  Most  Worshipful 
Grand  Master,  Brother  Jonathan  D.  Stevenson,  and  the  other  Grand  Officers. 

Charters  were  granted  to  several  lodges  participating  in  the  formation  of 
Grand  Lodge,  except  New  Jersey  and  Benicia  Lodges,  on  which  the  commit- 
tee reported  as  follows  :  — 


2Q2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"The  special  committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  petitions  from  New  Jersey  and  Benicia 
Lodges,  Report,  That  they  have  had  before  them  the  dispensation  and  books  of  proceedings  of 
New  Jersey  Lodge,  and  are  of  opinion  that  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  should  be  granted,  under 
the  name  of  Berryman  Lodge.  And  as  respects  Benicia  Lodge, i  that  not  having  had  either  the 
dispensation  or  books  of  proceedings  before  them  for  their  inspection,  they  recommend  that,  upon 
the  submission  of  those  documents  to  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  if  he  should  find  their 
work  to  be  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  the  Order,  he  cause  a  charter  to  issue  in  accordance 
with  their  petition." 

Thus  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  commenced  its  great  work  upon  the 
Pacific  Coast. 

Of  those  who  constituted  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  April  19,  1850, 
only  two  are  now  living :  Past  Grand  Masters  Jonathan  Drake  Stevenson 
(the  first  Grand  Master,  aged  ninety  and  one-half  years),  and  John  Ashby 
Tutt  (the  first  Deputy  Grand  Master).  Of  those  who  were  visitors  at  that 
time,  only  four  are  now  living :  Brother  R.  H.  McDonald,  who  is  the  only 
charter  member  now  borne  on  the  rolls  of  Tehama  Lodge,  No.  3 ;  Brother 
and  Honorable  Lansing  B.  Mizner,  charter  member  of  Benicia  Lodge,  No.  5, 
now  United  States  Minister  to  Guatemala ;  Brother  William  S.  Moses,  the  first 
Master  of  Golden  Gate  Lodge,  No.  30,  of  San  Francisco,  and  now  President 
of  the  Masonic  Veteran  Association  of  the  Pacific  Coast ;  and  Most  Worshipful 
Benjamin  D.  Hyam,  Past  Grand  Master,  who  was  secretary  to  the  convention, 
but  not  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  when  constituted. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  California  has  granted  dispensations  and  charters  to 
lodg3s  outside  California,  as  follows  :  — 

Willamette  Lodge,    No.    11 Portland,         Oregon Nov.  27,  1850 

Lafayette  Lodge,  "       15 Lafayette,  "       May   6,    1851 

Carson  Lodge,  "     154 Carson  City,  Nevada "      15,1862 

Virginia  City  Lodge,   "     162 Virgmia  City,       " "      14,  1 863 

Silver  City  Lodge,       "     163 Silver  City,  "        May  15,  1863 

1  [In  1888  the  compiler,  in  examining  the  foregoing  record,  and  that  which  subsequently 
followed,  found  that  there  never  had  been  exhibited  to  the  Grand  Master  or  Grand  Secretary,  the 
original  dispensation  granted  to  Benicia  Lodge  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana,  though  a  charter 
was  issued  to  that  lodge  by  the  first  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California.  Brother 
James  C.  Batchelor,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana,  upon  being  written  to, 
mformed  the  writer  that  there  was  no  record  of  any  dispensation  granted  to  Benicia  Lodge  to  be 
found  in  his  office. 

The  fact  is,  that  the  dispensation  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Master  of  the  clandestine  Grand 
Lodge  ot  Louisiana,  that  was  created  by  lodges  originally  constituted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missis- 
sippi, which  had  invaded  the  jurisdiction  of  that  of  iLouisiana.  In  the  same  year  (1849)  that  spurious 
Grand  Lodge,  through  its  Grand  Master,  had  granted  also  a  dispensation  to  Davy  Crockett  Lodge, 
in  San  Francisco,  before  mentioned ;  and  in  the  same  year  the  spurious  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana 
had  its  building  burned  down  in  New  Orleans,  by  which  all  of  its  records  were  destroyed  ;  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  went  out  of  existence,  its  subordinate  lodges  being  healed  and  received  under 
the  government  of  the  regular  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana.  Hence  the  reason  that  nothing  of 
record  concerning  the  dispensation  granted  to  Benicia  Lodge  could  be  found  in  the  Grand 
Secretary's  office.  It  is  evident  that  Hyam  was  aware  of  the  fact  at  the  time  of  the  convention, 
that  Benicia  Lodge  was  not  regular,  and  hence  the  reason  of  his  not  producing  the  dispensation 
at  that  time,  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  that  lodge.  He  hoped  that  the  irregularity  would 
not  be  discovered,  and  that,  in  obtaining  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  it  would 
regularize  the  lodge.  The  charter  obtained  healed  all  former  irregularities  ;  but  only  the  books  of 
record  ot  the  lodge  were  exhibited  to  the  then  Grand  Master,  Brother  Jonathan  JD.  Stevenson, 
who  ordered  the  charter  to  be  issued. 

By  recommendation  of  California  Lodge,  No.  i,  the  Grand  Master  issued  a  dispensation  to 
Davy  Crockett  Lodge,  which  also  regularized  that,  and  it  received  its  charter,  November  28,  1850, 
the  same  year.] 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^03 

Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  165 Gold  Hill,       Nevada Oct.  13,1864 

Esmeralda  Lodge,       "     170 Aurora,  "        "  13,1864 

Escurial  Lodge,  "     171 Virginia  City,       "        "  13,1864 

Lander  Lodge,  "     172 Austin,  "        "  14,1864 

Aztlan  Lodge,  "     177 Prescott,  Arizona "  11,  1866 

Arizona  Lodge,  "     257 Phoenix,  "       "  16,  1879 

In  addition  to  these,  beyond  her  own  geographical  limits,  she  has  granted 
charters  to  two  lodges  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands:  Hawaiian  Lodge,  No.  21, 
at  Honolulu,  chartered  May  5.  1852  ;  and  Maui  Lodge,  No.  223,  at  Wailuku, 
October  18,  1873,  the  former  being  still  under  its  jurisdiction,  with  nearly  a 
hundred  members,  but  the  latter  has  surrendered  its  charter  :  also,  a  dispensa- 
tion was  granted,  May  6,  1853,  for  Pacific  Lodge,  at  Valparaiso,  Chili,  making 
fourteen  lodges  in  all  created  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  State. 

Although  a  State  government  had  been  set  up  in  California,  with  its  gov- 
ernor, legislature,  and  judiciary  in  perfect  working  order,  and  in  activity, 
acknowledged  and  obeyed  as  such  by  all  within  its  borders,  yet  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  California  was  organized  and  in  full  operation  four  months  and 
twenty-one  days  before  the  State  of  California  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

Of  the  five  lodges  chartered  at  the  dates  of  its  organization,  four  are  still 
in  existence  :  California  Lodge,  No.  i,  then  had  2,t^  members,  and  it  now 
numbers  432;  Western  Star,  No.  2,  which  had  but  9,  now  numbers  52; 
Tehama,  No.  3,  which  had  but  22,  now  numbers  102  ;  and  Benicia,  No.  5, 
which  had  but  22,  now  numbers  58;  all  are  in  healthy  condition,  and  are 
efficient  for  good  works. 

The  other  47  lodges,  which  have  gone  out  of  existence,  were  chiefly  located 
in  the  mining  regions,  which  have  to  a  great  extent  become  abandoned  by  the 
miners,  and  the  brethren  who  remained  united  with  other  lodges,  near  their 
respective  localities. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  California  has  never  failed  to  contribute  largely,  by 
thousands  of  dollars  at  a  time,  to  the  relief  of  sufferers  by  fires,  floods,  earth- 
quakes, and  pestilence,  beyond  its  own  borders. 

Through  its  well-organized  boards  of  rehef,^  during  the  past  thirty-four 
years,  it  has  disbursed  the  following  gross  amount  for  relief :  — 

Masons  of  California ^39.S9i-9S 

Masons  of  Other  Jurisdictions 98,040.85 

Widows  and  Orphans  of  California 28,156.85 

Widows  and  Orphans  of  Other  Jurisdictions 77,016.46 

Incidental  Expenses 20,876.81 

Total ^263,682.92 

1  By  the  vi'ay  of  parenthesis,  showing  the  value  of  money  in  the  early  times  in  California :  a 
brother  loaned  a  lodge  the  sum  of  ^3949,  upon  a  note  given  by  the  lodge,  at  the  rate  of  ten  per 
cent  per  month  interest.  The  money  was  borrowed  for  charitable  purposes.  Subsequently,  the 
lodge  surrendered  its  charter,  books,  and  furniture.  The  brother  had  moved  from  the  State.  Six 
years  afterward,  he  made  a  demand  upon  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  to  pay  this  note,  with 
JDrincipal  and  interest.  The  interest  alone  amounted  to  the  "  delicate  little  sum  "  of  j^28,432.8o, 
and  with   the  principal,  to   ^32,381.80. 

The  committee  reported  upon  the  claim,  and  among  other  things,  said,  — 


394 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Or  an  average  amount  of  $7755.38  per  annum,  expended  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  California  for  relief,  of  which  ^8195,934.12,  or  74^  per  cent,  has  been 
paid  out  for  the  relief  of  brethren,  their  widows  and  orphans,  of  other  juriS' 
dictions  ;  and  all  of  this  relief  independent  of  that  bestowed  by  the  subordinate 
lodges  on  their  own  members,  their  widows  and  orphans ;  or  that  voted  direct 
by  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  times  of  sudden  calamity,  and  contributions  by  the 
brethren. 

The  Grand  Lodge  has  laid  the  corner-stones  of  the  State  capitol,  the  court- 
houses, government  buildings,  universities,  colleges,  school-houses,  churches, 
historic  and  scientific  societies,  throughout  the  broad  domain  of  the  Golden 
State.  —  E.  A.  S. 

Oregon.  —  This  magnificent  State,  whose  chief  northern  boundary  is  the 
beautiful  Columbia  River,  the  mighty  stream  of  the  North-west ;  the  eastern, 
bordered  by  Idaho  ;  the  southern,  by  the  State  of  California ;  and  the  western, 
by  the  broad  Pacific  Ocean,  and  which  originally  as  a  Territory  embraced  the 
whole  of  that  of  Washington,  was  the  first  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  to  be  conse- 
crated to  Freemasonry,  and  the  distinguished  honor  of  erecting  the  first 
Masonic  altar  on  the  Pacific  Coast  was  conferred  upon  Brother  Joseph  Hull, 
who  was  made  a  Mason,  July  19,  1834,  in  Milford  Lodge,  No.  54,  at  Milford, 
Ohio.  On  December  8,  1845,  he  arrived  at  Oregon  City,  Oregon,  then  but  a 
little  hamlet  by  the  Falls  of  the  Willamette.  In  the  winter  of  1845-46  he  inter- 
ested several  other  brethren,  also  residing  there,  to  petition  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Missouri  for  a  charter  for  a  lodge,  to  be  called  "  Multnomah  Lodge."  A 
charter  was  granted,  but  did  not  reach  the  petitioners  until  September  11, 

1848,  the  day  before  he  and  the  others  were  about  starting  for  the  gold  mines 
of  California.  Prior  to  leaving  he  opened  the  lodge,  which  received  several 
petitioners  during  his  brief  absence.    He  returned  to  Oregon  City  in  February, 

1849,  ^^it  permanently  removed  to  California  in  May,  1849.  He  dimitted 
from  Multnomah  Lodge,  February,  1851. 

As  related  in  the  review  of  the  history  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California, 
it  chartered  two  lodges,  one  at  Portland  in  1850,  and  the  other  at  Lafayette 
in  185 1,  in  the  then  Territory  of  Oregon.  We  will  proceed  at  once  with  the 
history  of  the  organization  of  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  A.  F.  and 
A.  M.  of  Oregon. 

"  It  is  an  immemorial  principle  of  our  Order,  which  required  any  and  all  lodges  that  could 
not  maintain  themselves  to  surrender  their  charter,  furniture,  books,  etc.',  to  the  Grand  Lodge  from 
which  those  charters  were  obtained,  and  we  doubt  much  if  this  is  not  the  first  instance  in  which 
constructive  ingenuity  ever  attempted  to  make  a  Grand  Lodge  legally  responsible  for  the  debts  of 
its  subordinates. 

"  We  find  from  the  records  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  and  those  of Lodge,  that  the  sum  of 

53594-25  has  been  paid  to  the  aforesaid  brother,  not  including  the  amounts  paid  him  by 

Lodge  itself,  nor  by  individuals,  whose  memory  justifies  the  inference  that  he  has  received  in 
addition  to  the  above  amount,  as  much  as  ten  or  fifteen  hundred  dollars  more. 

"In  consideration  of  these  circumstances,  your  committee  recommend  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolution :  — 

Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Lodge  is  under  no  obligation  to  Brother ,  and  that  it  will 

not  make  any  further  donations  to  said  brother  on  account  of  past  difficulties.' 

"  The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted." 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  295 

An  assembly  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  convened  in  the  Masonic  hall 
at  Oregon  City,  Territory  of  Oregon,  on  the  i6th  day  of  August,  1851. 
It  was 

"  Resolved,  First,  That  this  Convention  of  F.  and  A.  Masons  deem  it  proper  and  expedient  to 
organize  a  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Territory  of  Oregon. 

"  Second,  That  the  secretary  of  this  convention  be  authorized  to  address  to  the  Worshipful 
Master,  Wardens,  and  brethren  of  the  several  lodges  in  this  Territory  a  communication  suggest- 
ing the  propriety  of  organizing  a  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Territory  of  Oregon  ;  and  that 
if  deemed  by  them  wise  and  expedient,  the  second  Saturday  in  September  next,  at  9  o'clock  A.M., 
be  selected  as  the  day,  and  Oregon  City  be  selected  as  the  place  for  the  assembly  of  delegates  duly 
authorized  to  organize  a  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge." 

A  convention  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  assembled  in  the  Masonic 
hall  at  Oregon  City,  Oregon  Territory,  on  the  13th  day  of  September,  1851. 
It  was 

"  Voted,  That  the  Worshipful  Masters  of  lodges  in  this  Territory,  now  present,  constitute  a 
committee  to  examine  the  credentials  of  delegates  to  this  convention,  and  to  ascertain  and 
report  the  authority  in  them  vested  to  organize  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for 
the  Territory  of  Oregon." 

The  committee  on  credentials  submitted  the  following  report :  — 

"  The  committee  appointed  to  examine  the  credentials  of  delegates  respectfully  report, 

"'That  they  have  examined  the  charter  of  Multnomah  Lodge,  No.  84;  Willamette  Lodge, 
No.  11;  and  Lafayette  Lodge,  No.  15,  and  the  credentials  of  the  Representatives  of  said  lodges, 
and  have  ascertained  the  following  facts,  viz. :  — 

" '  The  charter  of  Multnomah  Lodge,  No.  84,  bears  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of 
Missouri  and  the  signatures  of  the  Grand  Officers  of  said  lodge.  This  charter  authorizes  the 
opening  of  a  lodge  in  Oregon  City,  Oregon  Territory,  to  be  called  Multnomah  Lodge,  No.  84. 
Brother  Joseph  Hull  accordingly  opened  this  lodge  in  Oregon  City,  on  the  nth  day  of  September, 
A.L.  5848,  which  is  now  performing  Masonic  work. 

"'  The  charter  of  Willamette  Lodge,  No.  11,  is  dated  November  27,  1850,  and  bears  the  sig- 
natures of  the  Grand  Officers  and  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  California.  It 
granted  full  power  to  open  and  continue  a  lodge  in  the  town  of  Portland,  Oregon  Territory. 
Willamette  Lodge  was,  therefore,  opened,  in  Portland,  Oregon  Territory,  the  4th  day  of  January, 
1851,  and  it  continues  in  successful  operation. 

"  '  The  charter  of  Lafayette  Lodge,  No.  15,  authorizes  the  opening  and  holding  of  a  lodge  in 
Lafayette,  in  Oregon  Territory.  This  charter  bears  date  May  9,  1851,  and  has  affixed  the  seal 
and  the  signatures  of  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  California.  In  conformity 
with  the  authority  thus  derived,  Brother  William  J.  Berry,  having  been  elected  and  installed  as 
Worshipful  Master,  opened  said  lodge  in  the  town  of  Lafayette,  in  Oregon  Territory,  on  the 
30th  day  of  July,  1851.  This  lodge  is  also  in  successful  operation,  and  is  duly  represented  in  this 
convention.'  " 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  form  of  constitution,  with  instructions 
to  report  a  section  to  the  effect  that  the  Past  Masters,  members  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  be  collectively  entitled  to  one  vote.  On 
motion,  adjourned. 

On  September  15,  185 1,  the  constitution  was  adopted.  A  lodge  of  Master 
Masons  opened.  An  election  for  Grand  Officers  was  held,  at  which  Berryman 
Jennings  was  elected  Grand  Master.  The  other  Grand  Officers  were  also 
elected  and  installed.     The  lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  closed. 


30 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


September  15,  1S51,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  of  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  was  opened.  The  charters  of  the  several 
lodges  were  ordered  to  be  indorsed  as  recognized  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 

On  motion,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  take  such  measures,  during  the  recess, 
as  he  may  deem  proper,  to  establish  uniformity  of  Masonic  work  under  this  jurisdiction." 

And  thus  the  second  Grand  Lodge  upon  the  Pacific  Coast  was  organized  at 
the  place  where  the  first  lodge  of  Freemasons,  in  the  extreme  Occident,  was 
erected. 

One  of  the  principal  things  for  which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon  is  to  be 
distinguished  and  commended  in  its  earlier  years  was  its  action  taken  upon 
the  subject  of  education.  A  committee  on  education  was  appointed  June  12, 
1854,  to  receive  subscriptions.  It  is  remarkable  that  every  member  of 
Multnomah  Lodge,  No.  i,  the  first  lodge  to  be  established  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  at  that  early  date,  contributed  the  sum  of  $5  to  this  cause,  whether  he 
was  married  or  single,  and  whether  he  had  any  children  of  his  own  or  not, 
contributing  in  the  aggregate  the  sum  of  $160.  The  Grand  Lodge  appro- 
priated $150.  Some  of  the  brethren  of  the  other  lodges  also  contributed 
$5  each,  while  some  of  the  lodges  made  an  appropriation  direct,  the  whole 
amount   placed   in   the   Educational    Fund    at    the    commencement    being 

^525-97- 

Scarcely  had  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon  been  constituted  and  under  way 
when,  on  November  25,  1852,  it  established  a  lodge  under  dispensation  at 
Olympia,  Washington  Territory ;  and  in  June,  following,  granted  it  a  charter. 

In  1854  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  a  lodge  established  at  Steilacoom, 
and  a  charter  was  granted  June  13th,  of  that  year. 

In  1858  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  a  lodge  established  at  Grand  Mound, 
Thurston  County,  and  on  July  15th  of  that  year  a  charter  followed  under  the 
name  of  Grand  Mound  Lodge,  No.  21  ;  also  a  dispensation  to  Washington 
Lodge  at  Wisconsin,  and  a  charter  following  on  the  above  date  to  be  known 
as  Washington  Lodge,  No.  22,  in  that  Territory, 

The  four  lodges  above  mentioned,  having  elected  their  representatives  to  a 
convention  which  formed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Washington  that  year,  severed 
their  connection  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon.  Its 
Educational  Fund,  from  the  small  sum  of  $525.97,  has  increased  to  the  amount 
of  $67,967.95,  which  has  been  invested  in  real  estate  of  the  Masonic  Building 
Association. —  E.  A.  S. 

WasMngton.  —  This  jurisdiction  originally  formed  a  part  of  that  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon.  But  when  the  Territory  of  Oregon  was  divided  by 
act  of  Congress,  and  that  of  Washington  created,  the  political  division  was 
speedily  followed  by  the  Masonic  authority. 

The  emigration  from  Missouri  and  other  States  of  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
carried  with  it  the  light  of  Freemasonry,  which  first  found  a  lodgement  at  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  on -7 

falls  of  the  Willamette  in  Oregon,  while  the  lumbermen  from  INlaine  and 
other  Eastern  States,  with  the  gold-seeking  prospectors  of  California,  soon 
occupied  the  shores  of  Paget  Sound  and  penetrated  far  into  the  interior  even 
of  British  Columbia,  following  up  the  Frazer  River  to  its  source,  in  search  of 
the  ghttering  treasure.  In  all  of  these  expeditions  Freemasonry  accompanied 
the  armies  of  the  enterprising  prospectors.  Scarcely  had  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Oregon  been  constituted  and  its  altars  planted,  the  columns  of  Freemasonry 
set  up  north  of  the  Columbia  River,  at  Vancouver,  Olympia,  and  the  village 
near  the  United  States  military  post  of  Fort  Steilacoom,  ere  the  decree  of 
Congress  was  issued  dividing  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  and  that  of  Washing- 
ton was  created. 

On  November  25,  1852,  the  Grand  Master  of  Oregon  granted  a  dispensa- 
tion for  a  lodge  to  be  known  as  Olympia  Lodge,  U.  D.,  to  be  located  at 
Olympia,  at  the  head  of  Puget  Sound.  This  lodge  was  chartered,  June  14, 
1873,  as  Olympia  Lodge,  No.  5. 

Early  in  the  year  1854  the  Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  acting,  ex  officio,  as 
Grand  Master  of  Oregon  Territory,  granted  a  dispensation  to  open  a  lodge  at 
Steilacoom,  to  be  known  as  Steilacoom  Lodge,  U.  D.,  near  the  head-waters 
of  Puget  Sound.  This  lodge  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon 
as  Steilacoom  Lodge,  No.  7. 

Early  in  the  year  1858  the  Grand  Master  of  Oregon  granted  dispensations 
to  two  lodges  in  the  Territory  of  Washington,  as  follows  :  first,  to  "  Grand 
Mound  Lodge,  U.  D.,"  to  be  located  at  Grand  Mound,  Thurston  County ; 
which  was  duly  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon,  July  14,  1858,  as 
"Grand  Mound  Lodge,  No.  21."  The  dispensation  granted  at  the  same 
time,  and  by  the  same  authority,  was  for  a  lodge  to  be  known  as  "Wash- 
ington Lodge,  U.  D.,"  to  be  located  at  Vancouver,  Washington  Territory. 
This  was  chartered  as  "Washington  Lodge,  No.  22."  This  lodge  being 
located  at  Vancouver,  which  was  a  large  military  post  of  the  United  States 
army,  had  a  great  number  of  Masons  enrolled  upon  its  register  at  the  time  of 
its  charter. 

A  convention  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  delegated  by  the  several 
lodges  in  this  Territory,  assembled  at  Masonic  hall,  in  Olympia,  Washington 
Territory,  on  the  6th  day  of  December,  1858,  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
the  propriety  of  establishing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  said  Territory.  The  com- 
mittee appointed  to  examine  the  credentials  of  delegates  to  this  convention 
reported  that  they  had  examined  the  credentials  of  delegates  :  from  Olympia 
Lodge,  No.  5  ;  Steilacoom  Lodge,  No.  8  ;  Grand  Mound  Lodge,  No.  2 1  ; 
and  Washington  Lodge,  No.  22,  the  said  several  lodges  being  regularly 
constituted  and  holding  charters  granted  by  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Oregon.  The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted  :  — 

"  Whereas,  It  has  been  made  known  to  this  convention  that  there  are  in  operation  in  this 


398 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY, 


Territory  the  requisite  number  of  jusj  and  legally  constituted  lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
to  authorize  the  formation  and  organization  of  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Territory  of  Washington, 

and 

"  Whereas,  It  appears  that  a  sufficient  number  of  delegates  from  the  several  Ibdges  are  now 
present,  invested  with  ample  authority  to  organize  and  constitute  said  Grand  Lodge ;  therefore, 

be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  the  delegates  and  representatives  of  the  several  duly  constituted  lodges  now 
in  successful  operation  in  this  Territory,  and  who  are  now  present  at  this  convention,  proceed  to 
the  formation  and  organization  of  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  Territory 
of  Washington." 

A  committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  draft  and  report  a  constitution  for 
the  government  of  the  Grand  Lodge.     It  was 

"  Resolved,T\i2.\.  the  constitution  as  now  reported  be  hereby  adopted  as  the  constitution  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  Territory  of  Washington." 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  also  adopted  :  — 

"Whereas,  This  convention  has  adopted  a  constitution  for  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  of  the  Territory  of  Washington  ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  an  election  be  now  held  for  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  who  shall  hold  their 
offices  until  the  annual  communication,  to  be  held  in  Olympia,  commencing  on  the  first  Monday 
in  September,  A.  L.  5859. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  lodge  of  Master  Masons  be  opened  in  due  and  ancient  form,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  and  opening  in  AMPLE  FORM  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
of  the  Territory  of  Washington." 

The  lodge  was  opened  in  ancient  Masonic  form.     On  motion,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  lodge  proceed  forthwith  to  the  election  of  Grand  Officers  by  ballot,  and 
for  each  separately." 

The  lodge  then  proceeded  to  the  election  by  ballot,  and  the  brethren  were 
duly  elected  for  the  ensuing  Masonic  year,  Brother  T.  F.  McElroy  being 
elected  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master.  The  Grand  Officers  were  then 
installed. 

On  December  g,  1858,  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  of  the  Territory  of  Washington  was  opened  in  due  and 
ancient  form.     The  following  was  adopted  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  charters  of  the  several  subordinate  lodges  represented  in  and  composing 
this  Grand  Lodge  shall  be  indorsed,  and  each  numbered  consecutively,  according  to  the  date 
thereof." 

At  this  communication,  it  was  unanimously 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  no  Mason  has  a  right  to  withdraw  from 
a.  lodge,  except  for  the  purpose  of  becoming  immediately  a  member  of  some  other  lodge,  or  for 
some  of  the  reasons  named  in  the  Ancient  Charges  and  Regulations ;  and  that  any  Mason  who 
does  so,  acts  in  direct  contravention  to  the  spirit  of  Freemasonry,  and  is  totally  unworthy  the 
regard  of  all  well-disposed  Masons,  and  therefore  is  not  entitled  to  any  of  the  benefits  and 
privileges  of  the  Fraternity." 

Thus  the  third  Grand  Lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  formed  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  when  Washington  Territory  (now  a  State)  was  in  its  infancy.  Of  the 
four  lodges  which  formed  the  Grand  Lodge,  one  has  ceased  to  exist.     The 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


399 


Grand  Lodge  of  Washington  almost  immediately  after  its  organization  began 
to  erect  altars  of  Freemasonry,  not  only  along  the  shores  of  Puget  Sound, 
but  across  the  Cascade  Range  to  the  western  slope  of  the  Blue  Mountains, 
to  the  eastward  of  the  Columbia  River,  and  at  the  junction  of  the  Clearwater 
and  Snake  rivers  (at  Lewiston,  now  in  Idaho),  its  great  tributaries,  and  there 
planted  its  lodges  and  ignited  the  holy  fire.  Scarcely  had  the  act  of  transfer 
of  Alaska  from  the  Russian  government  to  that  of  the  United  States  taken 
place,  and  the  American  flag  raised  upon  its  soil,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Washington  at  once  occupied  it,  and  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  organized  the 
most  western  lodge  of  Freemasonry  on  the  American  continent,  still  thousands 
of  miles  to  the  westward,  and  meridionally  the  Grand  East  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Washington  is  fixed  in  the  centre  of  this  magnificent  domain  of  the 
American  Republic. 

But  ten  years  ago,  where  now  stands  the  beautiful  and  flourishing  inland 
city  of  Spokane  Falls,  a  lodge  which  had  been  working  under  dispensation 
was  patiently  waiting  for  its  charter,  which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Washington 
had  recently  granted.  Its  then  Worshipful  Master,  who  subsequently  became 
Grand  Master  of  that  jurisdiction,  convened  his  lodge  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
Day,  and  marched  to  a  beautiful  grove  to  celebrate  it  in  an  agreeable  and 
appropriate  manner.  Masons  were  there  with  their  families  to  enjoy  the  day 
in  feasting,  and  to  listen  to  the  addresses  of  their  Worshipful  Master  and 
others,  including  the  writer  of  this  sketch.  Not  a  weapon  had  the  brethren 
there  assembled,  although  surrounded  by  Indians,  some  of  whose  hands  were 
yet  moist  with  the  blood  of  the  white  man.  Scarcely  had  the  echoes  of  the 
last  speaker  among  the  brotherhood  died  away,  when  was  heard  that  of  the 
red  man  in  council,  assembled  by  a  United  States  army  officer,  the  represent- 
ative of  his  government,  requiring  that  each  Indian  should  take  up  his  own 
homestead  upon  the  public  lands  in  severalty  and  go  to  work,  or  else  be 
gathered  with  all  the  others  of  their  tribes  upon  the  reservations.  The 
strangeness  of  holding  a  INIasonic  celebration  under  such  conditions  and 
surroundings  was  one  long  to  be  remembered,  and  we  believe  to  be  without 
a  parallel. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history,  incidentally  connected  with  the  establishing  of 
Freemasonry  in  the  Territory,  but  now  the  State,  of  Washington.  —  E.  A.  S. 

Idaho.  ^-  Idaho  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  of  an  Indian  word, 
meaning  "  Gem  of  the  Mountains." 

Idaho  was  created  a  Territory  by  act  of  Congress,  INIarch  3,  1863,  from 
parts  of  Dakota,  Nebraska,  and  Washington  Territories. 

On  July  7,  1863,  John  McCracken,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Oregon,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Wasco  Lodge,  No.  15,  granted  a  dis- 
pensation to  form  a  lodge  at  Bannock  City,  Idaho  Territory,  to  be  called 
Idaho  Lodge.  This  act  raised  the  question  of  jurisdiction  between  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Washington  Territory  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon.     Special 


.QQ  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

committees  were  appointed  by  the  respective  Grand  Lodges  upon  the  matters 
at  issue  between  their  jurisdictions,  and  finally  the  matter  was  amicably  set- 
tled. A  charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon  on  June  22, 
1864,  to  Idaho  Lodge,  No.  35.  On  April  i,  1865,  the  Grand  Master  of 
Oregon  issued  a  dispensation  to  open  a  lodge  at  Boise  City,  Idaho,  and  at  the 
annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  on  June  20,  1865,  a  charter  was 
granted  to  Boise  City  Lodge,  No.  37,  Boise  City;  also,  to  Placer  Lodge,  No. 
7^^,  at  Placerville,  Idaho.  At  this  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon, 
Idaho  Lodge  submitted  a  communication  stating  that  by  the  recent  fire  at 
Idaho  City  they  had  lost  their  lodge-room  and  all  their  records  and  furniture 
except  their  Bible  and  charter.  They  say  they  have  provided  shelter  for  the 
homeless,  food  for  the  hungry,  and  clothing  for  the  naked ;  and  they  now 
respectfully  solicit  any  assistance  the  Grand  Lodge  might  see  fit  to  bestow. 
The  Grand  Lodge  remitted  the  dues  of  Idaho  Lodge  for  1864  and  1865.  On 
July  21,  1866,  the  Grand  Master  of  Oregon  issued  a  dispensation  to  form  a 
lodge  at  Silver  City,  Idaho,  to  be  known  as  "  Owyhee  Lodge."  On  June  7, 
1867,  the  Grand  Master  of  Washington  granted  a  dispensation  to  Pioneer 
Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Pioneer  City,  Idaho.  A  charter  was  granted  Pioneer  Lodge, 
No.  12,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Washington  on  September  21,  1867. 

A  convention  of  delegates  from  the  four  chartered  lodges  :  Idaho,  No. 
35  ;  Boise,  No.  37  ;  Placer,  No.  2)^  ;  and  Pioneer,  No.  12,  in  Idaho  Territory, 
assembled  in  Idaho  City,  December  16,  1 86  7.  A  seat  in  the  convention  was, 
out  of  courtesy,  extended  to  Owyhee  Lodge,  U.  D.,  in  the  preliminary  organi- 
zation. On  December  17th  the  convention  was  called  to  order,  and  the 
committee  on  credentials  reported  representatives  from  the  several  chartered 
lodges  as  follows:  Idaho  Lodge,  No.  35;  Boise,  No.  37;  Placer,  No.  38; 
and  Pioneer,  No.  12.     It  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  representatives  present  are  fully  authorized  and  empowered  to  organize 
a  Grand  Lodge  in  Idaho." 

A  lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  then  opened  in  due  form,  and  an  election 
of  Grand  Officers  for  the  ensuing  year  held,  and  Brother  George  H.  Coe  was 
elected  Grand  Master. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  for  the  government  of 
the  Grand  Lodge.  Worshipful  P.  E.  Edmondson  installed  Brother  George  H. 
Coe,  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  and  the  Grand  Master  installed  the 
other  Grand  Officers,  the  lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  closed  in  due  form, 
and  the  convention  was  dissolved. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Idaho  was  then  opened  in  ample  form,  and  the  various 
standing  committees  appointed.  On  December  i8th  charters  were  granted  : 
to  Idaho  Lodge,  No.  i  ;  Boise  Lodge,  No.  2  ;  Placer  Lodge,  No.  3 ;  Pioneer 
Lodge,  No.  4;  and  Owyhee  Lodge,  No.  5. 

The  first  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Idaho  was  convened 
at  Idaho  City,  on  Monday,  June  22,   1868,  when  a  resolution  was  adopted 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^qI 

requiring  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Masters  of  this  body  to  have,  as  soon  as 
practicable  after  their  installation,  a  hfe-sized  photograph  taken  of  themselves 
for  this  Grand  Lodge,  and  the  Grand  Secretary  was  authorized  to  draw  an 
order  on  the  Grand  Treasurer  to  pay  for  the  same. 

On  June  23,  1868,  a  charter  was  granted  to  War  Eagle  Lodge,  No.  6,  at 
Silver  City. 

A  dispensation  was  granted  :  on  April  5,  1869,  to  Shoshone  Lodge,  at  Boise 
City;  and,  on  July  21,  1869,  to  Summit  Lodge,  at  Leesburg,  Lemhi  County: 
on  October  6,  1869,  charters  were  granted:  to  Shoshone  Lodge,  No.  7,  at 
Boise  City ;  and  Coe  Lodge,  No.  8,  at  Centreville,  Boise  County.  On  Decem- 
ber 17,  1874,  Coe  Lodge,  No.  8,  surrendered  its  charter  to  the  Grand  Lodge, 
who  took  charge  of  the  same  and  the  effects  of  Coe  Lodge,  as  the  lodge  had 
become  insolvent. 

Alturas  Lodge,  No.  12,  was  chartered  on  December  15,  1875  ;  and,  on 
September  10,  1879,  the  charter  of  Pioneer  Lodge,  No.  4,  was  arrested,  and 
the  Grand  Lodge  issued  dimits  to  its  members,  so  that  on  September  14, 
1880,  there  were  only  ten  working  lodges  in  this  jurisdiction. 

On  September  14,  1881,  Owyhee  Lodge,  No  5,  and  War  Eagle,  No.  6, 
consolidated  and  organized  Silver  City  Lodge,  No.  13,  to  which  a  charter  was 
granted,  September  15,  1881. 

The  first  Masonic  hall  built  in  Idaho  was  at  Idaho  City,  the  lumber  for 
which  was  whip-sawed  by  hand  exclusively,  and  cost  $2000.  It  was  con- 
structed over  the  first  story  of  the  store  of  Messrs.  McC.  &  Clark,  commission 
merchants,  and  $20  per  month  rental  was  paid  for  the  privilege.  The  size 
was  18  by  40  feet,  and  the  height  at  the  sides  was  only  seven  feet,  and  arched 
overhead.  The  cost  of  erecting  this  hall  was  $4000.  The  square  and  com- 
passes were  made  of  tin,  and  used  until  a  set  of  silver  ones  could  be  obtained. 
At  that  time  everything  coming  into  the  "Great  Boise  Basin"  came  exclusively 
by  pack  trains. 

Eighteen  halls  have  been  constructed  by  the  Fraternity  in  Idaho,  three  of 
which  are  of  brick,  the  one  at  Salmon  City,  Lemhi  County,  being  three  stories 
high  and  a  magnificent  building.  Essene  Lodge,  No.  22,  is  constructing  a 
three-story  Temple,  which  when  completed  will  be  the  finest  building  in  the 
State. 

The  Grand  Lodge  "  Orphan  Fund  "  was  created,  October  7,  1869.  Brother 
Lafayette  Cartee  introduced  the  resolution,  which  was  unanimously  adopted. 

The  Grand  Master,  Senior  and  Junior  Grand  Wardens,  were  constituted  a 
Board  of  Trustees,  to  have  and  exercise  full  control  of  the  money  belonging 
to  that  fund.  To  this  fund  each  Master  Mason  and  each  contributing  member 
pay  annually  $1.  This  is  an  irreducible  fund,  and  from  the  interest  derived 
therefrom  the  charities  of  the  Grand  Lodge  are  paid,  which  amount  to  about 
^600  annually.  In  18S9  this  fund  and  the  accumulated  interest  amounted  to 
^14,303.10. 


.Q2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  revenue  of  Grand  Lodge  is  derived  as  follows:  $i  for  each  degree 
conferred  ;  $i  for  each  Master  Mason  on  the  annual  returns,  and  $i  for  each 
contributing  member  for  Grand  Lodge  dues.  To  the  representative  fund  : 
$1.25  for  each  Master  Mason;  from  fees  for  dispensation,  56o ;  charter, 
$20;  Grand  Lodge  certificate,  $2  ;  and  certificate  to  dispensation,^!.  The 
viitiimum  fee  for  the  three  degrees  is  $50,  though  some  lodges  charge  from 
^75  to  $^0,  and  the  dues  in  subordinate  lodges  range  from  $6  to  $12  per 
annum,  and  $\  for  the  Orphan  Fund.  In  1874  the  legislature  of  Idaho  passed 
an  act  incorporating  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  but  for  good 
reasons  the  Grand  Lodge  have  not  yet  complied  with  its  provisions.  Only 
one  of  the  constituted  lodges  has  been  incorporated.  —  C.  E.  G. 

Montana.  —  Montana  was  originally  a  portion  of  Idaho  Territory,  but  on 
May  20,  1S64,  was  taken  therefrom  and  made  an  independent  Territory  of  the 
Federal  Union. 

One  who  was  a  participant  in  the  introduction  of  Freemasonry  into  Montana 
said,  in  1867  :  — 

"  Masonry  was  almost  an  outburst  of  the  soil  of  our  new  Territory.  With  an  existence  of 
scarcely  five  years,  we  yet  cannot  tell  when  it  first  came  here,  who  brought  it,  or  at  what  particular 
moment  of  our  brief  history  it  did  not  exist  here.  It  came  with  us,  but  we  found  it  here  upon  our 
arrival.  Few  as  were  the  members  who  had  drank  of  its  sacred  fount,  they  were  yet  here  ;  and  as 
soon  as  they  became  known  to  each  other,  obedient  to  the  teachings  they  had  received,  they  were 
ready  to  cooperate  for  the  purpose  of  protection  and  improvement.  Finding  themselves  among 
a  reckless  people,  whose  trade  was  robbery  and  murder,  who  were  unrestrained  by  law,  superior 
in  numbers,  criminally  organized,  constantly  tempted  to  ply  their  vocation,  —  the  few  who  felt  the 
force  of  Masonic  influence  united  with  the  few  who  were  prepared  in  their  hearts  to  receive  that 
influence,  and  formed  here  a  truly  Masonic  association.  When  the  company  of  which  I  was  one 
entered  what  is  now  Montana  (then  Dakota),  a  single  settlement,  known  by  the  name  of  Grass- 
hopper (now  Bannock),  was  the  only  abode  of  the  white  man  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
Territory.  Our  journey  from  Minnesota,  of  fourteen  hundred  miles,  by  a  route  never  before 
travelled,  and  with  the  slow  conveyance  of  ox-trains,  was  of  long  duration  and  tedious.  It  was  a 
clear  September  twilight  when  we  camped  on  the  western  side  of  the  range  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains where  they  are  crossed  by  the  Mullan  road.  The  labors  of  the  day  over,  three  of  our  number, 
a  brother  named  Charlton,  another  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  and  myself,  the  only  three 
Master  Masons  in  the  company,  impressed  by  the  grandeur  of  the  mountain  scenery,  and  the 
wild  beauty  of  the  evening,  ascended  the  mountain  to  its  summit,  and  there,  in  imitation  of  our 
ancient  brethren,  opened  and  closed  an  informal  lodge  of  Master  Masons.  Soon  after  my  arrival 
in  the  Territory,  one  of  the  early  emigrants  from  the  East,  Brother  William  H.  Bell,  of  St.  Louis, 
fell  a  victim  to  an  attack  of  mountain  fever.  He  was  a  Mason  in  good  standing,  and  desired,  if 
possible,  to  be  buried  with  Masonic  honors. 

"  All  the  Masons  in  the  settlement  were  requested  to  meet  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of  his 
death,  at  the  cabin  of  Brother  C.  J.  Miller,  on  Yankee  Flat,  for  the  purpose  of  making  prepara- 
tions for  the  funeral.  At  this  time  the  numerical  power  of  Masonry  in  the  Territory  was  unknown. 
Judge  of  our  surprise  after  the  brethren  had  assembled,  to  find  that  the  cabin  would  not  contain 
one-half  of  the  persons  in  attendance.  We  adjourned  to  a  larger  cabin.  The  usual  examinations 
were  conducted,  and  though  not  unmindful  of  the  solemn  purposes  for  which  we  had  assembled, 
the  great  and  no  less  agreeable  surprise  occasioned  by  the  meeting  in  such  large  numbers  led  us, 
even  then,  to  contemplate  the  expediency  of  obtaining  from  the  nearest  Masonic  jurisdiction 
authority  to  organize  a  regular  working  lodge.  The  following  day  the  funeral  services  were  held, 
the  ceremonies  conducted  by  myself;  and  the  first  man  who  had  died  in  any  settlement  of  the 
Territory  was  consigned  to  the  grave  by  as  generous  and  warm-hearted  a  band  of  brethren  as  ever 
congregated  ufwn  a  Uke  solemn  occasion.    Seventy-six  good  men  and  true  dropped  the  evergreen 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  .03 

info  the  grave  of  our  departed  brother;  and  as  they  stood  around  the  grave  with  uncovered 
heads,  and  listened  in  reverential  silence  to  the  impressive  language  of  our  beautiful  ritual,  I  felt 
more  than  on  any  former  occasion,  how  excellent  a  thing  it  was  for  a  man  to  be  a  Mason. 

"  When  the  Masons  of  Bannock  departed  from  the  burial  of  their  brother,  every  man  of  them 
was  prepared  to  present  a  bold  and  decided  front  against  the  crime  and  recklessness  which  threat- 
ened their  destruction.  From  this  moment  Masonic  history  commenced  its  lofty  career  in 
Montana.  Other  law-abiding  people  who,  though  not  members  of  the  Order,  possessed  the  first 
and  highest  preparations  to  become  so,  united  with  the  brethren  in  organizing  force  to  vanquish 
crime,  and  drive  it  from  our  borders.  It  is  worthy  of  comment  that  every  Mason  in  these  trying 
hours  of  our  history  adhered  steadfastly  to  his  principles." 

The  Grand  Master  of  Nebraska,  on  April  27,  1863,  granted  a  dispensation  to 
form  and  open  Bannock  City  Lodge,  Idaho  (afterward  in  Montana)  Territory. 
This  was  renewed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  on  June  23,  1863,  and  again,  June  24, 
1864.  Before  the  dispensation  was  received  at  Bannock,  a  large  majority 
of  the  Masons  who  were  there,  attracted  by  the  golden  promises  of  other 
portions  of  the  Territory,  became  scattered,  and  the  lodge  never  met  under 
this  authority. 

On  November  17,  1863,  the  Grand  Master  of  Nebraska  issued  a  dispensa- 
tion to  "  Idaho  Lodge "  at  Nevada  City,  (then)  Idaho  Territory.  This 
dispensation  was  renewed,  November  24,  1864;  and  a  charter  was  granted, 
June  23,  1865,  to  Idaho  Lodge,  No.  10,  at  Nevada  City,  Idaho  Territory. 
But  I  presume  the  charter  was  never  issued  or  sent,  for  the  dispensation  issued 
to  Idaho  Lodge  was  lost  on  its  way  back  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska, 
the  mails  having  been  destroyed  by  Indians,  and  this  probably  is  why  Solomon 
Lodge,  at  Fort  Calhoun,  was  chartered  on  June  22,  1866,  as  Lodge  No.  10. 

The  Grand  Master  of  Kansas,  in  December,  1864,  granted  a  dispensation 
to  Virginia  City  Lodge,  at  Virginia  City,  Montana;  and  on  December  2,  1864, 
it  was  granted  a  charter  as  Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  43. 

The  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Colorado,  on  April  4,  1865,  granted  a  dis- 
pensation to  Montana  Lodge,  at  Virginia  City,  Montana.  This  lodge  was 
granted  a  charter  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado,  November  7,  1865,  ^^ 
Montana  Lodge,  No.  9.  The  Grand  Master  of  Colorado  also  granted  a  dis- 
pensation on  July  10,  1865,  to  Helena  Lodge,  at  Helena,  Montana;  and  to  it 
was  granted  a  charter,  November  7,  1865,  as  Helena  Lodge,  No.  10. 

A  convention  of  delegates  from  the  three  chartered  lodges  in  the  Territory 
of  Montana  assembled  at  the  Masonic  hall  in  Virginia  City,  on  the  24th  day 
of  January,  1866.  These  lodges  were:  Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  43;  Mon- 
tana Lodge,  No.  9  ;  Helena  Lodge,  No.  10. 

A  resolution  was  adopted  to  organize  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  "  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana."  John 
J.  Hull  was  elected  as  temporary  Grand  Master. 

The  Grand  Lodge  proceeded  to  consider  and  adopt  a  constitution,  also  a 
code  of  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  its  subordinates, 
and  rules  of  order,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  was  "called  off"  until  9  o'clock 
A.M.,  January    26,  1866,  when  an  election  was  held,  and  John  J.  Hull  was 


.Q,  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

elected  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master;  and  charters  were  granted:  to 
Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  i  ;  Montana  Lodge,  No.  2  ;  and  Helena  Lodge, 
No.  3.  On  January  29,  1866,  a  charter  was  granted  to  Nevada  Lodge,  No.  4, 
at  Nevada. 

At  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana  there  were  but  three 
chartered  lodges,  with  a  membership  not  exceeding  one  hundred,  within  their 
jurisdiction,  and  with  this  small  membership  they  commenced  paying  mileage 
and  per  diem  to  the  representatives  of  their  subordinate  lodges,  from  the 
organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

In  the  first  constitution  adopted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana,  the  fee 
for  a  dispensation  to  open  a  new  lodge  was  ^50,  and  ^5  additional  for  the 
charter;  and  the  fee  for  the  three  degrees  was  $75.  The  fee  for  the  degrees 
was  reduced  to  $60  in  1875,  and  is  now  reduced  to  $50. 

The  Grand  Master  granted  dispensations  as  follows  :  to  Gallatin  Lodge, 
February  17,  1866;  to  Morning  Star  Lodge  and  Diamond  City  Lodge,  on 
February  24,  1866  :  on  October  2,  1866,  charters  were  granted  Morning  Star 
Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Helena;  Gallatin  Lodge,  No.  6,  at  Bozeman  City;  and  Dia- 
mond City  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Diamond  City.  The  Grand  Master,  on  October 
22,  1866,  granted  a  dispensation  to  Wasatch  Lodge,  at  Salt  Lake  City;  on 
October  29,  1866,  to  Summit  Lodge,  at  Summit  District,  Madison  County, 
Montana  Territory;  on  December  11,  1866,  to  Red  Mountain  Lodge,  at  Red 
Mountain  City,  Deer  Lodge  County ;  and  on  July  12,  1867,  to  King  Solomon's 
Lodge,  at  Helena,  Montana  Territory. 

On  October  7,  1867,  a  lengthy  petition  was  received  from  the  brethren, 
formerly  composing  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Salt  Lake  City,  asking  for  a 
charter,  which  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  the  returns  and  work  of 
lodges,  U.  D.,  who,  on  the  afternoon  of  October  nth,  reported  adversely  to 
granting  a  charter,  and  referred  the  petitioners  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Neveda 
far  a  redress  of  their  alleged  grievances.  At  this  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
on  October  12,  1867,  charters  were  granted:  to  Wasatch  Lodge,  No.  8,  Salt 
Lake,  Utah;  King  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  9,  at  Helena;  Summit  Lodge,  No.  10, 
at  Summit  District;  Flint  Creek  Lodge,  No.  11,  at  Phillipsburg ;  and  Red 
Mountain  Lodge,  No.  12,  at  Red  Mountain  City. 

Section  nine  of  the  by-laws  for  the  government  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was 
amended,  reducing  the  mileage  pay  of  representatives  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
from  twenty-five  cents  per  mile  to  ten  cents  per  mile,  and  in  no  case  to 
exceed  the  amount  of  the  dues  paid,  by  the  representative  lodge,  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  at  that  communication. 

On  the  27th  day  of  December,  1867,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana  conse- 
crated and  dedicated  the  Masonic  Temple  at  Virginia  City  with  appropriate 
ceremonies.  On  March  20,  1868,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  Missoula 
Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Missoula,  and  a  charter  was  granted  to  this  lodge,  October  5, 
1868,  as  Missoula  Lodge,  No.   13;  on  the  29th  day  of  August,  1870,  a  dis- 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^qh 

penaation  was  granted  to  Jefferson  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Radersburg ;  on  the 
following  day  a  charter  was  granted  to  Deer  Lodge,  No.  14,  at  Deer  Lodge 
City,  Montana  Territory;  on  November  2,  1870,  a  charter  was  granted  to 
Jefferson  Lodge,  No.  15,  at  Radersburg;  October  2,  1871,  a  dispensation 
was  granted  for  a  lodge  at  Bannock  City  (the  oldest  city  in  Montana),  and 
for  a  lodge  at  Silver  Star,  Madison  County;  on  October  3,  1871,  charters  were 
granted  to  Bannock  Lodge,  No.  16,  and  to  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  17.  October 
7,  1872,  a  communication  was  read  from  Wasatch  Lodge,  No.  8,  Salt  Lake 
City,  stating  that  a  Grand  Lodge  had  been  organized  in  Utah,  and  they 
returned  the  charter  issued  to  them  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana,  with 
the  request  that  it  be  cancelled  or  abrogated  and  returned  to  Wasatch  Lodge 
to  be  placed  among  the  archives  of  the  lodge.  This  request  was  unanimously 
granted.  On  October  8,  1872,  the  Grand  Master  reported  that  he  had  granted 
a  dispensation  to  Bozeman  Lodge,  at  Bozeman.  On  June  24,  1872,  the  Grand 
Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Masonic  Temple  at  Helena.  A  charter 
was  granted  to  Bozeman  Lodge,  No.  18. 

On  March  3,  1S73,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  Washington  Lodge,  at 
Gallatin  City.  October  6,  1873,  the  Grand  Lodge  dedicated  with  appropriate 
ceremonies  the  Temple  at  Helena.  A  charter  was  granted  Washington  Lodge, 
No.  18,  at  Gallatin  City. 

Bozeman  was  the  place  where  the  tenth  annual  communication  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  held,  commencing  October  5,  1874.  On  June  9,  1874,  all  the 
property  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  charter 
of  Summit  Lodge,  No.  10,  was  surrendered,  and  received,  June  7,  1874.  On 
the  23d  day  of  September,  1874,  a  dispensation  was  granted  for  a  lodge  at 
Sheridan,  and  on  October  7th  it  was  continued  for  another  year. 

A  special  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana  was  convened  at 
Helena,  October  i,  1S75,  for  the  purpose  of  laying,  with  Masonic  ceremonies, 
the  corner-stone  of  the  United  States  Assay  Office,  which  was  appropriately 
done. 

On  October  6,  1875,  charters  were  granted  to  Sheridan  Lodge,  No.  20,  at 
Sheridan,  and  to  Valley  Lodge,  No.  21,  at  Centreville,  Meagher  County.  On 
May  10,  1876,  the  Deputy  Grand  Master  issued  a  dispensation  for  a  lodge  at 
Butte  City;  and  a  charter  was  granted,  October  3,  1876,  to  Butte  City  Lodge, 
No.  22.  The  brethren  of  Washington  Lodge,  No.  19,  surrendered  their 
charter  to  the  Grand  Lodge,  October  7,  1877.  On  May  3,  1879,  the  Grand 
Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  church  at  Helena  with 
appropriate  Masonic  ceremonies. 

A  dispensation  was  issued  to  the  Glendale  Lodge,  January  9,  1880;  on 
March  29th,  to  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge  at  Butte;  and  in  June  to  the  brethren  at 
Fort  Benton  for  a  lodge.  These  lodges  were  granted  charters  on  September 
16,  1880,  as  Glendale  Lodge,  No.  23;  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  24;  and 
Benton  Lodge,  No.  25.     September  30,  1882,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner- 


4o6  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Stone  of  the  Masonic  Temple  then  being  erected  at  Butte  City.    On  October  4, 

1881,  the  Grand  Master  granted  a  dispensation  to  open  a  lodge  at  Miles  City; 
and  on  October  5th  the  dispensation  was  renewed  for  a  year;  on  October  4, 

1882,  they  were  conditionally  chartered  as  Yellow  Stone  Lodge,  No.  26. 

A  special  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana  was  held  at 
Helena,  September  19,  1883,  and  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  iirst  Baptist 
church  of  Helena;  also,  on  June  16,  1SS5,  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  new 
Masonic  Temple  at  Helena.  On  October  2,  18S4,  the  system  of  districting 
the  jurisdiction  and  appointing  District  Deputy  Grand  blasters  was  perfected 
and  established. 

On  July  27,  1888,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Masonic  Temple,  under  process 
of  erection,  at  the  city  of  Dillon,  was  laid  in  due  form. 

The  three  original  constituents  are  still  in  existence,  strong  and  vigorous 
lodges.  Lodges  Nos.  4,  10,  12,  15,  and  19,  have  shared  in  the  collapse  of  the 
camps  and  settlements  where  they  were  located.  Wasatch  Lodge,  No.  8, 
joined  in  constituting  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Utah,  The  Grand  Lodge  has  never 
aspired  to  build  a  temple  :  she  meets  with  her  daughters,  and  always  finds  a 
hearty  welcome. 

The  Craft  at  Virginia  City,  Helena,  Bozeman,  Deer  Lodge,  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  Livingstone,  and  Dillon  have  erected  halls  for  their  own  uses  and 
purposes.  The  Craft  have  not  estabhshed  any  "  homes "  or  asylums  in 
Montana,  but  are  ever  ready  to  dispense  their  charities  to  the  needy  whenever 
called  upon,  having  disbursed  nearly  $100,000  for  charity  since  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  organized. 

The  library  of  the  Grand  Lodge  consists  chiefly  in  the  bound  volumes  of 
the  proceedings  of  other  jurisdictions.  They  appropriate  a  small  amount 
annually  to  be  expended  in  binding  proceedings,  and  for  the  current  Masonic 
literature  of  the  day.  —  C.  E.  G. 

Nevada.  —  For  a  decade  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  "  U^estern 
Utah,"  as  Nevada  was  then  termed,  was  a  land  that  seemed  to  be  cursed  of 
God,  as  it  was  by  any  man  destined  to  cross  its  borders ;  and  among  the 
victims  who  poured  out  their  life  current  upon  the  wastes  of  Nevada  was  one 
who,  nearly  eleven  years  before,  had  safely  carried  the  first  charter  of  a 
Masonic  lodge  to  be  located  at  Benton  City,  California,  which  was  chartered 
under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  as  Western  Star,  and 
who  was  its  first  Master,  —  Brother  Peter  Lassen,  murdered  by  the  Indians 
in  March,  1859.  A  peak  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  named  for  him  is  his  eternal 
monument. 

Masonically,  Nevada  is  the  second  child  of  California,  as  shown  by  the 
historic  record  following  :  — 

Carson  City  Lodge,  No.  154  (California  Jurisdiction),  now  Carson  Lodge, 
No.  I  (Nevada  Jurisdiction),  was  the  first  lodge  of  Masons  to  be  established 
between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


407 


On  the  3d  day  of  February,  1862,  the  Grand  Master  of  CaUfornia  granted 
a  dispensation  to  organize  a  lodge  at  Carson  City.  The  first  meeting  under 
the  dispensation  was  held  February  13,  1862,  subordinate  officers  appointed, 
and  by-laws  adopted.  At  its  second  communication,  February  20th,  ten 
petitions  were  received  from  candidates,  and  prosperity  has  attended  it  from 
the  beginning. 

Washoe  Lodge,  No.  157  (Cahfornia  Jurisdiction),  now  Washoe  Lodge,  No.  2 
(Nevada  Jurisdiction),  was  authorized  by  dispensation  from  the  Grand  Master 
of  Cahfornia,  on  the  25th  of  July,  1S62,  to  be  located  at  Washoe  City,  in  the 
valley  and  county  of  the  same  name,  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  at  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range.  On  the  14th  of  May,  1863,  a 
charter  was  granted  to  it  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  as  Washoe  Lodge, 
No.  157. 

On  the  15th  day  of  January,  1863,  the  Grand  Master  of  California  granted 
a  dispensation  authorizing  Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  152  (California  Jurisdic- 
tion), now  Virginia  Lodge,  No.  3  (Nevada  Jurisdiction)  ;  and,  on  the  14th 
of  May  following,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  granted  a  charter  for  Virginia 
City  Lodge,  No.  162. 

The  Grand  Master  of  California,  on  March  20,  1863,  granted  a  dispensa- 
tion for  Silver  City  Lodge,  No.  163  (California  Jurisdiction),  now  Amity 
Lodge,  No.  4  (Nevada  Jurisdiction),  which  was,  on  the  15th  of  May  following, 
duly  chartered  as  Silver  City  Lodge,  No.  163. 

On  the  nth  of  July,  1863,  the  Grand  Master  of  California  granted  a  dis- 
pensation for  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  165  (Cahfornia  Jurisdiction),  now  Silver 
Star  Lodge,  No.  5.  It  was  situated  at  Gold  Llill,  adjoining  Virginia  City. 
The  Grand  Lodge  of  California  granted  a  charter,  on  the  13th  of  October, 
1864. 

The  Grand  Master  of  California  granted  a  dispensation  on  the  28th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1S63,  for  Esmeralda  Lodge,  No.  170  (California  Jurisdiction),  now 
Esmeralda  Lodge,  No.  6  (Nevada  Jurisdiction),  at  the  town  of  Aurora  in 
the  south-western  portion  of  Nevada,  which  was  followed  by  a  charter  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  on  the  15th  of  October,  1863. 

On  the  22d  day  of  January,  1864,  the  Grand  Master  of  Cahfornia  granted 
a  dispensation  for  a  second  lodge,  Escurial  Lodge,  No.  171  (California  Juris- 
diction), now  Escurial  Lodge,  No.  7  (Nevada  Jurisdiction),  at  Virginia 
City,  Nevada,  which  was  followed  by  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
California  on  the  13th  of  October,  1864. 

Why  this  lodge  should  have  been  given  such  a  name  we  have  been  unable 
to  learn.  There  is  no  scoria  or  volcanic  cinders  about  Virginia  City ;  and  if 
named  after  the  Escurial  of  Spain,  built  by  Philip  IL,  in  the  shape  of  a 
gridiron,  as  a  tomb  and  chapel  for  the  kings  of  Spain,  there  is  no  warrant, 
either  Masonically  or  otherwise,  or  good  reason  for  its  being  so  named. 

The  Grand  Master  of  California  granted  a  dispensation  for  Lander  Lodge, 


408 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


No.  172  (California  Jurisdiction),  now  Lander  Lodge,  No.  8  (Nevada  Juris- 
diction), on  the  25th  of  March,  1864;  and  on  the  3d  of  June  following,  it 
commenced  work.  A  charter  was  granted  it  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State 
of  California,  October  14,  1864.  This  was  the  last  charter  issued  by  that 
Grand  Lodge  within  the  Territory,  and  afterward  the  State,  of  Nevada. 

Washoe  Lodge,  No.  157,  located  in  Washoe  City,  Washoe  County,  at  its 
stated  communication  in  July,  1863,  appointed  a  committee  to  confer  with  the 
other  lodges  in  the  State  as  to  the  expediency  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge 
for  the  Territory  of  Nevada.  From  some  cause  the  subject  was  dropped 
at  that  time. 

In  November,  1864,  Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  162,  and  Escurial  Lodge, 
No.  171,  located  in  the  city  of  Virginia,  Storey  County,  appointed  a  joint 
committee  to  correspond  with  the  lodges  in  the  State  as  to  the  expediency  of 
organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State.  This  appointment  was  responded 
to  by  the  appointment  of  like  committees  from  all  the  lodges.  After  a  careful 
and  deliberate  consideration  of  the  subject,  the  following  resolutions  were 
reported  and  adopted  by  five  lodges,  there  being  eight  chartered  lodges  in  the 
State  :  — 

"  Whereas,  The  subject  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  the 
State  of  Nevada,  has  been  agitated: 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  lodge,  that  it  is  expedient,  advisable,  and  desirable 
that  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  be  at  once  organized  in  the  State  of  Nevada. 

"  Resolved,  That  if  five  chartered  lodges  within  the  State  adopt  similar  resolutions  to  the  fore- 
going, that  a  convention  of  the  lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  within  the  State  of  Nevada 
convene  at  the  Masonic  hall,  in  Virginia,  on  Monday,  the  i6th  day  of  January,  1865,  at  11  o'clock 
A.M.,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  the  State 
of  Nevada,  each  lodge  to  be  represented  by  its  Master  and  Wardens,  whose  charter  shall  be  their 
credentials." 

The  convention  assembled  on  the  i6th  day  of  January,  1S65,  at  Masonic 
hall,  Virginia ;  and  after  prayer  by  Rev.  Brother  F.  S.  Rising,  on  motion 
of  Brother  Alfred  A.  Green,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  one  from  each  lodge  represented  be  appointed  to  examine 
the  credentials  of  the  representatives  of  the  lodges  in  this  State,  to  this  convention,  and  report 
the  names  of  those  entitled  to  seats." 

On  motion,  a  committee  of  three,  on  permanent  organization,  was  ordered. 

The  lodges  represented  at  the  convention  were  :  Carson  Lodge,  No.  154  ; 
Washoe  Lodge,  No.  157;  Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  162  ;  Silver  Star  Lodge, 
No.  165  ;  Esmeralda  Lodge,  No.  170;  Escurial  Lodge,  No.  171  ;  Silver  City 
Lodge,  No.  163. 

The  following  resolutions,  and  recommendations,  were  adopted  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  judgment  of  this  convention,  Carson  Lodge,  No.  154 ;  Washoe  Lodge, 
No.  157;  Virginia  City  Lodge,  No.  162;  Silver  Star  Lodge,  No.  165;  Esmeralda  Lodge,  No.  170; 
and  Escurial  Lodge,  No.  171,  are  legally  constituted  lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and 
that  the  officers  of  said  lodges  here  present  are  duly  authorized  and  qualified  to  organize  and 
constitute  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  State  of  Nevada. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


409 


"  Resolved,  That  the  representatives  of  the  several  duly  constituted  lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  now  working  in  the  State  of  Nevada,  and  present  in  this  convention,  proceed  to  the 
organization  of  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Fiee  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  State  of  Nevada. 

"Resolved,  That  each  lodge  represented  be  entitled  to  three  votes,  —  the  votes  of  absent 
oflficers  to  be  cast  according  to  the  rule  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California. 

"  Resolved,  That  all  Past  Masters  and  Master  Masons  present  be  invited  to  seats  and  to 
participate  in  the  debates  of  this  convention." 

January  17,  1865,  the  constitution  having  been  read  by  sections,  and 
adopted  as  read  or  amended,  it  was  then  unanimously 

"  Resolved,  That  the  constitution,  as  reported  by  the  committee  and  amended  by  this  conven- 
tion, be  adopted  as  the  constitution  of  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  of  the  State  of  Nevada. 

"  Resolved,  That  at  the  hour  of  two  o'clock,  this  day,  a  lodge  of  Master  Masons  be  opened  in 
this  hall,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and  constituting  in  Masonic  form  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  State  of  Nevada." 

In  the  afternoon  the  Master  of  the  oldest  lodge  represented  by  its  Master 
then  opened  a  lodge  of  Master  Masons  in  form. 

The  convention  then  proceeded  to  the  election  of  Grand  Officers  to  serve 
until  the  first  annual  communication,  and  Most  Worshipful  Joseph  de  Bell  was 
elected  Grand  Master,  and  the  other  Grand  Officers  were  also  duly  elected. 
The  Grand  Officers  were  then  installed  by  the  Deputy  Grand  Master-elect. 

The  Master's  lodge  was  then  closed  in  ample  form.     On  motion,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That,  whereas  this  convention  has  accomplished  the  work  for  which  it  convened, 
that  it  now  adjourn  sine  die." 

The  convention  was  then  declared  adjourned  sine  die. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Nevada,  having  been  duly  organized,  proceeded  at 
once  to  perfect  its  machinery  of  legislation  and  government  by  regularizing 
the  charters  of  the  subordinate  lodges,  and  the  appointment  of  the  standing 
committees. 

Lander  Lodge,  No.  172,  of  Austin,  Lander  County,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State,  was  not  represented  in  the  convention,  but  concurred  in  its  action, 
making  eight  chartered  lodges  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Nevada  at  the  date  of  its  organization.  Of  these  eight  lodges,  one  has  ceased 
to  exist,  —  Washoe,  No.  2,  —  while  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nevada  has  chartered 
twenty-four  lodges,  including  the  original  eight,  of  which  there  are  now  nine- 
teen on  its  rolls. 

Outside  of  the  State  of  Nevada,  the  Grand  Lodge  has  chartered  no  new 
lodges,  though  a  dispensation  was  granted  in  January,  1866,  to  Mt.  Moriah 
Lodge,  U.  D.,  to  be  located  at  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  Territory,  under  restric- 
tions not  to  make,  affiliate,  or  grant  the  right  of  visitation  to  Mormons,  which 
as  a  sect,  — 

"  Living  in  the  daily  violation  of  what  is  known  as  the  proprieties  and  decencies  of  life,  setting 
at  naught  the  moral  law,  as  laid  down  in  that  Great  Light  that  is  ever  open  upon  our  altars,— 
should  by  the  same  rule,  be  excluded  from  our  assemblies." 


^lO  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  most  interesting  event  of  Freemasonry  in  the  "  Silver  State  "  of  Nevada, 
and  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  if  not  in  the  world,  since  the  Craft  assembled  on 
Mt.  Moriah  to  erect  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  occurred  on  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1875. 

The  burning  of  the  Masonic  hall  and  that  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  hall  in 
Virginia  City,  a  few  days  previous,  left  the  lodges  without  any  place  of  meet- 
ing, either  for  business  or  work.  In  this  dilemma,  and  upon  due  consultation, 
the  Worshipful  Master  of  Virginia  Lodge,  No.  3,  decided  to  call  the  regulai 
meeting  of  his  lodge  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  our  ancient  brethren 
"on  the  highest  hills  or  in  the  lowest  valleys ;  "  and,  accordingly,  by  proclama- 
tion he  called  his  lodge  to  meet  upon  the  top  of  Mt.  Davidson,  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  which,  and  over  the  "  Great  Comstock  Lode,"  stands  Virginia  City. 

The  summit  of  the  mountain  rises  to  a  height  of  1622  feet  above  the 
main  business  street  of  Virginia  City,  at  an  angle  of  nearly  45  degrees,  and  is 
7827  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  On  the  apex  was  raised  a  flag-staff,  and 
there  floated  from  its  top  the  white  flag  of  Masonry,  upon  which  were  the 
square  and  compasses  with  the  letter  G  in  the  centre.  The  writer,  with  the 
assistance  of  others,  surveyed  the  boundaries  of  the  lodge-room  and  built 
the  altar  of  rough  stones,  upon  which  was  placed  the  Great  Light  of  Masonry, 
after  having  been  duly  consecrated  with  corn,  wine,  ^nd  oil.  The  three  lesser 
lights  were  not  placed  in  position,  for  the  sun  was  in  zenith,  the  moon  high  in 
the  West,  while  the  Worshipful  Master  was  in  the  East,  ruling  and  governing 
his  lodge  and  setting  the  Craft  to  work  whereby  they  might  pursue  their  labors. 
Ninety-two  members  of  the  lodge  were  present,  as  well  as  the  Grand  Master 
and  286  visitors  from  other  lodges,  representing  twenty-five  States  and  Ter- 
ritories of  the  Union,  besides  England,  Scotland,  Ontario,  and  New  Zealand. 

As  the  lodge  was  opened,  the  white  emblem  of  the  Order  was  thrown  to 
the  breeze  from  the  flag-staff  on  the  summit,  and  the  cheers  that  greeted  it 
were  heard  in  the  valleys  below.  The  regular  business  of  the  lodge  was 
transacted,  when  the  gavel  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Grand  Master  Bollen, 
who  then  presided.  Speeches  and  songs  appropriate  to  the  occasion  fol- 
lowed. At  the  close  the  Craft  was  called  from  labor  to  refreshment,  of 
which  there  was  a  bountiful  supply,  and  all  were  satisfied  when  the  lodge  was 
closed.  In  the  history  of  the  Order  in  the  United  States  or  elsewhere  no 
account  is  given  of  a  lodge  being  held,  or  a  Masonic  altar  erected,  at  so 
high  an  elevation  since  the  day  that  Noah  made  his  exit  with  his  family  from 
the  ark,  on  the  top  of  Mt.  Ararat,  and  set  up  his  altar  to  worship  God  and 
return  thanks  for  his  preservation. 

The  memory  of  that  interesting  event  will  live  until  the  last  survivor  of 
those  present  shall  have  been  called  to  eternal  refreshment  in  the  Grand 
Lodge  above ;  and  Mt.  Davidson  shall  be  known  among  the  Craft  as  the 
"  Mountain  of  the  Lord,"  the  grandest  altar  of  Freemasonry  built  by  the 
Supreme  Architect  of  the  Universe  Himself,  its  solid  base  girdled  with  bands 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^I^ 

of  gold  and  silver,  and  sparkling  with  its  gems  of  crystal  quartz ;  its  altar 
cloth  in  winter,  the  purest  snowy  mantle  spread  over  it  by  heaven  itself,  while 
the  blazing  sun,  the  silvery  moon,  and  the  glittering  stars  shall  be  its  greater 
and  lesser  lights  to  shine  upon  it,  as  long  as  the  earth  shall  be  used  as  a  trestle- 
board  by  the  Craft. 

From  the  bosom  of  the  Fraternity  in  Nevada  there  have  flowed  the  streams 
of  charity  in  their  fulness.  During  the  Civil  War,  our  late  Brother  Reuel  C. 
Gridley,  of  Lander  Lodge,  with  his  sack  of  flour,  raised  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  for  the  sanitary  fund,  which  alleviated  the  sufferings  of  thousands  of 
the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  army  hospitals. 

It  has  been  the  destiny  of  the  writer  to  have  been  Masonically  connected 
with  lodges  in  California,  Oregon,  Washington,  and  Nevada,  during  the  thirty- 
seven  years  of  his  Masonic  life.  Officially  and  otherwise  he  was  connected 
with  lodges  in  both  the  eastern  and  western  portions  of  Nevada,  as  well  as 
being  the  President  of  a  Masonic  Relief  Association  where  no  lodge  existed, 
at  ^V'hite  Pine,  in  1869.  Upon  the  mountains  or  in  the  valleys,  by  the  cool- 
ing streams  or  on  the  parched,  sandy  and  alkaline  deserts  of  that  portion 
of  the  Great  Basin,  he  has  fully  tested,  by  personal  experience,  and  witnessed 
the  strength  of  the  "  Mystic-tie,"  and  beheld  the  beauty  and  sublimity  of 
the  teachings  and  workings  of  Freemasonry.  The  aroma  and  fragrance  of  the 
acacia  is  as  sweet  upon  the  mountains  and  desert  plains  of  Nevada  as  were 
the  perfumes  that  arose  from  the  Garden  of  Eden.  Though  twelve  years  have 
elapsed  since  we  severed  our  lodge  relationship  in  the  "  Silver  State  "  of  Nevada, 
and  re-transferred  our  local  allegiance  to  the  parent  jurisdiction  of  California, 
yet  the  mystic  chord  of  brotherhood  is  the  same.  —  E.  A.  S. 

Utah.  —  Before  proceeding  to  give  the  sketch  of  the  estabHshing  of  a 
regular  lodge  of  Freemasons  in  Utah,  it  may  be  well  to  give  a  short  account 
of  Freemasonry  among  the  Mormons. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  1842,  the  Grand  Master  of  Illinois  announced  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  that  State  that  he  had  granted  a  dispensation  to  several 
brethren  to  organize  a  lodge  at  Nauvoo.  It  commenced  work  on  March  15, 
1842,  and  by  the  nth  of  August  of  the  same  year,  in  a  period  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-nine  days,  it  had  initiated,  passed,  and  raised  no  less  than  two  hundred 
and  eighty-six  candidates,  averaging  six  degrees  per  diem  in  that  time  !  They 
were  advised  by  the  committee  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  IlHnois,  when  sent  to 
examine  their  work,  not  to  go  so  fast,  and  to  divide  their  labors.  While  a 
charter  was  not  granted  to  "  Nauvoo  Lodge,"  U.  D.,  the  dispensation  was 
continued.  Dispensations  were  issued  to  two  more  Lodges,  "  Helm  "  and 
"  Nye,"  the  former  of  which,  "  Helm,"  received  and  acted  upon  four  petitions 
in  one  day,  and  "  Nye  "  Lodge  received  and  acted  upon  petitions  on  one  day, 
.and  initiated  the  next.  From  the  records,  it  appears  these  three  lodges  in 
Nauvoo  made  in  one  year  fifteen  hundred  Masons,  and  at  the  same  ratio  in 
two  years  they  must  have  made  an  army  of  about  four  thousand  j  all  while 


.J.  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

under  dispensation.     This  sort  of  work  was  speedily  brought  to  an  end  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  IlUnois,  which  adopted  the  following  resolutions  :  — 

"  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  it  is  inexpedient  and  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of 
Freemasonry  longer  to  sustain  a  lodge  in  Nauvoo,  and  for  the  disrespect  and  contempt  that 
Nauvoo,  Helm,  and  Nye  lodges  have  shown,  in  refusing  to  present  the  records  of  their  work  to 
this  Grand  Lodge ; 

"  That  their  dispensations  be  and  are  hereby  revoked  and  charters  refused." 

They  still  continued  to  make  Masons  by  wholesale,  and  cared  nothing  for 
the  edicts  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  which,  at  a  communication,  October  7,  1844, 
held  at  Jacksonville,  adopted  the  following  resolutions  :  — 

"Whereas,  The  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois,  at  its  last  annual  communication, 
thought  proper  to  witlidraw  from  Nauvoo,  Helm,  and  Nye  lodges  the  dispensations  which  had 
been  granted  them,  for  gross  un-Masonic  conduct;  and 

"  Whereas,  The  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master  did,  during  vacation,  send  a  special  messenger 
to  Nauvoo,  and  demand  the  dispensations  aforesaid,  which  demand  was  treated  with  contempt,  and 
not  a  positive  refusal  given  to  this  Grand  Lodge,  but  a  determination  expressed  to  continue  work ; 

"  Resolved,  By  this  Grand  Lodge,  that  all  fellowship  with  said  lodges,  and  the  members 
thereof  be  withdrawn,  and  the  association  of  Masons  working  these  lodges  is  hereby  declared 
clandestine ;  and  all  members  hailing  therefrom,  suspended  from  all  rights  of  Masonry  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  and  that  our  Sister  Grand  Lodges  be  requested  to  deny  them 
any  Masonic  privileges. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Secretary  be  directed  to  address  a  circular  on  this  subject  to  all 
the  Grand  Lodges  in  correspondence  with  this  Grand  Lodge,  and  request  the  same  to  be  published 
in  all  the  Masonic  periodicals." 

In  1846  the  Mormon  hegira  took  place,  when  Nauvoo  and  other  places  in 
Illinois  and  Camp  Far  West,  and  other  towns  in  Missouri  were  evacuated,  and 
that  strange  community  took  its  departure  from  the  borders  of  a  land  of 
civilization  and  enlightenment,  to  seek  an  asylum  in  the  Great  Basin  by  the 
Great  Salt  Sea  of  the  Desert. 

For  a  period  of  nearly  twenty  years,  by  alliances  with  hostile  tribes  of 
Indians,  and  their  own  armed  bands  of  murderers  and  marauders,  the  Danites, 
they  plundered  and  murdered  the  emigrants  on  their  way  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
and  massacred  whole  trains  of  both  men  and  women,  and,  in  successful  armed 
defiance,  fortified  the  national  highways  to  prevent  the  passage  of  United 
States  troops  over  the  rightful  territory  of  the  government.  Hatred  to  the 
United  States  government,  to  the  people  and  their  laws,  was  taught  and  incul- 
cated, open  rebeUion  incited  and  encouraged,  while  armed  aliens  seized  upon 
and  occupied  the  public  lands  which  they  had  invaded,  and  held  in  violation  of 
law  and  the  decrees  of  the  various  departments  of  the  National  Government. 

But  this  now  brings  us  to  the  history  of  regular  and  duly  constituted 
Freemasonry  in  Utah,  and  we  quote  from  Grand  Secretary  Diehl :  — 

"  Among  the  United  States  army  stationed  at  Camp  Floyd  were  a  few  brothers  who  had  been 
made  Masons  in  various  parts  of  our  country,  and  in  order  to  practise  in  their  leisure  the  teachings 
of  Masonry,  resolved  to  organize  a  lodge.  They  petitioned  the  Grand  Master  of  Missouri  for  a 
dispensation,  which  was  granted  to  the  first  regular  Masonic  lodge  in  Utah. 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  .je 

"  On  March  6,  1859,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  issued  a  dispensation  to  open  '  Rocky 
Mountain  Lodge,"  in  Utah  Territory,  at  Camp  Floyd.  This  dispensation  was  used  until  a  charter 
was  issued,  dated  June  i,  i860,  to  the  same  named  ofificers  and  brethren,  as  appUed  for  the  dispen- 
sation, and  said  lodge  was  named,  '  Rocky  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  205,'  to  be  held  at  Camp  Floyd, 
Utah  Territory. 

"  Among  the  papers  returned  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  the  late  Brother  George  Frank 
Gouley,  Right  Worshipful  Grand  Secretary,  said  :  '  I  find  a  letter  from  Brother  Richard  Wilson  of 
the  4th  Artillery,  the  Secretary,  dated  March  27,  1861,  enclosing  annual  returns  to  December  27, 
i860,  and  announcing  that  the  name  of  the  Post  had  been  changed  from  Camp  Floyd  to  Fort 
Crittenden. 

" '  The  membership  was  composed  principally  of  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  United  States 
army  then  quartered  there;  and  when  the  location  was  changed  to  New  Mexico,  the  charter, 
jewels,  records,  etc.,  were  all  returned  to  this  office,  more  perfectly  arranged,  and  the  accounts,  etc., 
more  correctly  completed,  than  that  ever  received  from  any  surrendered  lodge  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  this  Grand  body  since  its  organization. 

" '  The  jewels  and  working  tools  were  of  the  very  best  quality ;  in  fact,  everything  received  by 
this  office  from  that  lodge  bore  evidence  of  more  than  ordinary  refinement  and  culture.  The 
relationship  between  this  Grand  Lodge  and  her  daughter  lodge,  in  the  then  "  Great  Far  West," 
was  of  a  very  affectionate  character,  and  the  same  spirit  has  ever  been  manifest  between  her  and 
the  former  members  of  that  lodge."  " 

Thus  ended  the  first  attempt  to  plant  Masonry  on  Utah  soil. 

During  the  late  Civil  War  the  Mormons  were  in  a  state  of  rebellion  against 
the  United  States  government,  and  in  1863  General  E.  P.  Connor,  with  two 
regiments  of  California  volunteers,  marched  through  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
taking  a  commanding  position,  established  Camp  Douglas,  overlooking  the 
town,  and  holding  the  turbulent  and  treacherous  Mormons  in  awe.  Security 
of  life  and  property  being  thus  measurably  assured,  miners  and  business  men 
from  Nevada  immigrated  thither,  some  of  whom  were  Masons.  They  consid- 
ered the  advisability  of  establishing  a  lodge  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing,  assembled  on  November  11,  1865,  at  the  Odd  Fellows' 
hall. 

A  resolution  was  passed  to  organize  a  lodge,  and  to  petition  the  Grand 
Master  of  Nevada  for  a  dispensation.  Lander  Lodge,  No.  8,  at  Austin, 
Nevada,  recommended  the  petition.  The  then  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of 
Nevada  responded  immediately  to  the  request,  and  issued  his  letters  of  dis- 
pensation for  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  to  be  located  at  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.  But 
remembering  the  treachery  and  rebellion  of  the  Mormon  Masons  at  Nauvoo 
to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Illinois,  and  the  action  taken  by  that  Grand  body,  and 
fearful  of  contamination  and  of  similar  evils  which  might  result  in  establishing 
a  Masonic  lodge  in  the  heart  of  the  capital  of  Mormondom,  he  attached  to 
this  dispensation  an  edict  requiring  the  lodge  to  be  careful  and  "  exclude  all 
who  were  of  the  Mormon  faith." 

The  first  meeting  of  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge  was  held,  February  5,  1866,  and 
soon  afterward  the  following  question  was  sent  to  Grand  Master  de  Bell  from 
said  lodge  for  a  decision  :  "  How  are  Mormons  to  be  treated,  who  claim  to 
be  Masons,  present  themselves  for  examination,  and  ask  the  privilege  of 
visiting?  " 


4i6  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

To  this  request  Grand  Master  de  Bell  sent  the  following  official  reply :  — 

"  The  right  to  visit  is  not  an  inalienable  right,  but  it  may  be  temporarily  lost  or  impaired. 
For  instance,  a  suspended  or  expelled  Mason  loses  that  right  until  he  is  restored.  Again,  one 
that  has  been  convicted  of  crime,  although  no  charges  may  have  been  preferred  against  him, 
should  not  be  permitted  to  sit  with  '  the  just  and  true.'  And  why?  Simply  because  the  peace  and 
harmony  of  the  lodge  would  be  distuibed.  So  one  knov/n  to  be  living  in  the  daily  violation  of 
what  are  known  as  the  proprieties  and  decencies  of  life,  setting  at  naught  the  moral  law,  as  laid 
down  in  that  Great  Light  that  is  ever  open  upon  our  altars,  should  by  the  same  rule  be  excluded 
from  our  assemblies.  Therefore  you  will  take  notice,  that  Mormons  claiming  to  be  Masons  be 
excluded  from  the  right  of  visiting,  and  also  that  petitions  for  the  degrees  of  Masonry  shall  not  be 
received  from  any  person  who  is  known  to  be  a  Mormon. 

"  It  is  difficult  to  discriminate,  and  we  must  take  the  general  character  of  the  people,  and 
decide  for  the  permanent  good  of  the  Craft  in  general,  and  of  your  lodge  in  particular.  As  a 
people,  it  is  well  known  that  they  are  polygamists,  living  in  direct  violation  of  the  law  of  God,  as 
given  to  us  in  the  Decalogue,  and  also  in  contempt  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  consequently  not 
good  Masons ;  for  I  hold  that  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  land  is  a  Masonic  offence,"  etc.,  etc. 

In  this  decision  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nevada  unanimously  adopted  the 
report  of  the  committee  on  jurisprudence,  sustaining  the  Grand  Master,  at 
its  annual  communication,  held  September  20,  1866,  and  the  petition  for  a 
charter  was  denied,  but  the  dispensation  was  continued. 

At  the  next  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nevada,  held 
September  18,  1867,  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  again  applied  for  a  charter, 
which  was  denied,  and  the  dispensation  was  revoked. 

The  committee  on  charters  reported  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  committee  have  carefully  examined  the  records  and  papers  of  the  lodge  and  find  them 
satisfactory  and  neatly  kept,  and  would  have  taken  pleasure  in  recommending  that  a  charter  be 
granted,  had  it  not  been  for  the  spirit  of  insubordination  manifested  in  the  lengthy  communication 
firom  the  officers  of  the  lodge,  which  accompanies  the  petition,  in  which,  after  a  great  amount  of 
special  pleading,  they  attempt  to  dictate  terms  to  this  Grand  Lodge,  by  declining  a  charter  unless 
the  edict  of  the  last  grand  communication  concerning  Mormon  Masons  be  repealed,  and  the 
lodge  allowed  to  be  its  own  judge  as  to  who  shall  or  shall  not  be  admitted. 

"  Brother  Joseph  de  Bell,  P  .•,  G  .•,  M  .*.,  in  his  letter  of  instruction  which  accompanied  the 
dispensation,  in  view  of  the  facts  that  the  laws  of  the  land  have  declared  polygamy  a  crime,  and 
that  the  Mormons  of  Utah  Territory  have  openly  and  defiantly  declared  their  intention  to  resist 
the  enforcement  of  the  law  whenever  the  government  shall  make  the  attempt,  and  that  polygamy 
is  a  moral  and  social  sore,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  Masonry  to  discountenance,  forbids  the  admission 
of  Mormons  to  the  lodge.  The  Grand  Lodge,  at  its  last  annual  grand  communication,  approved 
of  the  instructions.  .  .  .  Therefore,  to  repeal  the  edict  would  be  an  acknowledgment  that  immor- 
ality and  disloyalty  were  not  offences  of  which  Masonry  should  take  any  notice. 

"The  Committee,  therefore,  report  the  following  resolution,  and  recommend  its  adoption:  — 

" '  Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Lodge,  in  view  of  the  unsatisfactory  state  of  society  in  Great 
Salt  Lake  City,  and  the  improper  spirit  manifested  in  the  communication  from  the  officers  of 
Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  does  not  deem  it  expedient  or  for  the  good  of  Masonry  to  grant  a 
charter  to  the  brethren  of  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  as  prayed  for.' " 

By  resolution  the  Grand  Secretary  was  directed  to  prepare  and  forward  to 
the  Master  of  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  without  fee,  to  be  by  him  delivered 
to  each  member  of  his  lodge,  the  proper  certificates  of  their  good  standing, 
as  provided  for  in  the  constitution ;  and  it  was  also 

"Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Lodge  does  hereby  donate  to  the  brethren  of  the  late  Mt. 
Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  its  furniture  and  jewels." 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE. 


417 


Very  few  instances  can  be  found  where  a  subordinate  lodge  under  dispen- 
sation, or  even  a  chartered  lodge,  was  so  leniently  and  charitably  dealt  with 
by  a  Grand  Master  or  a  Grand  Lodge  as  this  lodge,  whose  officers  needed 
discipline  for  contempt  and  insubordination.  As  a  lodge,  it  was  dissolved 
without  the  suspension  of  a  single  officer  or  member  from  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  Freemasonry. 

They  seemed  to  have  the  idea  that  their  lodge  was  located  at  Constantinople, 
the  capital  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  rather  than  in  the  United  States,  where 
the  laws  of  morality  and  an  enhghtened  civilization  prevailed.  They  received 
their  dimits,  but  as  a  body  would  not  disband.  They  then  appUed  to  the 
Grand  Master  of  Montana  for  a  dispensation,  which  was  refused,  while  all  the 
Grand  Lodges  of  the  United  States  approved  the  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Nevada  and  that  of  the  Grand  Master  of  Montana. 

Another  and  successful  effort  was  made  to  obtain  a  dispensation  from  the 
Grand  Master  of  Kansas,  who,  on  the  25th  day  of  November,  1867,  granted 
a  dispensation  to  open  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge  in  Salt  Lake  City.  Under  this 
dispensation  the  lodge  held  its  first  meeting,  December  18,  1867. 

Not  much  work  was  done  under  this  dispensation.  They  sent  a  delegate 
to  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  with  a  petition  for  a  charter, 
which,  with  great  difficulty  and  in  the  face  of  great  opposition,  was  secured ; 
and  the  delegate  received  the  charter  for  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  70,  granted 
October  21,  1868.  This  lodge  held  its  first  meeting  under  the  charter, 
November  9,  1S68. 

Reuben  Howard  Robertson,  afterward  Past  Grand  Master  of  Utah,  came 
to  Salt  Lake  City  from  Montana.  While  in  Montana,  he  assisted  in  the 
formation  of  Nevada  Lodge,  No.  4,  and  presided  over  it  as  Master.  A  glance 
at  Salt  Lake  City  convinced  him  that  she  had  a  bright  future  before  her :  he 
concluded  to  make  it  his  home.  He  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  a  Masonic 
lodge  in  operation,  and  paid  it  a  fraternal  visit.  His  far-seeing  eye  soon 
discovered  that  another  lodge  could  be  easily  built  up.  His  knowledge  of 
Masonry  in  all  its  branches  soon  gathered  around  him  the  sojourning  Masons 
in  this  city  and  Camp  Douglas,  who  passed  resolutions  to  petition  the  Grand 
Master  of  Montana  for  a  dispensation  to  open  Wasatch  Lodge. 

The  petition  being  recommended  by  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  U.  D.,  the  Grand 
Master  of  Montana  issued  a  dispensation,  October  22,  1866,  to  Wasatch 
Lodge,  at  Great  Salt  Lake  City.  The  first  meeting  of  the  lodge  was  held 
Friday  evening,  November  30,  1866. 

In  September,  1867,  Brother  Robertson  started  for  Montana,  to  be  present 
at  the  second  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  On  his  return  he 
brought  with  him  a  charter  for  Wasatch  Lodge,  No.  8,  dated  October  7,  1867. 
Under  this  charter  the  lodge  held  its  first  meeting,  November  4,  1867. 

In  1870  a  change  for  the  better  took  place  in  Utah.  The  great  Pacific 
Railroad  had  laid  its  last  rail  in  October,  1869,  near  Promontory  Point,  and 


41 8  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Utah  was  in  daily  communication  with  the  large  and  populous  cities  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts.  Utah  was  no  longer  isolated.  A  fresh  activity 
soon  showed  itself  in  the  lodges  of  Salt  Lake  City ;  and  the  formation  of  a 
third  lodge  was  talked  of,  the  main  point  being  to  establish  at  an  early  day 
a  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Utah,  and  with  it 
frustrate  the  notions  of  some  men  then  high  in  power,  to  obtain  dispensations 
and  charters  for  Masonic  lodges  in  Utah  from  foreign  countries. 

The  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  Colorado,  Most  Worshipful  Henry  W. 
Teller,  was  in  Salt  Lake  City  in  1S71,  and  he,  being  advised  in  the  matter, 
promised  a  dispensation  for  a  new  lodge,  if  the  proper  apphcation  should  be 
made.  This  being  done.  Grand  IMaster  Teller  issued  a  letter  of  dispensation 
dated  at  the  Grand  East  of  Colorado,  April  8,  1871,  to  open  "  Argenta  Lodge," 
U.  D.,  at  Salt  Lake  City.  Under  this  dispensation  Argenta  Lodge  held  its 
first  meeting,  May  9,  187 1. 

At  the  eleventh  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado,  a 
petition  for  a  charter  was  received  from  Argenta  Lodge.  The  petition  was 
granted,  and  the  charter  to  Argenta  Lodge,  No.  21,  issued  on  the  26th 
day  of  September,  1871.  The  first  meeting  of  the  lodge  under  this  charter 
was  held  November  7,  1871. 

According  to  previous  agreement,  the  Masters  and  Wardens  of  the  Masonic 
lodges  of  Salt  Lake  City  met  in  convention,  January  16,  1872,  at  Masonic 
hall,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Territory  of  Utah. 
The  following  lodges  were  represented  :  Wasatch  Lodge,  No.  8,  Salt  Lake 
City,  chartered  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Montana,  on  the 
7th  day  of  October,  1867  ;  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  70,  Salt  Lake  City, 
chartered  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas,  on  the  21st  day 
of  October,  1868;  Argenta  Lodge,  No.  21,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  Territory, 
chartered  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado,  on  the  26th  day 
of  September,  187 1. 

A  lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  opened  in  due  form.  The  lodge  then  pro- 
ceeded to  elect  officers  for  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  Brother  O.  F.  Strickland 
was  elected  Grand  Master,  and  the  other  Grand  Officers  were  duly  elected 
and  installed,  on  January  17,  1872.  The  Grand  Marshal  then  proclaimed  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Utah  duly  organized  and  its  officers  installed  for  the  ensuing 
year  in  due  form,  after  which  a  constitution  was  adopted  and  new  charters 
issued. 

A  circulating  library  was  established  under  the  auspices  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Utah,  shortly  after  its  organization,  and  which  has  been  successfully 
maintained  for  more  than  seventeen  years,  and  now  has  nearly  10,000 
volumes.  This  has  grown  up  under  the  special  fostering  care  of  Brother 
Christopher  Diehl,  the  Grand  Secretary,  who  has  taken  it  specially  in  his 
charge.  —  E.  A.  S. 

"Wyoming. — Wyoming,  an  Indian  name,  signifying  "Large  Plains,"  was 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ..^^ 

419 

created  a  Territory  by  act  of  Congress,  July  25,  1868.  About  that  time  a 
dispensation  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado  for  a  lodge  at 
Cheyenne ;  and  a  charter  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado  for 
Cheyenne  Lodge,  No.  16,  October  7,  1868. 

The  Grand  Master  of  Nebraska  on  November  20,  1869,  granted  (as  recom- 
mended by  Wasatch  Lodge,  No.  8,  Utah),  a  dispensation  to  establish  a  lodge 
at  South  Pass  City,  Wyoming  Territory,  to  be  known  as  Wyoming  Lodge ; 
and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska  granted  a  charter  to  Wyoming  Lodge,  No. 
28,  on  the  the  23d  day  of  June,  1870. 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  Cheyenne  Lodge,  No.  16,  the  Grand  Master 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado,  on  the  31st  day  of  January,  1870,  issued  a 
dispensation  for  a  lodge  at  Laramie  City,  Wyoming,  to  be  called  Laramie 
Lodge,  and  on  September  28,  1870,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado  granted  a 
charter  to  Laramie  Lodge,  No.  18.  Also,  upon  the  recommendation  of 
Laramie  Lodge,  No.  18,  the  Grand  Master  granted  a  dispensation  to  the 
brethren  at  Evanston,  Wyoming  Territory,  to  form  Evanston  Lodge  at  that 
place;  and,  on  October  i,  1872,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado  continued 
the  dispensation  for  another  year.  A  charter  was  granted  this  lodge  on 
September  30,  1874,  as  Evanston  Lodge,  No.  24. 

These  were  all  of  the  chartered  lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in 
Wyoming  Territory  on  December  15,  1874,  at  which  date,  in  accordance  with 
a  published  call,  delegates  therefrom  met  at  Laramie  City  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  Territory  of  Wyoming.  Upon  con- ' 
sultation  it  was  resolved  that  it  was  "  Highly  expedient  to  organize  a  Grand 
Lodge  for  this  Territory." 

A  lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  then  duly  opened,  and  the  Grand  Officers 
were  elected,  Edgar  P.  Snow  being  Grand  Master. 

December  16,  1874,  a  constitution  was  adopted;  and  by  resolution  the 
subordinate  lodges  were  re-numbered  as  follows  :  Cheyenne  Lodge,  No.  i,  at 
Cheyenne  ;  W'yoming  Lodge,  No.  2,  at  South  Pass  City ;  Laramie  Lodge,  No. 
3,  at  Laramie  City ;  Evanston  Lodge,  No.  4,  at  Evanston. 

October  12,  1875,  the  fee  for  a  dispensation  for  a  lodge  was  fixed  at  ^40; 
and  for  a  charter  $50  additional.  The  minimum  fee  for  the  three  degrees 
was  $30,  and  afterward  changed  to  ^50.  At  this  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
the  "  Webb- Preston  work  "  was  adopted  as  the  work  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Wyoming. 

October  10,  1876,  the  Grand  Master  reported  having  granted  a  dispensa- 
tion to  form  Rawlins  Lodge,  at  Rawlins,  Carbon  County,  the  petition  for 
which  had  been  signed  by  twenty-three  Master  Masons,  and  recommended 
by  Laramie  Lodge,  No.  3. 

On  the  9th  day  of  October,  1877,  it  was  ordered  that  a  Grand  Lodge 
library  be  established ;  and  the  Grand  Secretary  was  designated  as  librarian, 
ex  officio.     Rawlins,  in  Carbon  County,  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding 


.20  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

the  annual  communication  of  1878,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  a  charter 
was  granted  to  RawHns  Lodge,  as  No.  5,  but  I  fail  to  find  a  record  of  any 
action  having  been  taken  upon  that  matter  at  this  communication  of  the 
Grand  Lodge. 

At  Rawlins,  October  8,  1878,  Past  Grand  Master  Edgar  P.  Snow  read  a 
communication  from  Asa  L.  Brown,  a  Past  Grand  Master  of  Washington  Terri- 
tory, from  which  I  will  make  a  few  extracts,  which  will  show  that  a  Masonic 
lodge  was  opened  in  the  Territory  of  Wyoming  several  years  before  the  one 
established  at  Cheyenne,  in  1868.     The  communication  states  that  — 

"  On  July  4, 1862,  several  trains  of  emigrants  laid  over  at  Independence  Rock,  which,  I  believe, 
is  embraced  within  the  geographical  limits  of  your  Territory.  Vv^e  had  just  concluded  our  arrange- 
ment for  a  celebration  on  the  rock,  when  Captain  Kennedy's  train  from  Oskaloosa,  Iowa,  came 
in,  bringing  the  body  of  a  man  who  had  been  accidentally  shot  and  killed  that  morning.  Of 
course  we  all  turned  out  to  the  burial,  deferring  our  celebration  until  4  P.M.,  at  which  time  we  were 
visited  by  one  of  those  short,  severe  storms,  peculiar  to  that  locality,  which,  in  the  language  of 
some  of  the  boys,  'busted  the  celebration.'  But  some  of  us  determined  on  having  some  sort 
of  recognition,  as  well  as  remembrance  of  the  day  and  place,  and  so  about  the  time  when  the '  sun 
sets  in  the  west  to  close  the  day,'  about  twenty,  who  could  mutually  vouch,  and,  so  to  speak,  inter- 
vouch  for  each  other,  wended  their  way  to  the  summit  of  the  rock,  and  soon  discovered  a  recess, 
or  rather  depression,  in  the  rock,  the  form  and  situation  of  which  seemed  prepared  by  nature  for 
our  special  use. 

"  An  altar  of  twelve  stones  was  improvised,  to  which  a  more  thoughtful  or  patriotic  brother 
added  the  thirteenth,  as  emblematical  of  the  original  Colonies,  and  being  elected  to  the  East  by 
acclamation,  I  was  duly  installed,  i.e.,  led  to  the  Oriental  granitic  seat.  The  several  stations  and 
places  were  filled,  and  the  Tyler,  a  venerable  brother,  with  flowing  hair  and  beard  of  almost  snowy 
whiteness,  took  his  place  without  the  Western  Gate,  on  a  little  pinnacle  which  gave  him  a  perfect 
command  of  view  over  the  entire  summit  of  the  rock,  so  he  could  easily  guard  us  against  the 
approach  of  all,  either  'ascending  or  descending.'  I  then  informally  opened  'Independence 
Lodge,  No.  I,"  on  the  degrees  of  Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow  Craft,  and  Master  Mason,  v^hen 
several  of  the  brethren  made  short,  appropriate  addresses,  and  our  venerable  Tyler  gave  us 
reminiscences  of  his  Masonic  history,  extending  from  1821  to  1862.  It  was  a  meeting  which  is  no 
doubt  remembered  by  all  the  participants  who  are  yet  living,  and  some  of  those  who  there  became 
acquainted  have  kept  up  fraternal  intercourse  ever  since." 

The  square  and  compass,  made  from  a  paper-box  cover,  and  the  Holy 
Bible  used  upon  this  occasion,  were  appropriately  presented  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Wyoming,  October  8,  1878,  to  be  laid  up  among  their  "archives." 

Seventy-five  dollars  was  appropriated  from  the  funds  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Masonic  library. 

On  July  26,  1882,  a  special  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  called 
for  the  purpose  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  the  Morris  Presbyterian  church, 
at  Rawlins. 

On  June  30,  1883,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Evanston  Lodge,  No.  4, 
the  Grand  Master  granted  a  dispensation  for  the  formation  of  a  new  lodge  at 
Green  River,  to  be  known  as  Mt.  Moriah  Lodge. 

At  the  annual  communication,  October  9th,  the  dispensation  to  Mt.  Moriah 
Lodge,  at  Green  River,  was  continued  another  year. 

On  October  14,  1884,  a  charter  was  granted  to  Mt.  INIoriah  Lodge,  No.  6, 
at  Green  River.     E.  F.  Cheney  was  elected  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master, 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  .21 

J.  H.  Goddard  Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  the  Grand  Treasurer  and  Grand 
Secretary  were  reelected. 

The  place  for  holding  the  annual  communications  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Wyoming  was  permanently  located  at  the  city  of  Laramie,  Albany  County, 
Wyoming  Territory,  and  the  time  changed  to  the  first  Tuesday  in  December 
in  each  year. 

On  November  8,  1885,  a  dispensation  was  granted,  recommended  by 
Rawhns  Lodge,  No.  5,  to  form  "Anchor  Lodge"  at  Buffalo,  Johnson  County, 
Wyoming.  December,  1885,  $100  was  sent  to  the  Masonic  Relief  Com- 
mittee at  Galveston,  Texas,  and  the  Grand  Officers  were  duly  installed. 
The  dispensation  to  Anchor  Lodge,  at  Buffalo,  Johnston  County,  was  continued 
in  December,  1885,  and  a  charter  granted,  December  7,  1886,  as  Anchor 
Lodge,  No.  7. 

A  dispensation  was  granted,  May,  1886,  to  form  a  lodge  at  Sheridan,  to  be 
called  Sheridan  Lodge.  It  was  chartered  as  Sheridan  Lodge,  No.  8,  Decem- 
ber 7,  1886. 

On  September  25,  1886,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  Sundance  Lodge, 
at  Sundance,  Crook  County;  and  on  December  6,  1887,  a  charter  \Vas 
granted  for  the  same,  as  Sundance  Lodge,  No.  9. 

A  dispensation  was  granted  on  March  7,  1887,  to  Ashler  Lodge,  at  Douglas, 
Albany  County,  and  a  charter  was  granted  to  Ashler  Lodge,  No.  10,  Decem- 
ber 6,  1887. 

On  October  21,  1887,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  Acacia  Lodge,  at 
Cheyenne,  and  on  December  4,  1888,  it  was  chartered  as  Acacia  Lodge,  No.  11. 

A  dispensation  was  granted,  June  i,  1889,  on  the  recommendation  of  Mt. 
Moriah  Lodge,  No.  6,  to  Rock  Springs  Lodge,  at  Rock  Springs,  Sweetwater 
County,  Wyoming. 

On  July  19,  1886,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  depot  at  Cheyenne.  On  September  14,  1886,  they  laid,  with 
appropriate  ceremonies,  the  corner-stone  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  Cheyenne, 
and  on  September  23,  18S6,  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  University  building 
at  Laramie  City. 

A  Masonic  hall  was  erected  at  Cheyenne,  in  1878.  All  of  the  lodges 
instituted  in  the  jurisdiction  have  continuously  been  working  lodges  under  the 
Anderson  Constitutions.  The  Grand  Lodge  has  not  a  large  amount  of  surplus 
funds,  nor  any  "  homes  "  or  "  asylums  "  to  support,  but  grants  its  charities  to 
the  needy,  liberally,  when  called  upon. 

Neither  the  Grand  Lodge  nor  any  of  its  subordinates  have  been  incorporated. 
Nothing  has  occurred  since  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Wyoming, 
either  from  within  or  from  without,  to  disturb  that  peace  and  harmony  which 
should  ever  reign  within  a  body  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  —  C.  E.  G. 

Arizona.  —  The  first  lodge  of  Masons  in  Arizona  was  established  at  Prescott, 
the   capital   of  the   Territory,  under   dispensation,  by  the  Grand  Master  of 


,22  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

California,  to  which  a  charter  was  granted  on  October  ii,  1886,  as  Aztlan 
Lodge,  No.  177. 

A  convention  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  delegated  by  several  lodges 
in  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  assembled  in  the  Masonic  hall,  in  the  city  of 
Tucson,  Territory  of  Arizona,  on  the  23d  day  of  March,  1882,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  the  propriety  of  establishing  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons  for  said  Territory,  when  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  examine  the  credentials  of  delegates 
from  the  several  lodges  in  the  Territory  to  this  convention,  and  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  authority 
in  them  vested  to  organize  and  consdtute  a  Grand  Lodge." 

The  following  lodges  were  represented  :  Arizona  Lodge,  No.  257,  Phoenix  ; 
Tucson  Lodge,  No.  263,  Tucson ;  White  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  5,  of  Globe 
City ;  Solomon  Lodge,  U.  D.,  Tombstone  ;  [Azdan  Lodge,  No.  1 77,  of  Prescott, 
the  oldest  in  the  Territory,  was  not  represented.] 

The  committee  reported  :  — 

"  The  charter  of  Arizona  Lodge,  No.  257,  in  Phoenix,  bears  date  the  i6th  day  of  October, 
A.L.  5879,  and  has  atifixed  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  California,  and  was  opened 
in  Phcenix  during  that  year. 

"  The  charter  of  Tucson  Lodge,  No.  263,  of  Tucson,  bears  date  the  15th  day  of  October,  A.L. 
5881,  and  has  affixed  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  California.  It  was  opened  in 
Tucson  on  the  31st  day  of  October,  1881. 

"The  charter  of  White  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  5,  in  Globe  City,  in  the  county  of  Pinal,  bears 
date  the  i8th  day  of  January,  A.D.  1881,  A.L.  5881,  and  has  affixed  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
New  Mexico.     It  was  opened  in  Globe  City  on  the  22d  day  of  February,  A.L.  5881. 

"  The  dispensation  of  Solomon  Lodge  bears  the  seal  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Slate  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  was  dated  June  4,  1881.  This  dispensation  authorizes  the  opening  of  a  lodge  in 
Tombstone,  under  the  name  of  Solomon  Lodge,  and  it  was  continued  to  October  i,  1882,  the  peti- 
tion for  a  charter  having  been  denied." 

After  the  adoption  of  a  constitution,  the  following  was  adopted  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  a  lodge  of  Master  Masons  be  opened  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  and 
opening,  in  Masonic  form,  tne  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  Territory  of 
Arizona." 

Officers  were  appointed  to  fill  the  stations  and  places,  and  a  lodge  of  Master 
Masons  was  opened  in  ancient  Masonic  form,  March  24,  1882.  Brother 
Ansel  Mellen  Bragg  was  elected  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master,  and  the 
other  Grand  Officers  were  also  elected  and  installed. 

The  Master  Mason's  lodge  was  then  closed  in  ancient  Masonic  form ;  and 
the  convention,  having  completed  the  business  for  which  it  had  assembled, 
adjourned  sine  die,  after  which  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  Territory  of  Arizona  was  opened  in  ample  form, 
with  music  by  the  choir  and  prayer  by  the  Grand  Chaplain,  in  the  Masonic 
hall,  at  one  o'clock  p.m.,  March  25,  1882. 

The  following  was  adopted  :  — 

"  Resolved,  The  Grand  Lodge  claimed  as  the  boundaries  of  its  jurisdiction  the  whole  of  the 
Territory  of  Arizona." 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  423 

On  the  6th  day  of  June  following,  a  petition  for  a  charter  was  received 
from  the  Master  and  Wardens  of  Aztlan  Lodge,  No.  177,  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  located  at  Prescott, 
Arizona  Territory,  praying  that  a  charter  be  granted  them  as  Aztlan  Lodge, 
No.  I,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Arizona,  which  on  the  14th  of  the 
same  month  was  granted  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Arizona  at  its  first  communication,  and  it  received  the  proper 
indorsement  upon  its  charter.  The  lodges  were  duly  numbered  in  accord- 
ance with  their  Masonic  age  at  that  date,  as  follows  :  Aztlan  Lodge,  No.  i, 
at  Prescott,  Yavapai  County  ;  Arizona  Lodge,  No.  2,  at  Phoenix,  Maricopa 
County ;  White  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  3,  at  Globe  City,  Gila  County ;  Tucson 
Lodge,  No.  4>  at  Tucson,  Pima  County;  and  King  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  5, 
at  Tombstone,  Cochise  County.  There  have  been  three  lodges  since  created, 
viz.  :  Chalcedony  Lodge,  No.  6,  at  Holbrook,  Apache  County ;  Flagstaff 
Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Flagstaff,  Yavapai  County ;  and  Coronado  Lodge,  No.  8,  at 
Clifton,  Graham  County. 

The  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arizona  will  compare  most  favorably 
with  those  of  even  the  oldest  Grand  Lodges  of  the  United  States,  which  have 
existed  and  prospered  under  more  favorable  conditions.  Unlike  other  Grand 
Lodges,  no  mileage  has  been  allowed  or  per  diem  paid  to  the  representatives 
in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Arizona,  for  in  one  sense  in  some  instances  it  would 
have  been  "blood  money  "  indeed.  At  immense  expense,  and  risk  of  being 
massacred  by  the  ever-hostile  Apache  Indians,  lurking  behind  rocks  and 
bushes,  or  nearly  like  a  snake,  half  buried  in  sand,  ready  to  strike  at  the 
unfortunate  traveller,  these  brethren  have  traversed  the  deserts  under  burning 
sun  as  hot  as  Africa,  for  no  other  purpose  but  to  attend  the  Grand  Lodge  and 
to  transact  business  for  the  benefit  of  the  Craft ;  to  replenish  the  charity  fund, 
and  provide  for  the  widows  and  orphans  who  have  been  made  such  at  the 
hands  of  the  cruel  and  murderous  Apaches.  Words  are  inadequate  to  do 
those  brave,  self-sacrificing,  intrepid,  and  heroic  brethren  justice.  —  E.  A.  S. 

Colorado.  —  Embracing  within  its  limits  the  "  backbone  "  of  the  continent, 
Colorado  has  some  of  the  most  picturesque  and  majestic  scenic  views  to  be 
obtained  in  the  world.  With  its  Castle,  Long's,  and  Pike's  Peaks,  its  Mount 
Lincoln,  and  the  Mountain  of  the  Holy  Cross,  crowned  with  perpetual  snow, 
its  elevated  plateaus  or  "  parks,"  its  celebrated  mineral  springs,  and  its  fertile 
valleys,  it  possesses  a  variety  of  climate,  soil,  and  surroundings  that  ought  to 
satisfy  the  most  fastidious  and  exacting. 

After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Territory,  immigration  rapidly  increased, 
and  in  1858  a  settlement  was  made  where  Denver  now  stands ;  and,  before 
October  i,  1859,  a  dispensation  was  granted,  by  the  Grand  Master  of  Kansas, 
for  a  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  the  town  of  Auraria  (afterward 
Denver),  Colorado.  This  dispensation  was  committed  to  the  care  of  R.-.W.-. 
D.  P.  Wallingford,  Past  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Missouri,  to  institute  the 


.^  .  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

lodge  and  set  the  brethren  at  work.  On  October  17,  i860,  the  Grand  Lodge 
continued  this  dispensation  for  another  year,  and  on  October  15,  1S61,  granted 
them  a  charter  as  Auraria  Lodge,  No.  3  7.  This  was  after  the  formation  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado,  of  which  it  is  presumed  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Kansas  had  not  been  informed.  On  October  16,  i860,  the  Grand  Master  of 
Kansas  reported  that  he  had  granted  dispensations  to  organize  Denver  Lodge, 
at  Denver  City,  in  the  gold  regions,  and  to  Golden  City  Lodge,  at  Golden 
City  •  that  the  brethren  at  Denver  had  returned  their  dispensation,  as  that 
lodo-e  and  "  Auraria  "  were  situated  so  near  together  that  the  interest  of  the 
Fraternity  could  be  fully  served  by  the  older  lodge. 

A  charter  was  granted  on  October  16,  i860,  to  Golden  City  Lodge,  No.  34, 
Golden  City,  Colorado.  On  June  5,  1861,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nebraska 
granted  a  charter  to  Summit  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Parkville,  Colorado  ;  and  on 
the  same  day,  a  charter  to  Rocky  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  8,  at  Gold  Hill, 
Colorado.  It  does  not  appear  that  any  dispensation  was  granted  either  of 
these  lodges. 

October  15,  1861,  the  Grand  Master  of  Kansas  reported  that  he  had 
granted  a  dispensation  to  the  brethren  at  Nevada  City,  Colorado,  for  a  lodge 
at  that  place,  to  be  called  Nevada  Lodge;  and  on  October  15,  1861,  the 
Grand  Lodge  granted  a  charter  to  Nevada  Lodge,  No.  36,  at  Nevada  City, 
Colorado  Territory.  The  representatives  of  the  three  chartered  lodges  of 
Colorado  met  in  convention  at  Golden  City,  on  August  2,  1861,  and  a  lodge 
of  Master  Masons  duly  opened.  A  committee  on  credentials  and  charters 
was  appointed,  who  reported  the  following  lodges  represented  :  Golden  City 
Lodge,  No.  34  ;  Summit  Lodge,  No.  7,  Parkville  ;  Rocky  ISIountain  Lodge, 
No.  8,  Gold  Hill. 

It  was  resolved  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge.  Grand  Officers  were  accordingly 
elected  and  installed,  J.  M.  Chivington,  Gold  Hill,  being  elected  Grand 
Master.  Constitution,  by-laws,  and  rules  were  adopted,  and  charters  were 
granted  to  the  lodges,  and  numbered  as  follows  :  Golden  City,  No.  i  ;  Sum- 
mit, No.  2  ;  and  Rocky  Mountain,  No.  3.  The  Grand  Master,  en  September 
19,  1 86 1,  granted  a  dispensation  to  a  lodge  at  Central  City,  to  be  called 
Chivington  Lodge. 

On  October  24,  1861,  however,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kansas  granted  to  the 
members  of  Auraria  Lodge,  U.  D.,  a  dispensation  to  form  and  open  a  lodge  at 
Denver  City,  to  be  called  Denver  Lodge. 

At  the  first  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado, 
charters  were  granted,  December  11,  1861  :  to  Nevada  Lodge,  No.  4,  at 
Nevada  City ;  Denver  Lodge,  No.  5,  at  Denver  City ;  and  Chivington  Lodge, 
No.  6,  at  Central  City. 

The  fee  for  a  dispensation  to  form  a  new  lodge  was  fixed  at  S25,  and  $30 
additional  for  a  charter.  The  by-laws  of  the  Grand  Lodge  required  each 
subordinate  lodge  to  pay  the  Grand  Lodge  $5  for  each  initiation,  and  ^1.50 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  .2^ 

for  each  member,  except  those  initiated  during  the  year.  The  minimum  fee 
for  the  three  degrees  was  fixed  at  $30,  to  be  paid  in  advance. 

November  3,  1862,  the  Secretary  of  Rocky  Mountain  Lodge,  No.  3^ 
reported  that  all  the  brethren  of  that  lodge  had  left  for  other  locahties,  and 
the  Grand  Lodge  ordered  the  charter  and  property  of  the  lodge  returned. 
A  charter  was  granted,  November  3,  1863,  to  Union  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Denver 
City.  November  7,  1864,  the  establishing  of  a  Masonic  library  was  approved, 
and  the  donation  ($105)  given  to  the  Fraternity  by  Brother  John  G.  Brand- 
ley,  of  Corxipany  C,  ist  Colorado  Cavalry,  who  was  mortally  wounded  the 
previous  summer  in  a  fight  with  the  Lidians,  was  set  apart  for  that  object. 
Dispensations  for  a  lodge  at  Empire  City,  Clear  Creek  County,  Colorado,  and 
another  at  Helena,  Adgerton  County,  Montana,  were  reported  as  having  been 
issued  by  the  Grand  Master.  The  Deputy  Grand  Master  reported  that,  in 
the  absence  of  the  Grand  Master  from  the  jurisdiction,  he  granted  on  April  4, 
1865,  a  dispensation  to  a  lodge  at  Virginia  City,  Montana,  to  be  called 
Montana  Lodge ;  the  petition  was  recommended  by  Virginia  City  Lodge, 
No.  43,  and  also  Union  Lodge,  No.  7.  The  Grand  Secretary  reported 
that  Summit  Lodge,  No.  2,  had  surrendered  its  charter  and  effects  to  the 
Grand  Lodge.     A  charter  was  granted  Empire  Lodge,  No.  8,  November  6, 

1865.  Charters  were  granted,  November  7,  1865,  to  Montana  Lodge,  No.  9, 
and  Helena  City  Lodge,  No.  10.  On  January  27,  1866,  the  Grand  Master 
issued  a  dispensation  to  El  Paso  Lodge  at  Colorado  City,  and  on  February  15, 

1866,  Black  Hawk  Lodge,  at  Black  Hawk,  Colorado.  A  charter  was  granted 
this  lodge,  October  i,  1866,  as  Black  Hawk  Lodge,  No.  11  ;  and  the  dispen- 
sation to  El  Paso  Lodge  was  continued. 

December,  1866,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  a  lodge  at  Columbia  City. 
At  the  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  October  7,  1867,  ^  petition  was 
received  from  fourteen  brethren  at  Georgetown  for  a  charter  for  a  lodge ; 
and  a  charter  was  granted  to  Washington  Lodge,  No.  12,  at  Georgetown. 
The  Grand  Secretary  reported  that,  a  Grand  Lodge  having  been  formed  in 
Montana,  the  charters  of  Montana,  No.  9,  and  Helena  Lodge,  No.  10,  had 
been  returned  to  him.  On  October  8,  1867,  charters  were  granted  El  Paso 
Lodge,  No.  13,  and  Columbia  Lodge,  No.  14.  November  8,  1867,  dispensa- 
tions were  granted  for  a  lodge  at  Canon  City;  on  June  27,  1868,  for  a  lodge 
at  Valmont.  The  Deputy  Grand  Master,  during  the  absence  of  the  Grand 
Master,  in  the  early  part  of  1868,  granted  a  dispensation  to  the  brethren  at 
Cheyenne,  Dakota  Territory,  to  open  a  lodge  ;  also  a  dispensation  to  the 
brethren  of  Pueblo  and  vicinity ;  also  to  the  brethren  at  Denver,  to  open  a 
new  lodge,  to  be  called  Germania  Lodge. 

On  October  7,  1868,  the  location  of  Columbia  Lodge,  No.  14,  was  changed 
from  Columbia  City  to  Boulder  City,  and  the  name  of  Chivington  Lodge, 
No.  6,  was  changed  to  Central  Lodge,  No.  6.  Charters  were  granted  to 
Mt.  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  15,  at  Canon  City;  to  Cheyenne  Lodge,  No.  16,  at 


426 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXR  Y. 


Cheyenne,  Dakota  Territory;  and  to  Pueblo  Lodge,  No.  17,  at  Pueblo,  Colo- 
rado. On  January  31,  1870,  the  Grand  Master  issued  a  dispensation  for 
Laramie  Lodge,  at  Laramie  City,  Wyoming  'I^erritory,  and  on  i^Iay  9,  1870, 
to  Fidelity  Lodge,  at  Fort  Collins,  Colorado.  On  September  28,  1870,  char- 
ters were  granted  Laramie  Lodge,  No.  18,  at  Laramie  City,  and  to  Collins 
Lodge  (instead  of  Fidelity),  No.  19.  On  November  29,  1870,  a  dispensation 
was  granted  to  open  a  lodge  at  Greeley,  to  be  called  Occidental  Lodge.  On 
April  8,  187 1,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  the  brethren  at  Salt  Lake  City  to 
form  a  lodge,  to  be  known  as  Argenta  Lodge.  A  charter  was  granted,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1871,  to  Occidental  Lodge,  No.  20,  at  Greeley,  Colorado,  and 
also  to  Argenta  Lodge,  No.  21,  at  Salt  Lake  City. 

In  March,  1872,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  form  a  lodge  at  Littleton, 
Arapahoe  County;  and,  on  June  22,  1872,  to  the  brethren  residing  at  Long- 
mont,  Boulder  County.  On  September  24,  1872,  the  Grand  Lodge  granted 
a  charter  to  Weston  Lodge,  No.  22,  at  Littleton,  and  to  St.  Vrain  Lodge,  No. 
23,  at  Longmont ;  and  a  dispensation  was  issued  to  the  brethren  at  Colorado 
Springs,  to  form  Ashlar  Lodge,  to  have  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  El  Paso 
Lodge,  No.  15,  at  Colorado  City. 

Grand  Master  Teller,  on  September  8,  1873,  granted  a  dispensation  to 
form  a  lodge  at  Evanston,  Wyoming  Territory.  The  dispensation  to  Ashlar 
Lodge  was  returned,  by  order  of  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master. 

El  Paso  Lodge,  No.  13,  was  by  edict  of  the  Grand  Lodge  removed  from 
Colorado  City  to  Colorado  Springs.  On  January  10,  1874,  a  dispensation 
was  issued  to  organize  Doric  Lodge,  at  Fairplay,  Park  County,  Colorado ;  also, 
on  July  14,  1874,  to  organize  Idaho  Springs  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Idaho  Springs; 
and,  on  August  27,  1874,  to  organize  Huerfano  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Walsenburg, 
Huerfano  County,  Colorado.  On  September  30,  1S74,  charters  were  granted 
to  Evanston  Lodge,  No.  24,  and  to  Doric  Lodge,  No.  25.  The  dispensations 
to  Idaho  Springs  Lodge  and  Huerfano  Lodge  were  continued  another  year. 
On  March  15,  1875,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  organize  Las  Animas 
Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Trinidad,  Las  x^nimas  County.  On  September  20,  1875,  the 
Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Territorial  University  in  due  form, 
at  Boulder.  On  September  22,  1875,  charters  were  granted  to  Idaho  Springs 
Lodge,  No.  26,  to  Huerfano  Lodge,  No.  27,  and  Las  Animas  Lodge,  No.  28. 

Dispensations  were  issued,  September  24,  1875,  to  form  Del  Norte  Lodge, 
at  Del  Norte ;  February  7,  1876,  to  form  King  Solomon  Lodge,  at  West  Las 
Animas;  March  15,  1876,  to  form  Olive  Branch  Lodge,  at  Saguache  (another 
dispensation  was  granted  Olive  Branch  Lodge,  March  10,  1877)  ;  and  on 
March  17,  1876,  to  form  South  Pueblo  Lodge,  at  South  Pueblo. 

The  Grand  Lodge  appointed  a  committee  of  three,  to  procure  a  suitable 
granite  slab,  four  feet  long  and  two  feet  square,  of  Colorado  rock,  and  place 
upon  its  polished  face  this  inscription  :  "  From  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  of 
Colorado,  the  Centennial  State,  a.d.  1876,"  and  when  completed,  to  ship  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ^20 

same  to  the  "Washington  National  Monument  Society,"  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia.  The  Grand  Lodge  also  appropriated  $500,  to  aid  in  completing 
this  monument.  Charters  were  granted,  September  20,  1876  :  to  Del  Norte 
Lodge,  No.  29 ;  to  King  Solomon  Lodge,  No.  30,  at  West  Las  Animas ;  and 
to  South  Pueblo  Lodge,  No.  31.  A  charter  was  granted  Olive  Branch  Lodge, 
No.  32,  September  18,  1877. 

As  Colorado  is  no  longer  a  Territory,  but  a  free  and  independent  State, 
admitted  into  the  Federal  Union  as  the  thirty-eighth  State,  on  the  2d  day  of 
August,  1876,  a  "Centennial  State,"  we  feel  that  she  is  safe,  and  that  the 
history  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  "  State  "  of 
Colorado  will  be  one  of  harmony,  progress,  and  noble  achievements. 

The  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado  has  laid  the  corner-stones 
of  public  buildings,  as  follows  :  — 

June  24,  1872 Public  School  Building,  at  Denver. 

June  24,  1874 Building,  Public  Waterworks,  Pueblo. 

Sept.  20,  1875 Territorial  University,  Boulder. 

Dec.     9,  1875 Ladies'  Relief  Society  Building,  Denver. 

June  22,  1877 Jefferson  County  Court-House,  Golden. 

July   27,  1878 State  Agricultural  College,  Fort  Collins. 

Aug.  II,  1880 Lake  County  Court-House,  Leadville. 

Sept.  21,  1880 Episcopal  Cathedral,  Denver. 

Oct.      9,  1880 Public  School  Building,  Lake  City. 

June  24,  188 1 Arapahoe  County  Court-House,  Denver. 

Nov.  12,  1881 City  Hall,  Denver. 

April  15,  1882 Chaffee  County  Court-House,  Buena  Vista. 

Nov.    2,  1882 Episcopal  Church,  Fort  Collins. 

Aug.    7,  1883 Weld  County  Court-House,  Greeley. 

Nov.    3,  1883 Masonic  Temple,  Longuiont. 

Aug.  II,  1884 Rio  Grande  County  Court-House,  Del  Norte. 

Aug.  10,  1885 Sm  Miguel  County  Court-House,  Telluride. 

Sept.  23,  1885 Public  Scliool  Building,  Idaho  Springs. 

May  17,  1886 Longmont  College,  Longmont. 

Oct.    16,  1886 Presbyterian  Academy,  Salida. 

June  14,  1887 Methodist  College  Building,  South  Pueblo. 

June  20,  1887 Court-House  and  City  Hall,  Las  Animas. 

July    13,  1887 Haish  Manual  Training  School,  Denver. 

Aug.  II,  1887 Larimer  County  Court-House,  Fort  Collins. 

Sept.  14,  1887 Masonic  Temple,  Alamosa. 

Aug.  22,  1888 Ouray  County  Court-House,  Ouray. 

April    8,  1889 Masonic  Temple,  Denver. 

Hebrew  Temple,  Trinidad. 

The  Masonic  Temple  at  Denver,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was  appro- 
priately laid  April  8,  1889,  was  completed  in  June,  1890,  at  a  cost  of  over 
^300,000;  and  was  dedicated  on  July  3,  1890,  in  "due  and  ancient"  form. 
The  accompanying  illustration  is  a  striking  object-lesson  of  the  growth  of  the 
Craft  in  this  the  Empire  State  of  the  "  Far  West."  Of  the  three  lodges  which 
organized  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Colorado,  Golden  City  Lodge,  No.  i,  is  the 
only  one  now  in  existence.  Summit  Lodge,  at  Parkville,  and  Rocky  Mountain 
Lodge,  at  Gold  Hill,  having  become  extinct. 

Twenty- five  per  cent  of  the  revenue  of  the   Grand  Lodge  is  set  apart 


.^Q  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

annually,  with  the  view  of  founding  a  "  Masonic  Home."  As  yet,  they  have 
no  organized  Masonic  charity,  and  the  revenue  of  the  Grand  Lodge  has  been 
regulated  by  fixing  the  dues  from  subordinate  lodges,  so  that  there  has 
been  very  little  accumulation  of  funds  over  and  above  the  current  expenses  of 
the  Grand  Lodge.  —  C.  E.  G. 

New  Mexico. — This  Territory  was  explored  by  the  Spaniards  as  early  as 
1537,  who  opened  mines,  established  missions,  and  made  some  progress  in 
civilizing  the  natives.  General  Kearney  captured  Santa  Ft^,  its  capital,  in  1846  ; 
aad  at  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1848,  it  was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and 
erected  into  a  Territory  in  1850.  Not  later  than  this,  the  brethren  in  the 
vicinity  of  Santa  F^  must  have  petitioned  for  a  dispensation  to  form  and  open 
a  lodge  at  that  place;  for,  on  May  8,  185 1,  a  charter  was  granted  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  to  form  and  open  Montezuma  Lodge,  No.  109,  at 
Santa  Y^. 

Bent  Lodge,  No.  204,  at  Taos,  was  chartered,  June  i,  i860,  and  surrendered 
its  charter  in  1865.  There  is  no  record  of  the  time  that  a  dispensation  was 
granted  for  Chapman  Lodge  at  Las  Vegas ;  but  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  in  1863,  we  find  that  it  held  a  communication.  May 
29,  1862,  and  as  there  appeared  some  irregularities  in  the  work  done,  a  charter 
was  not  granted  at  that  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  At  the  session  in  1864, 
other  irregularities  appearing  in  the  work  of  Chapman  Lodge,  U.  D.,  the 
Grand  Secretary  was  instructed  to  strike  the  name  of  Chapman  Lodge,  U.  D., 
from  the  rolls  of  this  Grand  Lodge.  On  May  25,  1865,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  dispensation  to  Chapman  Lodge,  U.  D.,  at  Fort  Union  be  returned  to  the 
District  Deputy  Grand  Master  for  that  district,  with  instructions  to  set  the 
Craft  at  work,  as  soon  as  the  Master  and  Wardens  were  qualified  to  discharge 
their  several  duties.  A  charter  was  granted,  June  i,  1866,  as  Chapman  Lodge, 
No.  95,  which  was  the  number  of  Acacia  Lodge,  at  Cape  Girardeau,  in  1848, 
and  which  ceased  during  the  war  in  1861-65.  Aztec  Lodge,  at  Las  Cruses, 
was  granted  a  dispensation  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  June  4,  1866; 
and  on  October  19,  1867,  a  charter  was  granted,  as  Aztec  Lodge,  No.  108, 
giving  them  the  number  formerly  given  to  New  Madrid  Lodge,  at  New  Madrid, 
Missouri,  which  was  chartered  in  1849,  and  ceased  during  the  war. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  also  granted  the  following  charters :  On 
October  12,  1869,  to  Kit  Carson  Lodge,  No.  326,  at  Elizabethtown,  New 
Mexico  (the  charter  was  arrested  in  1878,  by  the  Grand  Master)  ;  to 
Cimarron  Lodge,  No.  348,  at  Cimarron,  October  14,  1875,  which  was  sur- 
rendered in  1878  :  a  dispensation  to  Silver  City  Lodge,  at  Silver  City,  May  i, 
1873  ;  and,  on  October  16,  1873,  it  was  chartered  as  Silver  City  Lodge, 
No.  465  :  on  May  30,  1874,  a  dispensation  to  form  and  open  Union  Lodge, 
at  Fort  Union ;  this  lodge  was  granted  a  charter  as  Union  Lodge,  No.  480,  at 
Fort  Union  (Tiptonville),  October  15,  1874, 

Pursuant  to  call,  a  convention  of  delegates  from  several  lodges  in  the 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  .^^ 

Territory  of  New  Mexico,  met  at  the  hall  of  Montezuma  Lodge,  in  Santa  F6, 
on  August  6,  1877,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the 
Territory  of  New  Mexico,  when  the  following  lodges  were  represented  :  Aztec 
Lodge,  No.  108 ;  Chapman  Lodge,  No.  95  ;  Montezuma  Lodge,  No.  109. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  constitution  and  by-laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Grand  Lodge,  who  submitted  a  draft  of  same,  which  was 
adopted.  August  7,  1877,  the  convention  elected  the  officers  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  for  the  ensuing  term,  with  William  W.  Griffin  as  Grand  Master. 

In  the  evening  Brother  John  H.  Thomson,  Past  Master  of  Golden  Square 
Lodge,  No.  107,  of  Missouri,  appointed  Samuel  B.  Axtell,  Master  of  Ceremo- 
nies, who  presented  William  W.  Griffin,  Grand  Master-elect,  for  installation, 
who  was  duly  installed.  The  Grand  Master  then  proceeded  to  install  the 
elected  and  appointed  officers,  after  which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Mexico 
was  opened  in  ample  form,  and  declared  duly  organized. 

On  the  following  day  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to 
the  various  lodges  in  New  Mexico  not  represented,  inviting  and  requesting 
them  to  recognize  and  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  The 
lodges  here  represented  were  re-numbered,  the  oldest  lodge  being  No.  i,  the 
next  oldest.  No.  2,  and  so  on. 

In  the  evening,  after  a  four  hours'  discussion  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
work  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  they  were  called  to  refreshment  "  till  to-morrow  at 
3  P.M.,"  when  the  discussion  upon  the  work  was  resumed,  the  work  approved 
and  adopted.  At  7.30  p.m.,  August  9th,  the  Grand  Lodge  was  again  called  to 
labor,  and  at  the  request  of  Montezuma  Lodge,  No.  i,  Frederick  F.  White- 
head, a  Fellow  Craft  of  that  lodge,  was  introduced,  and  raised  to  the 
sublime  degree  of  Master  Mason  in  ample  form.  On  the  following  evening. 
Max  Frost,  a  Fellow  Craft  of  Montezuma  Lodge,  was  introduced,  and 
raised  to  the  sublime  degree  of  Master  Mason  in  ample  form ;  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  closed. 

The  constitution  and  by-laws  adopted  at  this  time  fixed  the  fee  for  a 
dispensation  to  form  and  open  a  lodge  at  $30,  and  for  a  charter  $20  more ; 
and  the  fee  for  the  three  degrees  of  Masonry  was  $50. 

The  first  annual  communication  of  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  New  Mexico  convened  at  the  Masonic 
hall  in  the  city  of  Santa  F^,  on  Monday,  January  6,  1879,  Most  Worshipful 
William  W.  Griffin,  G.-.  M  .*.,  presiding ;  and  the  Grand  Lodge  was  opened  in 
ample  form. 

The  Grand  Master,  at  the  opening  of  his  address,  announced  the  death  of 
George  W.  Stebbins,  G.  J.  W.,  who  died  at  his  home  in  Las  Vegas,  April  1 7, 
1878,  aged  forty-four  years. 

In  alluding  to  the  recognition  that  had  been  accorded  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  Mexico  by  the  sister  Grand  Lodges,  Grand  Master  Griffin  said  :  — 

"  While  we  most  highly  appreciate  the  recognition  that  has  been  extended  to  us  Uy  the  eighteen 


.^2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

sister  Grand  Lodges  mentioned,  that  of  our  mother,  Missouri,  has  been,  in  some  respects,  the  most 
gratifying  and  encouraging.  She  is  the  mother  of  everj'  lodge  in  New  Mexico ;  and  at  her  com- 
munication, held  two  months  after  her  children  in  this  distant  land  of  the  ancient  Montezumas 
had,  after  long  and  mature  deliberation,  determined  to  assume  the  responsibilities  and  cares  of 
independent  existence,  she,  with  words  of  great  maternal  affection,  took  her  daughter  of  New 
Mexico  by  the  hand,  and  honored  her  by  an  introduction  to  the  world." 

On  July  5,  1880,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  White  Mountain  Lodge,  at 
Globe  City,  Arizona;  also  on  the  nth  day  of  November,  1880,  one  to  a  new 
lodge  at  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico,  to  be  called  Temple  Lodge.  On  April 
22,  1880,  an  edict  was  issued,  arresting  the  charter  of  Silver  City  Lodge,.  No. 
465.  This  edict  was  pubUshed  in  the  local  papers  in  Silver  City.  In  reply 
thereto,  the  Worshipful  Master  of  Silver  City  Lodge,  No.  465,  published  a 
few  days  after,  in  the  Grant  County  Herald,  at  Silver  City,  a  very  vindictive 
and  un-Masonic  article. 

On  January  i8th  charters  were  granted  to  White  Mountain  Lodge,  No,  5, 
at  Globe  City,  Arizona,  and  to  Temple  Lodge,  No.  6,  at  Albuquerque,  New 
Mexico.  All  Masonic  intercourse  between  Masons  of  this  jurisdiction  and 
that  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  was  interdicted  and  forbidden ;  and 
Masters  of  lodges  were  required  to  have  the  resolutions  read  in  open  lodges, 
and  also  posted  in  the  ante-rooms  of  their  lodges. 

On  January  21,  1881,  the  Grand  Lodge  constituted  Temple  Lodge,  No.  6, 
at  Albuquerque,  and  installed  its  officers.  On  February  22,  1S81,  the  hall  of 
White  Mountain  Lodge,  No,  5,  at  Globe  City,  Arizona,  was  dedicated  and  its 
officers  installed.  On  March  3,  1881,  the  new  hall  of  Temple  Lodge,  No.  6, 
at  Albuquerque,  was  dedicated  and  consecrated  to  Freemasonry  and  to  Masonic 
uses  and  purposes.  On  October  6,  1881,  the  Grand  Lodge  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  a  Masonic  hall  at  New  Albuquerque. 

On  December  19,  1881,  Grand  Master  Newcomb  delivered  his  annual 
address,  giving  a  full  account  of  the  proclamation,  edicts,  and  correspondence 
relating  to  Silver  City  Lodge,  No,  465  ;  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri 
expressed  the  earnest  hope  that  such  action  would  be  taken  as  would  restore 
fraternal  relations  and  intercourse  with  the  mother  Grand  Lodge,  and  harmony 
in  its  own  jurisdiction.  He  reported  that,  on  August  8,  1881,  a  dispensation 
was  granted  to  form  Alpha  Lodge,  at  Silver  City.  A  charter  was  granted 
Alpha  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Silver  City,  and  the  special  committee  on  the  Grand 
Master's  address  submitted  their  report,  with  preamble  and  resolutions,  which 
harmonized  the  differences,  and  healed  the  breach  that  had  existed  between 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri  and  Silver  City  Lodge,  No.  465,  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  Mexico.  The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  and 
peace  and  harmony  were  restored. 

On  March  20,  1882,  a  charter  was  issued  (in  pursuance  of  a  resolution 
adopted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  at  its  last  annual  communication),  to  Silver 
City  Lodge,  No,  8,  who  forwarded  their  last  charter  as  Silver  City  Lodge, 
No,  465,  of  Missouri,  to   the  Grand   Secretary,  who  transmitted   the  same 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ..^ 

by  mail  to  the  Grand  Secretary  of  Missouri,  the  receipt  of  which  was  duly 
acknowledged. 

In  1882  the  Grand  Master  reported  having  refused  the  request  to  lay, 
with  appropriate  Masonic  ceremonies,  the  corner-stone  of  an  Episcopal 
church,  and  of  a  female  seminary,  on  account  of  having  grave  doubts  whether, 
Hterally,  th-ey  would  be  classed  as  "public  edifices."  The  Grand  Secretary 
reported  that  on  January  11,  1882,  the  hall  of  Alpha  Lodge,  No.  7,  at  Silver 
City,  was  consecrated  and  dedicated ;  also,  on  January  19,  1882,  a  like  service 
was  performed  for  Temple  Lodge,  No.  6,  at  Albuquerque. 

A  dispensation  was  granted,  March  25,  1882,  to  form  and  open  Socorro 
Lodge,  at  Socorro;  on  July  10,  1882,  for  Mimbres  Lodge  at  Georgetown,  in 
Grant  County.  On  December  20,  1882,  charters  were  granted  to  Socorro 
Lodge,  No.  9,  and  to  Mimbres  Lodge,  No.  10. 

A  dispensation  was  issued,  January  10,  1883,  to  form  and  open  Gate  City 
Lodge  at  Raton;  and  on  September  25,  1883,  to  form  Deming  Lodge  at 
Deming.  The  charter  of  Alpha  Lodge,  No  7,  at  Silver  City  was  surrendered 
on  May  19,  1883. 

On  December  12,  1883,  charters  were  granted  to  Gate  City  Lodge,  No.  11, 
at  Raton,  and  to  Deming  Lodge,  No.  12,  at  Deming.  On  March  18,  1885,  a 
dispensation  was  issued  to  Hiram  Lodge  at  San  Marcial ;  and  a  charter  was 
granted  on  November  11,  1885,  to  Hiram  Lodge,  No.  13,  at  San  Marcial. 

On  May  21,  1887,  in  company  with  the  Grand  Lecturer,  the  Grand  Master 
proceeded  to  the  town  of  Chloride  in  Sierra  County,  and  organized  Western 
Star  Lodge,  U.  D. 

On  August  16,  1887,  a  dispensation  was  granted  to  open  Animas  Lodge  at 
Farmington,  in  San  Juan  County.  On  November  14,  1887,  charters  were 
granted  to  Western  Star  Lodge,  No.  14,  and  Animas  Lodge,  No.  15.  Dispen- 
sations were  granted  for  two  new  lodges  :  one  at  Kingston,  Sierra  County, 
and  one  at  Chama,  Rio  Arriba  County.  On  January  15,  1889,  the  Grand 
Lodge  granted  charters  to  Kingston  Lodge,  No.  16,  and  Chama  Lodge, 
No.  17.  — C.  E.  G. 

Hawaiian  Islands.  —  In  the  year  1843  ^  brother  named  Le  Telher,  then 
commanding  a  French  whale-ship  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was  duly  empowered 
by  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  33°,  of  France,  to  institute  Masonic  lodges  in 
places  over  which  no  other  jurisdiction  had  previously  been  extended,  granted 
a  warrant  to  certain  brethren  to  open  a  lodge  at  Honolulu  under  the  name  of 
"  Le  Progres  de  L'  Oceanie:'  For  some  years  this  lodge  prospered,  and  added 
to  its  list  of  members  the  names  of  the  best  citizens  of  that  place. 

In  the  years  1850  or  185 1  the  sudden  rush  to  the  gold  fields  of  California 
interfered  with  the  progress  of  this  lodge,  resulting  in  the  members  leaving 
the  Island ;  and  the  lodge  was  without  members  to  work.  The  warrant  lay 
neglected  in  the  lodge  chest,  and  the  lodge  was  considered  extinct.  This 
state  of  things  continued  for  nearly  two  years,  when,  in  1852,  a  number  of  the 


...  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

old  members  of  the  Lodge  "  Le  Frogres,"  together  with  a  few  other  brethren 
recently  arrived,  asked  for  a  dispensation  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State 
of  California,  which  would  give  it  control  over  these  Islands. 

On  the  i2th  of  January,  1852,  the  Grand  Master  of  California  received  an 
application  from  thirteen  brethren  residing  in  Honolulu,  asking  for  a  dispensa- 
tion to  open  a  lodge  at  that  place,  which  was  accompanied  by  a  letter  from 
the  Honorable  Secretary  of  State  of  that  government,  a  well-known  brother, 
which  he  granted.  In  May,  1852,  the  Grand  Master  recommended  that  a 
charter  be  granted  them  at  that  session.  A  charter  was  duly  granted  on  the 
8th  day  of  May,  as  Hawaiian  Lodge,  No.  2 1 . 

This  lodge  has  continued  in  active  work  to  the  present  time,  still  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California.  Some  three  years  after  the 
charter  had  been  granted  to  Hawaiian  Lodge,  several  members  withdrew 
from  it,  and  revived  the  old  "  Le  Tellier  "  warrant,  under  the  old  name  of 
"  Le  Progres  de  L  OceanieP  They  did  no  work  at  first,  but  gave  out  that  they 
had  applied  for  a  new  charter  from  the  French  authority.  Subsequendy  they 
commenced  work,  and  conferred  degrees  upon  persons  who  would  not  have 
been  admitted  into  Hawaiian  Lodge.  Then  the  question  of  the  legality  of 
"  Le  Progres "  Lodge  arose,  which  resulted  in  Masonic  non-intercourse 
between  the  brethren  of  the  two  lodges.  Hawaiian  Lodge  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  secure  all  the  evidence  on  the  subject  necessary  and  present  the 
same  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  asking  for  instructions.  The  latter 
body  approved  the  action  of  Hawaiian  Lodge,  No.  21,  and  all  Masonic  inter- 
course and  recognition  was  directed  to  be  interdicted  with  "  Le  Progres  de 
L'  Oceanie  "  and  its  members,  in  May,  1856. 

In  1857  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  decided  :  — 

"That  whenever  Hawaiian  Lodge  is  satisfied  that  'Z,^  Progres  de  L' Oceanie'  is  acting  under 
'lawful  Masonic,  authority,'  communication  with  it  may  be  established;  and  they  may  satisfy 
themselves  of  this  fact  in  whatever  way  to  them  may  seem  proper." 

This  was  done  in  i860.  The  Supreme  Council  of  France  recognizing  the 
legitimacy  of  the  charter  of  "  Le  Progres  de  L Oceanie^^  Lodge,  and  the  fact 
that  the  original  members  had  not  dimitted  therefrom,  nor  surrendered  the 
charter  when  they  ceased  work  and  went  over  in  a  body  to  form  "  Hawaiian  " 
Lodge  with  others  organized  under  dispensation  and  subsequent  charter  from 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  California;  and  that  those  members  in  returning  to 
renew  their  allegiance  to  the  Supreme  Council  of  France,  from  which  they 
had  not  been  released,  had  a  legal  and  just  right  to  resume  labor  under 
their  old  charter.  By  this  action  peace  and  harmony  were  restored  between 
these  two  lodges,  which  has  continued  to  the  present  day. 

On  July  10,  1872,  the  Grand  Master  of  California  granted  a  dispensation 
to  "  Maui  Lodge,"  to  be  located  at  Wailuku,  on  the  Island  of  Maui,  Hawaiian 
Islands. 

This  lodge  was  chartered,  October  18,  1873,  by  the   Grand   Lodge   of 


THE  AMERICAN  RITE.  ,  -,  - 

California,  as  Maui  Lodge,  No.  223.  For  the  first  three  years  it  got 
along  very  well,  but  at  last  began  to  drag  for  the  want  of  material  to  sustain 
it,  and  several  of  the  brethren  having  left,  the  lodge  finally  surrendered  its 
charter,  and  the  remaining  members  sold  the  property  and  turned  over  the 
funds  to  the  Grand  Secretary,  which  amounted  to  $417.  This  was  ordered 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California  to  be  paid  over  to  Hawaiian  Lodge,  No. 
21,  for  its  charity  fund. 

In  1886  Most  Worshipful  Edmund  C.  Atkinson,  then  Grand  Master  of 
California,  paid  an  official  visit  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  accompanied  by  some 
of  his  officers  and  other  distinguished  Masons,  where  they  were  most  hospitably 
received  and  royally  entertained  by  King  Kalakaua  and  Prince  Dominis,  both 
members  of  the  Craft,  as  well  as  by  the  Fraternity  in  general.  —  E.  A.  S. 

Alaska.  —On  April  14, 1868,  Most  Worshipful  James  Beles,  Grand  Master 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  (then)  Washington  Territory,  granted  a  dispensation  to 
Alaska  Lodge,  U.  D.,  to  be  located  at  Sitka.  At  the  session  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Washington  held  September  17,  1868,  the  dispensation  was  con- 
tinued. In  September,  1869,  Brother  William  H.Woods,  Master  of  Alaska 
Lodge,  U.  D.,  was  appointed  Deputy  Grand  Master  for  Alaska.  October  18, 
1872,  the  charter  was  revoked,  and  among  its  property  turned  over  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  at  Washington  was  a  school-house,  upper  story  and  ante-room, 
which  was  leased  in  1869  for  the  term  of  ninety-nine  years,  with  power  to 
sublet  and  rebuild  in  case  of  destruction  by  fire ;  also  a  note  signed  Patrick 
Burns  for  $356.15,  without  interest,  secured  by  mortgage  on  a  lot  with  a 
building  containing  a  luhiskey-saloon  and  restaurant.  —  E.  A.  S. 

Mexico.  — When  Freemasonry  first  was  introduced  into  Mexico  is  unknown. 
There  is  some  evidence  that  it  secretly  existed  among  the  high  officers  of  the 
Spanish  troops  and  resident  foreigners  prior  to  the  successful  revolution  for 
independence,  in  1820 ;  but  it  was  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite 
only.  When  the  independence  of  Mexico  was  secured  and  its  nationality 
established,  in  1820,  the  Freemasons  among  the  volunteers  in  the  Mexican 
army  dispersed  without  any  organized  bodies  anywhere.  The  Scottish  Rite, 
introduced  through  French  channels  by  the  diplomatic  corps  and  foreign 
representatives,  was  mainly  confined  to  Europeans  and  their  descendants,  as 
well  as  to  the  few  Americans  established  in  that  Republic.  In  1825  Joel  R. 
Poinsett,  who  was  resident  minister  of  the  United  States,  caused  a  considerable 
number  of  the  Mexican  brethren  to  withdraw  from  the  Scottish  Rite  and 
obtain  authority  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  for  the  establishment  of 
three  lodges  of  the  "  York  Rite  "  in  the  city  of  Mexico.  In  one  year  there 
were  no  less  than  twenty-five  lodges  established,  with  at  least  one  lodge  in  the 
capital  of  each  state  of  the  nation. 

A  Grand  Lodge  was  established  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  Jose  Ignacio 
Esteva  elected  the  first  Grand  Master.  Contention  soon  arose  between  the 
bodies  of  the  Scottish  and  those  of  the  "York"  rites,  which  finally  resulted 


436 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


in  the  formation  of  two  political  parties  consisting  of  the  "  Ecossais  "  and 
"  Yorkonas.''  For  a  period  of  over  thirty  years  Masonry  was  practically  dead 
in  Mexico, 

A  spurious  Supreme  Council  was  in  existence  in  the  city  of  Mexico  in 
1859,  established  by  spurious  authority  of  the  Foulhouze  type,  that  had  been 
spuriously  constituted  in  Louisiana. 

By  authority  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  33°  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry  for  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  Brother  Laffon  was  sent  to  Mexico  to  heal  and  regularize  Brother 
Manuel  de  la  Concordia  and  others;  and  on  the  21st  of  December,  i860,  he 
duly  created,  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  of  1 786,  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil of  Mexico  and  the  States  of  Central  America,  being  himself  by  those 
constitutions  the  first  Grand  Commander. 

Central  America.  —  Freemasonry  was  organized  in  this  country  by  the 
constituting  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  33°  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry  for  Central  America,  at  the  capital  of  Guatemala, 
by  the  Supreme  Council  for  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States, 
May  27,  1870.  Its  jurisdiction  embraced  Guatemala,  Costa  Rica,  Nicaragua, 
San  Salvador,  and  Honduras. 


7€ui^'^' 


^e4/r?^'a/?^y 


MASONIC   TEMPLE,    BOSTON,    MASS. 


DIVISION    VIII. 


THE    FIRST    GLIMPSES    OF   FREEMASONRY  IN 
NORTH  AMERICA. 


By  Sereno  D.  Nickerson,  ^2>°i  P-G.M., 
Recording  Grand  Secretary  of  Massachusetts. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Early  American  Masonic  History. 

The  earliest  trace  of  the  existence  of  Masons  or  Masonry  on  this  conti- 
nent, so  far  as  we  are  now  aware,  is  afforded  by  a  letter  now  in  the  possession 
of  the  New  England  Historic-Genealogical  Society,  written  by  Dr.  Charles  T. 
Jackson,  of  Boston,  the  celebrated  chemist  and  geologist.  It  is  in  the 
following  words  :  — 

"  June  2d,  1856. 

"  Dear  Sir  :  When  Francis  Alger  and  myself  made  a  mineralogical  survey  of  Nova  Scotia 
in  1827,  we  discovered,  upon  the  shore  of  Goat  Island,  in  Annapolis  Basin,  a  grave-stone,  partly 
covered  with  sand  and  lying  on  the  shore.  It  bore  the  Masonic  emblems,  square  and  compass, 
and  had  the  figures  1606  cut  in  it.     The  rock  was  a  flat  slab  of  trap  rock,  common  in  the  vicinity. 

"  At  the  ferry  from  Annapolis  to  Granville  we  saw  a  large  rounded  rock  with  this  inscription  : 
•  La  Belle  1649.' 

"  These  inscriptions  were  undoubtedly  intended  to  commemorate  the  place  of  burial  of 
French  soldiers,  who  came  to  Nova  Scotia  'Annapolis  Royal  I'Acadie  '  in  1603. 

"  Coins,  buttons  and  other  articles,  originally  belonging  to  these  early  French  settlers,  are 
found  in  the  soil  of  Goat  Island  in  Annapolis  Basin. 

"  The  slab,  bearing  date  1606,  I  had  brought  over  by  the  ferryman  to  Annapolis,  and  ordered 
it  to  be  packed  up  in  a  box,  to  be  sent  to  the  O.  C.  Pilgrim  Socy  [of  Plymouth,  Mass.]  ;  but 
Judge  Haliburton,  then  Thomas  Haliburton,  Esq.,  prevailed  on  me  to  abandon  it  to  him,  and  he 
now  has  it  carefully  preserved.  On  a  late  visit  to  Nova  Scotia,  I  found  that  the  Judge  had 
forgotten  how  he  came  by  it,  and  so  I  told  him  all  about  it. 
"  [Addressed] 

"  J.  W.  Thornton,  Yours  truly, 

"  Present.  C.  T.  JACKSON." 

The  letter  is  accompanied  by  a  photograph  of  the  stone,  showing  the 
square  and  compasses  and  the  figures  1606,  rudely  cut  and  much  worn  by 
time  and  weather,  but  still  quite  distinct. 

439 


^Q  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Thomas  C.  Haliburton,  better  known  to  Americans  as  "  Sam  Slick,"  was 
born  in  Windsor,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1 796.  He  became  Chief  Justice  of  Common 
Pleas  in  1829,  and  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Nova  Scotia  in  1840.  In 
1842  he  removed  to  England,  became  a  Member  of  Parhament,  and  died  in 
office  in  1865. 

In  1S29  he  published  a  volume,  entitled  "Historical  and  Statistical 
Accounts  of  Nova  Scotia."  In  Vol.  II.  of  that  work,  pp.  155-157,  he  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  stones  described  by  Dr.  Jackson  :  — 

"  About  six  miles  below  the  ferry  is  situated  Goat  Island,  which  separates  the  Annapolis  Basin 
from  that  of  Digby,  and  forms  two  entrances  to  the  former;  the  western  channel  though  narrow  is 
deep,  and  generally  preferred  to  others.  A  small  peninsula  extending  from  the  Granville  shore 
forms  one  of  its  sides.  On  this  point  of  land  the  first  piece  of  ground  was  cleared  for  cultivation 
in  Nova  Scotia,  by  the  French.  They  were  induced  to  make  this  selection  on  account  of  the 
beauty  of  its  situation,  the  good  anchorage  opposite  to  it,  the  command  which  it  gave  them  of 
the  channel,  and  the  facility  it  afforded  of  giving  the  earliest  notice  to  the  garrison  at  Port  Royal 
of  the  entrance  of  an  enemy  into  the  Lower  Basin.  In  the  year  1827  the  stone  was  discovered 
upon  which  they  had  engraved  the  date  of  their  first  cultivation  of  the  soil,  in  memorial  of  their 
formal  possession  of  the  country.  It  is  about  two  feet  and  a  half  long,  and  two  feet  broad,  and  of 
the  same  kind  as  that  which  forms  the  substratum  of  Granville  Mountain.  On  the  upper  part  are 
engraved  the  square  and  compass  of  the  Free  Mason,  and  in  the  centre,  in  large  and  deep  Arabic 
figures,  the  date  1606.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  dressed  by  a  mason,  but  the  inscription 
has  been  cut  on  its  natural  surface.  The  stone  itself  has  yielded  to  the  power  of  the  climate,  and 
both  the  external  front  and  the  interior  parts  of  the  letters  have  alike  suffered  from  exposure  to  the 
weather ;  the  seams  on  the  back  part  of  it  have  opened,  and  from  their  capacity  to  hold  water, 
and  the  operation  of  frost  upon  it  when  thus  confined,  it  is  probable  in  a  few  years  it  would  have 
crumbled  to  pieces.  The  date  is  distinctly  visible,  and  although  the  figure  o  is  worn  down  to 
one-half  of  its  original  depth,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  latter  6  nearly  as  much,  yet  no  part  of 
them  is  obliterated;  they  are  plainly  discernible  to  the  eye,  and  easily  traced  by  the  finger.  At  a 
subsequent  period,  when  the  country  was  conquered  by  the  English,  some  Scotch  emigrants  were 
sent  out  by  Sir  William  Alexander,  who  erected  a  fort  on  the  site  of  the  French  cornfields,  pre- 
vious to  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain's.  The  remains  of  this  fort  may  be  traced  with  great  ease ;  the 
old  parade,  the  embankment  and  ditch  have  not  been  disturbed,  and  preserve  their  original  form. 
It  was  occupied  by  the  French  for  many  years  after  the  peace  of  1632,  and,  near  the  eastern  para- 
pet, a  large  stone  has  been  found,  with  the  following  monumental  inscription  :  '  LEBEL,  1643."  " 

It  will  be  observed  that  Dr.  Jack- 
son assumes  the  stone,  bearing  the 
square  and  compasses  and  the  date 
1606,  to  have  been  "a  grave-stone"  ; 
but  Judge  Hahburton  describes  it 
as  the  stone  upon  which  the  French 
"had  engraved  the  date  of  their 
first  cultivation  of  the  soil,  in  memo- 
rial of  their  formal  possession  of  the 
country."  Dr.  Jackson,  however, 
described  the  stone  from  recollection 
only,  nearly  thirty  years  after  he 
found  it ;  while  Judge  Haliburton's  account  was  written  on  the  spot,  at  the 


FIRST   GLIMPSES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.  ^^j 

very  time  of  the  discovery,  and  by  one  who  had  made  a  study  of  the  locality 
and  of  the  history  of  the  inhabitants. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  stone  bears  a  date  very  near  the  earliest  named  by 
any  authority  for  the  settlement  of  that  region,  so  celebrated  by  historians  and 
poets.  Aside  from  the  fact  that  it  affords  the  earliest  footprint  of  Masonry 
upon  the  continent,  the  locahty  has  other  claims  upon  the  attention  of  the 
Fraternity. 

Sir  William  Alexander,  of  Menstrie,  received  charters  for  the  whole  of 
Nova  Scotia,  in  1621-1625-1628,  and  settled  a  Scotch  colony  at  Port  Royal, 
which  his  people,  under  David  Kirk,  captured  in  1628  from  the  French.  The 
son,  Sir  William  Alexander,  Jr.,  was  left  in  command  of  the  Colony.  He 
remained  until  the  peace  of  1632  compelled  him  to  return  the  possession  to 
France,  whereupon  this  son  returned  with  most  of  his  settlers  to  England. 

Lyon's  "  History  of  Freemasonry,"  p.  79,  shows  that  this  son,  Sir  William, 
known  as  "  Lord  Alexander,"  was,  July  3,  1634,  admitted  a  Fellow  of  the  Craft 
in  the  Edinburgh  Lodge,  and  gives  his  autograph  as  of  such  title. 

He  did  not  return  to  America  after  that  date,  but  his  connection  increased. 
He  and  his  father  were  both  made  members  of  the  Great  Council  of  Plymouth 
for  the  affairs  of  New  England  on  the  29th  January,  1634-5,  and  were  active 
members  of  it  afterward.  April  22,  1635,  the  Great  Council  set  off  to  Lord 
Alexander,  as  his  share  in  their  lands,  all  the  coast  from  the  St.  Croix  River  to 
Pemaquid,  and  up  the  Pemaquid  River  to  its  head,  then  across  to  the  Kennebec 
and  up  to  its  head,  and  northward  to  Canada  Great  River. 

Thus  it  will  be  observed  there  was  a  "  Scotch  "  Freemason,  not  only  in 
the  Great  Council,  but  an  active  owner  and  grantee,  through  his  agents,  of 
lands  in  these  regions  near  us,  in  the  early  period  of  our  history. 

Also,  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  gentlemen,  or  Speculative  Masons,  as  we 
call  them,  on  record  in  Scotland.  It  is  not  improbable  that  he  was  initiated 
by  some  of  the  brethren  whom  he  found  at  Annapolis,  and  was  afterward 
"admitted  a  Fellow  of  the  Craft"  at  Edinburgh. 

Our  Fraternity  may  well  unite  with  the  historian  in  the  opinion  that 

"There  are  few  localities  in  America  around  which  the  memories  of  the  shadowy  past  more 
interestingly  cluster  than  around  the  ancient  town  of  Annapolis." 

Notwithstanding  the  various  fortunes  and  misfortunes  which  befell  this 
locality,  the  Masonic  fire  seems  to  have  smouldered  there  with  singular  per- 
sistency. The  records  of  the  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts, 
have  the  following  entry  under  date  of  1 740  :  — 

"  Omitted  in  place  That  Our  R'  WorsW  Grand  Master  M''  Price  Granted  a  Deputation  at  y* 
Petition  of  sundry  Brethren,  at  Annapolis  in  Nova  Scocia  to  hold  a  Lodge  there,  and  Appointed 
Maj""  Erasm^  Ja^  Philipps  D.  G.  M.  who  has  since  at  yt  Request  of  sundry  Brethren  at  Halifax, 
Granted  a  Constitution  to  hold  a  Lodge  there,  and  appointed  The  R'  Worsh'  His  Excellency 
Edw<i  Cornwallis,  Esqf  their  First  Master." 

Erasmus  James  Philipps  was  made  in  "  The  First  Lodge  "  of  Free  and 


^,  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Accepted  Masons  in  Boston,  New  England,  November  14,  1737  (O.S.).  He 
was  probably  a  relative  of  Richard  Philipps,  Governor  of  Nova  Scotia  from 
1 719  until  1749.  When  Erasmus  settled  in  Nova  Scotia  is  uncertain.  He 
was  present  at  a  meeting  of  the  Governor's  Council  held  in  Annapolis  on 
the  2 2d  of  March,  1740  (O.S.).  He  is  named,  under  date  of  September  4, 
1 740,  as  a  member  of  a  royal  commission  to  settle  the  boundaries  between 
the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island. 

There  is  now  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  a  docu- 
ment, believed  to  be  in  the  handwriting  of  Brother  Philipps,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  copy  :  — 

"  Halifax  the  12th  June  1750. 

"  Sir:  —  At  a  meeting  of  true  and  Lawfull  brothers  and  Master  Masons  Assembled  at  Halifax 
in  order  to  Consult  on  proper  measures  for  holding  and  Establishing  a  Lodge  at  this  Place  It 
was  unanimously  resolved  on  that  a  Petition  should  be  sent  to  You  who  we  are  informed  is  Grand 
Master  for  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia  in  Order  to  obtain  Your  Warrant  or  Deputation  to  hold 
and  Establish  a  Lodge  at  this  Place  according  to  the  Antient  Laws  &  Customs  of  Masonry  & 
that  said  Petition  should  be  signed  by  any  five  of  the  Brethren  then  Assembled. 

"  We  therefore  the  undernamed  Subscribers  pursuant  to  the  above  resolution  do  most  humbly 

Crave  and  desire  Your  Warrant  to  hold  and  Establish  a  Lodge  as  aforesaid  according  to  the 

Antient  Laws  and  Customs  of  Masonry  as  practised  among  true  and  Lawful!  Brethren  and  this 

we  Crave  with  the  utmost  dispatch  and  beg  leave  to  subscribe  ourselves  Your  true  and  Loving 

Brethren. 

"  Ed  Cornwallis 

"  W'n  Steele 

"  Copy  P  "  Robert  Campbell 

"Eras.  Jas  Philipps  " Willi"  nesbitt 

"  P.  G.  M."  "  David  Haldane" 

Hon.  Edward  Cornwallis,  son  of  Charles,  the  third  Baron  Cornwallis,  was 
born  in  1712  — twin  brother  of  Frederick,  who  was  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  uncle  of  Lord  CornwaUis  of  Yorktown  fame.  He  was  gazetted  as  Governor 
of  Nova  Scotia,  May  9,  1 749.  He  sailed  in  the  Sphinx,  sloop  of  war.  May  14th, 
and  arrived  at  Chebucto,  now  Hahfax  harbor,  on  the  21st  of  June  (O.S.). 
The  settlers,  2576  in  number,  embarked  some  time  after,  and  arrived  off  the 
harbor  on  the  27th  of  June,  1749  (O.S.). 

Of  the  signers  of  the  above  petition,  WilUam  Steele  is  described  as  a  brewer 
and  merchant.  Robert  Campbell  and  David  Haldane  were  lieutenants  in  the 
army.     William  Nesbitt  was  one  of  the  clerks  of  the  governor. 

The  library  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  contains  a  work,  now 
very  rarely  to  be  found,  entitled  (in  brief)  "Ahlman  Rezon  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia."  It  opens  with  "  A  concise  Account  of  the  Rise  and 
Progress  of  Free  Masonry  in  Nova-Scotia,  from  the  first  Settlement  of  it  to 
this  Time," — 1786.  As  strongly  confirming  what  we  have  herein  set  forth, 
we  make  the  following  extract  from  this  interesting  "  Account  "  :  — 

"  From  Europe  the  Royal  Art  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  the  first  Emigrants  and  settled  in 
various  parts  of  America.  It  is  said  to  have  been  known  in  Nova  Scotia,  while  in  the  hands  of 
the  French.  But  however  this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  as  soon  as  the  English  took  possession  of 
it,  they  took  care  to  encourage  this  charitable  institution.    They  saw  that  it  had  a  tendency  to 


FIRST   GLIMPSES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.  ^^ 

relieve  distress  and  to  promote  good  order.  By  this  early  attention  to  it,  discovered  in  the  first 
planters,  it  had  the  happiness  to  rise  into  repute  with  the  rising  Province,  as  the  ivy  climbs  around 
the  oak,  contributing  to  its  beauty,  shade  and  magnificence. 

"  As  early  as  the  year  1750,  which  was  as  soon  almost  as  there  were  any  houses  erected  in 
Halifax,  we  find  a  number  of  the  Brethren  met  together  with  Governor  Cornwallis  at  their  head, 
'  Deeming  it,'  as  they  expressed  it,  '  for  the  good  of  the  fraternity  that  Masonry  should  be  propa- 
gated in  the  province,  and  that  there  was  a  necessity  of  encouraging  it  in  this  place.' 

"  Erasmus  James  Philips,  Esq.,  of  Annapolis  Royal,  was  Provincial  Grand  Master  at  that 
time.  And  they  agreed  to  petition  him  for  a  Warrant  to  hold  a  Lodge  at  Halifax,  and  that  his 
Excellency  might  be  Master  of  it.  This  warrant  was  received  on  the  19th  of  July;  and  on  the 
same  evening  Lord  Colvil  and  a  number  of  Navy  Gentlemen  were  entered  Apprentices  in  this 
Lodge.  It  had  also  the  honour  of  making  many  of  the  principal  inhabitants  and  most  of  the  Gentle- 
men holding  considerable  offices  in  the  Province ;  and  it  was  in  this  Lodge  that  our  present 
Senior  Grand  Warden,  the  Right  Worshipful  and  Honorable  Richard  Bulkeley,  Esq.,  was  made 
a  Master  Mason. 

"  Governor  Cornwallis,  indeed  while  he  resided  in  the  Province  was  Master  of  this  Lodge, 
and  governed  it  by  a  Deputy,  according  to  the  custom  prevailing  in  Scotland.  He  was  succeeded 
in  the  Government  and  in  the  Chair  by  Governor  Lawrence,  who  enjoyed  both  till  his  Death.   .   .   . 

"  On  March  the  i8th,  1751,  the  second  Lodge  was  formed  at  Halifax.  On  this  occasion 
Brother  Murray  acted  as  Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  Brother  Nesbitt,  the  late  Attorney-General, 
as  Senior  Grand  Warden,  in  installing  the  officers.  .  .  . 

"At  this  time  our  R.  W.  Brother  Philips  probably  acted  only  under  a  deputation:  For  we 
find  a  Grand  Warrant  dated  seven  years  after  this,  from  the  Right  Worshipful  and  Honorable 
William  Stewart,  Earl  of  Blessington,  Grand  Master  of  England,  constituting  Erasmus  James  Phil- 
ips, Esq.,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Nova-Scolia,  and  of  the  territories  thereunto  belonging.  .  .  . 

"  Grand  Master  Philips  was  succeeded  in  his  high  office  by  his  Honour  Jonathan  Belcher, 
Esq.,  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  Province.  But  the  Province  being  in  its  infancy,  and  having  to 
struggle  with  many  difficulties  unfavourable  to  the  cultivation  of  the  Arts,  the  Grand  Warrant,  after 
the  death  [1776]  of  the  R.  W.  Brother  Belcher,  lay  dormant  for  many  years ;  a  misfortune  severely 
felt  by  the  Craft." 

What  is  called  the  "  Deputation  "  under  which  Brother  Philipps  acted  was 
issued  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Massachusetts,  under  authority  of 
the  "  Modern  "  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  The  Earl  of  Blessington  was  Grand 
Master  of  the  "  Ancients,"  and  it  is  probable  that  the  "  Grand  Warrant  "  named 
was  thrust  upon  Brother  Philipps  by  the  recently  organized  Grand  Lodge  of 
"Ancients,"  without  any  request  on  his  part,  and  probably  never  was  used 
by  him. 

The  Lord  Colvill,  who  was  "  entered  Apprentice "  in  the  first  lodge  in 
Halifax,  on  the  1 9th  of  July,  1 750,  "  on  the  same  evening  "  when  its  "  warrant  " 
was  received  from  Provincial  Grand  Master  Philipps,  was  soon  ordered  to 
Boston,  with  the  other  "  Navy  Gentlemen."  It  appears  by  our  records  that 
he  was  "  voted  a  member  "  of  the  "  First  Lodge  "  in  Boston  on  the  24th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1750,  raised  in  the  Masters'  Lodge  November  2d,  and  on  the  nth  of 
January  following  (1750  O.S.)  he  represented  the  "Second  Lodge  "  in  Grand 
Lodge,  as  Master.  He  was  very  constant  in  his  attendance  upon  the  meet- 
ings of  all  these  bodies.  On  the  24th  of  June,  1752,  he  was  appointed  Deputy 
Grand  Master  by  Right  Worshipful  Thomas  Oxnard,  and  held  the  Feast  at  the 
Grey  Hound  Tavern,  in  Roxbury. 

This  distinguished  brother  seems  to  have  won  the  hearts  of  the  profane,  as 


^.  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

well  as  of  his  brethren.  On  the  12th  of  May,  1 752,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston, 
"in  Publick  Town  Meeting  Assembled  at  Faneuil  Hall"  passed  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  him,  as  commander  of  His  Majesty's  ship  Success,  for  "his  Con- 
duct and  good  Services,"  which  had  "  given  great  satisfaction  to  the  Town." 
At  a  meeting  on  the  2 2d,  the  selectmen  returned  his  answer,  in  which  he 
declared  himself  "  extreamly  sensible  of  the  Honour  done  him  by  the  Metrop- 
olis of  America,"  and  expressed  the  hope  that  the  Commissioners  of  Admiralty 
might  at  some  future  time  return  him  "  to  a  country  which  had  already  given 
him  such  marks  of  Esteem  and  Regard." 

At  the  quarterly  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  held  on  the  loth  of 
July,  Deputy  Grand  Master  Colvill  presided.  On  the  13th  of  October  Grand 
Master  Oxnard  officiated,  and 

"  Presented  our  Right  Worshipfull  Bro.  McDaniel  with  the  D.  G.  M.'s  Jewell  in  the  Room  of 
our  Right  Worshipfull  Bro.  Lord  Colvill,  who  has  gone  for  England." 

Before  his  departure  he  presented  to  the  "  Second  Lodge  "  a  copy  of  Field's 
Bible,  printed  in  Cambridge,  England,  in  1683.  When  the  "  First  and  Second  " 
lodges  were  united  under  the  tide  of  St.  John's  Lodge  of  Boston,  this  Bible 
became  the  property  of  that  body,  and  is  still  carefully  preserved  in  its  archives. 

A  curious  Masonic  item  appears  in  the  "  Plymouth  Colony  Records,"  Vol.  X. 
p.  .137.  Opposite  p.  viii  of  the  Introduction,  among  sundry  autographs,  a 
strange  hieroglyphic  is  represented,  of  which  a  cut  is  annexed.  All  that  is 
known  of  this  strange  device  we  gather  from  the  following  record  :  — 


A* 


"  [  To  the  Colony  at  New  Haven !\ 

"A  letter  from  the  Corporation  in  England  was  presented  and 

-^  «  .         Read  the  contents  whereof  are  as  followeth  :  .  .  .  wee  desier  that 

fP    ~J  I  ft    one  psell  of  the  goods  now  sent  marked  and  numbred  as  in  the 

\        -<        I  11/      margant,  may  be  delivered  unto  M^  John  Eliote  and  charged  upon 

j\  \J       ^       his  account  for  the  use  of  the  Indian  worke ;  .  .  . 

1    \  __^  "by  WiLLAM  Steele  Presedent. 

"  Coopers  hall  London 
jAl  "  2ith  March  1654." 

"  [Answer."] 
"Among  the  goods  sent  this  year  wee  find  one  [bale]  No.  19  which  cost  there  34/'-09S-05d 
and  with  the  advance  amounts  to  45^-i9S-03d  directed  to  M''  Eliote  for  the  use  of  the  Indian 
worke  but  why  it  is  severed  from  the  Rest  of  the  psell  and  consigned  to  him  is  not  expressed  ;  It 
seems  different  from  the  Course  youer  selves  approved  and  may  prove  Inconvenient  if  it  bee 
Continued ;  but  this  psell  shal  bee  delivered  according  to  youer  desire  ;  .  .  . 
"  Newhaven  the  isth  of  September  1655." 

Why  the  square  and  compasses  were  attached  to  this  curious  mark  is  a 
mystery.  We  never  heard  that  the  "Apostle  to  the  Lidians  "  was  a  Mason. 
Perhaps  the  sanctity  was  at  the  other  end  of  the  line.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  whether  it  was  the  sight  of  this  strange  device  that  prompted  the 
rather  tart  answer,  which  was  signed  by  Theophilus  Eaton,  Simon  Bradstreet, 
and  six  other  godly  men.     Some  of  our  indefatigable  English  brethren  may 


FIRST   GLIMPSES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.  ^t 

be  able  to  tell  us  why  the  square  and  compasses  were  thus  used  at  so  early  a 
period,  and  by  whom. 

The  next  vestige  of  Masonry  in  this  country,  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge, is  described  in  Peterson's  "History  of  Rhode  Island,"  p.  loi.  The 
author  informs  us  that 

"  In  the  spring  of  1658,  Mordecai  Campannall,  Moses  Packeckoe,  Levi,  and  others,  in  all 
fifteen  families,  arrived  at  Newport,  from  Holland.  They  brought  with  them  the  three  first  degrees 
of  Masonry,  and  worked  them  in  the  house  of  Campannall,  and  continued  to  do  so,  they  and  their 
successors,  to  the  year  1742." 

This  statement  is  said  to  be  made  on  the  authority  of  documents  in  the 
possession  of  N.  H.  Gould,  Esq.,  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  history. 
It  came  to  the  notice  of  Grand  Master  William  S.  Gardner,  who  was  greatly 
astonished  at  the  information,  and  immediately  set  about  the  investigation  of 
it.  He  of  course  applied  to  Brother  N.  H.  Gould,  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
who  was  then  an  Active  member  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Northern 
Masonic  Jurisdiction.  Brother  Gould  repMed  that  the  statement  was  founded 
upon  a  dilapidated  document  found  among  the  effects  of  a  distant  relative  of 
his  own.  It  had  been  exposed  to  alternate  wet  and  heat,  and  was  so  broken 
and  brittle  that  it  could  not  be  daguerreotyped.  All  that  could  be  made  out 
was  that  in  1656  or  1658 

"  Wee  mett  att  ye  House  off  Mordecai  Campannall  and  after  Synagog  Wee  gave  Abm  Moses 
the  degrees  of  Maconrie." 

Grand  Master  Gardner  was  not  satisfied  with  the  evidence,  and  declared 
that  it  was  "  almost  impossible  to  treat  this  story  with  the  attention  which  the 
subject  demands." 

Grand  Master  Doyle,  of  Rhode  Island,  commented  thus  on  Brother  Gould's 
letter :  — 

"  It  would  seem  that  the  only  authority  in  his  possession,  for  the  assertion  of  Peterson,  is  a 
document  showing  that  in  1656  or  1658,  somebody  met  some  other  persons  at  some  house  in 
Newport,  and  'gave  Ab'"  Moses  the  degrees  of  Maconrie.'  This  may  have  occurred  then  and 
there,  just  as  it  is  stated;  but,  if  so,  it  is  no  authority  for  the  statement  that  a  Lodge  of  Masons 
existed  then  in  Newport,  or  that  there  was  any  legal  Masonic  authority  for  the  work  done,  or  that 
any  other  person  was  ever  legally  made  a  Mason  in  Newport,  between  1658  and  1742." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  both  Grand  Masters  had  good  reason  for  dismiss- 
ing with  contempt  the  extravagant  claim  of  the  historian.  The  manufacture 
of  documentary  evidence  to  supply  missing  links  in  Masonic  history  is  a 
department  of  belles  lettres  in  which  it  seems  especially  dangerous  to  venture. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  tradition  has  long  been  perpetuated  that  Masons 
made  their  appearance  in  Rhode  Island  about  that  time.  In  Weeden's  recently 
published  "  Economic  and  Social  History  of  New  England,"  under  the  date 
of  1658,  the  author  says  :  — 

"  The  commerce  of  Newport  was  extending  certainly.  The  wealthy  Jews,  who  contributed  so 
much  to  it  afterward,  appear  now.  It  is  said  that  fifteen  families  came  in  from  Holland  this  year, 
bringing  with  their  goods  and  mercantile  skill  the  first  three  degrees  of  Freemasonry." 


446 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


The  records  of  the  "  First  Lodge  "  in  Boston  introduce  us  to  a  disthiguished 
brother,  whose  initiation  took  place  at  a  date  earlier  than  that  of  any  American 
Mason,  so  far  as  we  now  have  any  positive  knowledge.  Under  date  ot  October 
14,  1 741,  a  committee  reported  that,  in  pursuance  of  a  vote  of  the  lodge,  on 
the  25  th  of  the  previous  month,  they  had  waited  on  Governor  Jonathan 
Belcher  and  expressed  their  gratitude  for  the  many  favors  he  had  always 
shown  (when  in  power),  to  Masonry  in  general,  but  in  a  more  especial  manner 
to  the  brethren  of  the  lodge.  To  their  acknowledgments  and  good  wishes  the 
Governor  replied  as  follows  :  — 

"  Worthy  Brothers  :  I  take  very  kindly  this  mark  of  your  respect.  It  is  now  thirty-seven  years 
since  I  was  admitted  into  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  to 
whom  I  have  been  a  faithful  Brother,  and  a  well-wisher  to  the  Art  of  Masonry. 

"  I  shall  ever  maintain  a  strict  friendship  for  the  whole  Fraternity,  and  always  be  glad  when  it 

may  fall  in  my  power  to  do  them  any  services. 

■'  "J-  Belcher." 

"The  Honorable  Mr.  Belcher,"  thus  highly  complimented,  was  born  in 
Boston  in  1681,  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1699,  visited  Europe  and  had  all  the 
advantages  of  education  and  travel  which  the  wealth  of  his  father  could  give 
him.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  was  presented  to  the  Princess  Sophia  and 
her  son,  afterAvard  George  H.,  and  made  a  Mason,  as  he  says,  about  the  year 
I  yo4,  —  thirteen  years  before  the  reorganization  of  the  Institution  in  England, 
in  171 7.  He  returned  to  Boston,  and  engaged  in  business  as  a  merchant. 
He  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Council,  and  in  1729  again  visited  England, 
this  time  as  the  agent  of  the  Colony.  While  he  was  thus  engaged,  Governor 
Burnet  died,  and  Mr.  Belcher  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  appointment  of 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  which  he  held  from  1 730  to 
1 741.  His  administration  was  an  almost  constant  struggle  with  the  General 
Court  to  enforce  the  granting  of  a  fixed  and  annual  salary,  as  required  by  the 
king,  and  for  the  settlement  of  vexed  financial  questions.  The  animosities 
excited  by  these  latter  subjects  led  to  his  removal,  and  the  appointment  of 
Governor  Shirley.  Another  visit  to  England  enabled  him  to  vindicate  his 
integrity,  and  to  secure  the  appointment  of  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  which 
he  held  from  1747  until  his  death  in  1757,  aged  seventy-six.  The  historian 
informs  us  that 

"  Added  to  his  excellent  endowments  of  mind  were  a  peculiar  beauty  and  gracefulness  of 
person,  in  which  he  was  equalled  by  no  man  in  his  day;  and  there  was  a  dignity  in  his  mien  and 
deportment  which  commanded  respect." 

The  date  of  his  initiation  is  not  the  only  fact  in  this  distinguished  brother's 
biography  which  marks  him  as  a  conspicuous  figure  in  our  Masonic  history. 
His  oldest  son,  Andrew,  was  appointed  the  first  Provincial  Deputy  Grand 
Master  of  New  England  in  1 733,  and  his  second  son,  Jonathan,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  as  we  have  seen,  succeeded  Erasmus  James  Philipps 
as  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  that  Province,  about  1760  or  1765. 


FIRST   GLIMPSES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.  ^j 

The  next  spark  of  Masonic  light  which  glimmers  on  our  horizon  is  first 
brought  to  our  notice  in  the  Masonic  Mirror  and  Mechanics'  Intelligencer, 
published  in  Boston  by  Brother  Charles  W.  Moore.  In  the  issue  of  that  paper 
for  January  27,  1827,  the  editor  makes  the  following  statement :  — 

"  A  year  or  two  since,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  is  probably  more  conversant 
with  that  church  in  America  than  any  other  individual  now  living,  politely  furnished  us  with  a  docu- 
ment wherein  it  appeared  that  the  first  regular  lodge  of  Freemasons  in  America  was  holden  in 
King's  Chapel,  Boston,  by  a  dispensauon  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  somewhere  about 
the  year  1720.  It  produced  great  excitement  at  the  time,  and  the  Brethren  considered  it  prudent 
to  discontinue  their  meetings." 

This  statement  was  twice  repeated  in  Masonic  publications  edited  by 
Brother  Moore,  the  last  time  in  April,  1844.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted 
that  he  did  not  furnish  the  full  text  of  the  "  document,"  or  the  means  of  com- 
pletely verifying  so  important  an  item.  That  a  regularly  warranted  lodge 
existed  in  Boston,  under  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  first  organized  in 
England  only  three  years  before,  would  be  regarded  as  a  most  interesting  and 
important  discovery.  Until  further  evidence  is  produced,  we  must  rest  content 
with  this  oft-told  tale.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  several  of  the  most  active 
Masons  of  the  time  of  the  First  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  in  New  England  were 
prominent  in  the  service  of  King's  Chapel  and  Christ  Church,  both  of  which 
were  of  the  Church  of  England. 

We  do  not  despair  of  being  able  to  prove  the  existence  of  a  regularly 
warranted  lodge  in  Boston  in  1720,  but  until  we  succeed  we  will  rest  content 
with  — 

"  I  cannot  tell  how  the  truth  may  be ; 
I  say  the  tale  as  'twas  said  to  me." 

In  the  Boston  News-Letter,  the  first  newspaper  printed  in  America,  under 
date  of  September  18,  1721,  among  the  vessels  cleared  for  the  West  Indies, 
one  called  the  Freemason  is  reported.  There  is  no  indication  where  the 
craft  was  built,  when,  or  by  whom,  or  who  was  the  owner ;  but  that  the  name 
should  have  been  selected,  only  four  years  after  the  reorganization  of  Masonry 
in  England,  suggests  that,  even  at  that  early  day.  Masonry  had  begun  to  cause 
"  great  speculation  in  New  England." 

Next  in  point  of  time  in  our  series  comes  the  Deputation  of  Daniel  Coxe, 
to  be  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania, 
granted  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Grand  Master  of  England,  dated  June  5, 
1 730,  and  hmited  to  the  term  of  two  years,  from  the  Feast  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  then  next  ensuing. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  little  or  nothing  seems  to  have  been  known  of  Coxe, 
or  his  Deputation,  by  the  Craft  of  New  Jersey,  until  1864 ;  although  Coxe  and 
his  father  were  for  years  among  the  most  conspicuous  actors  in  New  Jersey's 
affairs,  and  although  the  granting  of  the  Deputation  was  reported  in  the  various 
English  Constitutions,  and  in  many  other  Masonic  publications  scattered  all 


448 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


along  through  the  previous  century  and  a  quarter.  But  in  1864,  a  certified 
copy  of  that  Deputation  was  obtained  from  the  Right  Worshipful  Grand 
Secretary  of  England. 

With  it,  however,  came  the  declaration  of  the  same  high  authority  to  the 
efifect  that 

"  Brother  Coxe  did  not  make  any  report  of  the  appointment  of  Deputy  Grand  Master  or  Grand 
Wardens ;  neither  did  he  report  the  congregating  of  Masons  into  Lodges.  He  did  not  transmit  any 
account  of  having  constituted  Lodges,  and  does  not  indeed  appear  to  have  established  any." 

Six  years  later  —  in  1870  —  Past  Grand  Master  Whitehead  of  New  Jersey, 
declared  that  diligent  research  among  the  descendants  of  Brother  Coxe  had 

"  Failed  to  disclose  any  testimony  whatever  of  the  exercise  by  him,  or  any  one  acting  under 
his  authority,  of  the  prerogatives  contained  in  the  Deputation." 

In  1887,  at  the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
Jersey,  Past  Grand  Master  Cannon,  the  orator  of  the  occasion,  expressed  the 
opinion  that 

"  There  is  no  evidence,  which  can  be  considered  entirely  certain  and  reliable,  that  the  powers 
conferred  upon  Brotlier  Daniel  Coxe  by  the  warrant  referred  to  were  ever  exercised  by  him  in 
this  country  for  the  formation  of  Masonic  lodges." 

At  the  time  of  his  appointment  as  Provincial  Grand  Master,  Brother  Coxe 
was  in  England  for  the  purpose  of  perfecting  his  title  to  a  claim  which  he 
inherited  trom  his  father,  Dr.  Daniel  Coxe,  who  was  for  a  time  physician  to 
Charles  II.  Their  claim  covered  half  the  continent  of  North  America.  This 
territory  they  called  "  Carolana."  In  1722  the  son  published  "A  Description 
of  the  English  Province  of  Carolana,"  a  volume  of  about  200  pages,  accom- 
panied by  an  elaborate  map.  During  the  following  twenty  years  several  other 
editions  of  this  work  were  issued  m  London.  We  can  readily  understand  how 
arduous  and  exacting  must  have  been  his  labors  in  defending  and  perfecting 
his  title,  in  publishing  the  different  editions  of  "  Carolana,"  in  pushing  the 
settlement  and  sale  of  his  lands,  and  in  various  public  and  private  services, 
such  as  would  devolve  upon  a  man  in  his  position.  It  is  beheved  that  he  was 
not  in  America  during  the  period  to  which  his  Deputation  was  limited,  and 
probably  not  for  several  years  after  its  expiration.  He  was  present  in  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England  on  the  29th  of  January,  1 730-1 731,  nearly  eight 
months  after  the  date  of  the  Deputation.  In  1734  he  was  appointed  an 
Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey,  and  his  most  con- 
siderate and  generous  biographer,  Mr.  Richard  S.  Field,  of  the  New  Jersey 
Historical  Society,  informs  us  that  Brother  Coxe 

"  Remained  upon  the  Bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  until  his  death,  which  took  place  at 
Trenton,  in  the  spring  of  1739.  His  early  career  in  New  Jersey  was  clouded,  by  his  connection 
with  Lord  Cornbury,  and  his  differences  with  Governor  Hunter;  but  he  lived  to  enjoy  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  of  the  community ;  and  his  judicial  duties  appear  to  have  been  discharged  with 
ability  and  integrity." 

For  that  time  he  appears  to  have  been  a  fairly  worthy  character,  but  the 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA.  ^.g 

services  rendered  in  the  last  five  years  of  his  life  would  seem  to  constitute  his 
sole  claim  to  our  gratitude. 

Benjamin  Franklin  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  competent  witness  in  regard 
to  these  matters.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  public  affairs  of  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  For  the  last  ten  years  of  the  life  of  Coxe  he  pub- 
lished the  Fenjisylvafiia  Gazette,  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  many  items  in 
regard  to  Masons  and  Masonry  are  to  be  found.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in 
February,  1731,  in  a  so-called  lodge,  which.  Coxe  ought  to  have  chartered, 
and  which  maintained  a  feeble  existence  until  a  few  months  before  the  death 
of  Coxe. 

In  November,  1 734,  the  year  of  Coxe's  appointment  as  Associate  Justice, 
Franklin  applied  to  Henry  Price,  commissioned  that  year  as  Provincial 
Grand  INIaster  of  North  America,  for  "a  Deputation  or  Charter"  for  this 
so-called  lodge,  in  order  that  "  the  old  and  true  brethren  "  might  be  "  counte- 
nanced and  distinguished  "  from  the  "false  and  rebel  brethren  " —  a  distinction 
which  Coxe  might  have  conferred  upon  Franklin's  lodge  at  any  time  during 
the  first  two  years  of  its  existence;  namely,  from  June  5,  1730,  to  June  24, 
1732.  Notwithstanding  all  these  facts,  when  Coxe  died  at  Trenton,  only 
twenty-eight  miles  from  Philadelphia,  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  announced 
the  event  in  these  words  :  — 

"Yesterday  morning,  died  at  Trenton,  the  Hon.  Daniel  Coxe,  Esq.,  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey." 

Not  another  syllable  can  be  found  in  the  Gazette,  before  or  afterward,  in 
relation  to  the  first-appointed  Provincial  Grand  Master  in  North  America, 
although  the  editor  and  proprietor  was,  and  had  been  for  years,  so  deeply 
interested  in  Masonry  that  he  had  even  styled  himself  Grand  Master  of  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  this  connection  it  seems  proper  that  we  should  call  attention  to  sundry 
other  items  in  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  the  earliest  appearing  in  1730; 
before  Franklin  was  made  a  Mason. 

Under  date  of  December  8th  of  that  year  he  says  :  — 

"  As  there  are  several  lodges  of  Free  Masons  erected  in  this  Province,  and  people  have  lately 
been  much  amused  with  conjectures  concerning  them,  we  think  the  following  account  of  Free- 
masonry from  London  will  not  be  unacceptable  to  our  readers." 

Then  follows  a  long  article  copied  from  a  London  paper,  giving  a  pre- 
tended exposure  of  the  secrets  of  Freemasonry.  It  is  quite  evident,  therefore, 
that  he  knew  very  little  and  cared  less  about  the  Royal  Art.  In  those  days 
to  print  a  real  or  pretended  disclosure  of  the  mysteries  of  Masonry  would  have 
been  regarded  as  a  most  heinous  offence.  His  own  curiosity  was  probably 
somewhat  excited,  for  about  fourteen  months  later,  that  is,  in  February,  1731 
(O.S.),  he  applied  to  what  he  perhaps  thought  the  best  of  the  "several  lodges," 
and  was  admitted.  From  the  best  information  we  now  have,  it  is  generally 
beheved  that  this  lodge  was  composed  of  brethren  who  had  been  initiated  in 


450 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


various  localities,  more  or  less  irregularly,  some  of  them  in  London  lodges  and 
some  in  chance  gatherings  of  Masons  in  different  places  in  the  Colonies,  very 
much  as  "Ab""  Moses"  received  the  degrees  of  "Maconrie"  in  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  in  1656  or  1658.  These  brethren,  finding  themselves  in  sufficient  num- 
ber in  Philadelphia,  concluded  to  start  a  lodge  as  nearly  after  the  fashion  of  those 
they  had  seen  and  heard  of  in  London  as  their  combined  recollections  could 
construct.  The  Constitutions  adopted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  in  London,  some 
seven  or  eight  years  before,  expressly  declared  that  thereafter  it  should  not  be 
regular  to  establish  a  lodge  without  a  warrant.  But  the  Philadelphia  brethren 
had  the  best  intentions  and  acted  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge.  It  is  too 
late  to  find  fault  with  them,  or  to  accuse  them  of  wilful  violation  of  law.  No 
•Dne  has  ever  done  it.  No  one  is  disposed  to  do  it  now.  But  there  is  no 
evidence  that  Franklin's  lodge  or  any  other  of  his  "several  lodges,"  had  any 
warrant  other  than  its  own  will  and  pleasure.  Franklin  clearly  intimates  this 
in  his  letters  to  Henry  Price,  written  in  November,  1 734,  when  he  says  :  — 

"We  think  it  our  duty  to  lay  before  your  Lodge  what  we  apprehend  needful  to  be  done  for 
us,  in  order  to  promote  and  strengthen  the  interest  in  Masonry  in  this  Province  (which  seems  to 
want  the  sanction  of  some  authority  derived  from  home,  to  give  the  proceedings  and  deterhiina- 
tions  of  our  Lodge  their  due  weight),  to  wit,  a  Deputation  or  Charter  granted  by  the  Right  Wor- 
shipful Mr.  Price,  by  virtue  of  his  commission  from  Britain." 

He  said  further  :  — 

"  The  Craft  is  like  to  come  into  disesteem  among  us,  unless  the  true  brethren  are  counte- 
nanced and  distinguished  by  some  such  special  authority  as  herein  desired." 

Franklin  could  hardly  have  selected  any  words  which  would  more  distinctly 
indicate  that  the  "  several  lodges  "  were  without  any  "  authority  derived  from 
home."  No  one  but  Daniel  Coxe  could  have  given  it.  He  was  not  in  the 
country  during  the  term  of  his  Deputation — June  5,  1730,  to  June  24,  1732. 
If  he  had  given  it,  Franklin's  statement  would  not  have  been  true  —  nothing 
more  would  have  been  needed.  To  have  asked  from  Price  what  Coxe  had 
already  granted,  would  have  been  merely  a  discrediting  of  their  own  godfather. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  Franklin  simply  asked  from  Price  a  confirmation 
of  privileges  which  the  lodge  already  enjoyed  by  virtue  of  a  previous  warrant. 
This,  however,  was  not  within  the  scope  of  Price's  authority,  and  furthermore, 
it  is  inconsistent  with  other  expressions  in  Franklin's  letters.  He  distinctly 
asks  for  "  a  Deputation  or  Charter,"  which  was  to  be  the  distinguishing  char- 
acteristic between  the  true  and  the  false  brethren.  It  was  natural  and  proper 
that  he  should  ask  that  their  self-assumed  rights  and  privileges  might  be  rati- 
fied and  confirmed  by  the  "  Deputation  or  Charter."  Those  rights  and  privileges 
were  such  as  belonged  to  every  duly  constituted  lodge,  and  what  Franklin 
asked  was  simply  a  voucher  of  its  regularity  from  one  having  authority. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  torture  Frankhn's  request  for  copies  of 
Price's  Deputation  into  an  expression  of  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  Price's 
commissions.     A  far  more  reasonable  and  probable  explanation  is  that  Frank- 


FIRST   GLIMPSES  IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 


451 


lin  desired  those  documents  for  the  purpose  of  having  them  copied  into  the 
records  of  his  lodge,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days.  The  records  of  the 
First  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  New  England,  and  also  those  of  the  "  First 
Lodge  "  in  Boston,  commence  with  a  copy  of  Henry  Price's  Deputation.  Frank- 
lin was  in  Boston  in  1733  or  1734,  and  probably  satisfied  himself  as  to  the 
genuineness  of  Price's  authority  from  an  examination  of  the  original  document. 
No  doubt  or  suspicion  is  indicated  by  his  asking  for  copies  with  which  other 
brethren  might  be  satisfied,  and  also  for  the  purpose  above  named. 

The  whole  tone  and  spirit  of  Franklin's  letters  to  Price  are  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  idea  of  doubt,  suspicion,  or  fear  of  Price  on  the  part  of 
Franklin  or  his  associates.     He  says  :  — 

"We  rejoice  that  the  Grand  Master  (whom  God  bless),  hath  so  happily  recovered  " ;  "we 
drink  to  the  establishment  of  his  health  and  the  prosperity  of  your  whole  Lodge  "  ;  "  we  hope  the 
advice  is  true  that  his  deputation  and  power  has  been  extended  over  all  America,  and  we  heartily 
congratulate  him  thereupon  "  ;  the  Deputation  or  Charter  asked  "  will  not  only  be  extremely  agree- 
able to  us,  but  will  also  conduce  much  to  the  welfare,  establishment,  and  reputation  of  Masonry 
in  these  parts  " ;  "  we  desire  that  it  may  be  done  as  soon  as  possible  " ;  "  for  which  favors  this 
Lodge  doubt  not  of  being  able  to  behave  as  not  to  be  thought  ungrateful " ;  he  hopes  for  a  visit  in 
the  spring,  "  when  a  deputation  of  the  Brethren  will  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  how  much 
they  esteem  you." 

What  could  be  more  affectionate,  respectful,  confiding,  more  truly  Masonic, 
than  these  expressions  ?  There  is  not  about  them  one  spark  of  doubt,  suspi- 
cion, jealousy,  or  fear.  The  brethren  rejoice  that,  after  years  of  groping  in  the 
dark,  a  Grand  Master  has  at  last  appeared  who  can,  and  will,  diffuse  the  light 
and  impart  the  knowledge  which  can  come  to  the  true  brethren  only  through 
the  medium  of  Duly  Constituted  AuTHORIT\^ 

That  this  was  what  Franklin  asked,  and  that  his  request  was  granted,  is 
distinctly  and  positively  asserted  in  the  record  of  the  First  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  of  New  England  in  the  following  words  :  — 

"5734.  June  24th.  About  this  time  Our  Worsh'  Bro""  M""  Benj"  Franklin  from  Philadelphia 
became  acquainted  with  Our  Rt  Worsl  Grand  Master  Mr  Price,  who  further  Instructed  him  in 
the  Royal  Art,  and  said  Franklin  on  his  Return  to  Philadelphia  calld  the  Brethren  there  together, 
who  petition^  Our  R'  Worsh'  Grand  Master  for  a  constitution  to  hold  a  Lodge,  and  Our  Rt 
Worsh'  Grand  Master  having  this  year  Rec<i  Orders  from  the  Grand  Lodge  in  England  to  Establish 
Masonry  in  all  North  America  did  send  a  Deputation  to  Philadelphia,  appointing  the  Rt  Worshl 
Mr   Benjn  Franklin  First  Master;  which  is  the  beginning  of  Masonry  there." 

The  earliest  records  of  the  First  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  in  New  England 
are  in  the  handwriting  of  Peter  Pelham,  and  his  son  Charles.  Peter  came  to 
America,  from  London,  probably,  between  1724  and  1726.  He  was  the  first 
portrait  painter  and  engraver  known  in  New  England.  The  earliest  work  yet 
traced  to  him  is  his  engraved  portrait  of  Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  dated  1727. 
It  is  inscribed:  "V.VeXhd.m  ad  vivum  pinxit,  ab  origine  fecit  ei  €xcud.''  We 
learn  from  his  advertisements  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day  that  from  1734  to 
1748,  and  perhaps  later,  he  kept  a  school  where  "Young  Gentlemen  and 


.-2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Ladies  may  be  Taught  Dancing,  Writing,  Reading,  painting  upon  Glass,  and 
all  sorts  of  needle  work,"  the  ktter  department  probably  being  in  charge  of 
his  wife.  On  the  2 2d  of  May,  1747,  he  married  for  his  second  wife,  Mrs. 
Mary  Singleton,  widow  of  Richard  Copley  and  mother  of  John  Singleton 
Copley,  the  celebrated  artist  and  father  of  Lord  Lyndhurst,  who  was  three 
times  Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  At  the  time  of  the  marriage  Copley  was 
about  ten  years  old.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  engraved  a  portrait  of  Rev. 
William  Welsteed,  of  Boston.  One  of  Copley's  biographers  remarks,  with 
evident  reason  and  justice  :  — 

"  This  first  step  in  his  artistic  life  bears  so  plainly  the  mark  of  Pelham's  style,  that  we  may  be 
sure  it  was  to  his  step-father  that  Copley  owed  much  valuable  rudimentary  instruction.  So  far  as 
his  initiation  in  the  art,  and  very  possibly  the  awakening  of  his  taste  is  concerned,  we  may  surely 
claim  Pelham  as  Copley's  master." 

Peter  Pelham  was  made  a  Mason  in  the  "  First  Lodge  "  in  Boston  on  the  8th 
of  November,  1 73S.  On  the  26th  of  December,  1 739,  he  was  elected  Secretary, 
and  the  record  of  that  meeting  is  entered  in  a  new  and  beautiful  handwriting, 
and  the  same  style  was  continued  for  many  years.  He  served  in  that  office 
until  September  26,  1744,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Charles.  On 
the  13th  of  April,  1 750,  the  "  Third  Lodge  "  in  Boston  was  represented  in  Grand 
Lodge  by  father  and  son  as  Master  and  Junior  Warden  respectively.  The 
records  of  Trinity  Church,  in  Boston,  where  he  had  long  worshipped,  show 
that  Peter  Pelham  was  buried  December  14,  1751. 

Charles,  the  son  of  Peter  and  Martha  Pelham,  was  baptized  at  St.  Paul's, 
Covent  Garden,  London,  on  the  9th  of  December,  1722.  He  came  to 
America,  of  course,  with  his  parents,  and  is  said  to  have  been  educated  as  a 
merchant,  but  in  the  Boston  News-Letter,  of  April  23,  1762,  he  advertises  his 
intention  "again  to  open  a  Dancing  School,"  at  Concert  Hall.  In  April, 
1765,  he  bought  the  homestead  of  the  Rev.  John  Cotton,  in  Newton,  with 
103  acres  of  land,  for  ;^735.     We  are  told  that 

"  He  was  represented  by  his  neighbors  to  have  been  a  very  polite  and  intelligent  man.  He 
opened  an  academy  at  his  own  house,  and  fitted  scholars  for  College." 

"  He  was  a  stanch  friend  of  the  Colony,  as  will  appear  by  the  resolutions  he  prepared  for  the 
Town." 

In  1766  we  find  him  teaching  school  in  ISIedford,  where,  on  the  6th  of 
December,  of  that  year,  he  married  INIary,  daughter  of  Andrew  Tyler  by  his 
wife  Miriam,  a  sister  of  the  famous  Sir  William  Pepperell.  A  daughter,  Helen, 
married  Thomas  Curtis,  and  was  the  mother  of  Charles  Pelham  Curtis,  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  C.  P.  &  B.  R.  Curtis,  for  many  years  leading 
members  of  the  Boston  Bar,  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  serving  during  the 
latter  portion  of  his  life  as  a  Justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
His  step-mother  died  on  the  29th  of  April,  1789,  and  her  will  appointed  as 
her  executor  her  "good  friend,  Charles  Pelham,  of  Newton."  Late  in  life 
he  removed  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  where  he  died   December   13, 


FIRST   GLIMPSES  IN  XORTH  AMERICA.  4-3 

1809.     A  portrait,  painted  by  his  step-brother,  Copley,  is  in  the  possession  of 
his  great-grandson,  Charles  Pelham  Curtis,  of  Boston. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  1 744,  "  Bro.  Price  proposed  Mr.  Charles  Pelham 
as  a  candidate,"  in  the  "  First  Lodge  "  in  Boston.  He  was  accepted  on  the 
2  2d  of  the  same  month,  and  on  the  12th  of  September  "  was  made  a  Mason  in 
due  Form."     On  the  26th  it  was 

"  Voted,  That  our  late  Seer  Bro.  P.  Pelham  be  paid  Ten  Pounds,  with  the  Thanks  of  the 
Society  for  his  past  Services  "  ;  also 

"  Voted,  That  Bro.  Charles  Pelham  be  Secretary,  in  the  Room  of  Our  Late  SeC",  who  has  laid 
it  down." 

He  served  the  lodge  in  that  capacity  until  July  24,  1754,  when  the  volume 
ends,  and  perhaps  longer.  This  is  the  only  volume  of  records  of  the  "  First 
Lodge  "  now  known  to  exist.  Charles  Pelham's  service  as  Grand  Secretary 
seems  to  have  ended  with  the  meeting  of  January  20,  1752.  His  name  appears 
first,  in  that  capacity,  in  the  record  of  June  24,  1751.  Previously  to  the  last- 
named  date  the  whole  of  the  record  is  in  the  handwriting  of  Peter  or  Charles. 

The  first  eleven  pages  of  the  record  of  the  First  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
in  America,  now  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  consist 
of  copies  of  Deputations  and  what  appear  to  be  transcripts  of  brief  memoranda 
describing  the  important  incidents  in  the  history  of  the  body  between  1733 
and  1750  ;  or  they  may  have  been  made  up  from  the  recollection  of  brethren 
who  had  been  active  among  the  Craft  during  those  seventeen  years.  Our 
own  opinion  is  in  favor  of  the  first-named  supposition,  and  that  in  this  particu- 
lar, as  in  most  other  points,  the  example  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  was 
followed.    From  April  13,  1750,  the  record  is  unquestionably  contemporaneous. 

In  Moore's  Freemasoti's  Monthly  Magazine  for  August,  18  71,  Past  Grand 
Master  John  T.  Heard  describes  the  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
as  exhibited  to  him  on  the  6th  of  October,  1870,  by  Right  Worshipful  John 
Henley,  Grand  Secretary.  He  gives  a  particular  description  of  Vols.  L  and 
n.,  by  which  it  appears  that  the  former  is  interspersed  with  lists  of  lodges 
and  members,  and  also  with  blank  pages,  on  which  it  was  probably  intended 
that  other  similar  entries  should  be  made.  Brother  Heard  concludes  as 
follows  :  — 

"  On  and  after  the  24th  June,  1735,  the  minutes  of  each  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  are 
signed  by  the  Grand  Master,  which  practice,  as  Bro.  Hervey  informed  me,  has  been  continued 
to  the  present  time.  Previous  to  that  date,  he  thinks,  the  minutes  were  written  on  loose  papers  or 
small  books,  from  which  they  were  copied  into  the  large  books  which  I  have  here  noticed." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  possesses  a  record 
for  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  existence  of  its  First  Provincial  Grand  Lodge, 
which  is  substantially  in  the  same  form  as  that  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land in  its  earliest  days ;  that  it  was  made  by  brethren  of  high  character,  of 
excellent  family,  connections,  and  associations  ;  that  the  memoranda  comprised 
in  the  first  few  pages  were  either  transcribed  from  contemporaneous  minutes 


.r.  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

or  were  entered  within  a  short  time  after  the  occurrences  described,  and  when 
the  events  and  dates  must  have  been  quite  fresh  in  the  recollection  of  the 
principal  actors,  who  were  the  intimate  associates  and  friends  of  the  scribes ; 
that  the  few  trifling  errors,  omissions,  or  supposed  discrepancies  that  have 
been  allef^ed  by  jealous  and  captious  critics,  are  not  more  important  or  dis- 
crediting than  are  to  be  found  in  those  after  which  these  were  modelled,  or 
than  may  be  found  in  almost  any  undoubted  or  unquestioned  honest  record 
since  —  even  to  the  present  day  ;  and  lastly,  that  these  trifling  errors  —  whether 
real  or  supposed  —  should  in  no  respect  impair,  but  rather  confirm,  our  faith 
in  the  general  accuracy  and  reliability  of  the  record.  The  handwriting  is  bold, 
clear,  and  beautiful,  as  distinct  as  when  it  was  first  written,  and  as  well  done 
as  it  could  be  to-day.  The  facts  set  forth  receive  confirmation  from  many 
other  sources,  and  from  this  time  forth  the  student  of  Masonic  history  in 
America  is  no  longer  puzzled  by  faint  glimmerings  of  light  here  and  there,  but 
finds  his  path  made  plain  and  clear  by  the  full  radiance  of  the  sacred  fire 
kindled  upon  Massachusetts  altars  by  Henry  Price,  and  kept  perpetually  burn- 
ing there  until  the  present  time. 


c^e^>&^A^  ao:  /^G^ 


^e^7y7o'u<^. 


o 


'*^Tv*JSf?'.'" 


DIVISION    IX. 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


Outline  History  of  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  in  the  Province  of  Ontarie. 

By  J.  Ross  Robertson,  G.M., 

Author  of  "  The  Cryptic  Rite,''  "  The  Knights  Tetnplars  of  Cariada,"  "  Talks 

with  Craftsmen,'^  and  other  Masonic  Works. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Craft  Masonry  in  Ontario. 

Prefatory.  —  To  give  the  reader  a  fair  idea  of  Craft  work  in  Ontario,  — 
this  central  and  fruitful  Province  of  the  Canadian  federation,  —  and  to 
thoroughly  seize  the  mind  with  the  contents  of  such  records  as  we  have,  we 
must  peer  into  the  closing  days  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and,  feeble  as  the 
tracings  are,  endeavor  to  build  up,  —  and  not  without  tangible  foundation,  —  a 
temple  of  antiquity  for  Craft  work,  of  which  we  to-day,  with  our  roll  of  twenty 
thousand  Craftsmen,  should  well  be  proud. 

Infallible  beings  we  think  we  are,  and  yet  we  ofttimes  fail ;  so  that  if  in  the 
search  for  truth  concerning  our  brethren  of  the  olden  time  error  should  creep 
in,  blame  it  not  on  the  writer,  but  rather  on  our  bygone  brethren,  who,  without 
thought  of  the  future,  and  regardless  of  wear  of  mind  and  body,  have  kept 
their  records  so  illy  preserved  that  the  writer  has  journeyed  over  this  vast 
Dominion  to  make  up  the  history  of  their  Masonic  lives. 

The  Craft  history  of  Upper  Canada,  now  Ontario,  must  be  considered  in 
seven  divisions  or  eras,  some  of  brief  duration,  others  covering  a  long  period 
of  years,  and  one,  —  the  present,  —  is  now  making  headway  into  its  fourth 
decade  on  a  basis  that  is,  we  feel  assured,  lasting,  and  which  will  exist  until 
time  shall  be  no  more. 

The  First  period  is  from  about  1780  until  1792,  when  a  few  lodges,  in 
different  parts  of  the  Province,  worked  without  a  local  governing  head, 
although  it  is  true  that  one  of  these  lodges  at  Cataraqui,  now  Kingston,  was 
under  the  control  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Lower  Canada. 

457 


458 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


The  Second  period  dates  from  1792  until  181 7,  during  which  time  the 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  warranted  by  the  Athol  Grand  Lodge,  struggled  for 
an  existence  at  York  (Toronto). 

The  Third  period  is  from  181 7  until  1822,  when,  under  the  care  of  the 
Grand  Masonic  Convention  at  Kingston,  —  practically  a  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge,  —  the  Craft  work  was  revived  and  kept  well  in  hand. 

The  Fourth  period  is  from  1822  until  1830,  during  which  time  the  second 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  under  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Simon  McGillivray, 
and  warranted  by  the  United  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  was  organized  and 
flourished. 

The  Fifth  period  is  from  1830  until  1845,  when  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
became  dormant,  and  the  lodges  led  rather  quiet  lives. 

The  Sixth  period,  from  1845  until  1855,  when  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
of  Upper  Canada  was  revived,  under  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Sir  Allan  Napier 
McNab  and  Right  Worshipful  Brother  T.  G.  Ridout. 

The  Seventh  period,  which  includes  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Canada  in  1855,  the  dissolution  in  1857  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of 
Canada  under  England,  the  creation  in  the  same  year  of  the  Ancient  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada  and  the  union  of  both  the  organizations  under  the  style  and 
title  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada. 

The  First  Period.  —  With  this  apologetic  preamble,  let  us  wander  back 
to  the  days  of  the  first  period,  in  1780,  and,  in  our  fancy,  picture  an  evening 
within  the  shelter  of  the  old  fort  at  Niagara,  when  the  brethren  of  the  lodge, 
known  as  No.  156,  in  the  King's  or  8th  Regiment  of  Foot,  unfolded  the 
volume  of  the  Sacred  Law,  and  the  soldier  Masons  expounded  the  principles 
and  teachings  of  our  Craft,  and  gave  an  impetus  to  the  work  that  to-day  is 
felt  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Tenth  Masonic  District,  the  old  Niagara 
District,  —  the  birthplace  of  Masonry,  —  in  this  Province. 

That  the  reader  may  fairly  comprehend  the  situation  in  these  early  times, 
it  should  be  pointed  out  that  in  Upper  Canada  there  was  no  governing  body 
of  the  Craft  prior  to  1792,  and  that  all  the  lodges  were  either  working  under 
direct  warrants  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  or  under  warrants 
issued  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec,  where  the  Craft  Art  had 
been  practised  as  early  as  1 760,  the  year  following  the  conquest  of  the  ancient 
city. 

The  assertion  is  made  by  a  distinguished  authority  that  the  earliest  lodges 
in  Canada  were  established  by  warrants  from  New  England.  While  this  state- 
ment is  correct  in  the  sense  that  some  warrants  were  granted  by  American 
authority,  the  history  of  the  lodges  of  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Quebec, 
and  Ontario  shows,  that,  with  the  exception  of  three  or  four  lodges,  —  and  those 
not  of  early  creation,  —  all  received  tlieir  authority  from  Provincial  Grand 
bodies  which  had  been  erected  by  the  Mother  Grand  Lodges  across  the  sea. 
The  purview  of  the  writer  of  this  chapter  is  limited  to  the  jurisdiction  within 


BRITISH  AMERICA.  .eg 

the  limits  of  old  Upper  Canada,  and  in  his  quest,  whatever  claims  other 
jurisdictions  may  make  to  the  founding  of  Masonry  in  this  Province,  he 
feels  honored  that  the  first  warrant  he  has  record  of  is  that  of  the  8th  Regi- 
ment of  Foot,  working  at  Niagara  under  the  maternal  care  of  the  Mother 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  world,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  The  entire  Province 
of  Canada  was  at  this  period,  for  ]\'Iasonic  purposes,  one  Provincial  Grand 
jurisdiction.  As  early  as  1737  William  Douglas  was  appointed  Provincial 
Grand  blaster  for  "  Africa  and  the  Islands  of  America,"  and  in  1 746  Robert 
Commins  for  Cape  Breton  and  Louisburg,  while  in  1 760-1 761  we  had  as 
Provincial  Grand  Master,  Colonel  Simon  Fraser,  with  Milborne  West  in  1762- 
1766,  John  Collins  in  1 767-1 7S5,  Colonel  Carleton  in  1 786-1 787,  and  Sir  John 
Johnson  in  1788.  We  also  had  a  lodge  known  as  St.  John's  Lodge  of  Friend- 
ship, No.  2,  working  at  various  places  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  in  the  Niagara 
District,  in  17S0,  and,  in  1787,  we  find  the  new  Oswegatchie  Lodge,  No.  7, 
working  in  1787  in  Elizabethtown,  in  the  county  of  Leeds.  This  lodge  was 
No.  520  on  the  English  Register.  Another  lodge,  known  as  St.  James  Lodge, 
No.  14,  was  working,  in  1787,  in  Cataraqui,  now  Kingston,  Ontario.  These 
three  lodges  probably  came  from  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec, 
under  John  Collins,  although  we  have  no  direct  proof  as  regards  No.  7. 
Union  Lodge,  No.  521,  on  the  English  Register,  was  at  work  in  Cornwall, 
Canada,  in  1787,  but  whether  originally  warranted  by  the  Provincial  authority 
at  Quebec  or  not  is  also  a  matter  of  doubt,  for  all  records  have  been  lost. 
These  scattered  lodges  were  the  pioneers  of  Craft  work,  and,  in  the  fortified 
city  of  Kingston  we  find  the  cradle  of  Masonry,  in  a  section  of  country  that 
was  the  gateway  to  the  sleeping  acres  of  the  west,  which  in  later  days  poured 
the  golden  grain,  the  staple  production  of  the  country,  into  the  granaries  of 
the  world. 

This  brings  us  to  the  division  of  Canada  into  Upper  and  Lower  Provinces 
and  to  the  threshold  of  the  second  period. 

The  Second  Period.  —  In  1792  WiUiam  Jarvis  was  appointed  Provincial 
Grand  Master  of  Upper  Canada,  by  the  "  Ancient "  or  "  Athol  "  Grand  Lodge 
of  England,  with  his  Grand  East  at  Niagara,  the  capital  of  the  Province. 
Between  1792  and  1804  he  issued  twenty  warrants  for  lodges  in  various  parts 
of  the  jurisdiction,  and  during  this  period  a  fair  amount  of  Craft  work  was 
performed.  In  1797  the  Provincial  capital  was  removed  to  York  (Toronto)  ; 
and  although  the  brethren  at  Niagara  and  the  vicinity  were  enthusiastic  and 
anxious  to  strengthen  the  cause,  a  certain  amount  of  dissatisfaction  was  evinced 
by  the  refusal  of  Jarvis  to  summon  Grand  Lodge  at  Niagara  after  his  removal 
to  York,  or,  for  that  matter,  at  York.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  an  irregular 
and  rival  Grand  Lodge  at  Niagara  and  the  election  of  Brother  George  Forsyth 
as  its  Provincial  Grand  Master.  Seeing  danger  ahead,  Jarvis  summoned  his 
Grand  Lodge  in  1804,  at  York,  and  complaint  of  the  irregular  proceedings 
at  Niagara  was  formulated  and  sent  to  England.     The  English  authorities. 


460 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


however,  were  displeased  with  Jarvis's  reign  as  a  ruler  of  the  Craft  and 
pointed  out  to  him  that  he  had  neglected  to  report  any  of  his  proceedings  to 
the  Grand  Secretary  at  London.  Jarvis  suppressed  this  letter,  kept  its  con- 
tents from  his  Grand  Secretary,  and  the  Craft-ship  for  years  was  allowed  to 
drift  helmless  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves. 

The  Third  Period.  —  Death  claimed  Jarvis  in  181 7,  and  the  third  period 
opens  with  the  calling  of  a  Grand  Masonic  Convention  at  Kingston,  in  181 7. 
All  the  lodges  came  under  its  obedience  except  a  few  at  Niagara  and  some  in 
the  western  section  of  the  jurisdiction.  Reports  as  to  the  disorganized  state 
of  the  Craft  were  framed  and  mailed  to  England,  but  no  attention  was  paid  by 
the  Athol  authorities  to  the  communications.  The  convention  met  in  181 7, 
1818,  1820,  182 1,  and  again  in  1822.  After  pleading  for  all  these  years,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England,  in  1822,  authorized  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Simon 
McGillivray  to  proceed  to  Canada,  reorganize  the  Craft  and  unite  the  Crafts- 
men of  the  Province.  He  did  his  work  well,  displaying  energy  and  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  situation,  smoothing  all  difficulties  and  bringing  us  to  the 
fourth  period,  with  the  opening  of  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  at  York,  in 
October  of  1822. 

The  Fourth  Period. — This  Grand  Lodge  met  regularly  from  1822  until 
1830,  doing  effective  work  under  Right  Worshipful  Brother  James  Fitzgibbon, 
the  Deputy  Provincial  Grand  Master,  but  the  Morgan  excitement  unsettled 
Craft  affairs,  and  while  the  subordinate  lodges  were  active,  the  Provincial  body 
became  dormant  and  remained  in  this  condition  until  another  reorganization 
in  1845. 

The  Fifth  Period.  — The  fifth  period  may  be  called  the  dormant  period  as 
far  as  a  governing  body  was  concerned  in  Upper  Canada.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  the  vitality,  which  had  prevailed  in  many  of  the  private  lodges 
in  the  early  days,  gained  strength  even  in  this  period  of  inactivity. 

The  Sixth  Period.  —  The  exertions,  however,  of  Brother  Thomas  Gibbs 
Ridout  and  Brother  Francis  Richardson  in  1845-1847  had  a  magnetic  effect, 
and  Craft  enthusiasm  increased  when  the  sixth  period  opened,  with  Sir  Allan 
Napier  McNab  as  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Canada,  appointed  by  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  This  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  had  as  the  Deputy  Provincial  Grand  Master  Brother  Thomas  Gibbs 
Ridout ;  and  under  his  guidance,  —  for  he  was  an  active  worker,  —  Masonry 
flourished  until  1853,  when  a  number  of  the  lodges  in  Canada,  holding  warrants 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland,  met  and  organized  a  Grand  Lodge ;  but 
finding  it  difficult  to  carry  on  an  independent  organization  alongside  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Lodge  of  England,  proposals  were  made  by  the  Irish  brethren  to 
members  of  the  English  body  for  a  union  of  forces  and  the  establishment  of 
an  independent  governing  body ;  but  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  England, 
on  a  motion  to  discuss  independence  and  the  calling  of  a  general  Masonic 
convention  for  the  establishment  of  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  refused  to 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


461 


sanction  the  proposal,  which  led  to  the  secession  of  many  of  the  lodges,  and 
the  seventh  period  opens  with  the  formation,  in  October,  1855,  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada,  with  Most  Worshipful  Brother  William  Mercer  Wilson  as 
the  lirst  Grand  Master. 

The  Seventh  Period. — The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  England  made 
many  bitter  assaults  on  the  newly  formed  Grand  Lodge.  The  golden  oppor- 
tunity of  dissolving  itself  and  instituting  a  new  era  in  Craft  work  had  passed 
away,  much  to  the  regret  of  many  of  its  members.  In  September  of  1857 
the  Provincial  body  met  and  dissolved,  and  formed  the  "Ancient  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada."  The  brethren  saw  that  union  must  come  sooner  or  later, 
and  that,  when  the  time  came,  it  would  be  right  that  they  should  unite  as 
peers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada.  Negotiations  were  quietly  carried  on 
for  months,  and  finally,  on  the  14th  of  July,  1858,  a  day  to  be  remembered 
by  every  Canadian  Mason,  the  two  Grand  Lodges  united  under  the  name  of 
"  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada."  This  gives  us  a  view  of  the  seventh  period 
of  Canadian  Craft  work. 

It  would  have  been  well  if  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  had  been  able  to 
secure  exclusive  control  of  the  jurisdiction,  but  England  would  only  agree 
to  recognize  the  Canadian  brethren  on  the  condition  that  all  lodges  of  Eng- 
lish obedience,  then  working  in  Canada,  might  be  permitted  to  retain  and 
continue  work  under  their  original  warrants.  This  agreement,  made  by  the 
Earl  of  Zetland  and  Most  Worshipful  Brother  W.  M.  Wilson,  has  contributed  to 
unrest ;  for,  had  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  secured  absolute  jurisdiction, 
the  Quebec  difficulty  never  would  have  darkened  the  pages  of  Canadian  Craft 
history.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  the  course  taken  was  the  only 
one  open  to  the  Canadian  brethren,  without  creating  a  direct  and  perhaps 
permanent  rupture  with  England. 

The  first  annual  communication  was  held  at  Hamilton,  in  July,  1856. 
Thirty-three  lodges  were  represented.  In  his  address,  the  Grand  Master  sug- 
gested uniform  work  in  the  lodges,  recommended  lodges  of  instruction  and 
the  re-numbering  of  lodges,  and  reported  recognition  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Ireland.  He  pointed  out  that  the  action  taken  by  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  in  opposing  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  was  unbrotherly,  and 
expressed  the  hope  that  the  Grand  bodies  of  England  and  Scotland  would 
recognize  Canada  before  the  next  communication.  The  receipts  for  the  year 
were  ^93,  and  the  payments  ^^64. 

The  second  annual  communication  was  held  at  Montreal,  in  July,  1857. 
Thirty-six  warranted  lodges  were  represented.  This  year  the  receipts  increased 
to  ;,^354,  with  disbursements  of  ;^i73.  The  Grand  Master  gladdened  the 
membership  with  the  information  that  negotiations  for  union  with  the  Provin- 
cial Grand  Lodge  might  be  hastened,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
confer  with  a  committee  of  that  body.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Wilson  was 
reelected  Grand  Master. 


462 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXR  Y. 


The  third  annual  communication  was  held  at  Toronto,  in  July,  1S58. 
Sixty-nine  warranted  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master  congratu- 
lated the  Craft  on  its  progress,  and  stated  that,  altliough  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England  had  not  extended  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  he  hoped  it  would 
not  be  long  until  it  did  so.  He  urged  strict  discipline  in  the  work  of  the 
lodges,  and  intimated  that  with  regard  to  the  projected  union  progress  was 
being  made.  Terms  of  union  had  been  drawn  up  and  were  being  nego- 
tiated. For  a  time  these  conferences,  owing  to  certain  difficulties,  had  been 
broken  off,  but  in  September  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  met,  dissolved, 
and  declared  itself  an  independent  Grand  Lodge,  under  the  name  of  "  The 
Ancient  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Canada," 
with  Sir  Allan  McNab  as  the  Grand  Master,  and  Right  Worshipful  Brother 
Thomas  Gibbs  Ridout  as  the  Deputy  Provincial  Grand  Master.  A  renewal  of 
the  negotiations  was  suggested  by  Brother  Ridout,  and,  ultimately,  a  series 
of  resolutions  was  adopted,  which  resulted  in  the  union  of  the  Craft,  on  the 
14th  of  July,  1858,  under  the  title  of  "The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  of  Canada,"  with  Most  Worshipful  Brother  W.  M.  Wilson 
as  Grand  Master,  Brother  Ridout  as  Deputy,  and  Brother  Thomas  B.  Harris 
as  Grand  Secretary.  In  January,  1859,  a  special  communication  was  held  to 
consider  the  re-numbering  of  the  lodges,  the  rank  of  the  Grand  officers,  and 
also  to  receive  correspondence  in  connection  with  the  recognition  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England.  The  Mother  Grand  Lodge  had  considered  the 
situation  as  presented  by  the  Canadian  authorities,  and  extended  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  "  Canada  West,"  asking,  however, 
from  Canada  that  those  lodges,  desirous  of  continuing  their  English  con- 
nection, might  do  so,  notwithstanding  the  occupation  of  Canada  as  a  Grand 
jurisdiction  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada.  The  Canadian  Grand  Lodge 
ordered  that  the  fraternal  courtesy  be  reciprocated,  but  directed  that  England 
be  notified  that  the  term  "  Canada  West "  was  not  applicable,  as  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada  embraced  both  Provinces.  This  was  reported  to  the  Grand 
Master  of  England. 

The  fourth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Kingston,  in  July,  1859. 
Fifty-five  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master  congratulated  the 
Craft  on  the  success  it  was  meeting  with,  and  said  that  all  difficulties  with 
England  had  been  amicably  settled,  and  that  the  proper  status  had  been 
accorded  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Wilson 
was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  fifth  annual  communication  Avas  held  at  Ottawa,  in  July,  1S60.  One 
hundred  and  seventeen  lodges  were  represented.  Literesting  reports  were 
read  from  all  the  districts.  Designs  of  a  medal  commemorative  of  the  union 
of  the  Craft  were  exhibited.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Stephens,  an  Honorary 
Past  Grand  Master  of  Canada,  was  welcomed  as  the  representative  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England.     Most  Worshipful  Brother  A.  Bernard  was  elected 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


463 


an  Honorary  Past  Grand  INIaster.     Most  Worshipful  Brother  T.  D.  Harington 
was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  sixth  annual  communication  was  held  at  London,  in  July,  1861.  One 
hundred  and  sixteen  lodges  were  represented.  The  only  matter  of  note 
during  the  year  was  a  misunderstanding  as  to  the  laying  of  the  foundation- 
stone  of  the  new  Parliament  buildings  at  Ottawa.  It  was  understood  that 
the  government  was  favorable  to  the  Craft  taking  part  in  the  ceremony,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  H.*.R.-.H.-.  the  Prince  of  Wales;  but  Roman 
Catholic  influence  prevailed,  and  the  services  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  although 
duly  summoned  and  assembled,  were  not  made  use  of.  It  was  also  determined 
that,  in  view  of  the  difficulties  which  had  arisen  with  foreign  bodies  having 
lodges  in  Canada,  an  official  Hst  of  all  these  lodges  be  obtained  from  the 
representatives  of  the  foreign  jurisdictions.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
collect  subscriptions  for  an  asylum  fund.  Grand  Lodge  pledging  itself  to 
subscribe  $20,000  as  soon  as  the  Craft  had  raised  a  similar  sum.  Most 
Worshipful  Brother  Harington  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  seventh  annual  communication  was  held  at  St.  Catharines,  in  July, 
1862.  One  hundred  and  nine  lodges  were  represented.  The  death  of  Most 
Worshipful  Brother  Ridout,  who,  in  1859,  had  been  honored  with  the  rank 
of  Past  Grand  Master,  was  referred  to  in  fitting  terms.  The  Grand  Master 
noted  that  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  lodges  on  the  roll,  that  a 
Board  of  General  Purposes  had  been  formed,  and  suggested  that  Grand 
Lodge  should  meet  at  two  places  alternately.  He  regretted  that  the  Grand 
Lodges  of  England  and  Ireland  still  insisted  upon  the  good  standing  of 
certain  lodges,  which  Canada  had  declared  irregular,  and  that  the  Colonial 
Board  in  England  was  in  error  in  accusing  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  of 
studious  hostility  and  aggression  to  England.  Most  Worshipful  Brother 
Harington  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  eighth  annual  communication  was  held  in  Montreal,  in  1S63.  One 
hundred  and  two  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master  reported  that 
the  difficulties  with  England  arose  from  the  fact  that  Lodge,  No.  923,  E.  R., 
was  believed  by  Canada  to  be  working  irregularly,  but,  on  the  case  being 
discussed,  Canada  acknowledged  it  as  a  regular  lodge.  Most  Worshipful 
Brother  T.  D.  Harington  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  ninth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Hamilton,  in  1864.  One 
hundred  and  nineteen  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master  in  his 
address  referred  to  the  anomalous  condition  of  the  Craft  in  Canada,  conse- 
quent upon  the  fact  that  Canada  had  not  exclusive  control  of  all  the  lodges 
within  the  jurisdiction,  by  reason  of  the  agreement  with  England.  The  assets 
of  Grand  Lodge  were  reported  as  $12,710.  The  Board  agreed  with  the  Grand 
Master  and  trusted  that  soon  all  lodges  would  be  of  Canadian  obedience. 
The  system  of  nomination  for  elective  officers  was  adopted.  It  was  ordered 
that  ten  per  cent  of  the  funds  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  benevolence,  that 


464 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXR  V. 


unaffiliates  should  have  no  claim,  and  that  no  testimonials  be  presented, 
beyond  ordinary  jewels,  as  a  mark  of  fraternal  regard  for  distinguished  services. 
Right  Worshipful  Brother  W.  B.  Simpson  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  tenth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Toronto,  in  1S65.  One 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  lodges  were  represented.  The  assets  showed  favor- 
ably, amounting  to  $14,875.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Simpson  was  reelected 
Grand  Master. 

The  eleventh  annual  communication  was  held  at  Montreal,  in  1866,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  lodges  were  represented.  A  newly  formed 
Grand  Lodge  in  Nova  Scotia  had  invited  the  Grand  Master  to  install  its 
officers ;  but  as  that  Grand  Lodge  had  not  been  formed  by  a  convention  of  all 
Masons  in  Nova  Scotia,  but  by  a  section  of  the  brethren,  the  Grand  Master  of 
Canada  declined  to  take  part.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  W.  M.  Wilson  was 
elected  Grand  Master. 

The  twelfth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Kingston,  in  1867.  One 
hundred  and  fifty-three  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master,  in  his 
address,  submitted  a  suggestion  for  a  General  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Dominion. 
In  connection  with  the  Masonic  Asylum,  he  thought  the  money  collected  could 
be  better  employed  by  prudent  investment,  the  interest  being  devoted  to 
charity.  He  suggested  a  permanent  place  of  meeting  for  Grand  Lodge,  called 
attention  to  the  large  number  of  unaffiliates,  and  gave  the  assets  of  the  Craft 
at  $22,759.  The  Niagara  Lodge,  No.  2,  offered  to  donate  $3000,  a  two-story 
house,  and  two  acres  of  land  for  a  Masonic  Asylum.  Most  Worshipful  Brother 
Wilson  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  thirteenth  annual  communication  was  held  at  London,  in  July,  1868. 
One  hundred  and  seventy-one  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master, 
in  his  address,  said  that  the  formation  of  a  General  Grand  Lodge  for  the 
Dominion  was  a  subject  that  must  be  left  for  future  consideration.  He  urged 
that  care  should  be  taken  in  the  selection  of  Worshipful  Masters,  and  pointed 
out  that  rulers  were  sometimes  selected  from  social  considerations  rather  than 
from  ability  to  work  a  lodge.  The  funds  of  Grand  Lodge  amounted  this  year 
to  $28,064.  The  Right  Honorable  John  A.  Macdonald  (now  Sir  John),  as 
representative  of  England,  was  given  the  rank  of  Past  Senior  Grand  Warden. 
Right  Worshipful  Brother  A.  A.  Stevenson  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  fourteenth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Montreal,  in  July,  1869. 
One  hundred  and  seventy-nine  lodges  were  represented.  The  address  of  the 
Grand  Master  reviewed  Masonry  in  general.  During  the  year  he  had  installed 
the  Grand  Master  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  prospects  of  the  Craft  looked  bright, 
and  $37,811  was  reported  as  the  assets  of  Grand  Lodge.  Most  Worshipful 
Brother  Stevenson  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

This  year  an  important  matter  occurred  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  Many  of  the  Craft  in  Quebec  thought  that  the  lodges  in  that 
Province  should  be  under  a  separate  governing  body,  and  accordingly,  on  the 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


465 


20th  of  October,  in  Montreal,  a  convention  was  called,  consisting  of  a  majority 
of  all  the  Craft  lodges  in  Quebec,  and  in  due  course  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
Province  of  Quebec  was  formed.  Objection  to  the  formation  was  made  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  and  a  special  meeting  of  that  body  was  called  and 
an  edict  of  suspension  issued  against  certain  brethren  concerned.  Most  Wor- 
shipful Brother  A.  A.  Stevenson  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  fifteenth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Toronto,  in  1870.  One 
hundred  and  ninety-six  lodges  were  represented.  The  question  of  recognition 
of  Quebec  was  taken  up,  and  a  report  on  the  matter  from  a  special  committee 
of  the  Board  of  General  Purposes  was  discussed.  The  report  of  this  com- 
mittee was  adverse  to  recognition,  and  an  amendment  by  Most  Worshipful 
Brother  Wilson,  which  would  have  acknowledged  Quebec,  reserving  rights 
over  certain  lodges  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  was  lost,  and  the  report  of 
the  committee  adopted.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  A.  A.  Stevenson  was 
reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  sixteenth  annual  communication  was  held,  in  1871,  at  Ottawa.  Two 
hundred  and  nine  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master  congratulated 
the  Craft  on  its  success.  He  dealt  with  the  question  of  dual  membership,  and 
said  that  it  was  a  detrimental  feature.  He  left  the  Quebec  matter  in  the 
hands  of  the  members.  Grand  Lodge  declined  to  recognize  a  colored  lodge 
in  Canada,  which  claimed  to  hail  from  an  American  jurisdiction.  After  a 
lengthy  discussion,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec  was  recognized,  with  the 
provision  that  satisfactory  arrangements  be  made  with  the  Masons  residing  in 
Quebec,  who  are  loyal  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada.  Dual  membership 
was  also  abolished,  and  Most  Worshipful  Brother  A.  A.  Stevenson  was  reelected 
Grand  Master. 

The  seventeenth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Hamilton,  in  July,  1872. 
Two  hundred  and  twenty-one  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master 
regretted  that  the  terms  of  recognition  of  Quebec  had  not  been  accepted. 
The  reports  showed  great  progress  and  $47,630  to  the  credit  of  Grand  Lodge. 
Most  Worshipful  Brother  W.  M.  Wilson  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  eighteenth  annual  communication  was  held  in  Montreal,  in  July,  1873. 
Two  hundred  and  thirty-two  lodges  were  represented.  It  was  reported  that 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont  threatened  to  suspend  intercourse  with  Canada 
if  Quebec  was  not  recognized.  This  led  to  a  severance  of  fraternal  relations 
between  Canada  and  Vermont.  The  funds  of  Grand  Lodge  were  reported  as 
$53,518.     Most  Worshipful  Brother  W.  M.  Wilson  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  nineteenth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Ottawa,  in  1874.  Two 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master 
reported  that  the  joint  committee  on  the  Quebec  difficulties  had  met  in  Mon- 
treal, in  February,  and  had  arranged  matters  between  the  lodges  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Quebec  and  those  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  in  that  Province. 
He  also  announced  that  edicts  of  non- intercourse  by  Vermont  and  lUinois  had 


466 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


been  revoked.  He  suggested  that  at  Masonic  funerals  no  other  societies  be 
allowed  to  participate.  The  financial  statement  showed  the  funds  to  be 
^r 6^1 25.  The  committee  on  the  Asylum  Trust  reported  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  carrying  out  the  original  intention,  and  said  that  it  would  be  more 
economical  and  more  acceptable  if  benevolence  were  distributed  to  benefi- 
ciaries in  different  parts  of  the  jurisdiction.  A  resolution  was  passed,  welcoming 
Quebec  as  a  sister  Grand  Lodge.  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Thomas  White 
was,  in  consideration  of  services  rendered,  honored  with  the  dignity  of  a  Past 
Grand  Master.  The  sum  of  $4000  was  voted  to  Quebec  as  its  proportion 
of  the  accumulated  funds.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Wilson  was  reelected 
Grand  Master. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1875,  a  special  communication  was  held,  to  pay 
the  last  sad  offices  of  respect  to  the  remains  of  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Wil- 
son, the  Grand  Master,  who  died  a  few  days  before.  About  one  hundred  and 
fifty  lodges  were  represented,  and  Grand  Lodge  was  ordered  to  be  draped  in 
mourning  for  ninety  days.  Right  Worshipful  Brother  T.  B.  Harris,  the  Grand 
Secretary,  was  also  called  away,  and  Right  \Vorshipful  Brother  J.  J.  Mason  was 
appointed  in  his  place. 

The  twentieth  annual  communication  was  held  at  London,  in  1875.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty-two  lodges  were  represented,  Eight  Worshipful  Brother  J.  K. 
Kerr,  D.  G.  M.,  acting  as  Grand  Master.  He  alluded,  in  his  address,  in  sym- 
pathetic terms,  to  the  death  of  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Wilson  and  Right 
Worshipful  Brother  Harris.  He  noted  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge  in 
Manitoba,  and  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  benevolent  report  showed  that 
^3000  had  been  paid  out  for  relief,  with  ^56,893  to  the  credit  of  Grand  Lodge. 
At  this  communication  a  matter  of  material  moment  came  up,  which  for  a 
long  period  engendered  a  certain  amount  of  uneasiness  in  Craft  circles.  A 
lodge,  known  as  Eden  Lodge,  had  been  working  under  dispensation,  and  the 
committee  on  warrants,  deeming  it  inadvisable  to  continue  the  dispensation  or 
issue  a  warrant,  recommended  that  the  warrant  be  not  granted,  but  that  the 
Grand  Master  be  requested  to  issue  a  dispensation,  authorizing  the  Worshipful 
Master  to  pass  and  raise  those  already  initiated.  This  notification  was  sent 
to  the  District  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  district,  and,  as  will  be  seen  at 
a  later  date,  considerable  irritation  resulted.  The  meeting  closed  with  the 
election  of  Right  Worshipful  Brother  J.  K.  Kerr  as  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty-first  annual  communication  was  held  at  Ottawa,  in  1876.  Two 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master  reported 
that,  in  the  Eden  Lodge  matter,  he  had  notified  the  District  Deputy  Grand 
Master  of  the  London  District  that  he  was  prepared  to  issue  a  dispensation, 
on  condition  that  the  dispensation  held  by  Eden  Lodge  be  returned.  The 
officers  of  Eden  Lodge  were  apparently  not  agreeable  to  the  proposal  of  Grand 
Lodge  and  the  Grand  Master,  and  the  latter,  seeing  that  there  was  yet  consid- 
erable doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  members  of  Eden  Lodge,  decided  to  wait  and 


BRITISH  AMERICA.  .5- 

see  whether  harmony  could  not  be  restored.  In  the  meantime,  Eden  Lodge 
called  a  meeting  for  initiation,  but  the  Grand  Secretary  notified  the  Worshipful 
Master  that  the  dispensation  had  expired.  The  meeting  was,  however,  held, 
the  candidate  initiated,  the  Worshipful  Master  declaring  that  he  had  not 
received  the  letter  until  after  the  work  had  been  done.  Various  efforts  were 
made  to  settle  the  difficulty,  but  the  Grand  Master  would  not  recede  from  the 
position  taken  by  Grand  Lodge.  The  determination  on  the  part  of  the  Grand 
Master  was  not  received  in  a  friendly  spirit  by  the  members,  and  they  became 
so  antagonistic  that  a  number  of  them,  with  others,  seceded  and  formed  a 
schismatic  body  known  as  "  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ontario."  This  action  led 
to  the  expulsion  of  a  large  number  of  the  seceding  members,  although  some 
returned  to  the  allegiance  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  and  were  healed. 
The  so-called  Grand  Lodge  of  Ontario  had  quite  a  following  in  some  sections 
for  a  year  or  two,  but  gradually  the  membership  saw  that  it  had  no  status  with 
recognized  Masons,  and  at  this  writing  there  is  scarcely  one  lodge  in  working 
order,  and  not  a  hundred  members  on  its  roll.  The  event  created  consider- 
able discussion,  and  occupied  the  attention  of  not  only  the  Masonic  press,  but 
the  newspaper  press  generally,  for  some  months.  The  action  of  the  Grand 
Master  in  the  entire  matter  was  indorsed  by  Grand  Lodge.  Most  Worshipful 
Brother  J.  K.  Kerr  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty-second   communication  was  held  at  St.   Catharines,  in  July, 

1877,  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Seymour,  P.  G.  M.,  acting  in  the  absence  of 
Most  Worshipful  Brother  J.  K.  Kerr  in  England  ;  consequently  the  meeting  was 
purely  formal,  and  was  "called  off"  until  the  12th  of  September,  1877.  Two 
hundred  and  thirty  lodges  were  represented.  In  his  address,  the  Grand  Mas- 
ter recommended  that  the  amounts  contributed  by  the  lodges  of  Canada,  now 
in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec,  be  placed  to  their  credit  in  Grand  Lodge. 
He  had  assumed  the  responsibility  of  sending  ^1000  of  Grand  Lodge  funds  to 
the  relief  of  sufferers  by  fire  in  St.  John,  New  Brunswick.  Right  Worshipful 
Brother  W.  H.  Weller  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty-third  annual  communication  was  held  at  Toronto,  in  September, 

1878.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  lodges  were  represented.  The  events 
were  routine.  Fraternal  relations  with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  were 
severed  on  account  of  the  non-recognition  of  the  Deity  by  that  body.  Most 
Worshipful  Brother  W.  H.  Weller  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty-fourth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Kingston,  in  1879. 
Two  hundred  and  twenty-four  lodges  were  represented.  The  Treasurer's 
report  showed  ^58,177  to  the  credit  of  Grand  Lodge.  A  code  of  model 
by-laws  by  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Hugh  Murray  was  adopted  by  Grand 
Lodge.  It  was  resolved  to  hold  the  meetings  of  Grand  Lodge  in  July,  instead 
of  September.  Right  Worshipful  Brother  J.  A.  Henderson,  of  Kingston,  was 
elected  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty-fifth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Guelph,  in  July,  1880. 


468 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


Two  hundred  and  forty  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Lodge  indorsed 
the  views  of  the  Grand  Master,  in  his  address,  which  laid  down  as  a  rule  that 
a  candidate  could  not  be  initiated  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  in  which  he 
resided,  without  the  consent  of  the  lodge  to  which  the  candidate  of  right 
belono^ed.  Masons  were  enjoined  from  attending,  as  Masons,  funerals  where 
ceremonials  of  an  un-Masonic  society  were  given.  The  Craft  was  comph- 
mented  on  having  acquired  new  halls  in  different  parts  of  the  jurisdiction. 
Assets  were  shown  to  be  $60,000.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  James  A.  Hender- 
son was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty-sixth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Hamilton,  in  July, 

1 88 1.  Two  hundred  and  sixty- three  lodges  were  represented.  During  the 
year.  Past  Grand  Master  Weller  had  passed  away.  Certain  difficulties  which 
had  existed  between  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Quebec  and  Scotland  had  been 
adjusted.  The  roll  showed  three  hundred  and  forty-six  lodges  on  the  Register, 
with  assets  of  $63,000,  and  17,635  members  in  good  standing.  Right 
Worshipful  Brother  James  Mofifatt  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  twenty- seventh  annual  communication  was  held  at  London,  in  July, 

1882.  Two  hundred  and  seventy  lodges  were  represented.  The  address  of 
the  Grand  Master  dealt  with  local  matters.  He  suggested  that  Masons  who 
were  in  arrears  for  dues  should  be  dealt  with  leniently  by  the  lodges,  and  that 
brethren  should  be  ineligible  for  office  if  in  arrears.  He  thought  there  were 
too  many  rites  in  Masonry.  The  funds  were  reported  as  $65,199.  A  special 
report  of  the  Board,  condemning  lotteries  in  connection  with  the  Craft, 
was  adopted.  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Daniel  Spry  was  elected  Grand 
Master. 

The  twenty-eighth  annual  communication  was  held  in  Ottawa,  in  July, 

1883.  Two  hundred  and  seventy-four  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand 
Master  delivered  an  excellent  address.  He  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  jurisdiction  had  been  invaded,  St.  George's  Lodge,  No.  440,  Montreal, 
initiating  a  candidate  from  Toronto.  The  Grand  Master  of  England  had 
been  communicated  with,  and  the  action  of  the  Montreal  lodge  pointed  out ; 
but  the  Grand  Master  of  England  did  not  agree  with  the  views  expressed  by 
the  Canadian  Grand  Master,  although  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Spry  pointed 
out  that  there  could  be  no  permanent  harmony  were  such  invasions  permitted. 
Grand  Lodge  directed  further  communication  with  England,  in  order  to  effect 
an  amicable  settlement.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Spry  was  reelected  Grand 
Master. 

The  twenty-ninth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Toronto,  in  July,  1884. 
Two  hundred  and  ninety-two  lodges  were  represented.  The  Grand  Master 
stated  that  nothing  further  had  been  done  in  the  English  difficulty,  but  hoped 
matters  would  be  arranged  before  next  Grand  Lodge.  An  important  resolution 
was  passed,  to  the  effect  that,  in  the  opinion  of  Grand  Lodge,  it  was  not  desirable 
that  intoxicating  liquors  be  placed  on  refreshment  tables  of  private  lodges. 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


469 


It  was  also  resolved  that  the  work  be  exemplified  after  all  meetings  of  Grand 
Lodge.     Right  Worshipful  Brother  Hugh  Murray  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  thirtieth  annual  communication  of  Grand  Lodge  was  held  at  Hamil- 
ton, in  July,  1885.  Two  hundred  and  fifty-three  lodges  were  represented.  On 
the  subject  of  belief  in  the  Deity,  the  Grand  Master  maintained  the  position  of 
Grand  Lodge  in  severing  fraternal  relations  with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France. 
He  alluded  to  the  Quebec  difficulty,  and  said  that  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that 
Province  had  issued  an  edict  of  non-intercourse  as  regarded  the  English  lodges 
in  Montreal.  The  rank  of  Past  Grand  Master  was  conferred  on  Right  Worship- 
ful Brother  Otto  Klotz,  for  distinguished  services  in  connection  with  the  Craft. 
.  At  this  meeting  of  Grand  Lodge  an  important  matter,  affecting  the  entire  juris- 
diction, was  dealt  with.  A  brother  of  a  Toronto  lodge  was  charged,  tried,  and 
disciplined  for  being  an  agnostic.  From  this  finding  he  appealed.  He  explained 
to  the  Board  of  General  Purposes  that  he  was  an  agnostic  only  in  the  sense  of 
the  word  used  by  Huxley,  who,  he  said,  defined  the  word  "  agnostic  "  to  be 
"One  who  is  honest  enough  to  admit  that  he  does  not  know  what,  under 
the  present  condition  of  human  knowledge,  is  impossible  to  be  known."  The 
brother  also  stated  his  behef  in  God,  that  God's  will  had  been  revealed,  and 
that  he  would  punish  vice  and  reward  virtue,  and  that  he  had  no  contempt 
for  God  or  religion.  The  Board  reported,  recommending  that  the  suspension 
be  removed ;  but,  on  the  report  being  brought  before  Grand  Lodge,  it  was 
ordered  that  the  matter  be  referred  to  the  Grand  Master  for  inquiry  and 
action.  At  this  meeting  of  Grand  Lodge,  it  was  resolved  that  the  entire 
Districts  be  re-distributed  by  a  committee,  under  the  presidency  of  Right 
Worshipful  Brother  J.  Ross  Robertson  and  Right  Worshipful  Brothers  J.  S. 
Dewar,  R.  L.  Patterson,  William  Forbes,  R.  Ramsay,  and  William  Longmore. 
Most  Worshipful  Brother  Murray  was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  thirty-first  annual  communication  was  held,  in  July,  1886,  at  Windsor. 
Two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  lodges  were  represented.  With  reference  to 
the  case  of  agnosticism,  the  Grand  Master  said  that  the  brother  had  failed  to 
convince  him  that  his  suspension  should  be  removed.  The  Grand  Master 
reviewed  the  case  at  length.  He  referred  to  the  excellent  work  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  re-distribution  of  the  Districts  and  the  preparation  of  the 
Masonic  map.  The  constitution  was  revised  and  the  words  "  In  the  Province 
of  Ontario  "  added  to  the  title  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  making  it  "  The  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada  in  the  Province  of  Ontario."  Right  Worshipful  Brother 
Henry  Robertson,  of  Collingwood,  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  thirty-second  annual  communication  of  Grand  Lodge  was  held  at 
Brockville,  in  1887.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-three  lodges  were  represented. 
The  Grand  Master  in  his  address  rejoiced  that  the  Craft  was  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  He  referred  to  the  General  Masonic  Relief  Association  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  an  organization  formed  for  the  purpose  of  protect- 
ing the  Craft  from  tramp  Masons  and  impostors.     He  referred  to  the  fact 


470 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


that  the  territory  of  the  Grand  Lodge  had  been  invaded  by  Quebec,  but  that 
the  Grand  Master  of  that  jurisdiction  had  promptly  suspended  the  Worship- 
ful Master  of  the  lodge  for  the  infringement.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Henry 
Robertson  was  reelected. 

The  thirty-third  annual  communication  was  held  at  Toronto,  in  1888. 
Harmony  had  been  universal  during  the  year.  Two  hundred  and  sixty  lodges 
were  represented.  In  this  year  Lodge  No.  159,  at  Vankleek  Hill,  in  the 
County  of  Prescott,  the  last  of  the  lodges  on  the  Irish  Register  working  in 
Canada,  asked  for  admission  and  was  received  into  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Canada.  The  funds  of  Grand  Lodge  were  reported  at  $69,243.  Right  Wor- 
shipful Brother  R.  T.  Walkem  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  thirty- fourth  annual  communication  was  held  at  Owen  Sound,  in  1889. 
Two  hundred  and  fifty-three  lodges  were  represented.  The  total  vote  repre- 
sented at  the  meeting  was  1080.  The  Grand  Master  had,  in  accordance  with 
the  resolution  of  Grand  Lodge  in  1888,  agreed  to  act  as  a  friendly  medium 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  between  Quebec  and 
England  and  that,  acting  on  his  suggestion,  the  edict  issued  by  Quebec  against 
England  had  been  withdrawn.  He  said  that  he  would  endeavor  to  arrange  a 
satisfactory  basis  of  settlement.  The  Grand  Master  also  pointed  out  that  the 
invested  funds  were  $60,000,  with  about  $10,000  in  the  funds  of  Grand  Lodge, 
and  that  from  1868  to  1888  the  capital  account  had  increased  from  $35,000  to 
$69,000,  and  that  $171,139  had  been  paid  for  benevolence.  A  proposal  to 
have  all  work  in  private  lodges  performed  in  the  Third  degree  was  rejected, 
and  a  resolution,  proposed  by  Right  Worshipful  Brother  J.  Ross  Robertson, 
looking  to  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  establish- 
ment of  Masonry  in  Ontario,  was  carried.  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Walkem 
was  reelected  Grand  Master. 

The  thirty-fifth  annual  communication  of  Grand  Lodge  was  held  in  Kings- 
ton in  July,  1890.  Two  hundred  and  seventy- four  lodges  were  represented. 
Five  hundred  and  forty-two  names  were  registered,  having  a  total  vote  of 
1 1 18.  The  Grand  Master  gave  an  instructive  address.  He  referred  to  a 
visit  paid  to  England  and  the  cordial  reception  he  had  received  from  the 
English  Craft.  Ninety-two  pages  of  the  annual  report  contain  most  interest- 
ing reports  from  the  District  Deputy  Grand  Masters.  The  Grand  Treasurer 
reported  the  invested  funds  as  $70,564.06.  Right  Worshipful  Brother  J.  Ross 
Robertson  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

This  review  of  Craft  work  in  Canada  brings  the  writer  down  to  the  days  of 
1 890-1 89 1.  With  a  desire  simply  to  record  the  actual  work  that  has  been  done 
in  the  jurisdiction  since  the  last  communication  of  Grand  Lodge,  the  writer 
has  only  to  say  that  since  his  occupation  of  the  Grand  East  he  has  visited  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  lodges  of  the  jurisdiction ;  that  the  time  occupied  in 
these  visits  was  between  three  and  four  months  ;  that,  in  order  to  cover  the 
entire  jurisdiction,  it  required  ten  thousand  miles  of  journeying  by  road  and 


BRITISH  AMERICA.  Ayj 

rail ;  and  that,  in  the  aggregate,  nearly  ten  thousand  brethren  were  present  at 
these  meetings,  or  nearly  one-half  of  those  on  the  Register  of  Grand  Lodge. 

The  present  year  promises  to  be  one  of  prosperity  for  the  Canadian  Craft. 
The  indications  are  that  the  Fraternity  will  have  a  much  greater  meed  of  suc- 
cess in  the  future  than  it  has  had  in  the  palmiest  days  of  the  past.  The  merits 
of  the  Craft  work  are  being  appreciated  by  an  ever-growing  number  of  the 
best  and  most  intelligent  men  in  the  country,  and  the  lodges  are  gradually 
attracting  a  class  of  brethren  that  will  reflect  credit  not  only  upon  the  Masons 
of  this  land  but  upon  the  Fraternity  at  large. 

This  history  of  the  Craft  has  been  inspired  by  a  wish  to  describe  the  activi- 
ties of  Craft  life  in  Upper  Canada  during  the  past  century.  He  who  reads 
will  readily  realize  not  only  what  Craft  life  was  but  what  Craft  life  is.  Our 
records,  to  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  more  than  a  passing  notice, 
show  that  the  Craftsmen  of  the  olden  time  did  a  great  deal  of  good  work,  and, 
though  we  may  not  trace  our  antiquity  to  as  early  a  date  as  is  possible  in  a 
few  other  jurisdictions,  we,  at  least,  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  our 
history  has  not  been  an  inglorious  one.  Many  may  assert  that  our  brethren  of 
long  ago  heeded  not  the  guide-posts  which  marked  the  pathway,  and  that  the 
pioneers,  who,  in  the  early  days,  carried  the  Craft  flag,  made  many  mistakes. 
Yet  all  must  admit  —  and  especially  we  who  have  a  direct  knowledge  of  their 
work  —  that  in  their  mission  they  were  earnest  and  sincere  and  did  the  right 
as  God  gave  them  to  see  the  right.  Their  successes  and  reverses,  their 
triumphs  and  tribulations  come  to  the  Masons  of  Canada  as  a  lesson  eloquent 
of  instruction.  Profiting  by  their  errors  —  whatever  they  may  have  been  — 
should  we  not  look  with  favor  on  the  work  of  our  forefathers  and  make  the 
present  an  example  for  the  rising  generation  of  Masons,  who,  kneeling  at  our 
altars,  and  guided  by  the  three  Great  Lights,  shall  have  imprinted  upon  their 
hearts  the  truth  of  the  story  symbolized  in  the  teachings  of  the  Craft,  —  teach- 
ings which  are  founded  upon  the  truths  we  find  in  the  volume  of  Holy  Writ, 
that  Hes  unfolded  upon  the  Craft  altars  of  every  jurisdiction  within  the  bounds 
of  an  empire  whose  drum-beat  encircles  the  world  ? 


f. 


^j2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


FREEMASONRY  IN  THE  NORTH. 


History  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Quebec,  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Prince 
Edward  Island,  Manitoba,  and  British  Columbia. 

By  John  H.  Graham,  LL.D., 
Fast  Grand  Master  of  the  M.\  W.-.  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec. 


CHAFFER   II. 

Masonry  in  the  British  Provinces. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec.  —  "  The  Imperial  Act,  relating  to  the  Con- 
federation of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  of  the  various  Provinces  therein 
contained,"  and  intitled  the  "British  North  America  Act,  1867,"  came  into 
force  by  royal  proclamation,  July  i,  1867. 

By  the  aforesaid  act  the  "  Province  of  Canada,"  as  then  existing,  was  "  sev- 
ered and  formed  into  two  Provinces,"  called  the  "  Province  of  Ontario,"  and 
the  "  Province  of  Quebec." 

Organization.  —  On  the  20th  day  of  October,  1869,  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
(the  Province  of)  Quebec,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  estab- 
lished by  the  representatives  of  twenty-one  lodges,  three  of  which  were  of  the 
Registry  of  England,  one  of  the  Registry  of  Scotland,  seventeen  of  the  Reg- 
istry of  Canada,  and  constituted  a  majority  of  all  the  lodges  in  the  Province. 

Lodges  and  MembersMp.  —  In  the  year  1870  one  lodge,  R.  E.,  and  six 
lodges,  R.  C,  became  of  allegiance  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec;  in  1872 
two  lodges,  R.  C. ;  in  1874  seventeen  lodges,  R.  C.  (some  being  of  recent 
institution),  united  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec;  in  1881  three  lodges, 
R.  S.  (two  of  recent  institution),  became  of  allegiance  thereto;  and  new 
lodges  have  been  warranted  almost  yearly  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec. 
In  1889  there  was  a  total  of  sixty- three  working  lodges  in  its  Registry. 

At  its  organization,  1869,  its  membership  was  about  one  thousand ;  and  in 
1889  it  was  three  thousand  and  fifty- two.  Hence  it  appears  that  during  these 
twenty  years  the  number  of  lodges  increased  threefold,  and  the  total  member- 
ship also  trebled. 

Finances.  —  In  1889  the  receipts  from  private  lodges,  for  initiations,  dues, 
etc.,  were  52193.75  ;  the  Grand  Lodge  appropriations  for  relief  were  $300; 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


473 


cash  in  hands  of  the  treasurer,  to  the  credit  of  the  general  fund,  ^1821.66; 
benevolent  fund  invested  in  city  of  Montreal  bonds,  ^7083.96  ;  and  on  deposit 
in  name  of  trustees,  towards  proposed  Masonic  Home,  $583.96;  making  a 
total  of  $9489.58,  of  general  and  benevolent  funds  invested  at  the  close  of 
the  year  1889.  This  shows  a  modest  average  increase  of  cash  accumula- 
tions, over  and  above  expenditures  for  all  purposes,  of  about  $500  annually, 
during  the  twenty  years  of  its  existence.  Quebec  does  not  pay  travelling  or 
per  diem  expenses  of  representatives  of  lodges,  in  attendance  at  the  commu- 
nications of  Grand  Lodge.  The  minimum  fee  for  initiation  is  $20,  and  for 
lodge  dues  $3  per  annum.     The  library  contains  about  two  hundred  volumes. 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  that  in  the  increase  of  the  number  of  its 
lodges,  and  of  its  membership,  and  in  its  finances  and  beneficent  work,  the 
steady  domestic  progress  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec  has  been  almost 
phenomenal,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  about  two-thirds  of  the  population 
of  the  Province  are  under  a  "  home  and  foreign  "  influence,  and  domination 
hostile  to  Freemasonry. 

Recognition  by  Other  Grand  Lodges.  —  The  establishment  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Quebec  involved  all  the  fundamental  principles  of  jurisprudence  and 
of  procedure,  pertaining  to  the  rightful  and  regular  formation  of  Grand  Lodges 
of  Freemasons  (especially  in  dissevered  territories)  ;  and,  as  every  step  taken 
therein  was  "  challenged "  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  it  therefore 
awakened  the  deepest  interest  among  the  leaders  of  the  Craft  throughout  the 
world  ;  and  hence  the  prompt,  hearty,  and  thoroughly  fraternal  "  recognition  " 
of  Quebec,  as  follows,  by  sister  Grand  Lodges,  is  one  of  the  most  significant 
and  instructive  Masonic  events  of  modern  times  :  — 

In  1 869-1 8  70  Quebec  was  duly  recognized  as  a  rightfully  and  regularly 
constituted  Grand  Lodge  by  nine  sister  Grand  Lodges  (first  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  on  report  of  Most  Worshipful  Brother,  the 
Hon.  B.  B,  French ;  second  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine,  on  report  of 
Most  Worshipful  Brother,  the  Hon.  Josiah  H.  Drummond ;  third  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  "Old  Granite  State,"  etc.)  ;  in  1871  Quebec  had  been 
recognized  by  twenty-two  Grand  Lodges;  in  1872  by  thirty-one;  in  1873 
by  thirty-six  ;  in  1874  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  and  others;  and  in 
1889  Quebec  interchanges  Grand  Representatives  with  fifty-nine  regular 
Grand  Lodges,  including  all  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  the  United  States 
of  America,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland,  and  others  in  foreign  lands  on  both 
hemispheres.  The  exceptions  existing  (1889)  are  England  and  Scotland. 
The  latter  has  now  no  private  lodges  in  the  Province  of  Quebec,  but  is  seem- 
ingly awaiting  the  action  in  re  of  the  former. 

The  Attitude  of  Canada.  —  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  claimed  con- 
tinuous jurisdiction  over  the  lodges  of  its  institution,  situate  in  the  severed 
(1867)  "Province  of  Quebec"  ;  combated  the  right  of  the  Craft  therein  to 
form  an  independent  Grand  Lodge  ;  and  affirmed  that  "  there  were  no  prece- 


.-4  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

dents  therefor,  as  far  as  known,  either  in  the  old  world  or  on  this  continent." 
Per  contra,  and  in  vindication  of  "  Quebec,"  its  Grand  Master  cited,  among 
others,  the  following  :  — 

Precedents.  —  "  Omitting  the  erection  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Distiict  of  Columbia,  and 
several  other  instances  in  the  earliest  history  of  Freemasonry  in  the  United  States,  of  the  forma- 
tion of  Grand  Lodges  in  Provinces,  then  lately  severed  from  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  existing 
Grand  Lodges,  such  as  resulted  upon  the  dismemberment  of  the  north-west  territory  of  Virginia, 
and  the  old  Louisiana  Territory,  etc. ;  it  is  deemed  amply  sufficient,  in  proof,  to  submit  the  foUovk'- 
ing  precedents,  which  are  familiar  to  every  well-read  and  intelligent  Mason  :  — 

"  The  Territory  of  the  (now)  State  of  Maine,  after  a  union  of  one  hundred  and  si.xty-seven 
years,  was  severed  from  Massachusetts  in  1819,  and  admitted  into  the  Union  early  in  the  year 
1820.  Shortly  after  the  severance,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine  was  duly  formed  —  incorporated  by 
the  State,  June  16,  1820,  and  consecrated  on  the  Festival  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  June  24th.  Most, 
if  not  all,  of  the  lodges  which  united  in  forming  it,  retained,  and  are  to  this  day  working  under  their 
original  warrants  received  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts. 

"In  1849-1850  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  '  Territory  of  Oregon '  was  regularly  formed.  In  1857- 
1858  the  'Territory  of  Oregon'  was  severed  by  the  'Federal  Government,"  and  the  northern 
portion  erected  into  the  '  Territory  of  Washington,"  and  in  the  same  year  (1858)  the  '  Grand  Lodge 
of  the  Territory  of  Washington  '  was  duly  formed  by  four  of  the  lodges  situated  therein,  and  the 
Grand  Master  installed  by  Past  Master,  Worshipful  Brother  T.  M.  Reed. 

"  In  the  year  1862,  the  State  of  West  Virginia  was  duly  recognized  as  a  separate  State,  by  the 
Federal  authority,  erected  out  of  the  western  portion  of  the  State  of  Virginia ;  in  which  severed 
territory  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  West  Virginia,  in  1865.  was  regularly  formed  by  a 
minority  of  the  lodges  situated  therein,  and  has  been  recognized  by  nearly  all  the  Grand  Lodges 
of  the  world  as  a  sister  Grand  Lodge. 

"  In  1867  (the  same  year  in  which  the  territory  of  the  '  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  "  was  severed 
by  the  British  Government),  the  'Territory  of  Washington,"  —  which  had  previously  been  sev- 
ered from  Oregon,  —  was  itself  severed  by  the  Federal  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  its 
eastern  portion  erected  into  the  'Territory  of  Idaho";  and  in  December  of  the  same  year,  the 
lodges  situated  in  the  dissevered  territory  formed  the  'Grand  Lodge  of  the  Territory  of  Idaho," 
which  was  duly  recognized  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Washington  Territory  at  its  first  subsequent 
communication. 

"  These  precedents  alone  are  deemed  amply  sufficient  to  show  the  general  practice  of  the 
Fraternity  in  regard  to  the  formation  of  new  Grand  Lodges  in  '  Territories "  and  '  States "  dis- 
severed by  the  supreme  political  authority  of  the  land,  from  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  existent 
Grand  Lodges;  and  in  all  of  these  cases,  with  one  or  two  unwise  exceptions,  the  parent  Grand 
Lodges  peacefully  and  fraternally  coincided,  and  bade  their  offspring  God-speed. 

"  Moreover,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Te.xas  now  exercises  exclusive  Masonic  jurisdiction  over 
that  magnificent  State ;  yet  no  one  dreams  that,  should  the  increase  of  population  and  other 
circumstances  cause  its  political  disseverance  into  the  four  States  contemplated  by  the  original 
resolution  of  Annexation  to  the  United  States,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Texas  would  lay  claim  to 
perpetual  Masonic  jurisdiction  over  these  new  States,  because  they  were  formerly  an  integral 
portion  of  her  territory;  but  she  would  regretfully,  of  course,  yet  peacefully,  gracefully  and  proudly, 
recognize  each  Grand  Lodge  when  formed,  as  her  own  offspring.'" 

In  his  address  at  an  emergent  communication,  December  i,  1869,  the 
Grand  Master  of  Canada,  inter  alia,  asserted  that  the  Grand  Master  of  Quebec 
had  not  been  "  regularly  "  installed  by  Brother  J.  H.  Isaacson,  Past  Master 
(//iff  Senior  Past  Master  present') . 

The  Grand  Master  of  Quebec  replied  :  — 

"  We  affirm,  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  from  the  installation  of  Brother 
Anthony  Saver  as  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  England,  in  1717,  to  the  installation  of  the  Grand 
Master  of  Quebec,  in  1869  (152  years),  that  over  one-third  of  the  first  Grand  Masters  of  all  the 
regular  Grand  Lodges  in  the  world  have  been  installed  by  Past  Masters." 


BRITISH  AMERICA.  47 1 

In  his  next  subsequent  report  of  foreign  correspondence,  Past  Grand  Master 
Drummond  of  Maine  said  :  "  If  Quebec  is  '  irregular '  in  this,  she  is  in  good 
company."  He  then  enumerates,  among  "  others,"  seventeen  United  States 
and  two  Canadian  precedents  therefor,  and  adds  :  "  We  reckon,  this  Ust  of 
precedents  settles  the  question." 

Attitude  of  England.  —  In  correspondence  and  otherwise  the  officials  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  raised  objections  to  the  claim  of  "  Quebec  "  to 
have  and  to  exercise  exclusive  jurisdiction  within  its  territorial  limits.  They 
expressed  their  willingness  that  the  three  lodges,  R.  E.,  in  the  city  of  Montreal, 
adhere  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec,  giving  the  assurance  that  no  new 
English  lodges  would  be  estabUshed  in  the  territory  of  Quebec ;  but  they 
affirmed  the  right  of  these  three  lodges  to  a  continuance  at  will  of  allegiance 
to  "  England."  (The  Grand  Lodge  of  England  proffered  recognition  condi- 
tioned on  the  foregoing.  Quebec  declined.)  It  was,  moreover,  affirmed  by 
leaders  in  England,  that  the  right  of  "exclusive  jurisdiction"  claimed  by 
"  Quebec  "  was  an  "  American  Masonic  doctrine." 

In  reply  thereto,  by  citations  from  the  constitutions  and  records  of  the 
Grand  Lodges  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  (and  by  corroborative  proof 
from  the  early  declarations  and  procedure  of  the  oldest  Grand  Lodges  of  the 
United  States),  the  Grand  Master  of  Quebec  irrefutably  demonstrated,  as  is 
generally  conceded,  the  following  propositions  and  conclusions  therefrom  :  — 

"The  principle  of  coincidence  or  coterminousness,  of  political  and  Masonic  boundaries,  is  an 
acknowledged  law  of  the  constitutions  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland. 

"  The  jurisdiction  of  each  of  these  Grand  Lodges  is  exclusive  within  its  geographical  limits. 

"  Each  of  these  Grand  Lodges  claims  to  be,  and  is,  absolutely  sovereign,  and  may  and  does 
enforce  its  territorial,  exclusive,  sovereign  authority,  by  the  most  extreme  Masonic  penalties, 
against  all  lodges  not  of  its  registry,  existing  within  its  boundaries,  in  contravention  thereto  or  in 
violation  thereof,  even  if  said  lodge  (or  lodges)  were  of '  institution '  anterior  to  that  of  said  Grand 
Lodge. 

"  The  doctrine  of  exclusive  Grand  Lodge  jurisdiction  cannot,  therefore,  with  propriety,  be 
called  an  American  doctrine  only ;  but  it  is  a  doctrine  of  the  Ancient  Constitutions  of  P'reemasonry, 
as  expressed  in  the  constitutions  of  the  premier  of  modern  Grand  Lodges. 

"Moreover,  the  Province  of  Quebec  is  a  federal  Province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and 
has  a  political  autonomy  with  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  powers,  which  are  not  possessed 
by  England,  Scotland,  or  Ireland,  as  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland; 
and  hence  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec  is  as  much  (and,  a  fortiori  more),  entitled  to  have  and  to 
exercise  exclusive  Masonic  authority  within  her  territorial  limits,  as  is  either  of  the  Grand  Lodges 
of  the  United  Kingdom  within  its  geographical  boundaries." 

No  official  or  other  reply  has  ever  been  made  to  the  foregoing ;  and,  more 
recently,  the  difficulty  /;/  re  with  England  is  stated  to  be  that  she  has  not 
hitherto  conceded  the  right  of  exclusive  sovereignty  to  a  Grand  Lodge  in  any 
dependency  of  the  empire. 

The  Grand  Master  of  Quebec  repUed  that  the  said  "  right "  is  inherent, 
inahenable,  and  imprescriptible,  and  not  one  of  "concession,"  and  that  an 
"imperial  Masonic  pohcy  "  on  the  part  of  England  which  is  not  in  accord 
with  her  own  "  Constitutions,"  and  which  is  not,  as  has  been  so  often  manifest, 


476 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


promotive  of  the  peace,  harmony,  and  prosperity  of  the  Craft,  ought  to  be 
changed  without  delay. 

Seemingly  in  order  to  complete  the  vindication  of  his  own  Grand  Lodge, 
and  to  submit  to  the  Craft  universal  his  "  readings  "  of  the  constitution,  the 
jurisprudence  and  procedure  of  the  Fraternity  in  re,  the  first  Grand  Master  of 
Quebec,  in  his  ninth  annual  address  (1883),  made,  inter  alia,  the  following 
statement  of  laws  governing  the  establishment  and  interjurisdictional  relations 
and  procedure  of  Grand  Lodges  :  — 

"The  Twelve  Tables."  —  I.  At  least  three  duly  represented  private  lodges  must  unite  in  the 
establishment  of  a  Grand  Lodge,  and  the  number  of  lodges  thus  cooperating  should  constitute  a 
majority  of  all  the  regular  private  lodges  existing  within  the  territory  for  which  the  sovereign  Grand 
body  is  formed.  The  union  and  cooperation  of  all  the  lodges  so  situated  is  supremely  desirable, 
when  practicable. 

II.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  private  lodge  situated  within  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  a  regularly 
formed  Grand  Lodge,  but  which,  through  any  cause,  was  not  represented  at  its  organization,  to 
become,  at  an  early  day  thereafter,  of  allegiance  to  the  new  Grand  body,  and  be  enrolled  on  its 
Registry ;  or,  upon  its  refusal  it  may  be  deemed  and  declared  to  be  an  irregular  lodge  in  not  sub- 
mitting to  the  lawfully  constituted  Masonic  sovereignty  of  the  country. 

III.  At  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge,  it  is  not  required  to  issue  new  warrants  to  the  lodges 
which  united  in  its  establishment,  or  to  those  which  subsequently  become  of  its  allegiance;  but  an 
endorsement  of  the  transference  of  allegiance  may  be  made  on  the  margin  of  the  charter  of  the 
adhering  lodge  or  lodges. 

IV.  At  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge,  in  the  absence  of  a  Grand  Master  or  Past  Grand 
Master  of  another  Grand  Lodge,  the  oldest  Past  Master  of  a  private  lodge  present,  may  install  the 
Grand  Master-elect. 

V.  From  its  forrpation,  every  regularly  constituted  Grand  Lodge,  as  to  its  privileges,  pre- 
rogatives, and  duties,  and  as  to  whatever  else  of  right  appertains  to  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Freemasons, 
is  the  peer  of  every  other  regular  Grand  Lodge,  and  no  other  Grand  body  can  lawfully  exercise 
Masonic  Craft  authority  within  its  territorial  jurisdiction. 

VI.  Upon  the  consensus  of  a  majority  of  sister  Grand  Lodges  as  to  the  right  of  existence,  and 
the  regularity  of  the  formation  of  a  new  Grand  Lodge,  the  remaining  regular  Grand  Lodges  should 
deem  themselves  to  be  bound  by  the  award,  duly  pronounced,  of  their  sister  Masonic  sovereignties, 
and  seek  the  establishment  of  interjurisdictional  relations  with  the  new  territorially  supreme  Grand 
body. 

VII.  Any  Grand  Lodge  may  charter  private  lodges  in  any  territory  unoccupied  by  a  local 
sovereign  Grand  Lodge;  but  the  exercise  of  this  right  is  with  propriety  restricted  to  unoccupied 
territories  belonging  to  the  country  within  whose  domain  the  chartering  Grand  Lodge  is  situated, 
or  to  exterior  countries  within  whose  limits  a  Grand  Lodge  does  not  exist. 

VIII.  A  Grand  Lodge  cannot  rightfully  constitute  a  new  lodge,  or  continue  to  exercise  juris- 
diction over  any  lodge  formerly  chartered  by  it,  after  the  regular  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge 
within  the  territory  in  which  said  private  lodge  is  situated. 

IX.  A  Grand  Lodge  cannot  rightfully  extend  to,  or  receive  from,  another  Grand  Lodge  quali- 
fied or  conditional  recognition,  or  lawfully  establish  interjurisdictional  relations  based  thereon. 

X.  A  Grand  Lodge  violating  any  of  the  essential  Landmarks  of  the  Order  should  be  deemed 
and  declared  to  be  an  irregular  body  as  long  as  such  violation  of  the  Constitutions  of  the  Fraternity 
is  persisted  in. 

XI.  Any  order  or  organization  allied  to  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  by  requiring  candidates  for 
admission  thereto  to  be  Freemasons,  should  be  deemed  and  declared  to  have  forfeited  said  alli- 
ance, should  they  wilfully  violate,  or  endeavor  to  annul,  the  Landmarks,  Laws,  and  Constitutions  of 
Ancient  Freemasonry. 

XII.  The  several  federal  Provinces  constituting  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  the  Colonies 
throughout  the  British  Empire,  having  local  constitutional  govern rnents,  are  severally  as  much 
entitled  to  form  and  to  have  Grand  Lodges,  possessing  and  exercising  exclusive  sovereign  juris- 
diction within  their  respective  geographical  and  legislative  boundaries,  as  are  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  as  component  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland;  or  as  are 
the  several  federal  States  and  organized  Territories  of  the  United  States  of  America;  or  as  are  any 
separate  and  distinct  kingdoms,  or  the  like. 

Proclamations  of  Non-Intercourse.  —  In  1873  "  Quebec  "  declared  non- 
intercourse  with  "  Canada  "  for  invasion  of  her  territory.  Interjurisdictional 
harmony  was  fully  restored,  in  1874,  upon  the  adhesion  of  the  "Canada" 
lodges  in  Quebec  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec. 

In  1878  "  Quebec  "  proclaimed  non- intercourse  with  "  Scotland  "  for  estab- 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


477 


lishing  two  new  lodges  in  the  city  of  Montreal,  and  the  formation  of  a  District 
Grand  Lodge  therein.  In  1881  intercourse  was  resumed  when  Elgin  Lodge, 
R.  S.,  and  the  two  lodges,  R.  S.,  of  recent  institution,  became  of  allegiance  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec.  Grand  Representatives  (1890)  have  not  been 
interchanged  with  Scotland. 

In  1884  "  Quebec  "  suspended  fraternal  intercourse  with  the  three  lodges, 
R.  E.,  in  Montreal;  and  in  1886  she  declared  non-intercourse  with  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England.  In  18S9  both  these  edicts  were  withdrawn,  pending 
mediatory  negotiations  between  "  England  "  and  "  Quebec  "  by  the  Grand 
Master  of  "Canada  in  Ontario,"  1889-1890. 

Freemasonry  in  Canada,  1760-1790. — The  French  garrison  at  the  city 
of  Quebec  capitulated  to  the  British  troops,  September,  1759;  and  that  of 
the  city  of  Montreal,  September,  1760.  A  number  of  military  lodges  came 
into  Canada  with  the  British  and  Colonial  forces. 

In  1760  {circa),  the  Hon.  Col.  Simon  Frazer  was  appointed  Provincial 
Grand  Master;  in  1762  Milborne  West,  Esq.,  was  appointed  Provincial  Grand 
Master  for  Canada  (the  Grand  East  at  the  city  of  Quebec),  by  Lord  Blaney, 
Grand  Master,  England  ("Moderns");  in  1767  the  Hon.  John  Collins,  by 
the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  Grand  Master ;  in  1 786  Col.  Chris.  Carleton ;  and  in 
1 788  Sir  John  Johnson,  Bart.,  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  Grand  Master. 
(Among  the  lodges  chartered  [1791]  under  the  Provincial  Grand  Mastership 
of  the  latter,  was  Dorchester  Lodge,  Vergennes,  Vermont,  now  No.  i  on  the 
Registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that  State.  It  was  named  from  Sir  Guy 
Carleton  [Lord  Dorchester],  then  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
British  forces  in  Canada.) 

Lower  Canada,  1791-1869. — By  an  Imperial  Act  (1791)  Canada  was 
divided  into  two  provinces,  called  "Upper  Canada"  (now  Ontario)  and 
"  Lower  Canada "  (now  Quebec).  During  the  above  period  there  were  two 
Provincial  Grand  Masters  of  England  ("Ancients")  for  Lower  Canada. 
H.-.R.-.  H.-.  the  Duke  of  Kent,  father  of  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria, 
was  installed  at  the  city  of  Quebec,  June  22,  1792;  and  the  Hon.  Claude 
Denechau,  in  1797,  antedated  from  1823,  honoris  causa. 

On  April  2,  1823,  H.'.R.'.H.-.  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  Grand  Master  of  the 
"  United  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Freemasons  of  England,"  divided  Lower 
Canada  into  two  districts,  called  the  "  District  of  Quebec  and  Three  Rivers  " 
(with  its  Grand  East  at  the  city  of  Quebec)  ;  and  the  "  District  of  Montreal 
and  William  Henry"  (now  Sorel),  (with  its  Grand  East  at  the  city  of 
Montreal).  The  Hon.  William  McGillivray  was  appointed  District  Grand 
Master  of  the  latter,  and  the  Hon.  Claude  Denechau  District  Grand  Master 
of  the  former.     In  1841  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  were  reunited. 

On  May  i,  1852,  Thomas  Douglas  Harington  was,  by  patent  from  the  Earl 
of  Zetland,  appointed  District  Grand  Master  of  "  Quebec  and  Three  Rivers." 
On  September  14th,  of  the  same  year,  he  was,  by  "deputation,"  installed  by 


478  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXRY. 

Brother  George  Thompson  of  Albion  Lodge,  whom  he  appointed  District 
Deputy  Grand  Master. 

On  December  12,  1857,  James  Dean  was  appointed  District  Grand  Master. 
He  was  installed  by  George  Thompson  as  Provincial  Grand  Master,  May  1 7, 
1858.  Brother  Dean  resigned  a  short  time  prior  to  the  "  formation  "  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec  (1869),  by  which  he  was  elected  an  Honorary  Past 
Grand  Master.     He  died  November,  1870. 

In  1826  the  Hon.  John  Molson  was  appointed  District  Grand  Master  of 
"Montreal  and  William  Henry";  the  Hon.  Peter  McGill,  in  1846;  and  the 
Hon.  William  Badgely,  in  1849.     The  latter  died  in  1888. 

A  successor  has  not  been  appointed  (i  889-1 890)  by  the  Grand  Master  of 
England.  There  are  three  lodges,  R.  E.,  in  the  city  of  Montreal.  The  Grand 
Lodge  of  Canada,  now  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  in  Ontario,  was  formed  in 
1855  ;  and,  with  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England  and  Scotland,  exercised  juris- 
diction in  Lower  Canada,  till  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec 
in  1869. 

Reminiscences.  —  Antiquity  Lodge,  city  of  Montreal,  No.  i,  Q.  R.,  was 
of  Irish  institution.  No.  227,  and  was  named  the  Lodge  of  Social  and  Mili- 
tary Virtues.  It  was  warranted  May  4,  1752,  Lord  Kingsborough,  G.  M., 
and  was  attached  to  the  46th  Regiment  of  Light  Infantry.  For  nearly  a 
century  its  meetings  were  held  in  many  countries  throughout  the  world. 

In  1756  meetings  of  the  lodge  were  held  at  Hahfax,  Nova  Scotia.  [See 
Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia.] 

In  1760  it  held  its  first  meeting  in  Montreal,  shortly  after  the  "capitula- 
tion "  of  the  city  to  the  British. 

In  1 764-1 766  "the  46th"  was  in  several  of  the  American  (U.S.A.) 
Colonies,  and  "  tradition  "  indicates  that  it  was  during  this  period  that  Lodge 
No.  227  became  possessed  of  the  "famous  old  Bible  "  (of  date  1712),  which 
was  used  when  George  Washington  received  a  degree  in  Freemasonry ;  but 
whether  in  lodge  or  chapter  does  not  appear.  This  "  tradition  "  seems  to 
have  very  considerable  incidental  documentary  evidence  in  its  support.  In 
1767  the  Regiment  returned  to  Ireland  ;  and  it  landed  at  Staten  Island,  New 
YoA,  in  1776. 

In  1 777-1 778  "the  46th"  was  stationed  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
and  during  this  period  its  famous  "  bullock  chest  with  brass  mountings," 
containing  the  lodge  warrant,  working-tools,  regalia,  etc.,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  American  troops ;  but  it  was  shortly  thereafter  returned  to  the  Regi- 
ment by  Brother  General  George  Washington,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and 
escorted  by  a  guard  of  honor. 

In  1803  while  the  Regiment  was  at  Dominica,  the  "sacred  old  trunk" 
was  captured  by  the  French  troops,  but  it  was  returned  to  the  Regiment  by 
Napoleon  I. 

In  18x6  (-1817)  "  the  46th,"  with  its  famous  Lodge  No.  227,  I.  R.,  arrived 


BRITISH  AMERICA.  . -g 

at  Sydney  in  the  Colony  of  New  South  Wales,  AustraUa,  where  No.  227  held 
meetings.  A  warrant,  No.  260,  I.  R.,  of  date  (?)  August  12,  1820,  was 
obtained  by  certain  brethren  at  Sydney,  for  establishing  the  first  lodge  on 
"the  continent"  of  Australasia,  which  was  called.  The  Australian  Social 
Mother  Lodge.  In  1877  this  lodge  became  No.  i,  on  the  Registry  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales,  and  designated  Social  Mother.  At 
the  happy  "union,"  in  1888,  it  became  No.  i,  on  the  Registry  of  the  United 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales.  At  the  "constitution"  of  No.  260,  the 
"famous  Bible,"  the  working-tools  and  regaHa  of  the  renowned  No.  227  were 
used ;  and  the  "  work "  on  that  memorable  occasion  was  probably,  in  most 
part,  done  by  its  officers.  [See  Division  X.,  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South 
Wales.] 

In  1846  "the  46th  "  was  at  Kingston,  Canada  West,  and  the  lodge  prop- 
erty was  then  given  to  Brother  Sergeant- Major  W.  Sheppard,  of  the  Royal 
Artillery,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  permanent  military  lodge  at  Mon- 
treal, Canada  East.  At  this  period  (184 7-1 848),  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland 
granted  a  renewal  of  the  warrant. 

In  1857  the  lodge  became  of  allegiance  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada, 
its  name  being  changed  to  "  Antiquity."  It  was  the  oldest  lodge  on  that 
Registry,  and  it  was  authorized  to  wear  "gold."  It  united  with  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Quebec  in  1874. 

Albion  Lodge,  city  of  Quebec,  was  originally  attached  to  the  Fourth  Bat- 
talion Royal  Regiment  of  Artillery.  It  was  warranted  as  No.  9,  June  22, 
1751  ;  Antrim,  Grand  Master;  Laurence  Dermott,  Deputy  Grand  Master; 
Thomas  Harper,  Senior  Grand  Warden ;  James  Perry,  Junior  Grand  Warden  ; 
and  John  McCormick,  Grand  Secretary.  This  warrant  was  renewed  December 
30,  1787.  In  1814  Albion  was  numbered  17,  R.  E.,  and  in  1870  it  became 
No.  2,  Q.  R.  It  is  but  one  month  and  eighteen  days  the  junior  of  Antiquity, 
No.  I,  Q.  R.,  Montreal.  Albion  received,  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England, 
an  authorization  to  wear  a  "  special  centenary  jewel,"  April  3,  1862.  It  is  the 
second  on  the  list  of  such.  Royal  York  Lodge  of  Perseverance,  No.  7,  London, 
England,  being  the  first. 

There  is  very  much  concerning  these  and  other  Quebec  lodges,  of  unusual 
and  absorbing  historic  interest. 

Nova  Scotia.  —  On  the  20th  day  of  February,  1866,  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  (the  Province  of)  Nova  Scotia  was 
formed,  at  the  city  of  Halifax,  by  the  representatives  of  the  nine  following 
lodges:  Burns'  Lodge,  352,  R.  S. ;  Athole,  361,  R.  S. ;  Keith,  365,  R.  S. ; 
Scotia,  411,  R.  S.,  all  of  HaUfax ;  Eldorado,  434,  R.  S.,  Wine  Harbor;  St. 
Mark's,  R.  S.,  Baddeck,  Cape  Breton ;  Acacia,  330,  R.  I.,  Amherst ;  and 
Ophier,  Tangier,  and  Queen's,  Sherbrooke,  U.  D. 

W.  H.  Davies  was  elected  Grand  Master,  1866-1867;  J.  R.  Graham, 
Substitute  Grand  Master;  W,  Taylor,  Deputy  Grand  Master;  R.  J.  Romans, 


48o 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Senior  Grand  Warden ;  A.  K.  MacKinlay,  Grand  Treasurer,  1S66-1868;  and 
C.  J.  Macdonald,  Grand  Secretary,  1 866-1 868.  R.  Sircom  was  elected  Grand 
Master,  1868;  and  N.  W.  White,  Substitute  Grand  Master.  During  1866- 
1869  the  number  of  lodges  on  the  Registry  had  increased  twelve,  making  a 
total  of  twenty-five  in  the  latter  year.  Nova  Scotia  has  nine  District  Deputy 
Grand  Masters. 

On  June  23,  1869,  the  District  Grand  Lodge,  R.  E.,  with  twenty-five  lodges 
on  its  Registry,  one  lodge,  R.  S.,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia,  with 
twenty-five  lodges  on  its  Registry  happily  "united,"  under  the  designation 
of  "  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  Nova  Scotia," 
and  elected  its  Grand  officers,  who  were  installed  the  following  day,  June  24th, 
by  A.  A.  Stevenson,  Grand  Master  of  Canada. 

In  1889  there  were  sixty-seven  lodges  on  the  Registry,  with  a  membership 
of  about  2900. 

The  income  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  1 888-1 889,  from  lodge  dues,  fees,  etc., 
was  ^2717.05;  from  rents,  Freemasons'  Hall,  $1822  ;  total,  ^4539.05.  Cash 
balance  in  hands  of  Treasurer,  $1436.21,  with  rents  due,  $642.25  ;  making  a 
total  to  credit  of  Grand  Lodge,  $2082.46. 

The  Grand  Lodge  has  a  fine  Masonic  Temple.  There  is  an  indebtedness 
upon  it,  to  liquidate  which  steps  are  being  taken. 

Some  progress  has  been  made  in  forming  a  Grand  Lodge  library. 

This  Grand  Lodge  interchanges  Grand  Representatives  with  most  of  the 
regular  Grand  Lodges  throughout  the  world.  The  motto  upon  its  seal  is 
"  Soli  Deo  Gloria."  This  is  unhappily  ambiguous.  The  Grand  Lodge  of 
Nova  Scotia  praisevvorthily  attends  divine  service  just  after  the  formal  opening 
of  its  annual  communication.^  Its  Book  of  Constitution  and  Forms,  1888- 
1889,  is,  in  many  respects,  a  model  of  excellence. 

Reminiscences,  1756-1890.  —  In  the  year  1713  Acadia,  which  included 
Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and  Prince  Edward  Island  (St.  John),  was  ceded 
by  France  to  Great  Britain,  and  during  the  same  year  British  troops  took 
possession  of  Annapolis  Royal  as  "  headquarters  "  for  the  whole  of  Acadia. 
Cape  Breton  Island  was  not  ceded  to  Great  Britain  till  1763. 

It  appears  from  tradition,  apparently  somewhat  supported  by  collateral 
documentary  proof,  that  a  lodge  was  instituted  at  Annapolis  Royal,  by  virtue 

1  On  September  24,  1784,  the  "  Grand  Lodge  "  was  opened  by  prayer  by  Rev.  Brother  Joshua 
Wingate  Weeks,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extract :  — 

"  Pour  down  thy  gifts  and  graces  on  the  head  and  heart  of  thy  servant,  our  Grand  Master- 
elect,  whom  thy  providence  hath  called  to  preside  in  Solomon's  chair.  May  he  be  enabled  wisely 
to  unfold  the  mysteries  of  Masonry,  and  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  the  Craft.  May  his  officers  be, 
like  pillars  in  the  Temple,  a  support  to  his  authority  and  the  ornament  of  their  profession,  and  may 
all  the  brethren  be  workers  together  with  God  in  raising  up  the  beautiful  fabric  of  charity,  which 
may  afford  them  shelter  and  relief  in  the  hour  of  distress.  Thou  who  hast  called  the  faithful 
throughout  the  earth  into  one  body,  may  they  be  of  one  heart  and  soul,  that  harmony,  peace,  and 
happiness  may  ever  prevail,  and  that  finally  they  may  be  admitted  into  that  heavenly  lodge  which 
is  made  without  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens,  and  dwell  therein  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen." 
The  Grand  Master  on  that  occasion  was  Most  Worshipful  John  George  Pyke.  —  Hon.  W.  Ross, 
Grand  Secretary. 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


481 


of  a  "  deputation  "  granted  to  Erasmus  James  Phillips,  who  was  "  made  "  at 
Boston,  November  14,  1737,  by  the  Henry  Price  Provincial  Grand  Lodge, 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  about  173 7-1 738  ! 

On  June  21,1 749,  H  /.  M .-.  ship  Beaufort  arrived  in  Chebucto,  now  Halifax, 
harbor,  in  command  of  Edward  CornwaUis,  who  was  the  first  governor  of 
Nova  Scotia.     The  city  of  HaUfax  was  founded  the  following  January,  1750. 

There  is  a  tradition,  seemingly  supported  by  documentary  evidence,  that 
a  civil  and  military  lodge,  of  which  Governor  CornwaUis  was  the  first  Wor- 
shipful Master,  was  instituted  at  Halifax,  July  19,  1750,  by  warrant  from 
Erasmus  James  Phillips,  Provincial  Grand  Master  at  Annapolis  Royal ! 

In  1756  lodge  meetings  were  held  at  Halifax  by  the  Lodge  of  Social  and 
Military  Virtues,  No.  227,  Irish  Registry  (attached  to  the  "  46th  Regiment 
of  Light  Infantry"),  and  now  Antiquity  Lodge,  Montreal,  and  No.  i  on  the 
Registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec.     [See  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec] 

At  Halifax,  in  the  year  1758  (about  seven  years  after  the  formation  at  Lon- 
don, England,  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  "  Ancients  " ;  and  also  called  the 
York,  Atholl,  and  Dermott  Grand  Lodge),  Erasmus  James  Phillips  received 
a   Provincial   Grand  warrant^  (still  in  existence),  written  by  Dermott,  and 

1  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia  is  in  possession  of  a  large  amount  of  valuable  and  interest- 
ing Masonic  documents,  such  as  charter  to  form  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  which  is  dated 
December  27,  1757.     Registered  in  Grand  Lodge  of  England's  records  [Vol.  3,  letter  C]. 

We  have  a  complete  register  of  the  members  of  the  different  lodges  from  1784  up  to  the 
present  time.  From  1784  to  1820  there  were  thirty-six  lodges  under  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge. 
Of  these  four  were  in  New  Brunswick  and  one  in  Prince  Edward  Island,  showing  the  strong  and 
wide-spread  hold  Freemasonry  had  obtained  in  the  early  history  of  Nova  Scotia. 

We  also  hold  continuous  copies  of  warrants  from  September,  1784,  down  to  the  present  time, 
with  the  respective  names  of  the  honored  Grand  Masters  who  followed  each  other  on  the  roll  of 
time.  These  ancient  warrants,  with  their  old-fashioned  seals  of  wax  stamped  into  a  leaden  mould, 
tell  the  early  history  of  many  a  lodge  w^hich  still  exists  in  strength,  love,  and  unity  in  the  city  of 
Halifax  and  throughout  the  Province. 

The  three  oldest  lodges  now  working  in  Halifax  are  :  St.  Andrew's,  chartered  March  26, 1768; 
St.  John's,  chartered  June  30,  1780;  Virgin,  chartered  February  18,  1782.  The  latter  lodge  has 
records  and  list  of  members  complete  from  1782  to  1890. 

Among  the  members  of  these  three  lodges  were  several  who  were  or  afterward  became 
generals,  admirals,  governors,  and  judges,  —  men  who  served  their  country  with  distinction  in  their 
various  professions,  —  and  many  of  them  received  well-earned  honors  at  the  hands  of  their  sov- 
ereign. Of  these  we  name  Captain,  afterwards  Gen.  Sir  John  Moore,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Corimna,  and  who  was  a  member  of  St.  John's  Lodge  in  1787. 

Edward,  Duke  of  Kent  (then  in  commarid  of  H  .".  M  .".  troops  in  British  North  America),  father 
of  H  .•.  M  .*.  Queen  Victoria,  laid  the  corner-stone  of  Freemasons'  Hall,  Halifax,  on  June  5,  1800. 
This  stone  was  removed  in  1876,  when  the  old  building  was  taken  down  to  make  room  for  the 
present  Freemasons'  Hall,  in  which  it  now  occupies  a  conspicuous  place.  The  inscription  reads 
as  follows :  — 

In  the  name  of 

GOD 

In  the  Reign  of  GEORGE  III 

His  Roval  Highness 

Prince  EDWARD  Duke  of  KENT 

Commander-in-Chief  of  British  N.  America 

G.  M.  of  Lower  Canada 

In  behalf  of  R".  BULKELEY 

Member  of  His  Majestys  Council 

G.  M.  of  N.  Scotia 

Laid  this  Foundation  Stone  of 

FREE  MASONS  HALL 

5th  June  Anno  Domini  1800 

And  of  Masonry  5800. 

—  Hon.  W.  Ross,  Grand  Secretary, 


482 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


designated  No.  65  (  ! ),  in  England,  and  No.  i,  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  bear- 
ing date  December  27,  1757.  Blesinton,  Grand  Master;  William  Halford, 
Deputy  Grand  Master;  Robert  Goodman,  Senior  Grand  Warden;  William 
Osborn,  Junior  Grand  Warden;  and  Laurence  Dermott,  Grand  Secretary. 
There  accompanied  this,  two  lodge  warrants  of  same  date,  numbered  respec- 
tively No.  2  (  ! ),  and  No.  3  (  !).  It  does  not  appear  that  either  of  these 
three  warrants  was  ever  used. 

On  the  2d  day  of  June,  1784,  a  warrant  (renewal  of  "1757")?  "No. 
65  "  (  !),  was  granted  by  the  Dermott  Grand  Lodge  for  a  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  for  Nova  Scotia,  which  was  established  September  24,  1784:  John 
George  Pyke,  Provincial  Grand  Master ;  Joseph  Peters,  Grand  Secretary  ;  and 
William  Hall,  Deputy  Grand  Secretary.  By  this  warrant  the  officers  of  the 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  "  together  with  their  lawful  assistants,  that  is  to  say, 
the  regular  Masters,  Wardens,  and  Past  Masters  only,"  were  "  authorized  and 
empowered  to  nominate,  choose,  and  install  their  successors,"  etc.,  "  upon  or 
near  every  St.  John  the  Evangelist's  Day,  forever "  (  ! )  ;  thus  making  it  a 
guasi'-Grand  Lodge,  by  authority  of  "  Grand  Master  Antrim  ;  Deputy  Grand 
Master  Laurence  Dermott ;  James  Read,  Senior  Grand  Warden  ;  Peter  Fehr, 
Junior  Grand  Warden  ;  Robert  Leslie,  Grand  Secretary." 

During  the  years  1 786-1 791,  His  Excellency  John  Parr,  Governor-in-Chief 
of  Nova  Scotia,  the  Islands  of  St.  John  (P.E.I.) ,  and  Cape  Breton,  Vice- 
Admiral,  etc.,  was  Provincial  Grand  Master.  In  the  former  year,  1 786,  New 
Brunswick  was  formed  into  a  separate  Colony. 

From  1 791  to  1800,  the  Hon.  Richard  Bulkeley  was  Provincial  Grand 
Master;  Duncan  Clark,  Provincial  Grand  Master,  1 800-1 80 1  ;  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  the  Hon.  John  Wentworth,  LL.D.,  Provincial  Grand  Master, 
1801-1810;  and  John  George  Pyke,  1810-1820.  At  the  close  of  the  pre- 
ceding thirty-six  (i 784-1820),  years  of  all  but  uninterrupted  harmony  and 
prosperity,  there  were  thirty-one  lodges  on  the  Provincial  Registry.  A  serious 
interruption  of  harmony  occurred  in  1820-1821,  regarding  the  "election"  of 
a  successor  to  Provincial  Grand  Master  Right  Worshipful  Brother  Pyke, 
which  was  much  intensified  during  the  year  1825-1826,  by  the  application 
for  a  warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  by  certain  brethren  in  Halifax. 
The  latter  caused  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  to  "resolve"  that  by  its 
warrant,  etc.,  "  It  possessed  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  to  grant  warrants," 
etc.,  in  Nova  Scotia  ! 

Provincial  Grand  Master  Pyke  "continued"  in  office  one  year  (1820- 
1 821)  ;  and,  during  the  years  1 821-1829,  John  Albro  was  "elected"  Provincial 
Grand  Master. 

As  a  result  of  representations,  etc.,  to  England,  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  Grand 
Master  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Freemasons  of  England,  on 
April  2, 1829,  "  appointed  "  John  Albro  Provincial  Grand  Master  for  Nova  Scotia. 
At  this  period  there  appeared  to  be  but  sixteen  lodges  on  the  Registry. 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


483 


Through  varjdng  fortunes  this  noted  Provincial,  or  District  Grand  Lodge 
continued  its  work  and  governance  till  its  auspicious  "union"  (twenty-five 
lodges  being  on  its  Registry),  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  1869, 
after  an  honored  and  beneficent  existence  of  eighty-five  years  (1784-1S69). 

New  Brunswick.  —  On  the  loth  day  of  October,  1867,  the  Most  Wor- 
shipful Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  (the 
Province  of)  New  Brunswick  was  organized  at  the  city  of  St.  John,  by 
the  representatives  of  the  fourteen  following  lodges  :  Albion,  No.  400,  R.  E. ; 
St.  John's,  436,  R.E.;  Carleton  Union,  424,  R.  E. ;  Midian,  527,  R.E. ;  Union 
of  Portland,  535,  R.  E. ;  Woodstock,  553,  R.  E. ;  Alley,  664,  R.  E. ;  North- 
umberland, 701,  R.  E. ;  Miramichi,  775,  R.  E. ;  New  Brunswick,  1084,  R.  E. ; 
Hibernia,  301,  R.  L  ;  Sussex,  327,  R.  I. ;  Leinster,  347,  R.  L ;  and  St. 
Andrew's,  376,  R.  S. ;  and  being  a  majority  of  the  twenty-six  lodges  then 
existing  in  the  Province. 

There  were  nineteen  lodges  represented  at  the  convention,  but  the  dele- 
gates from  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  364,  R.  S.,  being  in  favor  of  postponing 
action,  "asked  and  obtained  permission  to  retire  from  the  convention  "  ;  and 
the  delegates  from  Howard  Lodge,  668,  R.  E.,  and  from  Zedand  Lodge, 
Z^(i,  R.  E.,  stated  that  although  "  personally  in  favor  of  '  the  resolution '  for 
the  immediate  organization  of  a  Grand  Lodge  for  New  Brunswick,  they  had 
no  authority  to  record  a  vote  for  their  respective  lodges."  The  representa- 
tives of  Solomon's  Lodge,  522,  R.  E.,  and  of  St.  George  Lodge,  629,  R.  E., 
who  favored  memorializing  the  parent  Grand  Lodges  in  re,  were  not  present 
when  the  vote  was  taken  by  the  preceding  fourteen  lodges. 

"  The  Constitutions  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England "  were,  mutatis 
mutandis,  adopted/;-^  tempore. 

Robert  T.  Clinch,  District  Grand  ]\Laster,  R.  E.,  was  unanimously  elected 
Grand  Master. 

To  a  delegation  from  Grand  Lodge,  proffering  him  the  Grand  Mastership, 
Brother  Clinch  replied  that  he  could  not  consistently  accept  the  distinguished 
position,  as  he  had  not  resigned  the  office  of  District  Grand  Master,  R.  E. ; 
and  moreover  that  he  had  no  desire  to  fill  any  office,  although  he  fully 
appreciated  the  compliment  paid  him.  Brother  Clinch  and  Past  Provincial 
Grand  ALister,  R.  E.,  Alexander  Balloch,  were  afterward  elected  Honorary 
Past  Grand  Masters. 

On  report  to  Grand  Lodge  of  Brother  Clinch's  declination,  the  following 
Grand  Officers  "were  duly  nominated  and  unanimously  elected  by  acclama- 
tion "  :  B.  Lester  Peters,  Grand  Master ;  William  Wedderburn,  Deputy  Grand 
Master ;  Lion.  William  Flewelling,  Senior  Grand  Warden ;  David  Brown, 
Junior  Grand  Warden ;  Rev.  William  Donald,  D.D.,  Grand  Chaplain ;  and 
William  PL  A.  Keans,  Grand  Treasurer. 

On  January  22,  1S68,  the  Grand  Master-elect  was  duly  installed  "in  the 
presence  of  a  large  and  influential  gathering  of  the  Craft,"  of  the  Registries  of 


484  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  "  from  all  parts  of  the  Province,"  by  Wor- 
shipful Brother  John  Willis,  Past  Master  of  Hibernia  Lodge,  and  the  Senior 
Past  Master  of  the  jurisdiction.  The  Grand  Lodge  was  thereupon  "  conse- 
crated and  dedicated." 

A  resolution  was  adopted  proffering  equal  privileges  to  all  outstanding 
lodges  in  the  Province,  which  should  adhere  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
Brunswick,  on  or  before  the  31st  day  of  March  following ;  and  that  any  lodge 
not  of  allegiance  to  Grand  Lodge,  on  or  before  the  31st  of  May  succeeding, 
should  be  dealt  with  by  the  Grand  Master  as  he  may  in  his  wisdom  and 
discretion  determine,  until  the  next  communication  of  Grand  Lodge. 

A  resolution  was  passed  favoring  the  early  erection  of  a  Masonic  Temple  in 
the  city  of  St.  John.     A  constitution  was  also  adopted. 

•  During  the  year  186 7-1 868,  ten  lodges,  R.  E.,  became  of  allegiance  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  Brunswick,  making  a  total  of  twenty-four  lodges  on 
the  Registry  September  23,  1868. 

St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  364,  R.  S.,  Fredericton,  became  of  obedience  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  September  20, 1872,  as  No.  29,  Registry  of  New  Brunswick.  This 
rendered  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  complete  within  the  Province. 

New  Brunswick  is  divided  into  five  districts,  in  charge  of  District  Deputy 
Grand  Masters.     Something  has  been  done  towards  a  Grand  Lodge  library. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Brunswick  interchanges  Grand  Representatives 
with  nearly  all  the  regular  Grand  Lodges  throughout  the  world. 

In  1889  the  number  of  lodges  on  its  Registry  was  thirty-two,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  1833  (188 7-1 889). 

In  1 888-1 889  the  income  of  Grand  Lodges  from  all  sources,  including 
special  subscriptions,  was  S2333.64.  Outlays,  $1968.17.  Cash  on  deposit  to 
credit  of  Grand  Lodge,  $1563.76. 

Reminiscences,  1786-1890.  —  In  the  year  1786  the  Province  of  New 
Brunswick  was  formed  out  of  that  portion  of  Nova  Scotia  (Acadia)  west  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

The  (now)  city  of  St.  John  was  then  named  Parr  Town,  after  "  His  Excel- 
lency John  Parr,  Captain-General  and  Governor-in-Chief,  in  and  over  His 
Majesty's  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  Islands  of  St.  John  (P.E.I.)  and  Cape 
Breton  and  their  Dependencies ;  Vice-Admiral  of  the  same,"  etc.,  and  who 
had  been  "  elected  "  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Ancient  Masons  of  Nova 
Scotia,  at  Halifax,  1786-1791. 

On  March  6,  1 784,  application  was  made  to  John  George  Pyke,  Provincial 
Grand  Master-elect,  at  Halifax,  by  Elias  Hardy,  Master  of  I-odge  169,  for  a 
dispensation  to  establish  a  lodge  of  Ancient  Ygrk  Masons  at  Parr  Town  ;  and 
that  the  Rev.  John  Beardsley,  late  Junior  Grand  Warden  to  the  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  be  nominated  Master;  Captain  Oliver  Bourdell, 
Senior  Warden  ;  and  John  Grinley,  Junior  Warden. 

In  1784  Hiram  Lodge,  Parr  Town,  was  "warranted  by  dispensation  "  from 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


485 


lodges  Nos.  155  and  211,  at  Halifax.  In  1795  this  lodge  "rebelled"  against 
the  authority  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  at  Halifax,  by  which  it  had  been 
warranted  as  No.  17.  On  September  7,  1796,  its  warrant  was  withdrawn  by 
the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  and  all  its  members,  twenty-two  in  number,  were 
"  expelled  for  apostacy,"  etc. 

On  August  7,  1789,  an  authorization  was  given  by  '*J.  Parr,  Grand  Master," 
and  "signed"  by  "J.Peters,  Grand  Secretary,"  at  Halifax,  to  Rev.  John 
Beardsley,  as  Deputy  Grand  Master  and  others,  to  "  open  and  hold  a  Grand 
Lodge,  within  twenty-one  days  "  from  the  receipt  of  the  said  authorization, 
"  between  the  hours  of  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening ;  and  to  continue  open  during  the  space  of  three  hours  and  no  longer, 
and  solemnly  constitute  and  install  Samuel  Ryerse,  Master;  Abraham  de 
Peyster,  Senior  Warden ;  and  Caleb  Mallery,  Junior  Warden,  of  St.  George's 
Lodge,  No.  19  j  at  the  house  of  Brother  Nathaniel  Underbill,  in  the  township 
of  Maugerville,  in  the  County  of  Sunbury,  New  Brunswick." 

On  August  22,  1792,  a  warrant  was  granted  by  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
at  Halifax,  to  Ephraim  Betts  and  others,  at  St.  Ann's  (now  Fredericton,  the 
capital  of  New  Brunswick),  for  Solomon's  Lodge,  No.  22  ;  and  now  No.  6, 
Registry  of  New  Brunswick.  In  1 783  correspondence  had  passed  between  a 
Brother  Jared  Betts,  of  that  town,  and  "  J.  Peters,  Secretary,  Master's  Lodge, 
(211),  Halifax."  Brother  Betts  said  he  had  been  Master  of  "Lodge  No.  535  "  \ 
and  that  he  had  the  old  warrant  thereof,  "  granted  by  Dermott,  Grand  Master 
oi Ireland''  (  !  )  ;  and  also  that  he  had  been  "installed  in  Lodge  No.  512,  in 
South  Carolina,  held  in  His  Majesty's  63d  Regiment  of  Foot." 

In  1792  Brother  Joseph  Peters,  who  had  been  Postmaster-General  of 
Nova  Scotia,  at  Halifax,  removed  to  St.  John,  to  organize  the  postal  depart- 
ment of  New  Brunswick.  Brother  Peters,  as  Secretary  of  Lodge  No.  211, 
Halifax,  among  others,  signed  a  memorial  to  the  Atholl  Grand  Lodge,  Eng- 
land, praying  for  a  warrant  to  constitute  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  for  Nova 
Scotia,  on  November  22,  1781;  and  again,  on  November  27,  1792.  This 
warrant  was  granted  of  date,  June  2,  1784  (see  Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia). 
Brother  Peters  was  Provincial  Grand  Secretary,  1 786-1 792. 

On  June  7,  1826,  J.  Albro,  Provincial  Grand  Master;  Halifax,  appointed 
Benjamin  L.  Peters,  Deputy  Grand  Master  for  the  city  of  St.  John  and  the 
town  of  St.  Andrew's,  New  Brunswick. 

On  November  29,  1826,  certain  "  resolves  "  of  "  censure  and  threatenings  " 
were  passed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Hahfax,  against  some  brethren  in 
Halifax,  who  had  applied  for  a  warrant  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland ;  but 
it  was  further  "  resolved "  that  the  aforesaid  "  censures,"  etc.,  should  not 
apply  to  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter  at  St.  John,  in  New  Brunswick,  under  war- 
rant from  Scotland,  provided  its  members,  jointly  and  severally,  pay  due 
obedience  to  the  Grand  Lodge  (at  Halifax),  and  comply  with  the  rules  and 
regulations  at  present  in  force  under  it,  or  which  it  may  at  any  time  enact  ! 


486 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


On  March  lo,  1S29,  a  warrant,  No.  52,  was  made  out  by  the  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  at  Hahfax,  for  Albion  Lodge,  No.  841,  R.  E.,  St.  John,  New 
Brunswick :  Thomas  Leavitt,  Worshipful  Master ;  WiUiam  Durant,  Senior 
Warden ;  and  Robert  Ray,  Junior  Warden.  This  lodge,  formerly,  also,  No. 
400,  R.  E.,  is  now  No.  i,  Registry  of  New  Brunswick. 

There  is  much  concerning  other  early  and  later  lodges  in  New  Brunswick, 
of  very  great  local  and  general  interest  and  importance  to  the  Craft. 

Prince  Edward  Island.  —  On  the  23d  day  of  June,  1875,  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Prince  Edward  Island,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was 
organized  by  the  following  eight  lodges,  being  all  then  working  in  the  Prov- 
ince :  St.  John's,  King  Hiram,  St.  George,  Alexandra,  Mount  Lebanon,  and 
True  Brothers,  all  of  the  Registry  of  England ;  and  Victoria,  Registry  of 
Scotland. 

The  constitution  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Brunswick  was  adopted 
mutatis  mutandis.  The  Honorable  John  Yeo  was  '^lected  Grand  Master, 
and  Brother  B.  Wilson  Higgs,  Grand  Secretary.  The  Grand  officers  were 
installed  on  the  following  day,  June  24th,  by  Most  Worshipful  Brother  John 
V.  Ellis,  Grand  Master  of  New  Brunswick. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Prince  Edward  Island  is  in  fraternal  correspondence 
with  all  the  Grand  Lodges  in  Canada,  the  United  States,  and  with  some  others 
abroad. 

In  1 88 2  a  new  constitution  was  adopted.  In  1889  there  were  twelve 
lodges  on  its  Registry,  with  a  membership  of  about  five  hundred.  During 
1888  the  income  from  all  sources  was  $294.70.  The  balance  in  the  treasury 
was  $218.47.  The  fee  for  initiation  in  Charlottetown,  the  capital  of  the  Prov- 
ince, is  $20  ;  in  country  lodges,  $16. 

In  1 889-1 890  a  beginning  had  been  made  towards  the  erection  of  a 
Masonic  Temple  in  the  city  of  Charlotteto^vn. 

Manitoba.  —  On  May  12,  1875,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Manitoba,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  formed  at  Fort  Garry,  now  the  city  of  ^Vin- 
nipeg,  by  the  three  following  lodges  :  Prince  Rupert,  Lisgar,  and  Ancient 
Landmark,  all  of  the  Registry  of  Canada. 

The  Rev.  W.  C.  Clarke,  who  had  held  the  offices  of  Grand  Chaplain,  and 
Vice-President  of  the  Board  of  General  Purposes,  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Quebec,  was  elected  Grand  Master,  and  John  H.  Bell,  Grand  Secretary. 

Manitoba  has  nine  District  Deputy  Grand  Masters.  In  1889  there  were 
forty  lodges  on  the  Registry,  —  a  thirteen-fold  increase  in  thirteen  years,  — 
with  a  present  membership  of  about  seventeen  hundred.  In  the  same  year 
there  was  a  cash  balance  in  the  treasury  of  $334.70.  Ten  per  cent  of  the 
total  receipts  of  the  Grand  Lodge  are  set  aside  for  a  general  Benevolent  Fund. 
The  minimum  fee  for  initiation,  passing,  and  raising,  is  $25.  The  annual  lodge 
dues  are  $3.  The  library  contains  about  one  thousand  volumes.  Two  lodges 
own  the  halls  in  which  they  meet. 


BRITISH  AMERICA. 


4S7 


The  Grand  Lodge  of  Manitoba  is  in  fraternal  correspondence  with  nearly 
all  the  regular  Grand  Lodges  throughout  the  world.  It  was  incorporated,  in 
1884,  by  the  legislature  of  the  Province.  Private  lodges  may  become  incor- 
porated by  filing  the  necessary  papers  with  the  Provincial  Secretary. 

In  1878a  schism  occurred  over  the  question  of  "  ritual,"  and  a  rival  Grand 
body  was  formed.     Peace  was  happily  restored,  1879,  on  the  following  basis  :  — 

"  That  each  lodge  in  the  jurisdiction,  or  that  may  hereafter  be  formed  under  the  Grand  Lodge, 
be  accorded  the  pr-vilege  of  adopting  the  '  Ancient  York  work,'  or  the  '  Canada  work,'  as  they  may 
deem  most  suitable." 

In  1874,  one  year  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mani- 
toba, a  dispensation  was  granted  for  a  lodge  at  Fort  Garry,  by  the  Grand 
Master  of  Minnesota.  It  continued  U.  D.  for  about  three  years,  when  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota  cancelled  the  dispensation. 

Lodge  No.  18,  named  "  Al  Moghreb  Al  Aksa"  (signifying  "  The  Far  West "), 
was  opened  at  Gibraltar,  with  the  intention,  after  a  time,  of  removing  it  to 
Morocco ;  but  chiefly  on  account  of  the  protests  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  it  was  shortly  transferred  to  the  city  of  Tan- 
gier, Morocco.  Its  "  work "  is  done  in  the  English,  French,  Spanish,  and 
Arabic  languages.  Its  membership  is  upwards  of  fifty,  and  it  is  composed  of 
English,  French,  Austrians,  Belgians,  Spaniards,  Turks,  Portuguese,  and  Brazil- 
ians.    They  are  Christians,  Jews,  and  Mohammedans. 

This  lodge  was  established  by  the  efforts  of  Brother  Rev.  R.  S.  Patterson, 
Chaplain  to  Her  Majesty's  Forces  at  Gibraltar,  but  formerly  a  resident  of  the 
city  of  Winnipeg,  having  been  the  first  Worshipful  Master  of  Prince  Rupert's 
Lodge,  No.  I,  M.  R.,  and  District  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Canada,  for  Mani- 
toba. It  appears  that  the  way  is  being  paved  for  an  independent  Grand 
Lodge  for  Morocco. 

Peguonga  Lodge,  No.  22,  had  been  established  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Manitoba,  in  the  district  of  Kuwatin,  but  a  large  portion  of  that  territory 
having  been  adjudged  by  the  Privy  Council,  England,  to  belong  to  the 
Province  of  Ontario,  Lodge  No.  22,  M.  R.,  on  the  suggestion  of  the  Grand 
Master  of  Manitoba,  transferred  its  allegiance,  1887,  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Canada  in  Ontario. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Manitoba  continues  to  prosper,  and  gives  promise  of 
becoming  the  "  mother  "  of  two  or  more  new  Grand  Lodges  in  the  western 
and  north-western  territories  of  Canada. 

British  Columbia.  —  On  the  21st  day  of  October,  1871,  the  "  Grand  Lodge 
of  Ancient,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of"  (the  Province  of)  "British 
Columbia  "  was  organized  by  the  representatives  of  the  eight  following  lodges  : 
Victoria,  Nanaimo,  and  British  Columbia,  of  the  Registry  of  the  United  Grand 
Lodge  of  England  ;  and  Vancouver,  Caribou,  Caledonia,  Mount  Hermon,  and 
Quadra,  of  the  Registry  of  Scotland.  The  District  Grand  Master  of  England 
and   the    Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Scotland  happily  cooperated   in   the 


488 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


formation  of  an  independent  Grand  Lodge.  The  Grand  officers  were  installed 
by  R.-.W.-. Robert  Burnaby,  District  Grand  Master,  R.  E.  The  first  Grand 
Master  was  Israel  Wood  Powell. 

In  1872  Union  Lodge,  R.  E.,  the  only  one  in  the  Province  which  was  not 
represented  at  the  convention  which  formed  the  Grand  Lodge,  became  of 
obedience  thereto. 

In  1 8  74- 1 8  75  Caledonia  and  Nanaimo  Lodges  amalgamated  as  Ashlar 
Lod'^'e  •  in  1878  British  Columbia  and  Victoria  Lodges  united  as  Victoria- 
Columbia  Lodge ;  in  1878  Quadra  and  Vancouver  Lodges  amalgamated  as 
Vancouver-Quadra  Lodge;  and,  in  1883,  Cascade  Lodge  having  been  burned 
out  at  Yale  surrendered  its  warrant,  and  its  name  was  adopted  by  a  new 
lodge  formed  at  Vancouver. 

The  first  lodge  established,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  in  the  "  Colony 
of  Vancouver  Island  and  British  Columbia"  was  Victoria,  783,  March  19, 
1859  ;  and  the  first  chartered  therein  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  was 
the  Vancouver  Lodge,  1862. 

In  1889  there  were  ten  warranted  lodges  in  the  Province,  with  a  member- 
ship of  587,  being  an  increase  of  91  during  the  preceding  year. 

The  Grand  Lodge  owns  twenty  shares  (^4000)  in  the  Masonic  Temple, 
city  of  Victoria,  and  has  about  $600  on  deposit  to  its  credit.  It  interchanges 
Grand  Representatives  with  most  sister  Grand  Lodges  at  home  and  abroad. 
The  future  holds  out  very  considerable  promise  for  the  Craft  in  this  "  Ultima 
Thule  "  of  the  New  World. 


DIVISION    X. 


OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


Outline  History  of  Freemasonry  in  Continental  Europe. 

By  Alfred  A.  Hall,  P.G.M., 
Of  the  M:AV:.  Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Grand  Lodges,  the  Grand  Orients,  etc. 

Introductory.  —  Dr.  Albert  G.  Mackey,  the  ripe  Masonic  scholar  and  emi- 
nent writer,  in  speaking  of  the  universality  of  Masonry,  has  well  said  :  — 

"  It  is  not  a  fountain  giving  health  and  beauty  to  some  single  hamlet,  and  slaking  the  thirst 
of  those  only  who  dwell  upon  its  humble  banks;  but  it  is  a  mighty  stream  penetrating  through 
every  hill  and  mountain  and  gliding  through  every  field  and  valley  of  the  earth,  bearing  on  its 
beneficent  bosom  the  abundant  waters  of  Love  and  Charity  for  the  poor,  the  widow,  and  the  orphan 
of  every  land." 

No  pleasanter  study  can  be  found  for  the  Masonic  student  than  the  birth, 
growth,  and  development  of  Freemasonry  in  the  various  countries  of  the  globe  ; 
for  truly,  the  verity  of  its  ritual  is  proved,  and  to-day  its  length  is  *'  from  the 
East  to  the  West,"  and  its  breadth  "  from  the  North  to  the  South." 

Masonry  in  Continental  Europe  may  well  be  divided  into  two  classes  :  that 
which  embraced  the  Masonic  Guilds,  the  Corporations  of  Builders,  the  travel- 
ling Freemasons,  and  other  similar  societies  prior  to  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  the  Institution  as  it  has  stood  since  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  upon  a  purely  Speculative  basis,  in  171 7;  from  this  Grand  Lodge 
may  be  traced,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  organized  lodges  and  Grand  Lodges 
throughout  all  Europe.  It  will  be  the  object  of  this  article  to  treat  of  Free- 
masonry in  Continental  Europe  as  a  Speculative  organization  merely,  not  for 
want  of  material  or  lack  of  interest  in  the  earlier  history,  but  because  of  the 
limited  space  at  my  command. 

489 


490 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


Austria.  —  Francis  I.  was  made  a  Mason  in  1 731,  while  Duke  of  Lorraine, 
and  his  patronage  and  protection  were  secured  for  the  Institution  in  Austria. 
The  first  lodge  was  established  at  Vienna,  in  1742,  under  authority  from  some 
of  the  Masonic  organizations  at  Berlin,  and  was  known  as  the  "  Three  Can- 
nons." After  a  itw  years  it  met  with  such  opposition  and  persecution,  through 
Papal  influences,  that  it  was  compelled  to  suspend  its  labors,  but,  later  on,  it 
resumed  work  and  was  prosperous. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Austria  was  formed  at  Vienna,  in  1784.  Under  the 
reign  of  Joseph  IL  Freemasonry  flourished,  but  by  an  imperial  injunction  the 
establishment  of  lodges  was  limited,  and  a  record  of  members,  times  and 
places  of  meetings,  and  the  names  of  Masters  was  required  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Ministerial  department.  His  successor,  Francis  IL,  influenced  by  the 
members  of  an  Anti- Masonic  society,  caused  all  the  lodges  to  be  abolished; 
and,  to  make  his  work  complete,  by  a  special  enactment  in  1801,  it  was  pro- 
vided that  every  civil  officer  should  bind  himself  not  to  belong  to,  and  not  to 
visit,  any  secret  society :  this  was  the  death-blow  to  Freemasonry  in  Austria. 

Belgium.  — In  1770  a  lodge  was  established  at  Mons,  under  the  name  of 
"  Perfect  Union."  It  received  its  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England, 
and  had  a  slow  and  steady  growth  during  the  first  few  years.  In  1785  there 
were  sixteen  lodges  in  the  kingdom  ;  but  it  was  compelled  to  pass  through 
perilous  times,  and  was  interdicted  during  the  French  Revolution.  Labor 
was  resumed  openly  in  1798,  under  the  protection  of  the  Grand  Orient  of 
France;  but  in  1814,  when  French  dominion  ceased,  the  lodges  declared 
themselves  independent. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Belgium  and  the  Netherlands  w^as  formed  in  181 7, 
but  in  1830  the  lodges  of  the  two  kingdoms  dissolved  by  mutual  consent. 

The  Grand  Orient  of  Belgium  was  formed  in  1832.  In  1845  the  members 
were  declared  to  be  excommunicated,  by  an  edict  of  the  Bishop  of  Luxemburg. 
This  did  not  have  the  desired  effect,  and  the  matter  was  carried  into  politics,  — 
the  Grand  Orient  becoming  an  important  factor,  attempting  to  justify  its 
un-Masonic  course  upon  the  ground  of  self-defence.  The  result  was  a  protest 
from  nearly  all  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Europe,  and  the  Grand  Orient  lost  recog- 
nition as  a  legitimate  Masonic  body.  Since  that  time  Masonry  has  been 
conducted  upon  different  principles,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  has  at  present 
sixteen  subordinate  lodges  under  its  jurisdiction. 

Bohemia.  —  Freemasonry  was  introduced  into  Bohemia  in  1 749,  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Scotland  having  granted  authority  to  establish  a  lodge  at  Prague.  It 
prospered  until  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution,  when  it  was  suppressed  by 
the  Austrian  Government ;  later,  it  was  reestablished,  but  it  has  no  INIasonic 
standing  at  the  present  time. 

Denmark.  —  In  1 743  Freemasonry  came  to  Denmark  from  Berlin,  and  in 
1745  Lord  Cranstoun,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  issued 
a  warrant  for  a  lodge  at  Copenhagen.    Others  followed,  and  Lord  Byron,  when 


OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


49  T 


Grand  Master,  established  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  and  appointed  Count 
Denneskiold  Laurwig  Provincial  Grand  Master  for  Denmark  and  Norway. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Denmark  came  into  existence  in  1792,  when  the 
Landgrave,  Charles  of  Hesse,  assumed  the  title  of  Grand  Master.  Through 
his  influence  it  received  recognition  from  King  Christian  VII.,  and  after  his 
death  his  successor.  King  Christian  VIII.,  assumed  the  Protectorship.  He 
was  a  zealous  Mason,  and  under  his  reign  the  Institution  was  highly  prosperous, 
and  has  so  continued.  The  Grand  Lodge  now  has  eighteen  subordinates,  and 
the  Crown  Prince  holds  the  position  of  Grand  Master, 

FRAIirCE.  — Various  Masonic  historians  place  the  date  of  the  introduction 
of  Freemasonry  into  France  from  1721  to  1732,  but  it  is  probable  that  a  lodge 
was  formed  at  Dunkirk  at  the  earliest  date.  Lord  Derwentwater  and  others 
founded  the  first  lodge  in  Paris,  in  1 732,  under  authority  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England,  and  it  was  named  St.  Thomas.  Other  lodges  were  formed  under 
the  same  authority,  but  Masonry  was  conducted  secretly  until  1736. 

Lord  Harnouster  was  chosen  Grand  Master  of  the  French  Masons  in  1736, 
but  no  name  appears  to  have  been  given  to  the  united  lodges.  In  1737 
Louis  XV.  issued  an  edict  prohibiting  his  loyal  subjects  from  holding  inter- 
course with  Freemasons.  Those  belonging  to  the  nobility  were  not  permitted 
to  appear  at  court,  but  meetings  were  held  and  the  membership  increased. 
From  various  causes  Freemasonry  degenerated  to  a  thing  of  form  and  show ; 
higher  degrees  were  added,  and  the  peculiar  system  was  known  as  "  French 
Freemasonry,"  notwithstanding  it  assumed  the  misnomer  of  Grand  Lodge 
Anglaise  de  France. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  France  was  the  outgrowth  of  this,  in  1755.  -^  ^^w 
Constitution  was  adopted,  which  partook  strongly  of  Scottish  Masonry,  and 
higher  degrees  were  conferred  in  the  lodges. 

The  Grand  Orient  of  France  was  the  name  finally  adopted  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  National,  that  had  been  formed  in  1773.  The  old  Grand  Lodge 
declared  this  unlawful,  and  a  bitter  quarrel  ensued.  The  order  of  Strict 
Observance  gained  a  foothold,  and  Freemasonry  was  again  fast  degenerating 
when,  as  Findel  says,  "The  French  Revolution  put  an  end  to  all  the  disputes, 
but  at  the  same  time  snapped  the  bands  of  the  Fraternity  in  twain." 

In  1795  Alexander  Louis  Roettiers  de  Monteleau  called  a  meeting  of 
influential  Masons  to  form  a  new  centre  of  Freemasonry.  Those  who  met 
were  made  members  of  the  Grand  Orient,  and  Roettiers  was  made  Grand 
Master.  He  succeeded  in  uniting  the  two  Grand  bodies,  and  the  Grand 
Orient  was  soon  in  a  flourishing  condition. 

The  Grande  Loge  Ge'nerale  Ecossaise  de  France  was  formed,  and  threat- 
ened another  disturbance,  but  a  treaty  of  union  was  made  in  1804.  In  1805 
Napoleon  consented  that  his  brother  Joseph  should  be  Grand  Master,  and  a 
brilliant  epoch  in  Freemasonry  followed.  In  1814  political  disturbance  caused 
an  interruption  in  Masonic  work ;  the  office  of  Grand  Master  was  abolished, 


.g2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

and  three  Grand  Conservators  were  chosen  to  discharge  the  duties.  On 
Napoleon's  return  from  Elba,  the  Grand  Master  was  reinstated,  only  to  be 
deposed  after  Waterloo.  A  war  of  rites  followed  between  the  Grand  Orient 
and  the  Supreme  Counseil.  Amusing  incidents  connected  with  this  difficulty 
are  found  in  the  feast  given  by  the  latter  body  in  honor  of  Lafayette,  Sov:.  Gr.\ 
Ins.-.  Gin:.,  October  lo,  1S30,  followed  by  a  similar  demonstration  on  the  part 
of  the  Grand  Orient,  October  i6th,  in  honor  of  King  Louis  Philippe  I.  In 
1852  Murat  was  made  Grand  Master  over  five  hundred  lodges,  but  his  admin- 
istration was  anything  but  successful,  and  from  various  causes,  at  the  close  of 
his  official  career,  there  were  only  two  hundred  and  sixty-nine.  Although  the 
history  of  Freemasonry  in  France  is  exceedingly  interesting,  she  has  utterly 
failed  to  maintain  the  influence  in  the  Masonic  world  to  which  her  importance 
as  a  nation  entitled  her.  The  principal  reason  has  been  an  ambition  to  "  add 
to  the  original  plan  of  Freemasonry."  The  Grand  Orient  of  France  is  gov- 
erned by  a  President  and  Grand  Council,  and  although  it  has  over  three 
hundred  subordinate  lodges,  is  not  recognized  by  the  leading  Grand  Lodges 
of  the  world. 

GERMANY.  —  Li  1733  Lord  Strathmore,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England,  granted  a  dispensation  to  eleven  German  Masons,  author- 
izing them  to  open  a  lodge  at  Hamburg,  but  whether  such  a  lodge  was  ever 
formed  is  not  known.  It  appears  to  have  been  revived  October  23,  1740,  and 
soon  afterward  assumed  the  title  of  "Absalom."  On  the  nth  day  of  August, 
1738,  the  Crown  Prince,  afterward  Frederick  the  Great,  was  initiated  at 
Brunswick,  and  soon  after,  ascending  the  throne  of  Prussia,  became  the 
founder  of  lodges  and  an  active  Masonic  worker.  This  naturally  attracted 
the  German  nobility,  and  Freemasonry  became  exceedingly  popular.  On  the 
13th  of  September,  1740,  he  organized  a  new  lodge  at  Berlin  called  "The 
Three  Globes." 

The  Grand  National  Mother  Lodge  of  the  Three  Glohes  in  Berlin 
{^Grosse  National  Mutterloge  " zu  den  drei  Weltkiigeln  "),  was  the  outgrowth 
of  the  Grand  Mother  Lodge,  which  title  was  assumed  by  the  "Three  Globes" 
in  1 744,  when  the  king  became  Grand  Master.  Although  Freemasonry  gained 
a  strong  hold  in  Germany  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  it 
lost  much  of  its  vantage  in  the  decades  following.  Coming,  as  it  did,  from 
Protestant  England,  the  Church  was  suspicious  of  it,  and  the  Officers  of  State 
became  enlisted  against  it.  As  a  natural  result,  it  became  somewhat  demoral- 
ized, spurious  degrees  were  adopted,  and  an  Order  known  as  the  Strict 
Observance,  claiming  succession  from  the  Templars,  supplanted  Freemasonry. 
Members  of  the  Order  associated  themselves  with  the  Illuminati,  and  its 
groVvth  was  arrested  and  its  influence  clouded  ;  it  rallied,  however,  and  none 
of  the  Grand  Lodges  has  been  more  prosperous  than  the  Mother  Lodge, 
which  now  has  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  subordinates,  and  is  the  first 
body  in  the  German  Grand  Lodge  Union. 


OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


493 


The  National  Grand  Lodge  of  Germany  {Grosse  Landeloge  der  Frei- 
mmirer  von  Deutschlatuf).  —  In  1770  twelve  lodges  at  Berlin  had  adopted 
the  Swedish  ritual ;  for  the  purpose  of  having  an  acknowledged  head,  they 
united  June  24th  of  that  year,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  all 
the  Freemasons  of  Germany,"  and  adopted  regulations,  as  Nettlebladt  says, 
"  According  to  the  principles  of  Freemasons  in  general,  and  after  the  pattern 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,"  This,  however,  may  be  doubted,  but  it 
has  grown  and  occupied  an  important  position  in  the  Masonic  galaxy  of 
Germany  ever  since.  It  became  a  member  of  the  Eclectic  Union  formed  in 
1783,  and  is  now  the  second  body  in  the  Grand  Lodge  Union,  having  ninety- 
three  subordinates  and  three  Provincial  Grand  Masters. 

The  Grand  Lodge  York  of  Friendship  ( Grosse  Loge  v.  Pmssengen  ''Royal 
York  zur  Freicndschaft'') .  —  The  Lodge  Royal  York  of  Friendship  was  origi- 
nally known  as  Lodge  de  I'Atnite,  but,  in  1765,  changed  its  name  in  honor  of 
the  Duke  of  York.  It  was  connected  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Germany  for 
a  time.  In  1783  the  celebrated  German  Mason,  Ignatius  Aurelius  Fessler, 
was  made  a  member  of  the  lodge,  and  through  his  labors  many  lodges  were 
founded.  In  1788  it  separated  itself  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Germany  and. 
resumed  work  under  its  old  French  ritual,  styling  itself  the  Mother  Lodge, 
and  on  the  nth  day  of  June,  1798,  the  Grand  Lodge  bearing  its  present 
name  was  formed,  with  Fessler  as  Deputy  Grand  Master.  At  the  formation 
of  the  Eclectic  Union  of  the  Prussian  Grand  Lodges,  the  Royal  York  became 
a  member,  and  it  now  ranks  as  third  in  the  Grand  Lodge  Union,  having  sixty- 
five  subordinates  and  one  Provincial  Grand  Master. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Hamburg  {Grosse  Loge  von  Hamburg),  was  founded 
in  1 740,  as  a  Provincial  Grand  body  to  England,  but  lost  its  position.  After 
the  dissolution  of  the  Strict  Observance,  the  former  alliance  between  the 
lodges  of  Hamburg  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  was  renewed  under 
the  leadership  of  Schroder,  a  co-worker  of  Fessler's,  and  he  was  made  Deputy 
of  the  Provincial  Grand  Master.  The  "  Old  Charges "  were  adopted,  and 
Freemasonry  was  brought  back  to  its  original  purity ;  the  result  was  a  marked 
increase  of  lodges,  and  in  181 1  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  declared  itself 
separate  and  independent  and  has  since  maintained  its  sovereignty.  Schroder 
was  rewarded  for  his  labors  by  being  made  chairman,  on  the  death  of  his 
worthy  chief.  Dr.  Beckmann,  who  was  first  Grand  Master.  It  was  the  first 
Grand  Lodge  of  Germany  to  join  the  Prussian  lodges  in  the  Grand  Lodge 
Union,  and  ranks  as  fourth,  with  thirty-one  subordinates. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Sun  {zur  Sonne)  at  Bayreuth. — The  lodge 
zur  Sonne,  formed  under  the  Strict  Observance,  joined  the  Grand  Lodge 
"Royal  York  "  in  1800,  and  was  made  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge.  It  adopted 
Fessler's  Rite  and  his  design  of  a  Constitution.  In  181 1  it  became  inde- 
pendent, and  occupies  the  fifth  position  in  the  Grand  Lodge  Union,  with 
twenty-five  subordinates. 


494 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR V. 


The  Grand  Lodge  of  Saxony  at  Dresden.  —  In  1805,  at  the  call  of 
Brother  von  Band,  an  eminent  attorney,  a  convention  of  Saxon  lodges  that 
had  been  previously  formed  was  called  ;  but  little  seems  to  have  been  accom- 
plished towards  establishing  a  union,  until  iSii,  when  a  general  meeting  was 
held  at  Dresden,  represented  by  twelve  lodges.  This  resulted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Grand  Lodge,  which  was  soon  joined  by  nearly  all  the  Saxon  lodges  ; 
great  liberty  of  ceremony  and  instruction  was  given,  and  the  Grand  Lodge 
became  popular  and  prosperous.  It  is  the  sixth  body  in  the  Grand  Lodge 
Union,  and  has  twenty  subordinates. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Eclectic  Union,  Frankfort-on-Main  {Grosse 
Mutterloge  des  Ekkktischcn  Freimaurer-Bundes).  —  In  18 14  the  Lodge  s«r 
atifgehenden  Morgenrothe  was  compelled  from  political  reasons  to  separate 
itself  from  the  Grand  Orient  of  France.  Soon  afterward  it  received  a  war- 
rant from  the  Landgrave,  Charles  of  Hesse,  but  as  it  contained  a  requirement 
that  the  Chairman  should  be  a  Christian,  a  division  resulted,  and  a  new  lodge 
was  formed  composed  of  Christian  members,  under  the  name  of  Carl  zuni 
aufgehenden  Lichte.  The  old  lodge  met  with  considerable  opposition,  but 
finally  received  a  Constitution  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  Free- 
masonry was  in  an  unsettled  state  for  many  years,  until  in  1823  the  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  of  Frankfort  declared  its  independence.  While  the  Grand 
Lodge  claims  to  have  been  founded  in  1 783,  the  date  of  its  earliest  chartered 
lodge,  in  fact,  its  Grand  Lodge,  did  not  become  independent  until  1823. 
Since  the  latter  date  it  has  been  fairly  prosperous.  It  is  the  seventh  member 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  Union,  and  has  fourteen  lodges. 

The  Grand  Lodge  zur  Eintracht  at  Darmstadt.  —  The  Lodge  Carl  having 
expressed  its  decided  disapproval  of  the  statutes  of  the  Eclectic  Fraternity, 
the  latter,  in  1 844,  cut  her  oif  from  membership  by  an  arbitrary  resolution,  and 
while  the  Lodge  Carl  may  have  been  in  the  wrong,  it  received  the  sympathy 
of  many  on  account  of  the  severity  of  the  punishment.  Soon  after  the  lodges 
at  Darmstadt  and  Mainz  voluntarily  left  the  "  Fraternity,"  and,  with  the 
approval  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  joined  the  Lodge  Carl  in  a  movement 
for  a  union  of  the  Freemasons  in  Southern  Germany. 

In  March,  1846,  the  Grand  Duke  approved  the  constitution,  accepted  the 
patronage,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  was  formed.  The  Grand  Duke  is  styled 
the  Protector,  and  it  now  has  eight  subordinates,  and  ranks  as  the  eighth  body 
in  the  Grand  Lodge  Union. 

Free  Union  of  the  Five  Independent  Lodges  in  Germany.  —  As  the  name 
indicates,  five  of  the  German  lodges  having  maintained  their  independence 
from  other  Grand  bodies,  associated  themselves  in  a  Free  Union  for  mutual 
benefit,  and  have  a  President,  who  is  their  executive  head.  This  organization 
is  of  sufficient  importance  to  occupy  a  position  in  the  Grand  Lodge  Union, 
and  while  it  ranks  as  ninth  and  last,  has  many  prominent  and  influential 
members. 


OTHER    COUNTRIES.  ^gj. 

The  Protectorship  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm.  —  At  a  conference  of  the  Grand 
Masters'  Union,  May  i8,  1S40,  it  was  stated  that  Prince  WiUiam  of  Prussia 
was  inclined  to  join  the  Fraternity.  The  matter  was  submitted  to  his  royal 
father,  Frederick  William  III.,  who  consented,  upon  condition  that  he  should 
not  belong  to  any  one  lodge,  but  to  all  the  lodges  in  the  Prussian  States,  and 
that  he  should  assume  Protectorship  over  them.  On  May  22,  1840,  the 
Grand  Masters'  Union  was  specially  convened,  and,  in  the  most  solemn  and 
impressive  manner,  the  Crown  Prince  was  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of 
Freemasonry,  in  the  presence  of  the  Grand  Officers  and  the  Chairmen  of  the 
fifteen  Berlin  lodges. 

In  recent  years  Freemasonry  has  been  in  a  flourishing  condition  in 
Germany,  and  occupies  a  high  moral,  social  and  philanthropic  position.  In 
addition  to  its  lodges,  nearly  every  important  city  has  a  Masonic  club  or 
charitable  society,  and  its  influence  is  felt  in  every  quarter  of  the  Empire. 

Greece.  —  Prior  to  1867,  the  Grand  Orient  of  Italy  had  established  eight 
lodges  in  Greece,  and  a  Constitutional  assembly  met  in  May  of  that  year.  A 
Deputy  Grand  Master  was  appointed  by  the  Grand  Orient  of  Italy,  and  it 
remained  as  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  until  May  22,  1876,  when  it  became 
independent,  and  is  known  as  the  Grand  Orient  of  Greece,  being  governed 
by  a  President  and  Council. 

Holland.  —  By  virtue  of  a  special  dispensation  of  Lord  Lovel,  Grand 
Master  of  England,  the  Earl  of  Chesterfield  called  an  emergent  lodge  at 
Hague,  in  1731,  for  the  purpose  of  conferring  the  first  two  degrees  upon  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine,  afterward  Emperor  Francis  I.,  who  subsequently  received 
the  Third  degree  in  England.  A  permanent  lodge  was  established  in  1735, 
and  a  Grand  Lodge  in  1756.  When  Holland  came  under  French  rule,  the 
Grand  Orient  of  France  sought  to  establish  itself  in  that  Province.  It  is  now 
known  as  the  Grand  Orient  of  the  Netherlands,  with  headquarters  at  Hague. 
The  higher  degrees  are  conferred  in  the  lodges  without  protest,  and  Masonry 
seems  to  be  flourishing  with  upwards  of  ninety  lodges  under  its  obedience. 

Hungary.  —  In  1760  a  lodge  was  instituted  at  Presburg.  In  1783  there 
were  several  lodges,  but  it  was  not  until  1870  that  a  Grand  Lodge  was  formed. 
In  1886  its  name  was  changed  to  the  Grand  Orient  of  Hungary,  and  it  now 
has  thirty-nine  subordinate  lodges. 

Italy.  —  Freemasonry  was  carried  to  Italy  by  Lord  Charles  Sackville, 
in  1733.  It  was  known  as  the  "Company  of  the  Trowel."  In  1735  ^^'^^ 
Grand  Duke  Francis  was  initiated,  and  following  that  date  the  Institution 
flourished,  but,  later  on,  received  a  set-back  through  Papal  opposition.  Under 
French  rule  it  received  a  new  impetus,  and  a  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in 
1809.  After  Napoleon's  downfall  persecutions  were  renewed.  The  secret 
society  of  Carbonari,  a  political  organization,  had  a  serious  effect  upon 
Freemasonry,  and  from  18 14  until  i860  it  was  almost  extinct.  In  1861 
Garibaldi  formed  a  Grand  Orient  at  Palermo,  which  was  reconstructed  in 


496 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


1872,  It  has  several  Honorary  Grand  Masters,  a  large  Executive  Council, 
and  numerous  lodges. 

Luxemburg. — The  Supreme  Ruling  Council  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Luxemburg  was  formed  in  1849;  and,  while  it  has  only  one  active  lodge,  has 
the  honor  of  being  presided  over  by  a  Grand  Master,  assisted  by  a  Deputy. 

Poland.  —  In  1 736  Freemasonry  was  introduced  into  Poland,  but  was  soon 
suppressed  through  the  influence  of  the  Church.  From  1742  to  1780,  the 
Institution  grew  rapidly,  and  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  was  established.  In 
1807  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  issued  warrants  to  a  number  of  lodges ;  and 
the  Grand  Orient  of  Poland  was  formed  and  continued  until  1823,  when  the 
Emperor  Alexander  prohibited  all  secret  societies  and  the  lodges  were  closed. 
A  few  lodges  have  sprung  up  from  time  to  time  since,  but  have  been  short- 
lived, and  Freemasonry  has  no  standing  in  Poland. 

Portugal.  —  Freemasonry  reached  Portugal  in  1735.  The  first  lodge  was 
naturally  established  at  Lisbon,  and  under  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England.  An  attempt  was  made  by  John  Coustos  to  form  a  lodge  in  1 743, 
but  the  organization  was  arrested  by  the  Inquisition  and  suppressed.  The 
Rites  continued  to  be  practised,  but  the  Institution  met  with  great  opposition 
from  Church  and  State,  during  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1805  Freemasonry 
had  gained  sufficient  strength  to  organize  a  Grand  Lodge.  In  1818  John  VI., 
although  in  exile,  issued  an  edict  against  Masons,  commanding  that  they  be 
arrested,  put  to  death,  and  their  property  confiscated.  This  edict  was  not 
obeyed,  but,  in  1823,  after  his  restoration,  he  issued  another  decree  and  Free- 
masonry was  only  practised  secretly.  In  1834  it  was  revived,  but  remained 
in  an  unsettled  state  until  1869,  when,  by  a  solemn  compact  of  union,  the 
Grand  United  Lusitanian  Orient  was  formed  and  has  since  continued. 

Eoumania  and  Bulgaria.  —  The  Grand  National  Lodge  of  Roumania 
was  formed  September  8,  1880;  it  embraces  higher  degrees,  and  is  similar 
to  the  Grand  Orients. 

Russia.  —  In  1771  a  warrant  was  issued  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
to  form  a  lodge  at  St.  Petersburg.  Freemasonry  flourished,  and  was  patron- 
ized by  the  nobility,  the  Emperor  Peter  III.  acting  as  Master.  In  1783  a 
National  Grand  Lodge  was  organized.  Subsequently,  influenced  by  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  Church  and  State,  open  meetings  were  dispensed  with,  and  all 
communications  were  held  in  the  most  secret  manner.  From  1S08  to  1822, 
the  order  was  prosperous,  but  in  that  year  Alexander  issued  an  unexpected 
order  that  all  lodges  should  be  closed.  An  eminent  writer  has  said  :  "  This 
was  like  a  flash  of  lightning  in  a  serene  sky  "  ;  but  its  effect  was  paralyzing, 
and  since  that  date  Freemasonry  has  slumbered  in  Russia. 

Spain.  —  In  no  country  has  Freemasonry  been  subject  to  greater  persecu- 
tions than  in  Spain.  The  first  lodge  was  chartered  in  1728,  and  the  following 
year  a  Grand  Lodge  was  formed.  In  1 740,  in  consequence  of  a  Papal  bull, 
the  members  of  the  lodge  at  Madrid  were  arrested,  thrown  into  prison,  and 


OTHER    COUNTRIES.  a^j 

several  were  sent  to  the  galleys.  In  1751  Joseph  Torrubia  was  initiated,  and 
afterward  appeared  before  the  Inquisition,  charging  that  Freemasonry  was 
dangerous  to  religion  and  good  government.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that 
he  was  a  tool  of  the  Inquisition,  that  his  charges  led  the  king  to  issue  a  decree 
forbidding  the  assemblies,  and  declaring  that  all  violators  would  be  held  guilty 
of  treason,  and  be  punished  accordingly.  In  1793  the  Cardinal  Vicar  issued 
a  decree  of  death  against  all  Freemasons.  Several  lodges  continued  to  hold 
meetings,  and  under  Joseph  Napoleon  all  restrictions  were  removed.  In  181 1 
a  National  Grand  Lodge  was  formed,  called  the  Grand  Orient  of  Spain.  The 
overthrow  of  French  dominion  restored  the  Spanish  power,  and  the  Inquisi- 
tion was  again  reestablished ;  perilous  times  followed,  but  it  is  now  firmly 
established  with  a  large  number  of  lodges. 

Sweden  and  Norway.  —  Freemasonry  was  carried  to  Sweden,  through 
France,  in  1735.  A  lodge  was  instituted,  but  little  is  known  of  its  history. 
October  21,  1738,  a  royal  decree  was  issued,  forbidding  members  of  the  Order 
to  meet,  on  pain  of  death ;  but  it  was  rescinded,  two  years  later,  and  Masonry 
had  a  strong  following  in  1746.  In  1762  King  Adolphus  Frederick  declared 
himself  the  Protector  of  Swedish  lodges.  In  later  years  Freemasonry  has 
become  connected  with  another  order,  and  is  hardly  recognizable ;  but  it 
maintains  a  Grand  Lodge  at  Stockholm,  has  five  Provincial  Grand  Lodges, 
twelve  St.  Andrew's  Scottish  lodges,  and  twenty-five  St.  John's  lodges. 

Switzerland.  — In  1737,  under  authority  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land, a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  was  established  at  Geneva.  The  following 
year  an  order  was  issued  by  the  magistrates  to  suppress  all  lodges.  Other 
similar  orders  were  issued,  from  time  to  time,  but  the  members  were  little 
daunted,  and  made  vigorous  replies  in  published  articles.  The  Order  of 
Strict  Observance  had  its  demoralizing  effect  upon  Freemasonry  in  Switzer- 
land. In  1785  a  conference  of  the  Swiss  lodges  was  called  at  Zurich,  but 
nothing  was  accomplished.  The  Grand  Orient  of  France  gained  some  power 
over  the  lodges,  but  seven  Genevan  lodges,  remaining  faithful  to  the  English 
system,  organized  the  Grand  Orient  of  Geneva,  and,  in  1 789,  became  subject 
to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  The  lodges  were  divided  into  so  many 
governing  heads  and  systems  that  a  union  seemed  absolutely  necessary ;  and, 
on  June  22,  1884,  a  new  Grand  Lodge  was  organized,  under  the  title  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Alpina.  It  is  located  at  Winterthur,  and  has  over  thirty 
subordinates. 

Conclusion. — The  conflict  of  authority,  in  many  instances,  the  meagre 
data  at  command,  and  brief  space  allotted  to  this  chapter,  have  combined  to 
render  a  simple  outline  all  that  is  practicable ;  but  from  this  it  will  readily 
be  seen  that  Freemasonry  has  had  a  checkered  history  upon  the  Continent. 
In  almost  every  country  it  was  received  with  favor,  met  with  opposition  from 
Papal  influences,  ralHed,  and,  unless  menaced  by  political  edicts  or  honey- 
combed by  innovations,  has  grown  and  flourished  until  it  stands  at  the  head 


498 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


of  all  moral  and  beneficial  societies.  Among  the  noted  rulers  who  have  figured 
in  this  history  may  be  mentioned  Frederick  the  Great,  Prince  Jerome  Bona- 
parte, William  III.,  and  Garibaldi ;  while  Napoleon,  though  not  a  Mason, 
appears  to  have  been  its  fi-iend,  for  Freemasonry  everywhere  flourished  under 
his  rule.  As  the  Order  of  Strict  Observance  was  the  bete  noir  of  Freemasonry 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  so  the  introduction  of  the  higher  degrees,  under  the 
authority  of  the  several  Grand  Orients,  must  seem,  to  the  lover  of  Ancient 
Craft  Masonry,  to  be  the  baneful  influence  of  the  present  century.  When 
Freemasons  all  over  the  world  leave  the  so-called  higher  degrees  to  the  higher 
bodies,  and  plant  themselves,  as  far  as  lodges  and  Grand  Lodges  are  con- 
cerned, upon  the  English  Constitution  and  Ancient  Landmarks,  —  the  basis 
of  Speculative  Masonry,  —  the  foundation  cannot  be  shaken  nor  removed,  but 
success  like  that  of  the  grand  old  lodge  of  England,  with  its  legion  of  subordi- 
nates and  army  of  members,  will  surely  follow. 


'9^^2^Co<2^c^-.^lz:^:jl^^ 


FREEMASONRY  IN  AUSTRALASIA  AND  NEW  ZEALAND. 


By  William  James  Hughan,  European  Editor;  and  John  H. 
Graham,  LL.D.,  P.G.M. 


CHAPTER  IL 

Grand  Lodges  of  the  Southern  Sun. 

AUSTRALASIA.  —  Much  Masonic  enthusiasm  has  been  developed  of  late 
years  in  Australia,  by  the  organization  of  Grand  Lodges  in  several  of  the  Colo- 
nies, and  undoubtedly  the  movement  which  has  been  started  in  the  direction 
of  independence  will  not  cease  until  all  Australasia  (wherever  there  are 
populations  and  Colonies  of  sufficient  extent),  is  covered  with  a  net-work  of 


OTHER    COUNTRIES.  ^gg 

Grand  Lodges,  as  in  the  United  States,  the  boundaries  of  each  jurisdiction 
being  accepted  as  the  limits  wherein  the  several  Grand  Lodges  are  sovereign. 
For  several  years  past,  lodges  in  Australia,  under  the  trio  of  British  and 
Irish  Grand  Lodges,  have  not  been  easy  in  their  subordination  to  bodies 
so  far  away;  and,  consequently,  brethren  hailing  from  England,  Ireland,  or 
Scotland,  Masonically,  —  sometimes  from  all  three,  —  have  united  to  form 
Grand  Lodges  of  their  own,  the  first  to  be  recognized  by  the  Mother  Grand 
Lodge  being  that  of  South  Australia. 

A  "Grand  Lodge"  was  formed  in  New  South  Wales  in  1877,  but  did  not 
receive  the  general  support  of  the  lodges  in  that  Colony.  Happily  a  better 
spirit  prevailed  as  the  years  rolled  onward,  and  this  small  body,  —  composed 
mainly  of  Irish  lodges, — was  regularized  (so  to  speak),  by  joining  with  the 
larger  number  of  English  and  Scottish  lodges  (that  had  previously  held  aloof), 
in  forming  the  '^United  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales,''  on  August  16, 
1888.  There  were  80  lodges  of  the  "  E.  C.,"  55  of  the  "S.  C.,"  and  5 1  of  the 
"N.  S.  W.- C."  (186  in  all),  which  took  part  in  this  grand  movement,  which 
was  duly  recognized,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  on  December  5  th  of  the 
same  year.  The  Grand  Master,  elected  and  installed,  was  His  Excellency  Lord 
Carrington,  Governor  of  the  Colony,  and  the  main  contributing  cause  to  this 
most  Masonic  result  was  the  lamented  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  M.  W.  Pro  G.  M.  of 
England,  who  died  soon  afterward,  regretted  by  the  universal  Craft.^ 

Another  "  Grand  Lodge  "  was  constituted  at  Melbourne,  for  Victoria,  in 
1883,  but  had  even  less  support  than  that  of  a  similar  body,  started  a  few 
years  earlier  in  New  South  Wales.  The  three  District  Grand  Lodges  under 
England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  went  on  their  way  all  the  same,  and  pros- 
pered, having  Sir  William  J.  Clarke,  Bart.,  as  District  Grand  Master  for  each 
of  the  districts,  —  a  unique  position.  It  was  felt  ultimately,  however,  that  a 
really  "  United  Grand  Lodge  for  Victoria  "  would  be  a  great  blessing  for  all 
concerned ;  and  hence  that  very  desirable  event  was  consummated,  on 
March  20,  1889,  with  Sir  William  Clarke  as  Grand  Master.  One  hundred 
and  forty,  out  of  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  forty-two,  gave  their  consent  to 
this  new  organization ;  and,  since  then,  one  of  the  two  dissentients  has  given 
in  its  adherence,  so  that  the  union  is  practically  unanimous.  Ere  long,  for 
the  sake  of  complete  harmony,  it  is  not  likely  that  any  brethren  will  keep 
apart  from  such  a  powerful  and  truly  fraternal  body.  Most  Worshipful  Brother 
Lord  Carrington  was  the  installing  officer,  and  recognition  was  granted  by  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England,  on  June  5,  1889,  that  of  many  other  Grand  Lodges 
being  either  agreed  to,  or  will  soon  follow. 

The  third  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  in  and  for  South  Australia,  on  April  1 6, 
1S84,  and  was  the  first  of  the  three  to  obtain  recognition  from  the  senior  of 
the  parent  Grand  Lodges  (viz. :  June  3,  1885).     The  Honorable  Chief  Justice 

1  For  a  more  extended  account  of  this  body,  Dr.  Graham's  monograph,  which  follows  this, 
should  be  carefully  read. 


500 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Way  was  elected  Grand  Master,  and  continued  to  enjoy  the  unanimous  suf- 
frages of  the  members  until  he  voluntarily  resigned  the  honor,  so  as  to  clear 
the  way  for  the  nomination  and  choice  of  His  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Kintore 
(Governor  of  South  Australia),  as  his  successor,  who  was  installed  in  ample 
form  by  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Lord  Carrington,  October  30,  1889,  in  the 
Freemasons'  Hall,  Adelaide.  The  Honorable  S.  J.  Way  accepted  the  position 
of  Most  Worshipful  Pro  Grand  Master,  the  Chief  Justice  being  always  ready  to 
render  any  service  in  his  power  for  the  Craft  in  South  Australia,  in  particular, 
or  Freemasonry  in  general.  There  are  now  thirty-eight  lodges  on  the  Roll, 
the  last  to  be  warranted  being  that  of  "St.  Alban,"  which  was  consecrated  in 
December,  1889,  the  aim  of  the  members  being  to  promote  the  study  of 
Masonic  history;  and,  mainly,  to  work  on  lines  similar  to  the  famous  "Quatuor 
Coronati  Lodge,  No.  2076,"  England,  but  for  local  purposes  only.  I  wrote 
rather  a  long  article  on  the  origin  of  this  Grand  Lodge  in  the  Freemason 
(England),  for  January  10,  1885,  drawing  attention  to  the  fact  that  Brother 
J.  H.  Cunningham,  G.  S.,  had  promised  that  no  obstacle  would  be  placed  in 
the  way  of  any  lodge  desirous  of  continuing  under  their  original  Constitution, 
and  also  stated  it  as  my  conviction,  that  no  Grand  Lodge  had  ever  been 
formed  "in  a  fairer,  or  more  Masonic  manner."  Unfortunately  one  lodge 
still  keeps  out  of  the  fold,  viz. :  the  "  Leinster,  No.  363,"  Adelaide,  dating 
from  1855  ;  but  this  ought  not  to  be  any  bar  to  a  generous  recognition  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  South  Australia. 

Like  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  South  Australia  recognizes  the  "  Mark," 
and,  moreover,  has  a  Grand  Chapter  of  its  own,  for  the  Royal  Arch  degree, 
also  authorized  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  the  latter  having  been  duly  recognized 
by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England  on  November  7,  1S88.  The  Grand  Chap- 
ters for  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria  have  likewise  been  acknowledged  by 
the  English  authorities,  and  all  the  warrants  of  the  latter  are  cancelled,  it  being 
a  fundamental  rule  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England  that  no  charters  are  granted 
or  permitted  to  continue  working  under  its  authority  unless  held  under  the  wing 
of  lodges  under  the  same  jurisdiction.  Hence,  when  the  lodges  in  these  three 
important  Colonies  withdrew  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  and  formed 
their  own  Grand  Lodges,  the  chapters  previously  connected  with  several  of 
these  bodies  virtually  ceased  to  exist,  according  to  EngHsh  rule  and  custom. 

A  pleasing  and  fraternal  finish  to  the  constitution  of  the  three  Grand 
Lodges  has  been  furnished  by  the  gracious  consent  of  H  .'.  R  .•.  H .-.  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  M.  W.  G.  M.,  to  become  "  Grand  Patron  "  of  each  of  the  Grand 
Lodges  thus  formed,  as  well  as  by  the  permission  so  readily  accorded,  that 
lodges  may  preserve  their  old  and  now  superseded  warrants,  as  souvenirs  of 
their  former  connection  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England. 

Freemasonry  in  Queensland  is  represented  by  a  total  of  65  lodges,  33  being 
under  the  EngHsh  Constitution,  16  under  Ireland,  and  16  under  Scotland. 
These  are  duly  grouped  under  their  respective  districts,  having  District  Grand 


OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


501 


Masters  appointed  by  the  parent  Grand  Lodges  or  Grand  Masters.  The  senior 
lodge  under  each  of  the  Grand  Lodges  is  held  in  Brisbane,  No.  796,  "  North 
Australian,"  E.  C.,  dating  from  1859,  and  Nos.  279  and  435  of  the  Irish  and 
Scotch  Constitutions  having  been  chartered  in  the  year  1864. 

In  Western  Australia  there  are  nine  lodges,  all  under  the  rule  of  the  District 
Grand  Master,  appointed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England ;  and  there  is  also  a 
lodge  at  Albany,  under  the  same  Constitution,  but  no  District  Grand  Lodge. 

The  senior  lodge  in  the  Colony  is  "  St.  John,  No.  485,"  Perth,  which  was  war- 
ranted in  1842.  It  is  somewhat  singular  that  neither  Ireland  nor  Scotland  has 
secured  a  footing  in  Western  Australia,  so  that  happily  there  are  no  rival  juris- 
dictions, and  peace  and  harmony  prevail  throughout  the  District  Grand  Lodge. 

An  extraordinary  movement, — united  and  enthusiastic,  —  in  favor  of  the 
formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tasmania,  which  began  a  it^^  years  since, 
culminated  in  the  establishment  of  that  sovereign  and  independent  body  on 
June  26,  1890.  The  Rev.  R.  D.  Poulett- Harris,  M.  A.,  was  installed  as  the 
Grand  Master  by  the  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Lord  Carrington  (who  has  had 
a  most  unusual  experience  in  such  matters),  the  Board  also  consisting  of  the 
Most  Worshipful  Brother  Sir  W.  J.  Clarke,  Bart.,  G.  M.  of  Victoria ;  the  Most 
Worshipful  Brother  His  Excellency  the  Earl  of  Kintore,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  Grand 
Master  of  South  Australia ;  His  Honor  Chief  Justice  Way,  M.  W.  Pro  G.  M. 
of  South  Australia ;  and  other  Masonic  notables.  An  interesting  account  of 
this  special  communication,  at  Hobart,  appeared  in  a  supplement  to  the 
South  Australian  Freemason  for  July  7,  1890,  and  from  it,  it  may  be  gath- 
ered that,  throughout  the  preliminaries,  the  motto  of  our  Tasmanian  Craftsmen 
was,  "Unity  or  Nothing^''  the  result  being  that  such  a  truly  fraternal  sentiment 
secured  a  unanimity  of  action  almost  unexampled,  and  thus  conserved  the 
self-denying  labors  of  the  promoters.  Hearty  recognition  was  accorded  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  on  December  3,  1890. 

There  were  nine  lodges  hailing  from  England,  having  the  Rev.  Brother 
Harris,  until  recently,  as  their  District  Grand  Master ;  the  same  number  from 
Ireland,  and  five  from  Scotland,  making  twenty-three  in  all.  The  Provincial 
Grand  Master,  representing  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland  (Right  Worshipful 
Brother  P.  Barrett),  was  appointed  Most  Worshipful  Pro  Grand  Master  of  the 
new  organization. 

The  senior  lodge  of  the  three  Provinces,  now  united  in  one  compact  whole, 
is  No.  345,  Hobart  Town,  of  the  year  1834,  the  oldest  of  English  origin  being 
No.  536,  A.D.  1846;  and  for  Scotland,  No.  591  bis,  of  a.d.  1876. 

There  are  two  lodges  in  the  Fiji  Islands  (one  English  and  another  Scot- 
tish), and  another  in  New  Caledonia,  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England  June  i,  1880. 

Freemasonry  was  regularly  planted  in  Australia  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Ireland,  in  the  third  decade  of  this  century,  viz. :  at  Hobart  (1820-23),  though 
military  brethren  had,  possibly,  worked  the  ceremonies  prior  to  that  period. 


502 


COSMOPOLITAN'  FREEMASONR  Y. 


The  oldest  existing  lodge  in  the  country  is  that  of  the  "  Australian  Social 
Mother,"  Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  which  was  chartered  under  English 
auspices  in  1828,  and  whose  members  were  granted  the  unusual  privilege  of 
wearing  a  special  jubilee  jewel,  by  that  Grand  Lodge,  in  1878,  on  completion 
of  fifty  years  of  continuous  existence.  There  is  only  one  other  lodge  similarly 
distinguished,  viz.  :  the  "  Harmonic,  No.  356,"  St.  Thomas'  Island,  W.I. 

The  first  lodge  warranted  for  South  Australia,  which  is  still  as  active  and 
vigorous  as  ever,  is  the  "  Friendship,"  Adelaide,  warranted  in  1834.  At  the 
completion  of  its  jubilee  in  1884,  Brother  Philip  Samson  read  an  excellent 
sketch  of  its  history,  since  amplified  and  printed  in  a  neat  volume.  Its  early 
doings,  agreed  to  by  the  authorities,  were  particularly  noteworthy,  for  the  lodge 
met  for  regular  business  first  of  all  in  London,  and  initiated  several  gentlemen 
about  to  proceed  to  the  Colony ;  so  that  it  was  consecrated  in  the  English 
Capital.  Among  the  first  initiates  was  Mr.  (afterward  Sir)  R.  D.  Hanson, 
who,  later  on,  was  Attorney  General,  and  Chief  Justice,  and  Chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Adelaide. 

New  Zealand.  —  Quite  recently,  by  the  premature  action  of  certain  breth- 
ren, the  previous  happy  condition  of  the  Craft  has  been  sadly  interfered  with. 
It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that,  as  with  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria,  some 
means  will  be  discovered  whereby  unity  may  be  attained,  and  a  governing  body 
erected  that  will  obtain  the  support  of  all  the  Fraternity. 

A  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  at  Christ-Church,  with  Brother  Henry  Thomp- 
son as  Grand  Master,  on  April  29,  1890  ;  but  the  promoters  of  this  organization 
did  not  receive  sufficient  support  to  warrant  them  in  such  a  course,  and  had 
they  been  content  to  delay  such  proceedings,  it  is  quite  probable  that  His 
Excellency  the  Earl  of  Onslow,  would  have  consented  to  become  Grand 
Master,  and  thus  unite  the  whole  body.  In  fact,  his  Lordship  offered  to  accept 
that  position,  provided  120  out  of  142  lodges  would  support  the  movement. 

According  to  the  official  lists  of  lodges  under  the  three  Grand  Lodges, 
there  are  155  in  the  Colony,  viz. :  England,  87  ;  Ireland,  15  ;  and  Scotland,  53. 

Another  difficulty  has  also  arisen,  and  this  the  most  serious  of  all,  by  the 
constitution  of  the  ^^  Lodge  L' Amour  de  la  Verite^^  in  Wellington,  N.Z.,  by 
the  Grand  Orient  of  France  !  The  first  Worshipful  Master,  mirabile  dictu,  is 
Sir  Robert  Stout,  K.  C.  M.  G.,  a  Past  Grand  Officer  of  England,  and  D.-.D.'. 
Provincial  Grand  Master  of  Otago  and  Southland  !  Naturally  his  career  will 
be  ended  as  respects  England,  or  regular  Freemasonry  anywhere,  but  it  is  a, 
sad  finish,  and  utterly  inexplicable  to  the  writer. 


OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


NEW   SOUTH   WALES. 


503 


Tlie  TTnited  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales.  —  On  December  23, 
1877,  the  "Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  New  South 
Wales,"  Australia,  was  formed  at  the  city  of  Sydney,  by  the  representatives  of 
thirteen  lodges,  having  a  membership  of  96S.  The  Hon.  James  Squire 
Farnell  was  elected  Grand  Master,  1877-84;  and  Nicholas  Weekes,  Grand 
Secretary,  1877-87.  The  Hon.  Dr.  H.  J.  Tarrant  was  Grand  Master, 
in  1884-88. 

It  appears  that  a  larger  number  of  lodges  would  have  been  represented  at 
the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  but  for  certain  mandatory  official  action 
adverse  thereto. 

In  1888  the  number  of  lodges  on  its  Registry  had  increased  to  fifty-one, 
with  a  membership  of  3792. 

During  these  eleven  years  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales  had 
been  fraternally  recognized  by  forty-four  sister  Grand  Lodges,  and  had  inter- 
changed Grand  Representatives  therewith  ;  and,  in  addition  to  its  large  outlays 
for  benevolence,  working  expenses,  the  beginning  of  a  Grand  Lodge  library, 
etc.,  it  had  erected  a  superb  building  containing  a  public  hall,  a  Grand  Lodge 
room,  and  private  lodge  rooms,  library,  supper,  and  secretarial  rooms,  at  a 
cost  of  ^22,000  (^110,000)  ;  and,  in  1888,  an  addition  thereto  was  built,  at 
a  cost  of  ^8000  (^40,000),  making  a  total  .cost  of  $150,000. 

The  Masonic  .Temple  at  Sydney,  the  Mother  City  of  Australia  and  the 
Capital  of  New  South  Wales,  "  vies  in  beauty  and  completeness  with  almost 
any  Masonic  temple  in  the  world  " ;  and  it  has  been  truly  said  that  "  the 
founders  and  upbuilders  "  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales  might  well 
feel  proud  of  the  result  of  their  unselfish  and  beneficent  labors  ! 

During  the  years  1887-88,  —  chiefly  through  the  laudable  efforts  of  Grand 
Master  Tarrant ;  Past  Grand  Master  Farnell ;  Lord  Carrington,  Governor  of 
New  South  Wales,  and  District  Grand  Master,  R.  E. ;  the  late  Earl  of  Car- 
narvon, Pro  G.  M.  of  England  (then  visiting  AustraUa)  ;  Grand  Master  Chief 
Justice  Way,  of  Adelaide,  So.  Australia  ;  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Piggott,  R.  E. ;  John 
Slade,W.  H.  Coffey,  A.  W.  Manning,  James  Hunt,  F.T.  Humphreys,  Thomas  E. 
Spencer,  T.  F.  de  Courcey  Browne,  and  others  of  like  fraternal  spirit  and 
ability,  —  the  United  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales  was  happily  formed 
in  the  Great  Hall  of  the  Sydney  University,  on  August  16,  1888,  by  the 
union  of  the  51  lodges  on  the  Registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
South  Wales,  the  55  lodges,  R.  S.,  and  the  80  lodges,  R.  E.,  making  a 
total  of  186  lodges  on  the  Registry  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge,  with  a  mem- 
bership of  about  10,000. 

Governor  Lord  Carrington  was  elected  Grand  Master.  He  appointed  Past 
Grand   Master   Dr.  H.  J.  Tarrant,  Pro  G.  M.     The    other   Grand    Officers 


504 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


were  elected ;  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge  of  England, 
mutatis  viuiandis,  was  adopted  pro  tempore. 

On  September  i8,  1888,  in  the  Exhibition  building,  Sydney,  Lord  Car- 
rington.  Grand  Master-elect,  was  installed  in  the  presence  of  four  thousand 
brethren,  by  Most  Worshipful  Chief  Justice  Way,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Victoria.  The  Grand  Master  having  been  seated  in  the  "  Oriental 
Chair,"  the  Installing  Officer  addressed  him  in  most  fitting  and  eloquent 
terms.  The  Pro  Grand  Master  and  Deputy  Grand  Master  having  been  duly 
installed,  the  Grand  Master  invested  the  remaining  Grand  Lodge  Officers  with 
the  jewels  of  their  respective  offices. 

Among  the  distinguished  brethren  present,  from  other  jurisdictions,  were 
the  Honorable  John  Douglass,  District  Grand  Master,  R.  S.,  Queensland; 
Edmund  MacDonnell,  representative  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  R.  I., 
Queensland  ;  and  James  H.  Cunningham,  Grand  Secretary,  South  Australia. 

The  following  Grand  Representatives  near  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South 
Wales,  having  been  duly  presented  to  the  Grand  Master,  tendered  their  hearty 
congratulations  to  him  and  to  the  United  Grand  Lodge  :  Most  Worshipful 
H.  J.  Tarrant,  South  Australia  and  New  Mexico ;  Right  Worshipful  Brothers 
Neitenstein,  Washington  ;  J.  Hunt,  Iowa ;  F.  T.  Humphreys,  Spain  ;  De  Cour- 
cey  Browne,  Italy;  I.  Lee,  Montana;  J.  Slade,  Indian  Territory;  G.  Larsen, 
Idaho  ;  R.  V.  Gale,  Colon  and  Cuba  ;  M.  Stephenson,  Wyoming  ;  J.  F.  Home, 
Roumania;  J.  Nobbs,  Peru;  W.  Mason,  Oregon;  J.  P.  Howe,  Alabama; 
A.  Smith,  Arkansas ;  J.  Hurley,  Maryland ;  R.  C.  Willis,  Kansas ;  W.  Gary, 
Ohio;  D.  J.  Monk,  Nevada;  U.  W.  Carpenter,  JNIichigan ;  and  A.  Henry, 
Victoria. 

In  1888-89  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  other  foreign 
Grand  Lodges,  extended  fraternal  recognition  to  the  United  Grand  Lodge, 
making  a  total  of  fifty-three  Grand  Lodges  with  whom  Grand  Representatives 
have  been  interchanged. 

Finances.  —  In  1888-89  the  income  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge,  from  all 
sources,  including  ;j^i5oo  from  the  District  Grand  Lodge,  R.  E.,  and  ^1^997 
9^-.  9</.  from  the  District  Grand  Lodge,  R.  S.,  was  ;^3540  i9i-.  6^.  Outlays, 
^2683  17^.  <)d.  Balance  in  Treasury,  ;^857  i-r.  9^/.  Of  the  Benevolent  Fund 
the  income  was  ^3224  i2i-.  \\d.  Outlays  for  relief,  ;^688  14^'.  dd.  Balance 
on  deposit,  ^2535  18-f.  5^^. 

Steps  are  being  taken  to  found  a  "  Masonic  Orphanage  for  Boys."  The 
late  District  Grand  Lodge,  R.  E.,  is  establishing  a  "  Masonic  Cottage  Hos- 
pital," open  to  all  Freemasons  ;  and  the  United  Grand  Lodge  has  a  "Masonic 
Scholarship "  in  the  Sydney  University,  transferred  thereto  by  the  District 
Grand  Lodge,  R.  E. 

The  United  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales  began  its  auspicious  exist- 
ence in  the  first  year  of  the  second  century  since  the  settlement  of  this,  the 
parent  Colony  of  the  "  Continent  of  Australia."     May  it  flourish  evermore  ! 


OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


505 


1816-1890.  Reminiscences.  —  It  appears  that,  in  the  year  1803,  a  person 
appUed  to  the  governor  of  New  South  Wales  for  permission  to  open  a  lodge 
of  Freemasons.  This  was  not  granted.  A  lodge  was,  however,  held  ;  and  on 
May  i6th  of  that  year  the  leading  party  thereto  was,  for  the  "irregularity," 
adjudged  to  a  lengthened  involuntary  residence,  with  due  physical  exercise, 
in  Van  Diemen's  Land  ! 

In  i8i6-i7(?)  the  46th  Regiment  of  Light  Infantry,  to  which  was  attached 
the  "  Lodge  of  Social  and  Military  Virtues,  No.  227,"  R.  I.,  arrived  at  Sydney. 

This  famous  old  lodge,  which  was  warranted  May  4,  1 75  2,  is  now  the  "  Lodge 
of  Antiquity,"  in  the  city  of  Montreal,  Province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  and  is 
No.  I  on  the  Registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec. 

As  was  its  wont,  wherever  "  the  46th  "  was  stationed  in  the  "  four-quarters  " 
of  the  globe,  "No.  227,"  R.  I.,  held  meetings;  and  did  "good  work"  at  the 
Capital  of  New  South  Wales. 

On  August  12,  i82o(?),  the  "Australian  Social  Mother  Lodge,  No.  260," 
R.  I.,  was  established  at  Sydney.  On  this  memorable  occasion  the  "  famous 
Bible  "  [see  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec],  the  working  tools,  and  the  regalia  of 
"  227  "  were  used  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  most  of  "  the  work  "  w^as  done  by 
its  officers  and  members,  who  had  spread  the  light  of  Freemasonry  in  so  many 
places  throughout  the  world. 

"  No.  260,  R.  I.,"  the  premier  lodge  of  Australia,  afterward  became 
"Social  Mother  Lodge,  No.  i,"  Registry  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South 
Wales,  and  it  is  now  No.  i  on  the  Registry  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge. 

On  January  26,  1824,  "  Leinster- Marine  Lodge  of  Australia,"  R.  I.,  was 
established  at  Sydney,  and  is  now  No.  2,  Registry  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  South  Wales.  Many  eminent  men  have  been  "made  "  in  this  lodge, 
among  whom  were  the  Hon.  William  Charles  Wentworth,  LL.D.,  the  founder 
of  "responsible  government"  in  New  South  Wales,  and  Charles  Farnell,  the 
father  of  the  Hon.  James  Squire  Farnell,  the  first  Grand  Master,  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  South  Wales.  In  1825  an  address  was  presented  by  this  lodge  to 
Sir  Thomas  Brisbane,  on  his  arrival  in  the  colony,  and  in  1838  Brother  Rogers 
estabhshed  the  first  "Lodge  of  Instruction"  in  Australia.  In  1841  "Leinster- 
Marine  "  accepted  an  invitation  to  "  dine  "  with  "  Lodge  548,"  R.  E. 

There  is  much  of  unusual  historic  interest  connected  with  the  foregoing 
and  other  early  and  later  lodges,  formerly  on  the  Registries  of  England,  Ireland, 
and  Scotland,  which  it  is  hoped  local  lodge  historians  will  soon  give  to  the 
Masonic  world. 

In  1839  the  Provincial,  afterward  District  Grand  Lodge,  R.  E.,  was  formed  ; 
in  1855  the  Provincial,  afterward  District  Grand  Lodge,  R.  S. ;  and  in  1858 
the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  Registry  of  Ireland. 

In  1847  it  was  proposed  to  establish  a  "Grand  Lodge  of  Australia."  A 
meeting  was  held  there  anent,  but  no  action  was  taken. 

In  1855  a  difficulty  sprang  up  between  the  Irish  and  English  "Constitu- 


5o6 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


tions,"  in  consequence  of  the  former  having  extended  fraternal  recognition  to 
"  Lodge  St.  Andrew,"  R.  S.     This  was  shortly  afterward  amicably  settled. 

In  1878  a  "jubilee  medal"  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
to  "Australia  Lodge,"  chartered  in  1828.  This  was  the  second  of  the  only 
two  such  medals  granted. 

The  three  Provincial  Grand  Lodges  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland 
continued  their  work  and  governance,  till  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  South  Wales,  in  1877,  upon  whose  Registry  the  lodges  of  Irish  insti- 
tution became  enrolled.  The  English  and  Scottish  District  Grand  Lodges 
continued  till  their  union  with  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales,  in  the 
formation  of  the  United  Grand  Lodge,  in  1888. 

Right  Worshipful  Brother  Nicholas  Weekes,  G.  S.,  1877-S7,  died  June  9, 
1887,  somewhat  over  one  year  before  the  "blessed  union."  The  labors  of 
Brother  Weekes,  in  the  establishment  and  upbuilding  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  New  South  Wales,  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  A  monument  has  been 
erected  at  his  grave  by  the  Grand  Lodge  ;  and  tablets  in  remembrance  of  him 
and  of  Right  Worshipful  Brother  William  Booth,  P.  D.  D.  G.  M.,  R.  E.,  have 
been  placed  in  the  walls  of  the  Grand  Lodge  room  in  the  Masonic  Temple. 
The  Masonic  epitaph  of  Brother  Weekes  might  appropriately  be  :  "  Si  quceris 
monumeiitum,  circumspice. ' ' 

Most  Worshipful  the  Honorable  James  Squire  Farnell,  the  first  Grand 
Master,  died  August  21,  1888,  just  five  days  after  "  the  union,"  whose  consum- 
mation he  had  so  devoutly  desired.  He  was  buried  August  23d,  when  a 
"  Lodge  of  Sorrow  "  was  held,  at  which  Most  Worshipful  Brother  Tarrant, 
Pro  G.  M.,  presided. 

Right  Worshipful  Brother  John  Starkey,  G.  T.,  the  safe  Keeper  of  the  Key 
of  the  ";!^s.  D."  Box,  and  who  so  often  made  personal  cash  advances  to 
meet  the  emergent  requirements  of  Grand  Lodge,  has  held  that  important 
office  all  but  continuously  since  1877-89. 

Early  in  1889,  the  remaining  "outstanding"  lodge  in  the  jurisdiction 
became  of  allegiance  to  the  United  Grand  Lodge. 

There  is  evidently  a  great  future  for  the  Craft,  not  only  in  New  South 
Wales,  but  throughout  the  "  Continent  of  Australasia."  May  the  beams  of 
the  sun  by  day,  and  of  the  "Southern  Cross"  by  night,  ever  auspiciously 
shine  upon  the  Antipodean  "  Sons  of  Light." 


DIVISION    XL 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


An  Exhaustive  Account  of  that  Historic  Affair  in  the  United  States,  written 
from  a  Masonic  Stand-point. 

By  Jesse  B,  Anthony,  2,Z°, 
Fast  Grand  Master,  M.\  W.\  Grand  Lodge,  State  of  New   York. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Civil,  Social,  and  Masonic  Aspects. 

Introductory.  —  In  presenting  an  account  of  the  period  known  as  the 
Anti-Masonic  times,  —  embracing  the  years  1826  to  1845,  —  we  do  not 
expect  to  offer  anything  new ;  but,  as  forming  an  important  period  in  Masonic 
history,  we  shall  endeavor  to  outline  the  facts.  In  this  labor  we  have  availed 
ourselves  of  the  excellent  account  of  Josiah  H.  Drummond,  the  exhaustive 
papers  of  Rob  Morris,  and  other  writers,  who  have  investigated  the  matter 
thoroughly. 

Up  to  the  year  1826,  the  growth  of  the  Fraternity  had  been  very  rapid; 
lodges  were  instituted  without  that  regard  for  perpetuity  and  solidity  which  is 
a  vital  element  in  the  welfare  of  an  Institution  of  the  character  of  ours.  Not 
this  alone,  but  there  was,  in  our  judgment,  a  laxity  in  regard  to  the  material 
accepted,  and  while  we  had  gained  in  numerical  strength,  its  component 
parts  were  not  properly  assimilated,  and  at  the  first  opposition  the  ranks  were 
largely  depleted  in  certain  sections.  This  reverse  was  of  such  a  character 
that  it  bid  fair  to  destroy  our  Institution  in  this  country. 

Its  effects  were  felt  in  the  New  England  States,  Pennsylvania,  and  more 
particularly  in  the  State  of  New  York,  where  the  trouble  arose. 

In  reviewing  the  history  of  those  times,  and  weighing  the  cause,  we  can- 
not but  conclude  that,  in  a  large  degree,  its  effects  were  attributable  to  the  lack 
of  judgment  and  unnecessary  alarm  on  the  part  of  a  few  over- zealous  mem- 
bers of  the  Craft,  which,  combined  with  other  causes,  —  notably  of  a  political 

character,  —  fanned  the  flame  into  a  raging  fire. 

507 


508 


COSMOPOLITAN  FFEEMASONRY. 


The  various  accounts  published  at  the  time  are  necessarily  colored  by  the 
interest  of  the  writers,  and  even  the  light  of  the  present  day  does  not  enable 
us  to  present  much  that  is  new. 

The  Account  in  Detail.  — The  originators  of  this  scheme  lived  in  Batavia, 
Genesee  County,  N.Y.,  and  consisted  of  WilHam  Morgan  and  David  C.  Miller, 

Morgan  was  a  man  of  no  repute,  of  idle  and  dissipated  habits,  harassed  by 
debt;  his  time  was  mostly  spent  in  bar-rooms,  and  without  corroborative  evi- 
dence no  credence  would  be  given  to  any  statement  made  by  him.  In  182 1 
he  was  a  brewer  near  York,  Upper  Canada ;  failing  there  he  moved  to  Roches- 
ter and  wrought  at  his  trade,  that  of  a  stone-mason ;  from  thence  he  w*^nt  to 
Batavia  in  1823. 

William  L.  Stone,  author  of  the  Anti-Masonic  letters  to  John  Quincy 
Adams,  says  :  — 

"  He  had  received  a  common  school  education;  he  was  a  hard  drinker,  and  his  nights  and 
sometimes  his  days  also  were  spent  in  tippling  houses,  while  occasionally,  to  the  still  greater 
neglect  of  his  family,  he  joined  in  the  drunken  carousals  of  the  vilest  and  most  worthless  men, 
and  his  disposition  was  envious,  malicious,  and  vindictive." 

Was  Morgan  a  Mason?  —  Where  he  received  his  degrees  is  not  known;  he 
claimed  to  have  been  made  a  Mason  in  Canada  or  some  foreign  country,  and, 
having  obtained  the  confidence  of  some  of  the  Fraternity,  he  succeeded  in 
entering  the  lodge  at  Batavia  (Wells  Lodge,  No.  282,  established  in  181 7),  as  a 
visitor.  We  doubt  whether  he  ever  lawfully  received  the  "  Blue  "  lodge  degrees. 
Declaring  upon  oath  that  he  had  received  the  preceding  six  degrees  in  a  regu- 
lar manner,  he  was  made  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  in  Western  Star  Chapter,  No.  33, 
at  LeRoy,  N.Y.,  May  31,  1825. 

Upon  his  removal  to  Batavia,  it  being  in  contemplation  to  establish  a  Royal 
Arch  chapter  at  that  place,  in  1826,  his  name  was  attached  to  the  first  peti- 
tion prepared  for  that  purpose. 

Afterward,  some  parties  seeing  his  name  attached  to  the  petition,  and  being 
opposed  to  having  so  dissolute  a  person  as  a  member,  a  new  petition  was 
substituted,  leaving  him  out  entirely.  He  subsequently  applied  to  the  chapter 
for  affiliation  and  was  rejected.  This  naturally  had  a  tendency  to  irritate  him 
considerably,  and  being  unprincipled  enough  to  do  almost  anything,  he  with 
his  associates  originated  this  scheme  for  the  purpose  of  revenge,  and  also  of 
realizing  untold  wealth. 

Associated  with  him  was  David  C.  Miller,  editor  of  the  Republican  Advo- 
cate, a  weekly  paper  published  in  Batavia.  He  is  said  to  have  received  the 
first  degree  in  a  lodge  at  Albany,  N.Y.,  many  years  before,  but  owing  to 
developments  of  his  character,  had  never  been  advanced  further. 

His  habits  were  in  harmony  with  those  of  Morgan ;  he  was  embarrassed 
financially,  and  in  general  disrepute.  Undoubtedly  the  thought  of  the  pecun- 
iary gain  which  could  be  realized  by  a  venture  of  this  character  was  the 
inspiring  motive  of  these  two  worthies. 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


509 


There  had  been  intimations  of  this  intended  publication  at  different  times, 
mostly  by  Morgan  himself  when  under  the  influence  of  Uquor,  and  also  articles 
having  reference  thereto  in  Miller's  weekly  sheet ;  but  they  attracted  little 
attention,  until,  on  the  morning  of  a  day  in  the  summer  of  1826,  a  group  of 
men  might  liavT  been  seen  in  the  bar-room  of  a  certain  tavern  in  Batavia,  who 
appeared  greatly  excited.  One  of  them  held  in  his  hand  a  copy  of  the  weekly 
paper  edited  by  ISIiller,  in  which  it  was  stated,  "  There  will  be  issued  from 
the  press  in  this  place,  in  a  short  time,  a  work  of  rare  interest  to  the 
tminitiated,  being  an  exposition  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  by  one  who  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Institution  for  years." 

Morgan's  Book.  —  Had  Morgan  been  permitted  to  print  the  book  without 
notice,  the  work  would  have  fallen  quietly  from  the  press  and  died  a  natural 
death. 

Masonry,  like  Christianity,  must  have  her  indiscreet  champions. 

Efforts  were  made  to  induce  Morgan  to  suppress  the  publication,  and  while 
he  professed  to  be  willing  to  do  so,  and  did  in  fact  deliver  up  a  part  of  the 
manuscript,  it  was  found  that  the  publication  was  being  pushed  by  Miller  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 

Early  in  September,  1826,  it  became  known  that  the  work  was  already 
partially  in  print  in  Miller's  office,  and  from  the  8th  to  the  14th  of  September 
was  a  time  ever  to  be  remembered,  not  only  in  Central  New  York  and  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  where  these  events  transpired,  but  also  rendered  memo- 
rable by  the  disastrous  consequences  of  the  proceedings  then  carried  out, 
which  were  felt  all  over  the  Union,  not  only  then  but  for  some  twenty  years 
afterward. 

A  plan  was  set  on  foot  by  a  few  misled  Masons  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
manuscript  at  all  hazards.  On  the  night  of  the  8th  of  September  a  party  o£ 
forty  persons  assembled  with  the  object  of  sacking  Miller's  office  ;  but  the 
better  class  of  citizens,  as  well  as  Miller's  friends,  rallied  to  his  support,  and  no 
such  rash  measures  were  undertaken. 

Miller's  office  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire  on  the  loth  of  September;  but 
the  flames  were  speedily  extinguished  by  means  which  were  conveniently  at 
hand,  and  the  incendiaries  escaped. 

The  freemen  of  that  place  offered  a  reward  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  the 
arrest  and  conviction  of  the  incendiary. 

Morgan's  Arrest  and  Subsidiary  Events.  —  Some  time  previously,  Morgan, 
while  at  Canandaigua,  had  borrowed,  of  a  hotel-keeper,  wearing  apparel 
which  he  promised  to  return.  Having  failed  to  do  so,  and  probably  for  the 
purpose  of  intimidating  him,  a  warrant  was  issued  against  him  for  larceny. 
He  was  arrested  September  nth,  and  carried  to  Canandaigua  by  a  posse ^ 
among  whom  were  Nicholas  G.  Chesebro,  Edward  Sawyer,  Loton  Lawson 
and  John  Sheldon,  and  on  the  case  being  heard  he  was  acquitted  of  felony,  or 
the  ground  that  he  had  borrowed  the  articles  he  was  charged  with  stealing 


5IO 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


After  his  discharge  he  was  arrested  for  a  small  debt  due  another  hotel-keeper, 
judgment  confessed,  and  under  the  execution  he  was  committed  to  jail. 

Miller  was  also  arrested  and  under  a  strong  guard  carried  to  LeRoy.  The 
constable  left  Miller  with  the  magistrate  and  went  to  find  the  plaintiff,  Daniel 
Johns  ;  but,  not  returning  at  once,  the  magistrate  discharged  Miller,  just  as  the 
constable  was  coming  in ;  the  latter  attempted  to  re-arrest  Miller,  but  he 
eluded  the  officer  and  returned  home  during  the  night.  This  Johns  was  said 
to  have  been  a  financial  partner  in  the  scheme,  and  desiring  to  get  back  the 
money  (forty  dollars),  he  had  advanced,  he  sued  out  the  warrant  against 
Miller  and  had  him  arrested.  To  effect  Morgan's  release  his  wife  went  to 
Canandaigua  and  proposed  to  deliver  up  the  manuscript,  but  was  informed  — 
as  she  subsequently  stated  —  that  the  debt  had  been  paid  and  Morgan  released, 
but  again  re-arrested  and  taken  out  of  the  State. 

Upon  her  return  she  was  accompanied  by  a  leading  Mason,  and  it  was 
claimed  that  the  assurance  had  been  given  that  her  husband  was  alive ;  that, 
while  she  might  not  see  him  for  some  time,  she  and  her  family  would  be 
provided  for.  Some  days  intervened,  and  no  intelligence  being  received  from 
Morgan,  the  friends  of  the  family  sent  a  special  messenger  to  Canandaigua  to 
make  inquiries  regarding  him. 

He  reported  that  Morgan  had  been  released  from  jail,  on  the  evening  of 
September  12th,  by  the  payment  of  the  debt;  that  on  leaving  jail  he  was  seized 
by  Lawson  and  another,  and  in  spite  of  cries  of  "  murder  "  was  dragged  down 
the  street ;  that  standing  by,  but  not  interfering,  were  Chesebro  and  Sawyer  — 
one  of  whom  picked  up  Morgan's  hat  which  had  fallen  off —  who  followed  the 
party  down  the  street ;  that  a  carriage  at  once  followed  them,  and  soon 
returned  and  was  driven  off  toward  Rochester,  being  empty  when  it  went 
down  and  having  several  persons  in  it  when  it  drove  back ;  that  it  arrived  at 
Rochester  about  daylight  of  the  13th  and  was  driven  three  miles  beyond, 
when  the  party  alighted  and  the  carriage  returned  ;  that  the  driver  stated  the 
parties  were  all  strangers  to  him,  and  that  he  did  not  notice  any  violence. 
While  there  was  no  positive  proof  that  Morgan  had  been  carried  away,  this 
report  aroused  the  most  intense  excitement. 

Reviewing  the  matter  at  this  time,  Morgan's  seizure  cannot  be  justified  by 
legal,  moral,  or  Masonic  principles.  The  publicity  of  the  transaction,  however, 
precludes  the  idea  that  any  personal  harm  was  intended.  Our  own  conviction 
is  that,  for  a  suitable  compensation,  he  consented  to  go  away,  being  fearful 
of  subsequent  outrage.  He  had  lost  the  esteem  of  the  community  and  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  Masons,  and  was  without  motive  to  return  home. 

Documentary  Evidence.  —  To  substantiate  this  view,  we  learn  that  one  of 
the  party  accompanying  the  constable  had  borne  a  letter  to  Morgan  containing 
these  propositions  :  — 

(i)    To  separate  him  from  David  C.  Miller. 

(2)    To  provide  for  his  family. 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


511 


(3)  To  remove  him  to  Canada. 

(4)  To  place  in  his  hand  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  good  money 

upon  his  arrival  in  Canada,  on  his  pledge  never  to  return. 

This  letter  v^'as  conveyed  to  Morgan,  and  his  acceptance  thereof  was 
privately  made  known  to  Nicholas  G.  Chesebro. 

The  beginning  of  public  interest  in  the  affair  may  be  attributed  in  a  great 
degree  to  the  inflammatory  hand-bills  which  were  issued  and  scattered  broad- 
cast. The  following  is  a  copy  of  one  issued  October  4,  1826,  about  three 
weeks  after  Morgan's  disappearance,  of  which  some  50,000  copies  were 
circulated  in  Western  New  York  :  — 

"  To  the  Public :  —  On  the  nth  of  September,  William  Morgan,  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  had 
for  about  three  years  past  resided  in  this  village,  was,  under  pretext  of  a  justice's  warrant,  hurried 
from  his  home  and  family  and  carried  to  Canandaigua.  The  same  night  he  was  examined  on  a 
charge  of  petit  larceny  and  discharged  by  the  justice.  One  of  the  persons  who  took  him  away 
immediately  obtained  a  warrant  against  him  in  a  civil  suit  for  an  alleged  debt  of  two  dollars,  on 
which  he  was  committed  to  the  jail  of  Ontario  County.  On  the  night  of  September  12th  he  was 
released  by  a  person  pretending  to  be  his  friend,  but  directly  in  front  of  the  jail,  notwithstanding 
his  cries  of  murder,  he  was  gagged  and  secured  and  put  into  a  carriage,  and  driving  all  night  he 
was  left,  as  the  driver  of  the  carriage  says,  at  Hanford's  Landing,  about  sunrise  on  the  13th,  since 
which  he  has  not  been  heard  of. 

"  His  distressed  wife  and  two  infant  children  are  left  dependent  on  charity  for  their  sustenance. 
The  circumstances  of  the  transaction  gives  rise  to  the  most  violent  fears  that  he  has  been  murdered. 
It  is,  however,  hoped  by  his  wife  and  friends  that  he  may  be  now  kept  concealed  and  imprisoned 
in  Canada.  All  persons  who  are  willing  to  serve  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  assist  to  remove  the 
distressed  apprehensions  of  his  unfortunate  wife,  are  earnestly  requested  to  communicate  to  one 
of  the  committee  named  below,  directed  to  this  place,  any  facts  or  circumstances  which  may  have 
come  to  their  knowledge  and  are  calculated  to  lead  to  the  discovery  of  his  present  residence  or 
the  particulars  of  his  fate,  if  he  has  been  murdered. 

"  Dated  Batavia,  October  4,  1826. 

"  N.  B.  —  It  is  hoped  that  printers  throughout  the  State,  in  Canada,  and  elsewhere  will  give  the 
above  a  few  insertions  and  thus  serve  the  cause  of  justice  and  humanity." 

Conventions  and  Public  Meetings. — This  naturally  added  to  the  excite- 
ment. Conventions  were  held  in  adjacent  counties,  investigating  committees 
appointed,  and  the  indiscreet  conduct  of  some  Masons,  together  with  remarks 
made,  which  were  repeated  with  additions  and  embellishments,  worked  up 
the  public  mind  to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement  and  served  to  increase  the 
feeling  against  the  Fraternity. 

Public  meetings  were  held  in  Batavia,  October  4th,  to  denounce  the  outrage 
and  secure  the  punishment  of  those  concerned  in  it.  Prominent  Masons 
took  part  in  them  and  were  the  foremost  in  demanding  an  investigation. 

The  cry  was  raised  that  Morgan  had  been  abducted  and  killed  ;  that  he 
had  been  traced  to  Fort  Niagara,  and  taken  out  in  a  boat  upon  Lake  Ontario 
and  drowned. 

All  sorts  of  improbable  stories  were  circulated,  and  one  man  said  he  knew 
Morgan  had  been  killed  because  the  carcass  of  a  sturgeon,  with  Aforga?z's  boots 
in  it,  had  been  washed  ashore  on  the  banks  of  the  Niagara  River,  just  below 


ei2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

the  falls.  (If  so,  no  wonder  the  sturgeon  died.)  The  effect  of  this  excite- 
ment, although  bad,  would  have  been  of  short  duration  and  its  destructiveness 
limited,  if  it  had  not  been  taken  advantage  of  by  reckless  and  unscrupulous 
politicians  to  advance  their  interests  for  political  and  party  purposes. 

The  consequence  was  that,  while  the  great  body  of  the  Fraternity 
denounced  the  abduction,  they  were  all  equally  assailed,  and  the  Institution 
had  to  suffer  for  the  foolishness  and  indiscretion  of  a  few  of  its  members. 

Governmental  Action.  —  DeWitt  Clinton,  a  distinguished  and  eminent 
Mason,  was  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York  at  that  time. 

He  issued  a  proclamation,  October  7,  1826,  enjoining  upon  all  officers  and 
ministers  of  justice  in  the  State,  and  particularly  in  the  county  of  Genesee, 
to  pursue  all  proper  and  efficient  measures  for  the  apprehension  of  the 
offenders  and  the  prevention  of  further  outrages,  etc.  A  second  proclamation 
was  issued  on  the  26th  of  October,  offering  a  reward  for  the  discovery  and 
conviction  of  the  offenders. 

March  19,  1827,  another  proclamation  with  a  reward  of  one  thousand 
dollars  and  a  free  pardon  to  any  one,  who,  "  as  accomplice  or  cooperator 
shall  make  a  full  discovery  of  the  offender  or  offenders." 

These  are  among  the  pubhc  evidences  of  the  desire  of  Governor  Clinton 
to  maintain  the  ascendency  of  the  law. 

Subsequent  to  the  Disappearance,  Trials,  etc.  —  The  investigations  of  the 
committee,  appointed  at  the  Batavia  meeting,  showed  that  when  the  parties 
left  the  carriage  beyond  Rochester,  on  Wednesday  morning,  September  13th, 
they  entered  another  and  proceeded  west  by  the  way  of  Clarkson,  Gaines, 
Lewiston,  and  so  on  to  Fort  Niagara,  arriving  there  on  the  morning  of  the 
14th,  changes  of  horses  being  provided  as  if  by  arrangement. 

A  part  of  the  journey  Eli  Bruce,  —  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  —  was  with 
them.  Upon  their  arrival  at  Fort  Niagara,  the  four  occupants  of  the  carriage 
—  one  of  whom  was  Bruce  —  left  it,  dismissed  the  driver,  and  proceeded 
toward  the  fort,  which  was  about  eighty  rods  distant. 

This  was  the  last  that  was  seen  of  Morgan,  as  shown  by  the  record  before 
us ;  and  what  transpired  afterward  will  be  developed  in  our  review  of  some 
of  the  trials  arising  therefrom. 

Two  Theories.  —  From  this  affair  can  be  deduced  two  theories  :  — 

(i)  That  the  arrest  of  Morgan  was  a  blind  to  get  him  away  from  his 
friends  in  Batavia;  that  he  was  released  from  jail  at  Canandaigua  under  false 
pretences,  conveyed  by  violence  and  against  his  will  out  of  the  country,  and 
finally  put  to  death  by  drowning  or  other  violent  means. 

(2)  That  the  whole  transaction,  commencing  at  Batavia  and  terminating 
upon  Canadian  soil,  was  undertaken  and  finished  with  the  consent  and 
cooperation  of  Morgan,  and  that  no  violence  was  at  any  time  exercised  or 
attempted  upon  him. 

Upon  the  first  theory,  the  Anti-Masonic  party  was  established,  enlisting 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


513 


among  its  leaders  such  men  as  Francis  Granger,  W.  H.  Seward,  Thurlow 
Weed,  M.  Fillmore,  Solomon  Southwick,  John  C.  Spencer,  William  Wirt, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  WiUiam  Slade,  and  others. 

The  second  theory  to  our  mind  is  much  more  in  accord  with  the  facts,  and 
more  likely  to  be  the  truth.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  here  the 
following  account,  given  at  a  subsequent  period  by  Jeremiah  Brown,  who 
acted  as  driver  of  the  coach  a  part  of  the  way  :  — 

"  That  Morgan  went  of  his  own  free  will  and  accord ;  he  was  going  among  old  friends  in 
Canada,  where  he  could  turn  over  a  new  leaf  and  begin  life  anew. 

"  On  Saturday,  September  i6th,  he  was  again  taken  across  the  river  and  committed  to  the 
care  of  two  Canadian  Masons.  Morgan  was  paid  the  full  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  in  good 
money,  and  he  signed  an  'undertaking'  not  to  return  to  the  States  without  written  permission 
from  John  Whitney  or  N.  G.  Chesebro,  —  or  to  leave  Upper  Canada." 

Rise  of  Anti-Masonry.  —  This  occurrence  naturally  aroused  the  most  bitter 
feeling  against  the  Fraternity.  Members  were  arrested  on  different  charges 
growing  out  of  these  transactions,  and  suits  were  pending  for  years.  Some 
were  imprisoned,  among  the  number  Eli  Bruce,  of  whom  we  shall  speak 
hereafter.  The  last  Canandaigua  trial  came  oif  in  May,  1831,  and  during 
the  preceding  four  years  there  was  at  all  times  confined  in  the  jail  some 
one  connected  with  this  affair. 

Bruce  was  immediately  arrested  on  the  charge  of  the  abduction  of  Morgan, 
but  was  acquitted  by  the  magistrate,  because  it  could  not  be  proven  that  any 
one  was  abducted,  or  that  any  force  or  violence  had  been  exercised  toward 
any  person  in  the  carriage. 

Governor  Clinton  propounded  a  series  of  written  interrogatories  relative  to 
his  agency  in  the  transaction,  and  on  his  refusal  to  answer  issued  a  proclama- 
tion removing  him  from  office. 

In  an  interview  which  the  sheriff  sought,  the  Governor  said  :  — 

"  Strong  as  is  my  attachment  to  you,  I  will,  if  you  are  guilty,  exert  myself  to  have  you  punished 
to  the  full  extent  of  the  law." 

And  to  show  his  opinion  of  the  transaction,  in  a  private  letter,  he  says  :  — 

"  I  have  always  condemned  the  abduction  of  Morgan,  and  have  never  spoken  of  the  measure 
but  as  a  most  unwarrantable  outrage  and  as  deserving  the  most  severe  punishment." 

Among  those  upon  whom  the  utmost  vials  of  the  Anti-Masonic  wrath  were 
poured  was  Eli  Bruce,  and  inasmuch  as  the  developments  on  the  trial  present 
to  us  occurrences  after  Morgan  left  the  fort,  we  give  full  mention  of  the 
same.  At  the  time  of  the  events  recorded  here  he  held  the  position  of  High 
Sheriff  of  Niagara  County,  having  been  elected  in  1825. 

He  was  serving  as  Principal  Sojourner  in  the  Royal  Arch  chapter  at 
Lewiston,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the  council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters 
at  Lockport. 


SH 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


Early  in  1827  he  was  arraigned  before  A.  J.  Henman,  justice  of  the  peace 
at  Lockport,  for  assisting  in  the  abduction  of  Morgan,  but  was  acquitted. 

Complaint  being  made  to  Governor  Clinton,  he  was  summoned  to  Albany,  to 
show  cause  why  he  should  not  be  removed  from  office.  His  reply,  by  counsel, 
did  not  satisfy  Governor  Clinton,  who  required  that  he  should  prove  his  inno- 
cence. He  was  tried  before  the  Circuit  Court  of  Ontario  County,  sitting  at 
Canandaigua,  August,  1828,  upon  two  counts. 

( 1 )  For  conspiracy  to  abduct  Morgan. 

(2)  For  the  abduction  itself. 

He  was  sentenced  to  twenty-eight  months'  imprisonment.  On  appeal,  the 
execution  of  the  sentence  was  postponed  until  May  13,  1829,  and  he  was 
imprisoned  in  Canandaigua  jail  May  20,  1829,  and  remained  there  until 
September  23,  1831. 

From  the  evidence  given  at  the  trial,  we  gather  that  Bruce  was  informed 
that  Morgan  was  coming  voluntarily,  and  that  he  had  been  requested  to  pre- 
pare a  cell  for  him  in  the  jail  at  Lockport,  to  be  occupied  temporarily  until 
he  could  be  conveyed  to  Canada,  said  Morgan  being  desirous  of  severing  his 
connection  with  Miller. 

He  declined  at  first  to  take  any  part  in  the  proceedings,  but  finally  con- 
sented. With  his  companions  he  crossed  the  river  to  Canada,  having  Morgan 
in  the  boat ;  but  the  expected  arrangement  for  the  reception  of  Morgan  there 
had  not  been  made,  and  it  was  thought  best  to  wait  a  few  days.  Morgan  was 
accordingly  brought  back  to  this  side  of  the  river  and  put  in  the  magazine  in 
Fort  Niagara,  to  await  the  completion  of  the  arrangements,  which  were  to 
place  him  upon  a  farm  in  the  interior  of  Canada.  This  occurred  on  the  morning 
of  the  14th  of  September. 

Bruce  testified  that  he  had  never  seen  Morgan  since  and  did  not  know  what 
became  of  him;  further,  that  he  always  supposed  Morgan  went  voluntarily.  He 
was  unaware  of  any  force  having  been  used,  if  indeed  any  had  been. 

Mr.  Bruce,  as  a  peace  officer,  burdened  with  public  responsibility,  should 
have  declined  to  listen  to  any  proposition  to  remove  a  man  privately  from  the 
State,  even  if  agreeable  to  the  will  of  the  man  himself.  It  is  impossible  in  an 
article  of  this  nature  to  present  a  restune  of  the  trials,  and  for  our  purpose  it 
seems  unnecessary. 

In  many  instances  they  were  largely  influenced  and  biased  by  the  spirit 
which  prevailed  at  that  time. 

Ontario  County  was  the  theatre  of  the  first  judicial  investigation,  and 
November,  1826,  two  indictments  were  found  against  Loton  Lawson,  Nicholas 
G.  Chesebro,  Edward  Sawyer,  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  John  Sheldon  :  — 

"  (i)  With  conspiracy  to  seize  and  carry  William  Morgan  from  the  jail  to 
foreign  parts,  and  there  continually  to  secrete  and  imprison  him. 

"  (2)  That  on  the  evening  of  September  12th  they  did  so  seize  him,  etc., 
in  pursuance  of  the  conspiracy." 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


515 


The  trial  was  had  at  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  held  at  Canandaigua, 
January  i,  1827.  The  three  former  plead  guilty  to  both  indictments,  but  it 
was  adjudged  that  they  could  be  sentenced  only  on  one. 

Sheldon  admitted  the  abduction,  but  denied  that  he  was  concerned  in  it ; 
an  alibi  was  proved  by  overwhelming  evidence,  but  it  did  not  avail,  and  he 
was  found  guilty.  They  were  all  sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  jail ;  Lawson 
for  two  years,  Chesebro  for  one  year,  Sheldon  for  three  months,  and  Sawyer 
for  one  month. 

Progress  of  Anti-Masonry.  —  Conventions  followed  the  judicial  investiga- 
tions before  referred  to,  self-constituted  parties  travelled  from  place  to  place, 
and  through  their  committees  decided  upon  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  sus- 
pected persons,  and  got  up  systematic  prosecutions  to  force  Masons  to  secede. 

Freemasonry  was  more  fiercely  denounced  than  ever ;  the  community  was 
in  a  whirlpool  of  passion,  and  politicians  came  to  the  front  and  procured  the 
passage  at  public  meetings  of  resolutions  against  voting  for  Freemasons  for 
any  office  whatever.  It  was  voted  to  hear  no  Mason  preach  unless  he  boldly 
denounced  Freemasonry  as  a  bad  institution.  Masonic  clergymen  were 
dismissed  from  their  charges,  and  Masonic  meetings  were  to  be  prevented  by 
force  of  arms.  At  a  convention  of  delegates  from  several  Baptist  churches, 
held  at  LeRoy,  N.Y.,  January,  1827,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  all  such  members  as  belong  to  the  Baptist  Church,  and  who  also  belong  to 
the  Society  of  Freemasons,  be  requested  to  renounce  publicly  all  communications  with  that 
Order,  and  if  the  request  is  not  complied  with  in  a  reasonable  time  to  excommunicate  all  those 
who  neglect  or  refuse  to  do  so." 

There  was  no  perceptible  abatement  of  the  excitement ;  all  kinds  of  stories 
were  invented  and  circulated.  A  committee  reported  the  "  finding  of  blood 
in  the  magazine  at  Fort  Niagara."  Subsequently  a  member  of  the  said 
committee  authorized  the  statement  "that  no  signs  of  blood,  or  any  other 
probable  evidences  of  the  murder  of  Morgan,  had  been  discovered  at  Fort 
Niagara." 

The  excitement  was  greatly  increased  by  the  flight  of  Burrage  Smith,  John 
Whitney,  and  Colonel  William  King,  who  had  been  charged  with  participation 
in  the  abduction  of  Morgan.  Colonel  King  ultimately  returned  of  his  own 
accord  and  surrendered  himself  for  trial,  but  died  before  the  trial  came  on. 
In  May,  1829,  John  Whitney,  who  voluntarily  returned  from  the  South  for  that 
purpose,  was  tried.  It  was  proved  that  Whitney  was  in  Canandaigua,  Tuesday, 
September  12,  1826,  and  at  the  chapter  installation  at  Lewiston  the  14th, 
but  that  he  did  not  accompany  the  steamboat  party  that  night  to  Rochester. 
This  seemed  to  connect  him  with  the  whole  Morgan  movement.  He  was 
declared  guilty  and  sentenced  to  one  year's  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail. 
He  entered  the  prison  June  8,  1829,  and  was  freed  August  30,  1830. 

Many  persons  were  arrested  and  tried  for  participation  in  the  affair,  but 
they   were  acquitted  on  the  ground  that  they  only  had  been  concerned  in 


5i6 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


carrying  Morgan  to  jail,  and  that  in  his  arrest  they  were  protected  by  the 
warrant. 

Governor  Clinton's  Letter.  —  Governor  CUnton  addressed  letters  to  the 
governors  of  the  two  Canadas,  requesting  them  to  cause  inquiry  to  be  made 
respecting  Morgan,  as  it  was  suspected  he  had  been  carried  to  one  of  their 
provinces.     In  his  letter  he  says  :  — 

"  During  the  last  year  he  [Morgan]  put  a  manuscript  into  the  hands  of  a  printer  at  Batavia, 
purporting  to  be  a  promulgation  of  the  secrets  of  Freemasonry.  This  was  passed  over  by  the 
great  body  of  that  Fraternity  without  notice  and  with  silent  contempt ;  but  a  few  desperate  fanatics 
engaged  in  a  plan  of  carrying  him  off,  and  on  the  12th  of  September  last  [1826]  they  took  him 
from  Canandaigua  by  force,  as  it  is  understood,  and  conveyed  him  to  the  Niagara  River,  from 
whence  it  is  supposed  that  he  was  taken  to  His  Britannic  Majesty's  dominions.  Some  of  the 
offenders  have  been  apprehended  and  punished,  but  no  intelligence  has  been  obtained  respecting 
Morgan  since  his  abduction." 

Government  Action  in  "Upper  Canada."  —  In  response  to  this  com- 
munication. Sir  Frederick  Maitland,  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Upper  Canada, 
issued  the  following  proclamation  :  — 

"  _^50  Reward.  —  His  Excellency  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  having  received  a  communica- 
tion from  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York,  by  which  it  appears  that 
William  Morgan,  who  some  years  ago  exercised  the  calling  of  a  brewer  in  this  place,  and  who  has 
recently  resided  at  Canandaigua,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  was  some  time  in  the  last  year 
conveyed  by  force  from  that  place,  and  is  supposed  to  be  forcibly  detained  in  some  part  of  this 
Province ;  any  person  who  may  be  able  to  offer  any  information  respecting  the  said  William 
Morgan,  shall,  upon  communicating  the  same  to  the  Private  Secretary  of  His  Excellency  the 
Lieutenant-Governor,  receive  the  reward  above  offered. 

"  Government  House,  January  31,  1827." 

The  Lewiston  Convention.  —  Conventions  were  held  in  different  parts  of 
the  State  of  New  York ;  and,  at  the  one  known  as  the  Lewiston  Convention 
(1827),  the  following  catalogue  of  the  pretended  discoveries  was  published  :  — 

"  (i)  That  the  unhappy  Morgan  was  taken  to  Newark,  Upper  Canada,  gagged,  bound,  and 
blindfolded. 

"  (2)  That  he  was  there  offered  to  the  British  Masons  of  that  place,  .with  a  request  that  they 
should  get  him  on  board  of  a  British  Man-of-War  or  turn  him  over  to  Brandt  tlie  Indian  Chief 
and  a  Mason,  to  be  executed  with  savage  cruelty. 

"  (3)  That  the  Newark  Lodge  assembled  on  this  proposition,  and  sent  for  Brandt  who  came 
accordingly. 

"  (4)  Brandt  proved  himself  too  noble  of  nature  to  have  anything  to  do  with  so  cowardly, 
inhuman,  and  wicked  a  transaction.  The  savage  hero  disdained  to  do  that  which  cowardly  white 
monsters  urged  him  to  do. 

"  (5)  The  Newark  Masons,  thus  rebuked  by  savage  justice  and  magnanimity,  likewise  finally 
declined  to  take  charge  of  the  miserable  victim. 

"  (6)  The  diabolical  wretches,  who  had  him  in  custody,  brought  him  back  as  far  as  Fort 
Niagara,  and  there  murdered  him  in  cold  blood,  cutting  his  throat  from  ear  to  ear,  cutting  out  his 
tongue,  and  burying  him  in  the  sand,  and  concluding  the  hellish  rites  by  sinking  the  body  in  the 
lake." 

These  allegations  do  not  harmonize  well  with  the  body  discovered  and 
identified  as  that  of  Morgan,  alluded  to  in  another  part  of  this  paper. 
Further,  upon   the   above  becoming  known  to  Colonel  Brandt  —  who  was  a 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT.  517 

gentleman  of  standing  in  Upper  Canada  —  he,  in  a  personal  letter,  denied  the 
charge  as  far  as  it  referred  to  himself. 

Newspaper  Investigations.  —  The  Rutland  (Vt.)  ZT^-n?/^/,  after  publishing 
the  horrid  stories  related  by  members  of  the  above  convention,  says  :  — 

"  After  all  this,  we  confess  we  are  among  the  number  of  unbelievers  to  these  tragic  tales. 
That  Morgan  was  abused  and  carried  off,  we  have  no  doubt ; 

"  But  that  he  is  now  somewhere  in  the  British  Provinces,  profiting  and  speculating  by  these 
repeated  bloody  recitals,  by  issuing  edition  after  edition  of  his  "  Mysteries  of  Freemasonry 
Unveiled,"  accompanied  with  all  these  seeming  barbarous  and  unrelenting  cruelties,  we  have 
scarcely  a  doubt  remaining. 

"  The  probability  after  all  is,  that  Morgan  has  voluntarily  absented  himself,  and  is  continuing 
in  seclusion  with  a  view  to  promote  the  sale  of  his  book,  and  that  the  excitement  which  has  been 
raised  about  it  has  been  created  for  political  purposes." 

Last  Declaration  of  Governor  Clinton.  —  To  show  the  malignity  of  the 
opposition,  let  me  recite  the  fact  that,  at  the  death  of  Governor  Clinton,  which 
occurred  in  1828,  they  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  "  stung  with  remorse  for 
sanctioning  Morgan's  death,  he  had  taken  his  own  life."  Against  this  accusa- 
tion, we  direct  attention  to  his  official  action,  and  would  also  quote  from  his 
private  letter  to  the  Batavia  Convention,  under  date  of  January  8,  1827,  in 
which  he  says  :  — 

"  I  am  persuaded,  however,  that  the  body  of  Freemasons,  so  far  from  having  any  participation 
in  this  affair  or  giving  any  countenance  to  it,  reprobate  it  as  a  most  unjustifiable  act,  repugnant  to 
the  principles  and  abhorrent  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Fraternity.  I  know  that  Freemasonry,  properly 
understood  and  faithfully  attended  to,  is  friendly  to  religion,  morality,  and  good  government.  .  .  . 
It  is  no  more  responsible  for  the  acts  of  unworthy  members  than  any  other  institution  or 
association." 

Masonic  Aspect ;  Action  Thereon.  —  A  careful  examination  shows  that,  at 
the  time  of  Morgan's  arrest,  the  Masons  who  had  interested  themselves  in  the 
matter  supposed  that  they  had  secured  enough  of  the  manuscript  to  prevent 
Miller  going  on  with  the  work,  unless  Morgan  should  replace  what  was  miss- 
ing. To  make  sure  that  Morgan  would  not  do  that,  a  plan  was  undoubtedly 
laid  to  get  Morgan  away  from  Miller;  either  to  get  him  into  Canada,  and 
arrange  for  him  to  stay  there,  or  else  to  send  him  out  of  the  country  on  a  sea 
voyage. 

Quite  a  number  were  cognizant  of  the  plan,  and  the  leading  spirits  were 
John  Whitney  and  Nicholas  G.  Chesebro,  together  with  Colonel  William  King, 
Burrage  Smith,  Loton  Lawson,  and  EU  Bruce ;  financial  means  were  supplied 
for  the  purpose.  We  do  not,  however,  find  that  an  officer  of  any  Grand 
body  was  connected  therewith. 

Of  the  fact  that  the  scheme  was  a  local  arrangement,  the  action  taken  by 
the  various  Grand  bodies,  of  which  we  have  knowledge,  is  conclusive ;  and, 
to  substantiate  the  position,  it  is  only  necessary  to  recite  a  few  instances. 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York.  —  The  committee  appointed  by  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  of  the   State  of  New  York,  on   the 


5i8 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


William  Morgan  affair,  reported  February  9,  1S27,  being  its  first  convocation 
after  the  occurrence,  as  follows  :  — 

"  That  they  had  attended  to  the  duties  assigned  them,  and  that  from  the  highly  agitated  and 
inflamed  state  of  public  feeling  on  this  subject,  and  from  the  false  and  undeserved  imputations 
which  have  been  thrown  upon  Freemasons  and  the  Masonic  Order  generally,  the  committee 
deem  it  proper  that  this  Grand  Chapter  should  make  a  public  expression  of  its  sentiment  in  relatioH 
to  the  affair  alluded  to. 

"  '  Your  committee,  as  expressive  of  their  views  on  the  subject  embraced  in  this  report,  would 
offer  for  the  consideration  of  the  Grand  Chapter  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  :  — 

"  '  Whereas,  The  right  of  personal  liberty  and  security  are  guaranteed  by  the  free  constitution 
under  which  we,  the  members  of  this  Grand  Chapter,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  have  the  happiness  to  live,  and 

"  '  Whereas,  We  esteem  the  preservation  of  these  rights  of  vital  importance  to  the  perpetuity 
and  full  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  our  republican  institutions,  and 

"  '  Whereas,  The  community  has  lately  witnessed  a  violation  of  the  same  under  the  pretext  of 
the  Masonic  name  and  sanction  (in  the  case  of  William  Morgan),  and 

"'  Whereas,  The  principles  of  our  Ancient  and  Honorable  Fraternity  contain  nothing  which,  in 
the  slightest  degree,  justify  or  authorize  such  proceedings;  but,  on  the  contrary,  do  in  all  their 
tenets  and  ceremonies,  encourage  and  inculcate  a  just  submission  to  the  laws,  the  enjoyment  of 
equal  rights  by  every  individual,  and  a  high  and  elevated  spirit  of  personal  as  well  as  national 
independence;  therefore  be  it 

"  'Resolved,  By  this  Grand  Chapter,  that  we,  as  members  individually  and  as  a  body,  do 
disclaim  all  knowledge  and  approbation  of  the  said  proceedings,  in  relation  to  the  abduction  of  the 
said  William  Morgan,  and  that  we  disapprove  of  the  same,  as  a  violation  of  the  majesty  of  the  law, 
and  an  infringement  of  the  rights  of  personal  liberty,  secured  to  every  citizen  of  our  free  and 
happy  Republic. 

"  'Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  Preamble  and  Resolutions  be  adopted.'  " 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York.  —  Some  Grand  Lodges  issued  an  appeal, 
and  upon  the  question  of  the  expediency  of  making  an  address  to  the  public, 
etc.,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1831  adopted  the  following, 
which  is  the  only  action  had  in  the  premises  :  — 

"  Whereas,  It  is  alleged  that  an  outrage  has  been  committed  on  the  body  of  William  Morgan, 
and 

"  Whereas,  Proceedings  in  consequence  of  such  allegations  have  been  made  in  courts  of  justice 
in  relation  to  the  subject,  and 

"  Whereas,  By  reason  cf  foul  misrepresentation,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  impress  the  public 
mind  with  an  opinion,  that  the  Grand  Lodge  and  the  Fraternity  in  general,  have  attempted  to 
screen,  if  not  protect  the  perpetrators  of  this  alleged  outrage;  therefore  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Secretary  be  instructed  to  ascertain  from  the  public  record  a  state- 
ment of  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  persons  said  to  have  been  Masons,  charged  and  convicted  of 
the  abduction  of  Morgan,  and  report  to  this  Grand  Lodge  at  its  next  annual  communication." 

Li  1832  a  supplemental  report  was  adopted  :  — 

"  That  participating  with  the  members  of  this  Grand  Lodge,  and  the  great  body  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  in  a  feeling  of  deep  abhorrence  of  the  outrage,  which  was  a  violation  alike  of  Masonic 
obligation  and  the  law  of  the  land,  they  [the  committee]  have  examined  the  papers  submitted 
thereto  with  that  attention  which  the  importance  of  the  subject  demands. 

"  The  voluminous  nature  of  the  papers  presented  and  the  shortness  of  the  time  have,  however, 
prevented  them  from  investigating  the  subject  as  fiilly  as  they  would  desire,  and  further  time  was 
asked  in  which  to  formulate  a  report." 


FREEMASONRY    IN    PRACTICE. 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


521 


Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont. — Among  the  appeals  issued  against  the  Anti- 
Masonic  persecutions,  we  present  the  conclusion  of  that  issued  by  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Vermont,  October  7,  1829  :  — 

"  As  Masons  we  hold  ourselves  guiltless,  in  any  manner,  of  the  shedding  of  human  blood  — 
guiltless,  in  any  manner,  of  conspiring  against  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  the  people,  or 
endeavoring  to  monopolize  an  unequal  portion  of  those  privileges  to  ourselves,  or  to  abridge  the 
rights  of  others  — guiltless,  in  any  manner,  of  impeding,  retarding  or  diverting  the  cause  of  justice 
— guiltless,  in  any  manner,  of  an  intrusion  into  the  three  great  departments  of  our  government  — 
guiltless,  in  any  manner,  of  attempting  to  identify  the  subject  with  politics,  or  of  making  the  latter 
a  matter  of  discussion  or  remark — guiltless,  in  any  manner,  of  performing  any  rite,  or  doing  any 
act,  immoral  or  irreligious  —  a.x\A  gidltless,  in  any  manner,  of  entertaining  the  remotest  suspicion 
that  the  life  of  a  fellow-being  was  subject  to  our  control." 

Other  Grand  Lodg^es.  —  From  another  we  excerpt  the  following :  — 

"  We  claim  of  our  fellow-citizens  the  same  rights  enjoyed  by  other  men,  and  no  more.  The  con- 
stitution proscribes  no  man  who  well  performs  the  duties  of  his  citizenship.  Disregarding  this  truly 
republican  principle,  the  avowed  design  of  Anti-Masonry  is  a  universal  proscription  of  men, 
simply  because  they  are  Masons.  Let  a  principle  of  this  description  once  gain  the  ascendancy 
among  us,  let  the  passions  become  enlisted  in  it,  and  no  man  can  foretell  the  desolation  of  the  end. 

"  We  deprecate  all  persecution,  no  matter  what  name  it  bears,  or  what  garb  it  assumes.  It  is 
dangerous  to  society,  dangerous  to  individuals,  and  is  the  tyrant's  usual  engine  to  destroy  the  great 
cause  of  liberty  itself." 

Declaration  by  the  Fraternity  of  Boston.  — We  have  before  us  a  Dec- 
laration of  the  Freemasons  of  Boston  and  Vicinity,  dated  December  31,  1831, 
which  so  concisely  and  plainly  presents  the  subject  that  the  affecting  nature  of 
the  appeal  must  have  given  it  an  immense  power  for  good  :  — 

"  While  the  public  mind  remained  in  the  high  state  of  excitement,  to  which  it  had  been 
carried  by  the  partial  and  inflammatory  representations  of  certain  offences,  committed  by  a  few 
misguided  members  of  the  Masonic  iNriTlTUTiON,  in  a  sister  State,  it  seemed  to  the  undersigned 
(residents  of  Boston  and  vicinity),  to  be  expedient  to  refrain  from  a  public  DECLARATION  of  their 
principles  and  engagements  as  Masons.  But  believing  the  time  now  to  be  fully  come,  when  their 
fellow-citizens  will  receive  with  candor,  if  not  with  satisfaction,  A  SOLEMN  AND  unequivocal 
DENIAL  OF  THE  ALLEGATIONS,  which,  during  the  last  five  years,  in  consequence  of  their 
connection  with  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  have  been  reiterated  against  them,  they  respectfully 
ask  permission  to  invite  attention  to  the  subjoined 

"  Declaration :  — 

"  Whereas,  it  has  been  frequently  asserted  and  published  to  the  world,  that  in  the  several 
degrees  of  Freemasonry,  as  they  are  enforced  in  the  United  States,  the  candidate,  in  his 
initiation  and  subsequent  advancement,  binds  himself  by  oath  to  sustain  his  Masonic  brethren  in 
acts,  which  are  at  variance  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality,  and  incompatible  with  his 
duty  as  a  good  and  faithful  citizen,  in  justice  therefore  to  themselves,  and  with  a  view  to  establish 
truth  and  expose  imposition,  the  undersigned,  many  of  us  the  recipients  of  every  degree  of 
Freemasonry,  known  and  acknowledged  in  this  country,  do  most  SOLEMNLY  DENY  the  existence 
of  any  such  obligations  in  the  MASONIC  INSTITUTION,  as  far  as  our  knowledge  respectively 
extends.  And  we  as  SOLEMNLY  AVER  that,  no  person  is  admitted  to  the  Institution,  without  first 
being  made  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  obligations  which  he  will  be  required  to  incur  and 
assume. 

"  Freemasonry  secures  its  members  in  the  freedom  of  thought  and  of  speech,  and  permits 
each  and  every  one  to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience  in  matters  of  religion, 


-^2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

and  of  his  personal  preferences  in  matters  of  politics;  it  neither  knows,  nor  does  it  assume  to 
inflict  upon  its  erring  members,  however  wide  may  be  their  aberration  from  duty,  any  penalties 
or  punishments,  other  than  those  of  ADMONITION,  SUSPENSION  and  EXPULSION. 

"  The  obli'^ations  of  the  Institution  require  of  its  members  a  strict  obedience  to  the  laws  of 
God  and  Man.  So  far  from  being  bound  by  any  engagements  inconsistent  with  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  the  nation,  every  citizen  who  becomes  a  Mason,  is  doubly  bound  to  be  true  to  his 
God,  to  his  Country  and  to  his  Fellow-Man. 

"  In  the  language  of  the  Ancient  Constitutions  of  the  Order,  which  are  printed  and  open  for 
public  inspection,  and  which  are  used  as  text  books  in  all  the  lodges,  he  is  required  to  keep  and 
obey  the  Moral  Law;  to  be  a  quiet  and  peaceful  citizen,  true  to  his  government  and  just  to  his 
country. 

"  Masonry  disdains  the  making  of  proselytes ;  she  opens  the  portals  of  her  asylum  to  those 
only  who  seek  admission,  with  the  recommendation  of  a  character  unspotted  by  immorality  and 
vice.  She  simply  requires  of  the  candidate  his  assent  to  one  great,  fundamental,  religious  truth, 
THE  EXISTENCE  AND  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD ;  and  a  practical  acknowledgment  of  those  infal- 
lible doctrines  for  the  government  of  life,  which  are  written  by  the  finger  of  God  on  the  heart 
of  man. 

"  Entertaining  such  sentiments,  as  Masons,  as  Citizens,  as  Christians,  and  as  Moral 
Men,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  the  Masonic  Institution  has  been,  and 
may  continue  to  be,  productive  of  great  good  to  their  fellow-men  ;  and  having  '  received  the  laws 
of  the  society,  and  its  accumulated  funds,  in  sacred  trust  for  charitable  uses,"  the  undersigned  can 
neither  renounce  nor  abandon  it. 

"  We  most  cordially  unite  with  our  brethen  of  Salem  and  vicinity,  in  the  declaration  and  hope 
that,  '  should  the  people  of  this  country  become  so  infatuated  as  to  deprive  Masons  of  their  civil 
rights,  in  violation  of  their  written  constitutions,  and  the  wholesome  spirit  of  just  laws  and  free 
governments,  a  vast  majority  of  the  Fraternity  will  still  remain  firm,  confiding  in  God,  and  the 
rectitude  of  their  intentions,  for  consolation,  under  the  trials  to  which  they  may  be  exposed.'  " 

To  this  were  appended  the  signatures  of  1469  Masons  from  fifty-four  towns 
and  districts,  —  Boston  of  course  furnishing  the  largest  number,  437;  —  but 
all  parts  of  the  State  were  worthily  represented. 

Lodges  and  Chapters  in  New  York.  —  Action  was  taken  by  lodges  and 
chapters  in  the  various  parts  of  the  State  of  New  York,  All  repudiated  the 
act  as  an  outrage  upon  public  liberty,  and  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  laws  of  the 
land.  Without  multiplying  instances  we  append  the  action  and  resolutions 
adopted  in  Lyons  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  March  15,  1827  :  — 

"  Wkereaa,  The  abduction  of  William  Morgan  has  given  rise  to  much  excitement  in  the  public 
mind  against  the  Fraternity  of  Freemasons,  and  as  efforts  have  been  made  both  in  public  news- 
papers and  private  circles  to  charge  this  outrage  upon  his  person  against  the  whole  body  of 
Masons  as  such,  and 

"  Whereas,  Many  pretend  to  believe  and  endeavor  to  inculcate  that  belief  in  others,  that  the 
Masonic  Fraternity  claims  a  right  to  inflict  corporal  punishment,  and  even  to  put  to  death  such  of 
its  members  as  reveal  its  secrets  or  violate  its  laws ;  therefore 

''Resolved,  That  we  declare  unto  the  world,  that  Masons  acknowledge  no  laws  which  contra- 
vene the  Constitution  and  laws  of  their  country,  and  that  the  Masonic  Institution  claims  no  right 
to  inflict  corporal  or  other  punishment  upon  its  members  except  suspension  and  expulsion,  and 
that  the  exercise  of  any  further  or  any  greater  power  than  this  would  be  in  violation  of  the  most 
sacred  principles  of  our  Order. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  view  with  deep  regret  the  gross  violation  of  the  laws  of  our  country  and 
the  rules  and  principles  of  Masonry,  by  members  of  our  Institution  in  the  late  affair  of  William 
Morgan,  and  that  we  utterly  disclaim  all  knowledge  (3r  participation  whatever  in  the  abduction  of 
said  Morgan,  and  that  we  will  as  Masons  have  no  communication  with  those  persons  who  were 
engaged  in  the  perpetration  of  this  outrage." 


THE   MORGAN  EXCITEMENT.  523 

Many  lodges  surrendered  their  charters,  the  reason  being  given  in  one  case 
(Ballston  Spa,  N.Y.,  1828)  :  — 

"  It  is,  briefly,  that  the  present  state  of  public  excitement  on  the  subject  of  Masonry  is  such, 
that  it  produces  discords  in  neighborhoods,  and  among  members  of  the  same  family,  and  even  in 
the  Church  of  Christ,  to  allay  or  prevent  which  is  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  Order." 

The  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter.  —  The  General  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  the  United  States  was  in  session  in  New  York  City  during  the 
week  of  Morgan's  abduction,  the  session  commencing  on  the  14th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1826,  and  the  following,  which  we  find  in  Josiah  H.  Drummond's  account 
of  that  period,  is  of  interest :  — 

"  Samuel  L.  Knapp,  a  member  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, says  that  on  the  second  day  of  the  session,  the  presiding  officer 
stated  that  a  special  communication  had  been  received  from  the  western  part 
of  New  York,  and  suggested  that  it  be  referred  to  a  committee  without 
reading;  this  was  done,  Knapp  being  chairman  of  the  committee.  The 
committee  found  in  their  room  a  young  man  in  a  high  state  of  excitement, 
who  put  into  their  hands  some  printed  pages  and  a  manuscript,  stating  that 
some  of  the  Fraternity  in  his  part  of  the  country  apprehended  that  mischief 
might  arise  from  its  publication.  The  committee  heard  his  story,  deliberated 
upon  it,  and  returned  the  papers  to  the  messenger  without  examination,  telling 
him  distinctly  that  it  was  a  subject  in  which  the  General  Grand  Chapter  could 
take  no  part ;  they  made  a  verbal  report,  and  it  was  accepted  with  few  or 
no  remarks,  and  without  a  dissenting  voice.  The  General  Grand  High 
Priest  (Clinton)  was  not  present,  and  when  he  came  in  and  was  told  what  had 
been  done,  approved  the  course  taken,  saying  that  the  body  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  subject,  and  it  was  not  worthy  the  notice  of  Masons.  The 
messenger  seemed  disappointed,  and  hinted  that  the  writer  of  the  manuscript 
might  at  that  time  be  in  prison  for  debt,  but  was  told  if  that  was  so  to  go 
and  raise  the  money  among  the  Fraternity,  pay  the  debt,  and  restore  the 
manuscript." 


CHAPTER  II. 


Political  Aspect,   Effect  on  Masonic  Bodies,  and  the   Deportation  of 

William  Morgan. 

Political  Aspect.  —  One  great  factor  which  tendea  to  keep  this  excitement 
alive  was  the  influence  of  politicians,  who  sought  to  use  this  as  a  lever  to  lift 
themselves  into  power.  The  election  was  approaching,  and  all  manner  of 
stories  were  put  in  circulation  and  printed  by  the  Anti-Masonic  papers,  a 
a  large  number  of  which  had  sprung  into  existence.  Prominent  among  them 
may  be  noted   Miller's  Republican  Advocate,    Southwick's  Observer,  Stone's 


524 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


Spectator,  Ward's  Anti-Masonic  Quarterly  Review,  and  the  Albany  Evening 
Journal,  which  last  was  established  in  the  winter  of  1830,  under  the  editorial 
management  of  Thurlow  Weed,  then  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  the 
county  of  Monroe. 

It  is  said  that  in  1830  there  were  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  Anti- 
Masonic  papers  in  existence  —  principally  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  — 
and  their  violence  and  bitterness  surpass  description. 

As  an  illustration,  we  present  the  following  from  Southwick's  Observer :  — 

"  Freemasonry  is  the  step  that  leads  down  to  the  dark  gates  of  hell  —  the  paths  of  perdition  — 
conclaves  of  corruption  and  licentiousness  —  protection  of  fraud  and  villainy  —  the  genuine 
academies  of  tippling  —  manufactories  for  noodles,"  etc. 

Among  the  choice  epithets  given  to  the  Craft  were  the  following :  — 

"  Banditti  brethren  —  vile  impostors  —  hypocrites  —  time-fuddlers  —  sharpers  —  knaves  — 
noodles  —  fools  —  blackguards  —  drunkards  —  gullies  —  impostors  —  dumpling-heads  —  nincum- 
poops  —  blockheads,"  etc. 

The  above  are  fair  samples  from  the  newspapers  of  those  days,  and  we 
wonder  at  the  effrontery  and  knavishness  of  the  writers,  as  well  as  the  credulity 
of  the  believers. 

The  Anti-Masonic  party  had  grown  rapidly  in  New  York  and  adjacent 
States ;  it  soon  became  thoroughly  political,  and  no  opportunity  was  lost  for 
furthering  its  ends.  They  murmured  against  Governor  Clinton.  He  had,  to 
be  sure,  removed  Eli  Bruce  from  his  office  as  sheriff,  but  not  as  promptly  as 
they  desired.  To  show  to  what  ends  they  descended,  and  with  what  avidity 
everything  was  accepted  which  harmonized  with  their  desires,  we  direct 
attention  to  the  following  incident :  — 

The  (Alleged)  Body  of  Morgan.  —  The  body  of  a  drowned  man  was  found 
October  7,  1827,  on  the  beach  at  Oak  Orchard  Harbor,  about  forty  miles  from 
Niagara.  An  inquest  was  held  on  the  body  of  the  stranger,  and  "  accidental 
death  "  was  the  verdict  of  the  coroner's  jury. 

From  the  description  of  the  body,  as  elucidated  at  the  inquest,  note  the 
following :  — 

"  Length  of  corpse,  5  feet  10  inches.  No  scars  noticeable  in  the  condition  of  the  flesh.  A 
man  about  forty-six  years  of  age.  Remains  of  heavy  whiskers  and  thick  hair  over  the  head. 
Teeth  sound,  and  nothing  remarkable  about  them. 

"  The  two  Potters,  who  first  discovered  the  body,  and  were  well  acquainted  with  William 
Morgan,  testified  that  the  corpse  had  no  resemblance  by  which  they  shou'd  recognize  Morgan. 

"  Clothing,  etc.,  fully  described.     In  one  of  the  pockets  a  package  of  religious  tracts,"  etc. 

The  body  —  badly  decayed  —  was  buried  with  all  convenient  speed,  but 
it  was  not  destined  to  remain  undisturbed ;  for,  on  the  facts  of  the  inquest 
being  published,  a  party  consisting  of  Thurlow  Weed,  Russel  Dyer,  David  C. 
Miller,  and  a  number  of  Batavia  people  met  at  Oak  Orchard,  Saturday, 
October  13,  1827,  repaired  to  the  grave,  had  the  body  disinterred,  taken  to 
Carlton,  and  examined. 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


525 


Another  inquest  was  held  on  the  Monday  following,  and  the  description  is, 
in  some  particulars,  different  from  the  first :  — 

"  The  head  was  now  so  nearly  bald  that  only  a  few  stray  tufts  of  hair  could  be  seen.  The 
bunch  of  whiskers  had  disappeared.  The  cavities  of  the  ears  and  nostrils  were  ingeniously 
adorned  with  long  white  hairs." 

At  the  second  examination,  three  parties  who  saw  the  body  at  its  first 
discovery,  and  testified  at  the  first  inquest,  were  not  sworn. 

The  assertion  was  made  that  it  was  Morgan's  body,  and  that  it  had  been 
hastily  buried  to  prevent  identification.  To  be  sure,  if  we  were  to  believe 
the  stories  then  in  circulation,  "  Morgan  had  been  dead  some  thirteen 
months,"  and  the  physical  impossibility  of  an  identification  after  that  length 
of  time  was  treated  as  of  no  account.  It  was  announced  all  over  the  country 
that  "  Morgan's  body  had  been  found  " ;  and,  at  the  second  inquest,  Mrs. 
Morgan  and  other  witnesses  were  examined,  and  they  identified  the  body. 

It  is  said  that  Mrs.  Morgan  was  so  wrought  upon  that  she  thought  it  might 
be  Morgan,  yet  she  admitted  that  she  could  see  no  resemblance. 

A  dentist  who  had  extracted  two  of  Morgan's  teeth,  produced  them  and 
declared  that  they  fitted  into  a  place  on  the  same  side  of  the  mouth  where  the 
deceased  had  lost  two  teeth.     Certainly  it  was  a  very  accommodating  body. 

It  is  true  that  not  a  single  article  of  clothing  upon  the  body  had  ever 
belonged  to  Morgan  or  had  been  worn  by  him ;  nor  was  there  anything  upon 
or  about  the  body  which  could  be  traced  back  to  Morgan.  This  was,  however, 
ignored,  it  being  said  that  the  change  of  clothing  was  a  trick  of  the  Masons. 

The  body  was  officially  declared  by  the  inquest  to  be  that  of  William 
Morgan.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  more  intelligent  were  not  prepared 
to  wholly  accept  the  statement ;  and  a  distinguished  politician  —  Thurlow 
Weed  —  (who  probably  knew)  is  said  to  have  remarked,  "Ifs  a  good  enough 
Morgan  till  after  election." 

The  funeral  followed,  the  body  being  removed,  October  19,  1827,  with 
much  parade,  to  Batavia,  creating  a  great  sensation.  The  air  actually  rang 
with  imprecations,  not  only  upon  the  murderers  of  Morgan,  but  upon  the 
whole  Fraternity,  all  of  whom  were  charged  with  being  accessory  to  his 
murder. 

The  cry  of  vengeance  was  wafted  on  every  breeze.  After  the  funeral  came 
hand-bills,  addresses,  and  appeals  to  the  worst  passions  of  the  people. 

But  this  body  was  not  destined  to  rest,  and  when  the  account  of  the  above 
proceedings  was  published,  it  directed  attention  to  the  disappearance  of  one 
Timothy  Monro,  of  the  township  of  Clark,  Upper  Canada,  who  left  that  place 
in  a  boat  September  24th  for  Newark  (or  Fort  George),  on  the  American 
shore,  and  who  while  returning  was  upset  and  drowned. 

Accordingly  the  widow  and  other  friends  came  on,  and  another  inquest 
was  held  at  Batavia,  October  26,  1827;  and  the  result  of  legal  and  formal 
investigation   demonstrated   conclusively  that   it  was  the  body  of  Timothy 


526 


Cosmopolitan  freemasonr  y. 


Monro,  "  who  was  drowned  in  the  Niagara  River  on  the  26th  of  September, 
1827." 

The  body  was  taken  to  Canada  and  buried.  The  evidence  adduced  at  the 
last  inquest  presented  facts  Avhich  proved  conclusively  that  it  could  not  have 
been  the  body  of  Morgan.  From  the  material  differences,  the  conclusion  is 
inevitable  that  the  second  inquest  was  largely  biased  in  one  direction,  —  the 
interest  of  certain  parties  being  to  establish,  at  all  hazards,  the  identifica- 
tion of  Morgan.  A  body  was  needed  for  political  purposes,  the  comedy  was 
arranged,  and  Timothy  Monro  made  a  "  good  enough  Morgan  until  after 
election." 

Thurlow  Weed,  who  took  an  active  and  efficient  part  in  smothering  the 
truth,  was  accused  of  having  shaved  and  stripped  off  the  hair  and  whiskers  of 
the  body  found  in  Carlton,  in  order  that  it  might  resemble  Morgan. 

Thurlow  Weed's  Last  Fulmination. — We  should  not  feel  justified  in 
making  this  personal  allusion,  but  that,  within  a  few  years,  we  find  an  article 
from  his  pen,  published  in  the  daily  press,  alluding  to  those  times  and  reiter- 
ating the  old  story. 

In  a  letter  dated  and  published  September  9,  1882,  he  gives  the  following, 
claiming  that  it  was  detailed  to  him  by  John  Whitney,  while  at  his  house  in 
1 83 1,  and  promulgates  it  as  the  history  of  Morgan's  abduction  and  fate  :  — 

"The  idea  of  suppressing  Morgan's  intended  exposure  of  the  secrets  of  Masonry  was  first  sug- 
gested by  a  man  by  the  name  of  Johns.  It  was  discussed  in  lodges  at  Batavia,  LeRoy,  and 
Rochester.  Johns  suggested  that  Morgan  should  be  separated  from  Miller  and  placed  on  a  farm 
in  Canada  West.  For  this  purpose  he  was  taken  to  Niagara  and  placed  in  the  magazine  of  the 
fort  until  arrangements  for  settling  him  in  Canada  were  completed ;  but  the  Canadian  Masons 
disappointed  them. 

"  After  several  meetings  of  the  lodge  in  Canada,  opposite  Fort  Niagara,  a  refusal  to  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  Morgan  left  his  '  kidnappers  '  greatly  perplexed. 

"  Opportunely  a  Royal  Arch  Chapter  was  installed  at  Lewiston.  The  occasion  brought  a 
large  number  of  enthusiastic  Masons  together.  '  After  labor,'  in  Masonic  language,  they  '  retired 
to  refreshment.'  Under  the  exhilaration  of  champagne  and  other  viands,  tlie  chaplain  (Rev.  P.  H. 
Cummings  of  Rochester)  was  called  on  for  a  toast. 

"  He  responded  with  peculiar  emphasis  and  in  the  language  of  their  ritua?, '  The  enemies  of 
our  Order,  may  they  find  a  grave  six  feet  deep,  six  feet  long,  and  six  feet  due  east  and  west.' 

"  Immediately  after  that  toast,  which  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm.  Col.  William  King, 
an  officer  in  our  war  of  1812,  and  then  a  member  of  the  assembly  from  Niagara  County,  called 
Whitney  of  Rochester,  Howard  of  Buffalo,  Chubbuck  of  Lewiston,  and  Garside  of  Canada,  out  of 
the  room,  and  into  a  carriage  furnished  by  Major  Barton.  They  were  driven  to  Fort  Niagara, 
repaired  to  the  magazine,  and  informed  Morgan  that  the  arrangements  for  sending  him  to  Canada 
were  completed,  and  that  his  family  would  soon  follow  him. 

"  Morgan  received  the  information  cheerfully,  and  walked  with  supposed  friends  to  the  boat, 
which  was  rowed  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  a  rope  was  wound  around  his  body,  to  each 
end  of  which  a  sinker  was  attached.     Morgan  was  then  thrown  overboard." 

In  continuing  the  narrative,  Weed  says  :  — 

"  Of  course  a  secret  thus  confided  to  me  (?)  was  inviolably  kept ;  and  twenty-nine  years  after- 
ward, while  attending  a  National  Republican  Convention  at  Chicago,  John  Whitney,  who  then 
resided  there,  called  to  say  that  he  wanted  me  to  write  out  what  lie  had  once  told  me  was  Mor- 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT.  C2^ 

gan's  fate,  to  be  signed  by  him  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  to  be  sealed  up,  and  published  after 
his  death. 

"  1  promised  to  do  so  before  leaving  Chicago,  but  there  was  no  time  for  it,  and  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  canvass  I  neglected  the  important  duty  of  securing  the  confession  Whitney  was 
anxious  to  make. 

"  In  1861  I  went  to  Europe,  and  while  in  London,  wrote  a  letter  to  Whitney,  asking  him  to  get 
Alex.  B.  Williams,  then  a  resident  of  Chicago,  to  do  what  I  had  so  unpardonably  neglected.  That 
letter  reached  Chicago  otte  week  after  Whitney's  death,  closing  the  last  and  only  chance  for  the  rev- 
elation of  that  important  event." 

We  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  why  these  charges  should  be  made  at  this 
late  date.  The  story  is  improbable  on  its  face,  and  we  have  no  hesitancy  in 
saying  that  if  the  opportunity  had  ever  been  afforded  Mr.  Weed  to  obtain  any 
such  confession,  the  "  excitement  of  no  campaign  "  would  have  allowed  him 
to  miss  the  opportunity. 

We  have  only  to  say  that  if  the  facts  (?)  as  stated  above  are  no  more  cor- 
rect than  those  given  as  an  excuse  for  not  securing  the  said  revelation,  we 
hardly  think  much  credence  can  be  given  them. 

John  Whitney's  Version.  — The  facts  are  that  John  Whitney  did  not  die 
until  May  J,  i86g ;  and,  furthermore,  the  testimony  of  one  who  was  present 
at  the  interview  mentioned  by  Weed  as  occurring  in  Chicago,  is  to  the  effect 
that  the  affair  was  in  every  sense  different  from  the  account  given  by  Weed  :  — 

"  Whitney  accosted  Weed  with  the  query:  '  What  are  you  lying  about  me  so  for  ?  What  are 
all  these  stories  you  are  telling  about  me  and  Morgan  ?  '  Weed  endeavored  to  quiet  him,  begging 
him  not  to  be  angry,  and  assured  him  he  was  only  using  the  stories  for  political  effect.  But 
Whitney  insisted  that  they  should  be  stopped,  nor  would  he  desist  until  Weed  had  promised  to 
say  no  more  about  the  matter." 

Mr.  Weed  also  reiterates  the  old  story,  which  was  a  part  of  the  declaration 
of  the  Lewiston  Convention  of  1827,  of  a  toast  said  to  have  been  offered  by 
Rev.  Francis  H.  Cummings.  That  charge  has  been  denied  repeatedly.  Rev. 
Bro.  Cummings  was  a  setded  clergyman,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
at  Rochester,  and  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  respectable  of  his  profession. 
It  was  without  doubt  one  of  the  Anti-Masonic  slanders  of  that  time.  In  the 
present  instance  it  seems  the  old  feeling  was  not  yet  dead. 

The  Anti-Masonic  Political  Party,  —  At  the  spring  elections  of  1827, 
Freemasons  were  proscribed  simply  because  they  were  Freemasons,  the  move- 
ment in  this  respect  being  nearly  simultaneous  in  Genesee  and  Monroe 
counties.  In  the  fall,  the  Anti-Masonic  party  took  the  field,  having  as  its 
aim  the  destruction  of  Freemasonry  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  ballot- 
box.  The  first  nomination  was  George  A.  S.  Crooker  as  Senator  for  the  8th 
Senatorial  District ;  but  he  was  defeated.  The  party  carried  Genesee,  Mon- 
roe, Livingston,  and  Niagara  counties,  in  the  face  of  both  the  other  parties. 

In  1828  the  first  General  convention  was  held  at  LeRoy,  composed  of 
delegates  from  twelve  of  the  Western  counties,  and  at  the  State  convention, 
held  at  Utica,  in  August,  Solomon  Southwick  of  Albany  received  the  nomina- 
tion  for   Governor  of  New  York   State.     The  total  vote  was  33,345,  and, 


528 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXE  Y. 


although  defeated,  yet  in  the  more  radical  counties  he  received  a  large  vote  — 
in  that  of  Genesee,  4794. 

In  1829  they  elected  Albert  H.  Tracy  Senator  for  the  8th  District,  by  a 
majority  of  about  8000  votes ;  and  at  the  State  election  the  same  year  they 
carried  the  counties  of  Erie,  Niagara,  Orleans,  Genesee,  Livingston,  Monroe, 
Alleghany,  Cattaraugus,  Chautauque,  Steuben,  Ontario,  Wayne,  Yates,  Seneca, 
and  Washington,  and  polled  about  6  7,000  votes. 

At  the  Anti-Masonic  convention,  held  at  Utica,  August,  7830,  forty-eight 
counties  were  represented  by  104  delegates.  Francis  Granger,  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Anti-Masonic  party,  received  the  nomination  for  Governor, 
polled  120,361  votes,  but  was  defeated.  He  also  received  the  nomination  in 
1832,  and  was  again  defeated,  —  his  vote  was  156,672. 

The  Votes  Polled.  —  As  illustrative  of  the  growth  of  the  Anti-Masonic 
party  we  give  the  vote  in  New  York  State  :  — 

In  1828,  33,345;  1829,  68,613;  1830,  106,081;  1831,  98,847;  1832, 
156,672.  In  1833  its  estimated  strength  in  the  United  States  was  340,800. 
It  had  its  most  rapid  growth  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  attained  such 
prominence  that,  in  1832,  it  actually  carried  the  State  of  Vermont  in  favor 
of  its  candidate  for  President.  In  Maine,  the  Anti-Masonic  count  in  1831  was 
869  votes,  in  1832,  2384  votes,  and  in  1833,  1670  votes,  and  that  was  the  end 
of  the  party. 

The  Philadelphia  Convention  of  1830.  — At  the  proceedings  of  the  Anti- 
Masonic  convention,  held  at  Philadelphia,  September  11,  1830,  an  address 
was  adopted  upon  the  report  of  a  committee,  of  whom  Myron  Holley  of 
New  York  was  chairman,  reciting  the  fact  "  that  ]\Iorgan  was  foully  murdered, 
pretends  to  rehearse  the  several  obligations  of  Freemasonry,  and  demands  the 
suppression  of  the  Institution." 

A  few  excerpts  will  suffice  to  show  its  spirit :  — 

"To  this  government  Freemasonry  is  wholly  opposed.  It  requires  unresisting  submission  to 
its  own  authority  in  contempt  of  public  opinion,  the  claims  of  conscience,  and  the  rights  of 
private  judgment.  It  would  dam  up  the  majestic  currents  of  improving  thought,  among  all  its 
subjects  throughout  the  earth,  by  restricting  beneficial  communication.  In  attempting  to  do  this 
it  has  stained  our  country  with  a  brother's  blood,  tempted  many  of  our  influential  citizens  into  the 
most  degraded  forms  of  falsehood,  and  burst  away  with  its  powers  undiminished,  its  vengeance 
provoked,  and  its  pollution  manifest,  from  the  strong  arm  of  retributive  justice.  The  means  of 
overthrowing  Freemasonry  cannot  be  found  in  any,  or  in  all,  of  our  executive  authorities.  They 
cannot  be  found  in  our  judicial  establishments. 

"  The  only  adequate  corrective  of  Freemasonry — that  prolific  source  of  the  worst  abuses  —  is 
to  be  found  in  the  right  of  election,  and  to  this  we  must  resort. 

"  There  is  therefore  no  impropriety  in  resorting  to  the  elective  franchise  to  correct  the  evils  of 
Freemasonry. 

"  It,  Freemasonry,  ought  to  be  abolished;  it  should  certainly  be  so  abolished  as  to  prevent  its 
restoration.  No  means  of  doing  this  can  be  conceived  so  competent  as  those  furnished  by  the 
ballot-boxes." 

The  Last  National  Convention.  —  In  1836  the  .Anti-]\Iasons  held  their 
last  National  convention,  at  Philadelphia,  and  nominated  Gen.  William  H. 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


529 


Harrison  for  President,  and  Francis  Granger  for  Vice-President.  Practically, 
its  influence  as  a  factor  in  politics  ended  about  this  time. 

This  country  has  seen  fierce  and  bitter  political  contests,  but  no  other  has 
approached  in  intensity  those  of  the  Anti-Masonic  times.  None  but  those  who 
witnessed  it  can  justly  appreciate  the  condition  of  things  at  that  time,  and  to 
what  extent  feeling  was  carried. 

One  writer  describes  it :  — 

"  That  fearful  excitement  which  swept  over  our  land  like  a  moral  pestilence ;  which  con- 
founded the  innocent  with  the  guilty ;  which  entered  even  the  temple  of  God ;  which  distracted 
and  divided  churches;  which  sundered  the  nearest  ties  of  social  life;  which  set  father  against  son 
and  son  against  the  father ;  arrayed  the  wife  against  her  own  husband ;  and,  in  short,  wherever  its 
baleful  influences  were  most  felt,  deprived  men  of  all  those  comforts  and  enjoyments  which  render 
life  to  us  a  blessing." 

Desperate  attempts  were  made  to  take  away  chartered  rights  from  Masonic 
corporations,  and  to  pass  laws  that  should  prevent  Masons  from  meeting  and 
practising  their  ceremonies. 

Effect  on  Masonic  Bodies,  Localities,  etc. — Although  the  events  described 
happened  in  the  State  of  New  York,  the  excitement  was  not  confined  to  it,  and 
while  raging  with  more  violence  in  some  sections  than  others,  its  effects  were 
felt  all  over  the  country. 

The  Grand  bodies  generally  (as  has  been  stated),  passed  temperate  reso- 
lutions, disclaiming  all  connection  or  sympathy  with  the  outrage. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  the  very  general  practice  of  giving  credit  for 
degrees,  which  prevailed  from  1820  to  1826,  led  very  many  to  repudiate  their 
debts  and  vows  together,  as  soon  as  the  public  mind  against  Masonry  was 
sufficiently  excited  to  enable  them  to  do  so  with  impunity.  At  that  time  it 
became  a  question  of  consideration  among  adhering  Masons,  what  course, 
under  existing  circumstances,  it  was  expedient  for  them  to  pursue. 

A  great  many  of  those  who  were  warmly  attached  to  the  Institution  were 
of  the  opinion  that  it  was  advisable  to  yield,  for  a  time  at  least,  to  the  storm, 
and  close  their  work  and  surrender  their  charters.  This  opinion  was  exten- 
sively acted  upon. 

No  conciliatory  course  was  of  any  avail  to  stay  the  storm,  and  naturally 
the  growth  and  progress  of  the  Institution  suffered  to  a  great  extent. 

In  some  States  the  Grand  bodies  suspended  their  meetings  for  years ;  but 
in  every  jurisdiction  were  to  be  found  some  faithful  brethren  who  maintained 
faith  in  the  ultimate  result,  and  kept  alive  the  Masonic  fire  upon  the  altar. 

In  Vermont^  not  a  single  lodge  continued  its  work. 

1  [This  is  the  statement  of  Records  G.  L.  Vermont,  1794-1846,  compiled  by  Bro.  George  F. 
Koon  (printed  in  1879)  ;  also,  Proc.  G.  L.  Canada,  1857,  p.  125 ;  et  al.,  but  in  Drummond's  Am. 
App.  Yorston  &  Co.'s  edition  of  Gould's  Hist.,  Vol.  IV.  pp,  455,  456,  it  is  said  :  That  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont  in  1834,  only  seven  lodges  were  represented;  that  in  1836,  Grand 
Master  Hasvvell,  the  Grand  Secretary,  and  the  Grand  Treasurer  were  empowered  to  meet  every 
two  years,  and  adjourn  the  Grand  Ilodge  (three  being  a  quorum),  biennially  or  oftener;  that  this 
was  done  during  the  years  1837,  1838,  1840,  1842,  and  1844;  that  in  1845  these  grand  officers  took 
counsel  to  "  resume  labor  "  ;  that  various  constituent  lodges  also  "  resumed  labor,"  as  if  commuaii 


530 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


In  Maine  the  Grand  Lodge  failed  to  meet  for  several  years,  and  had 
merely  nominal  meetings  in  others.  The  Grand  Lodge  from  1834  to  1843 
met  annually,  but  once  without  a  representative  from  a  single  lodge,  and  had 
representatives  but  twice  during  that  time  from  more  than  four  lodges. 
Indeed,  almost  all  the  lodges  suspended  their  meetings  and  became  dormant, 
even  if  they  did  not  surrender  their  charters. 

In  New  Jersey,  where  gatherings  at  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1824  and  1825  em- 
braced the  representatives  of  from  22  to  ;^^  subordinate  lodges,  after  passing 
through  the  dark  valley  of  persecution  these  were  reduced  to  about  six  lodges. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  in  1826,  there  were  about  480  lodges,  with  a 
membership  of  20,000.  From  1827  to  1839,  the  Grand  Lodge  maintained  its 
existence,  meeting  annually,  with  a  representation  of  from  50  to  90  lodges. 
The  stronghold  was  in  the  city  of  New  York,  for  almost  every  lodge  on  the 
northern  and  western  borders  succumbed  to  the  Anti-Masonic  storm. 

The  New  York  Roll  of  Honor.  —  In  1S35  there  were  but  75  lodges,  of 
which  25  were  located  in  the  city  of  New  York,  with  a  membership  of  3000. 

In  1839  the  lodges  in  New  York  State  were  located  as  follows  :  — 

In  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn,  22,  and  the  remainder  (53)  in  the  follow- 
ing counties  :  — 


Albany 4 

Columbia 2 

Queens i 

Oneida 4 

Genesee i 

Monroe i 

Broome i 

Steuben 2 

Richmond i 


Schenectady i 

Ulster 5 

Madison 2 

Ontario 2 

Tompkins i 

Jefferson 3 

Chenango 2 

Greene i 

Alleghany i 


Montgomery i 

Rensselaer 4 

Saratoga 3 

Cayuga a 

Seneca i 

Dutchess 2 

Herkimer i 

Livingston i 

Total 75 


Freemasonry  touched  its  lowest  ebb  about  1840,  when  it  began  to  exhibit 
signs  of  resuscitation,  and  brethren  awakened  from  the  blight  and  persecution 
of  the  thirteen  preceding  years  as  from  a  troubled  dream. 

The  Local  Lodges.  —  While  it  is  impossible  to  particularize,  yet  it  may  not 
be  inappropriate  to  allude  to  some  of  the  lodges  located  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  place  where  the  excitement  was  inaugurated. 

Olive  Branch  Lodge  No.  39,  LeRoy,  Genesee  County,  never  suspended  its 
communications,  and  is  regarded  as  the  parent  and  preserver  of  Masonry  in 
Western  New  York.  It  also  stood  firm  among  the  numerous  lodges  west  of 
the  Genesee. 

Seven  of  the  most  zealous  and  devoted  members  entered  into  a  solemn 
agreement,  "  to  meet  once  in  four  weeks,  for  the  purpose  of  opening  and  clos- 
ing the  lodge  and  keeping  up  the  work,"  and  right  nobly  did  they  keep  their 

cations  had  never  ceased,  their  charters  not  having  been  surrendered.  Indeed,  these  all  followed 
the  civil  law  as  to  associations,  and  have,  therefore,  maintained  a  consecutive  legal  existence  from 
a  date  prior  to  Anti-Masonry,  —  Ed.] 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT.  e^I 

engagement  —  never  once  violating  the  same  during  all  that  time  —  some 
of  them  having  to  travel  a  distance  of  more  than  thirty  miles  to  the  place 
of  meeting. 

Fidelity  Lodge  (originally  at  Trumansburg,  Tompkins  County),  is  one  of 
the  few  that  never  surrendered.  Although  proscribed  as  citizens,  as  mechanics, 
and  as  merchants,  subjected  to  the  attacks  of  the  mob  while  assembled  around 
their  mystic  altar,  they  remained  faithful,  until  their  members  became  reduced 
#0  tivelve  (commonly  known  as  the  twelve  apostles),  who  continued  to  meet 
and  pay  dues  until  1849,  when  the  location  of  the  lodge  .was  changed  to 
Ithaca,  N.Y. 

Union  Lodge  No.  45,  Lima,  Monroe  County,  —  although  the  members  were 
frequently  assailed  by  the  foul  tongue  of  slander,  —  continued  to  meet  regu- 
larly, elect  officers,  and  transact  such  portions  of  the  business  as  the  interests 
of  the  lodge  required. 

Ark  Lodge  No.  ^iZ^  Geneva,  Ontario  County,  located  in  the  midst  of  the 
exciting  scenes  of  those  times,  never  surrendered ;  but,  through  the  zeal 
and  integrity  of  the  "  immortal  seven,"  kept  up  the  meetings  and  paid  its 
dues  regularly.  They  were  obliged  to  meet  in  a  clandestine  manner,  by  tak- 
ing the  by-lanes  in  going  to  their  place  of  meeting,  and  then,  one  by  one,  at 
long  inter\'als,  gaining  admittance  through  a  back  door ;  until  the  darkness  of 
passion  and  prejudice  had  given  away. 

Batavia  Lodge  was  revived  in  1842,  after  laying  dormant  for  sixteen 
years.  This  was  the  lodge  located  at  the  place  where  the  Morgan  trouble 
began. 

Conclusion.  —  It  is  said  that  the  excitement  at  that  time  was  unparalleled, 
and  it  was  the  great  topic  of  the  day.  It  was  undoubtedly  true  that,  among 
the  more  excitable  Masons,  there  was  a  determination  to  prevent  the  publi- 
cation of  what  was  claimed  to  be  the  full  secret  ceremonies. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  great  mistake  was  made.  The  Fraternity 
showed  needless  excitement  and  took  the  most  inexcusable  measures  to  sup- 
press the  pubhcation.  They  should  have  reflected  that  this  was  not  the  first 
attempt  to  expose  Freemasonry ;  that,  in  England,  a  number  of  different  books 
had  been  published  from  time  to  time,  all  professedly  on  the  same  subject, 
and  that  others  will  continue  to  be  published  just  as  long  as  any  one  can 
be  found  who  will  buy  them. 

It  hardly  seems  possible  that  credence  would  be  given  to  the  statement 
of  a  man,  who,  by  such  a  publication,  if  true,  would  thereby  be  perjuring 
himself. 

Morgan's  Fate. — The  question  which  arises  is.  What  became  of  Morgan? 
To  this  no  definite  answer  has  ever  been  or,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  ever  can 
be  given. 

In  the  narrative  furnished  by  Judge  Henry  Brown,  the  following  suggestions 
are  worthy  of  respectful  consideration  :  — 


532  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  (i)  That  fear  prevented  Morgan's  return  from  whatever  place  of  exile  he  had  sought.  Hav- 
ing been  exposed  to  one  expatriation,  he  might  not  care  to  wish  another. 

"  (2)  That  there  was  no  particular  object  to  be  gained  by  his  return,  especially  after  his  wife 
had  married  again. 

"  (3)  Intemperate  habits,  inattention  to  his  family,  held  in  low  esteem  by  the  community,  and 
possessing  no  property,  why  should  he  come  back  ? 

"  (4)   He  may  have  gone  to  foreign  countries,  and  have  died  a  natural  death." 

The  last,  to  our  mind,  seems  the  most  reasonable  supposition  and  more 
in  accord  with  common- sense.  He  was  supplied  with  a  sum  of  money, 
which  seemed  a  fortune  to  this  thriftless,  impecunious  man,  and  it  is  not 
unreasonable  to  conclude  that  he  shipped  on  some  vessel  (possibly  as  a  sailor), 
at  Quebec  or  Montreal,  and  thus  vanishes  from  history. 

How  different  would  have  been  the  effect  if  the  Masons  of  that  place  had 
let  the  conspirators  go  on  in  their  work,  paying  no  attention  to  the  proceed- 
ings !  It  would  have  died  a  natural  death ;  but  the  very  opposition  was  the 
means  of  bringing  it  into  prominence,  and  the  reacting  effect  was  felt  on  the 
Fraternity  for  years. 

That  the  perpetrators  of  the  abduction  of  Morgan  had  no  excuse  for  their 
act,  is  not  more  tn:e  than  that  they  found  not  the  slightest  warrant  for  it 
in  the  laws  and  principles  of  Freemasonry. 

A  few  misguided  men  did  it  all,  and  it  is  believed  that  many  who  partici- 
pated did  so  in  ignorance  of  the  real  nature  of  the  transaction. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  any  Masonic  body  encouraged  or  participated 
in  the  outrage,  but  there  is  abundant  proof  of  the  most  honest  and  hearty 
condemnation  of  violence,  upon  the  part  of  all  governing  Masonic  bodies, 
and  the  chief  rewards  offered  for  the  apprehension  of  those  concerned  in  the 
plot  were  offered  by  leading  Masonic  officials. 

From  all  the  facts  before  us,  we  do  not  believe  that  William  Morgan  was 
murdered.  But,  even  if  he  was  murdered  by  individual  Masons,  the  Masonic 
Fraternity  could  no  more  be  held  responsible  therefor,  than  religious  organ- 
izations can  be  held  responsible  for  the  misdeeds  and  criminal  acts  of 
professing  Christians. 

What  the  actual  fate  of  Morgan  was  has  never  been  ascertained,  and  we  do 
not  think  it  ever  will  be. 

We  do  not  suppose  that  those  originally  engaged  in  this  scheme  had  any 
idea  of  the  result  of  their  act.  They  thought  it  necessary  to  obtain  his  silence 
and  prevent  his  cooperation  with  Miller  in  the  furtherance  of  the  work ;  and, 
with  this  object  in  view,  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  intention  was  to  have 
him  depart  from  that  section  of  the  country ;  and  with  his  consent  —  being 
furnished  with  money  —  that  arrangement  was  carried  out. 

The  most  searching  investigation  has  failed  to  disclose  any  facts  in 
regard  to  his  final  disappearance.  All  those  connected  therewith  have  since 
died.  The  last  survivor,  Orson  Parkhurst,  who  drove  Piatt's  carriage  from 
Rochester  thirty  miles  to  Gaines,  died  very  recently  at  Ludlow,  Vt. 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT. 


533 


There  were  reports  made  in  1829  that  Morgan  had  been  seen  in  Smyrna, 
Turkey,  A.  G.  Goodale  (in  1867)  said  that  while  in  Constantinople  he  had 
several  interviews  with  persons  living  in  that  city,  who  informed  him  that  they 
were  personally  acquainted  with  Morgan ;  and  Joseph  xA.lexander  Bloom  is 
authority  for  saying  that,  in  1831,  he  became  acquainted  with  an  American 
gentleman  whom  he  believed  to  be  William  Morgan. 

Whether  this  is  true  or  not  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  we  think  it 
more  reasonable  to  believe  that  he  fled  from  the  country  than  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Craft  put  him  to  death. 

Posthumous  Narrative  of  Morgan's  Deportation.  —  In  the  foregoing  we 
have  given  our  conclusions,  based  upon  what  we  have  read  in  the  preparation 
of  this  paper. 

Since  then  our  attention  has  been  directed  to  a  statement  made  by  John 
Whitney  to  Rob  Morris,  and  which  was  not  to  be  published  until  after 
Whitney's  death,  and  then  only  should  a  new  attack  be  made  upon  the 
Masonic  Institution.  It  harmonizes  with  much  which  has  been  developed, 
and,  we  deem  fair  to  conclude,  is  a  true  statement  of  the  occurrence  :  — 

"  The  plan,  from  inception  to  completion,  contemplated  nothing  more  than  a  deportation  of 
Morgan,  by  friendly  argreement  between  the  parties,  either  to  Canada  or  some  other  country. 
Ample  means  were  provided  for  the  expenses  and  the  after-support  of  Morgan  and  his  family. 
This  plan  had  been  perfected  from  the  fact  that  for  several  months  the  minds  of  Masonic  brethren 
through  the  counties  of  Monroe,  Ontario,  and  Genesee  (New  York)  had  been  agitated  by  rumors 
that  William  Morgan  was  preparing  an  exposition,  and  would  be  prepared  to  spring  it  upon  the 
public  early  in  the  winter  following." 

A  sum  of  money  was  secured  with  which  to  purchase  of  Morgan  his 
manuscripts  and  his  agreement  to  move  to  some  foreign  country,  to  separate 
him  not  only  from  Miller  and  his  other  partners,  but  also,  in  our  judgment,  to 
rid  themselves  of  one  who  had  imposed  himself  upon  the  Fraternity ;  and, 
owing  to  the  laxity  of  those  times,  it  is  a  grave  question  whether  he  (Morgan) 
ever  legitimately  had  any  Masonic  degrees,  with  the  single  exception  of  the 
Royal  Arch,  at  LeRoy,  N.Y. 

"  Whitney  met  Morgan  September  5,  1826,  and  in  the  course  of  the  conversation  said,  '  I  am 
here  for  the  purpose  of  suppressing  that  publication  of  yours,  and  if  you  will  put  confidence  in  me 
I  will  make  it  worth  your  while  to  follow  my  advice." " 

It  was  then  mutually  agreed  :  — 

"That  Morgan  should  destroy  all  the  MSS.  and  printed  sheets  connected  with  the  '  Illustra- 
tions ' ;  that  he  should  taper  off  drinking,  and  with  the  money  which  Whitney  would  give  him 
at  that  time  {^50),  he  would  clothe  himself  decently,  provide  for  the  more  pressing  wants  of  his 
family ;  that  he  would  refuse  all  interview  with  his  partners,  and  finally  hold  himself  in  readiness, 
at  an  hour's  notice,  to  go  to  Canada,  settle  down  there,  and  reform  in  the  way  of  industry  and 
temperance. 

"  It  was  agreed  that  Morgan  should  be  well-treated,  and  that  on  the  day  he  reached  the 
appointed  place  in  Canada,  he  should  receive  ^500  —  in  good  money —  to  be  absolutely  his  own 
upon  his  written  pledge  to  stay  there  and  never  return  to  the  States. 

"  Whitney  also  agreed  that  Morgan's  family  should  be  cared  for  and  sent  to  Canada  as  soon 
as  a  suitable  home  had  been  provided  for  them." 


534 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


This  was  agreed  to,  the  only  embarrassment  being  as  to  how  Morgan  could 
get  away  from  Batavia.  He  was  on  jail  limits ;  and  even  if  these  debts  were 
paid,  others  would  be  brought  forward.  This  embarrassment  had  been  fore- 
seen, and  finally  the  fifty  dollars  was  paid  at  that  time,  and  Morgan  then 
handed  over  various  memorandums,  and  also  the  last  printed  proofs  of  the 
"  Illustrations." 

"The  object  and  aim  was  to  remove  Morgan  from  under  the  influence  of  Miller,  and  the 
other  parties  associated  with  Whitney  in  the  plan  always  said  that  '  Morgan  had  freely  consented 
to  go  away." " 

The  plan  was  carried  out  as  has  been  developed  in  other  parts  of  this 
paper. 

"  He  was  arrested  on  a  criminal  charge,  and  brought  to  Canandaigua.  The  posse  consisted 
of  Nicholas  G.  Chesebro,  Henry  Howard,  Harris  Seymour,  Moses  Roberts,  and  Joseph  Scofield. 

"  The  party  reached  Canandaigua  a  little  before  night,  and  the  constable,  Halloway  Hayward, 
delivered  the  prisoner  [Morgan]  to  Squire  Chipman. 

"  It  was  a  part  of  the  agreement  that  the  criminal  suit  should  be  dropped  and  the  prisoner  held 
on  a  civil  claim,  which  could  be  released  at  a  moment's  notice.  No  witnesses  appearing  against 
Morgan,  he  was  discharged.  He  was  immediately  arrested  on  an  execution  for  debt.  This 
occurred  on  Monday,  September  nth. 

"  During  the  night  and  day  following,  various  conferences  were  held  with  Masonic  brethren  at 
Canandaigua.  A  messenger,  Loton  Lawson,  was  sent  to  John  Whitney  at  Rochester.  Arrange- 
ments were  made  for  relays  of  horses  and  drivers  on  the  way  to  Fort  Niagara. 

"  On  Monday,  September  12th,  Lawson  and  another  man  went  to  the  jail,  and,  the  debt  being 
paid,  Morgan  was  released.  Unfortunately,  however,  by  some  means,  Morgan  had  obtained  some 
liquor  and  was  suffering  from  its  effects,  which  always  rendered  him  ferocious,  and  when  he 
reached  the  pavement,  the  cold  air  striking  his  face  and  invigorating  his  spirits,  a  sudden  craving 
for  liberty  possessed  him,  and  as  the  carriage  drove  up,  he  stopped,  struggled  for  a  moment  to 
collect  himself,  and  cried  once  and  not  very  loudly,  '  Murder !  '  His  hat  fell  off.  In  a  moment, 
however,  he  was  calm  and  impressed  with  the  error  he  had  committed ;  he  got  into  the  coach,  by 
taking  hold  of  the  sides  of  the  door,  and  the  carriage  drove  off  northward. 

"  This  was  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  night  of  September  12th.  John  Whitney,  who  had 
come  over  from  Rochester,  met  the  party  a  short  distance  from  the  jail,  just  as  Morgan  struggled 
and  cried  out.  Whitney  said,  '  What  do  you  mean,  Morgan,  by  making  this  noise?  '  Morgan 
looked  at  me  [Whitney]  for  a  moment  through  his  inflamed  eyes,  inquired  in  a  hoarse,  drunken 
manner,  '  Why,  d — n  it,  Whitney,  is  it  you?  '   I  said, '  Yes.'    Then  he  said, '  I  have  no  more  to  say.' 

"  Morgan  was  not  bound  in  the  carriage,  nor  blindfolded,  nor  threatened,  and  the  only  object 
was  to  keep  the  transaction  secret,  so  as  to  prevent  Miller  and  his  associates  from  finding  where 
he  had  gone." 

Whitney  accompanied  the  coach  from  Canandaigua.  The  narrative  gives 
the  various  places  stopped  at,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  who  drove  and 
accompanied  the  party.  Eli  Bruce  joined  them  at  Wright's  Corners  and 
accompanied  them  the  rest  of  the  way. 

"  We  drove  to  Youngstown  Thursday  morning  about  one  o'clock  and  called  on  Col.  William 
King. 

"  King  and  Bruce  got  into  the  carriage  together  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  Morgan, 
and  the  whole  transaction  was  gone  over,  and  Morgan  gave  his  assent  and  concurrence  therewith. 

"  On  arriving  near  the  Fort,  the  driver  (not  a  Mason)  was  dismissed  and  the  coach  sent 
back.    The  ferry  boat  was  ready,  and  the  party  went  immediately  on  board. 

"  It  was  rowed  by  Elisha  Adams  and  Edward  Giddons,  and  landed  at  a  deserted  place  on  the 
bank,  nearly  opposite  the  Fort  and  about  a  mile  from  the  Canadian  village  of  Niagara.     Leaving 


THE  MORGAN  EXCITEMENT.  e^c 

Morgan  in  the  boat,  three  of  the  party  went  to  the  village  and  met  a  committee  of  two  Canadian 
Masons,  as  agreed. 

"  No  official  inquiry  has  ever  brought  out  the  names  of  these,  and  I  shall  ever  be  silent  concern- 
ing them.  We  came  back  to  the  boat,  the  Canadian  brethren  bringing  a  lantern.  Bruce  called 
Morgan  up  the  bank,  out  of  the  boat,  and  the  party  sat  down  together  on  the  grass.  Now  Colonel 
King  required  of  Morgan  the  most  explicit  consent  to  the  movements  that  had  brought  him  there. 
By  the  aid  of  questions  from  the  whole  party,  Morgan  admitted  as  follows :  — 

"'  (i)  That  he  had  contracted  with  Miller  and  others  to  write  an  Exposition  of  Masonry, 
for  which  he  was  to  receive  a  compensation. 

"  '  (2)  That  he  had  never  been  made  a  Mason  in  any  lodge,  but  had  received  the  Royal  Arch 
degree  in  a  regular  manner. 

" '  (3)  That  Miller  and  the  other  partners  had  utterly  failed  to  fulfil  the  terms  of  the  contract 
with  him. 

"  '  (4)  That  Whitney  had  paid  him  fifty  dollars,  as  agreed,  and  he  had  agreed  to  destroy  the 
written  and  printed  work  as  far  as  possible  and  furnish  no  more,  and  that  before  leaving  Batavia 
he  had  done  what  he  promised  in  that  way. 

"  '  (5)  That  it  was  impossible  now  for  Miller  to  continue  the  "  Illustrations  "  as  he  [Morgan] 
had  written  them.  If  he  published  any  book,  it  would  have  to  be  made  from  some  other  person's 
materials. 

" '  (6)  That  he  had  been  treated  by  Chesebro,  Whitney,  Bruce,  and  all  of  them  with  perfect 
kindness  on  the  journey. 

" '  (7)  That  he  was  willing  and  anxious  to  be  separated  fi-om  Miller  and  from  all  idea  of 
a  Masonic  expose ;  wished  to  go  into  the  interior  of  Canada  and  settle  down  as  a  British  citizen  ; 
wished  to  have  his  family  sent  him  as  soon  as  possible ;  expected  five  hundred  dollars  when  he 
reached  the  place,  as  agreed  upon ;  expected  more  money  from  year  to  year,  to  help  him,  if 
necessary. 

"  '  (8)  Finally  expressed  his  sorrow  for  the  uproar  his  proceedings  had  made,  sorrow  for  the 
shame  and  mortification  of  his  friends,  and  had  "  no  idea  that  David  C.  Miller  was  such  a  d — d 
scoundrel  as  he  had  turned  out  to  be."  ' 

"  We  had  ascertained  at  the  village  that  the  Canadian  brethren  would  be  ready  to  perform 
their  part  and  remove  Morgan  westward  by  the  latter  part  of  that  or  the  first  of  the  succeeding 
week,  but  objected  so  strenuously  to  having  him  remain  among  them  in  the  meantime,  that  it  was 
agreed  he  [Morgan]  should  be  taken  to  the  American  side  until  the  Canadians  should  notify  us 
they  were  ready. 

"  This  was  explained  to  Morgan,  and  he  agreed  to  it.  It  was  then  understood  that  he  was  to 
remain  in  the  magazine  without  attempting  to  get  out  until  matters  were  arranged  for  his  removal. 
The  party  then  rowed  back,  and  Morgan  was  left  in  the  bomb-proof  of  the  magazine. 

"  The  party  then  left,  breakfasted  at  Youngstown,  and  went  up  to  Lewiston  on  the  Rochester 
boat  that  passed  up,  with  passengers  for  the  Royal  Arch  installation  that  occurred  there  that  day 
(Thursday,  September  14th).  There  was  quite  a  company  of  us  there,  and  the  intelligence  was 
freely  communicated  that  Morgan  was  in  Fort  Niagara,  and  the  greatest  satisfaction  expressed  at 
the  news  that  the  manuscripts  and  printed  sheets  had  been  destroyed,  and  that  in  a  few  days 
Morgan  would  be  effectually  separated  from  the  company  that  had  led  him  to  his  ruin.  During 
the  day  it  was  reported  to  us  at  Lewiston  that  '  Morgan  had  gone  into  the  theatricals,'  and  was 
shouting  and  alarming  the  people  in  the  vicinity.  Nothing  would  quiet  him  except  rum,  which 
was  given  him. 

"  Lawson,  Whitney,  and  a  few  others  remained  in  the  vicinity  until  Sunday  night  (17th),  when 
the  two  Canadian  brethren  came  over,  received  Morgan,  receipted  to  Whitney  for  the  money 
(^500),  and  crossed  to  the  west  side  of  the  river. 

"  They  travelled  on  horseback,  —  three  horses  in  the  party ;  Monday  night,  the  i8th,  they 
rode  some  thirty  miles  further  to  a  point  near  the  present  city  of  Hamilton,  where  the  journey  ended. 
Morgan  signed  a  receipt  for  the  $500.     He  also  signed  a  declaration  of  the  facts  of  the  case. 

"  We  supposed  we  could  at  any  time  trace  him  up.  We  felt  that  the  Craft  would  be  the  gainef 
by  our  labors.     We  were  prepared  to  send  his  wife  and  children  to  him,  as  agreed. 

"  We  supposed  that  was  the  end  of  it. 


536  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  What  a  tremendous  blunder  we  all  made !  It  was  scarcely  a  week  until  we  saw  what  trouble 
was  before  us.  It  was  not  a  fortnight  until  Col.  King  sent  a  confidential  messenger  into  Canada 
to  see  Morgan  and  prepare  to  bring  him  back. 

"  But,  alas,  he  who  had  sold  his  friends  at  Batavia  had  also  sold  us.  //<;  had  gone.  He  had 
left  the  village  within  forty-eight  hours  after  the  departure  of  those  who  had  taken  him  there. 

"  He  was  traced  east  to  a  point  down  the  river  not  far  from  Port  Hope,  where  he  sold  his 
horse  and  disappeared.  He  had  doubtless  got  on  board  a  vessel  there  and  sailed  out  of  the 
country.     Ai  any  rate,  that  was  the  last  we  ever  heard  of  him." 

Such  is  the  true  account  of  the  deportation  of  WilUam  Morgan  as  given 
by  John  Whitney. 


^(TX>Jj^r^-^^^^cUULy  O^jcrvuv^  , 


0«--€'''i-''ua_.^-6'' i>:^  0^^>^^^ 


DIVISION   XII. 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE, 


A  Comprehensive  History  of  the  Origin  and  Development  of  Masonic  Law : 
The  Relation  of  Governing  Bodies  to  one  another;  the  Relation  of  Grand 
Lodges  to  their  Constituent  Lodges,  and  to  Individual  Members  of  the 
Craft;  the  Relation  of  Lodges  to  one  another,  to  their  Members,  and  of 
Masons  to  one  another ;  the  Origin  and  Use  of  Public  Masonic  Forms  and 
Ceremonies;  and  the  Customs  and  Peculiarities  of  the  Craft  in  general. 

By  Josiah  H.  Drummond,  P.G.M., 

Past  General  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter, 
United  States,  America  ;  Past  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Maine ;  Past  Gefieral  Grand  Master  of  the  General  Grand  Council, 
Royal  and  Select  Masters,  of  the  United  States  ;  Past  Grarid  Master  of  the 
Grand  Council  of  Maine ;  Past  Grand  Commander  of  the  Grand  Com- 
mandery  of  Knights  Templar  of  Maine  ;  Past  M.\P.\  Sov  :.  Gr:.  Com  : . 
of  the  Supreme  Council  for  the  Northern  Masonic  Jurisdiction,  United 
States,  America,  A:.A:.S .'.Rite. 


CHAPTER   I. 
History  of  Masonic  Jurisprudence,  etc.,  etc. 

Foundation  of  Masonic  Law. — The  wonderful  growth  of  the  Fraternity 
of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  the  consequent  multiphcation  of  governing 
bodies,  —  all  peers  and  sovereigns  over  Masonic  affairs  within  their  respective 
territorial  jurisdictions,  —  have  given  rise  to  a  jurisprudence  peculiar  to  the 
Institution,  and  yet  largely  based  upon  general  principles  recognized  by  all 
civilized  communities  and  associations  as  inherent  rights,  and  necessarily 
growing  out  of  the  very  existence  of  human  beings  destined  to  have  relations 
with  one  another. 

The  recognition  of  immutable  laws  relating  to  the  Institution,  which  the 
Fraternity  itself  cannot  change  and  remain  Masonic  in  character,  imposes  upon 

537 


538 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


the  governing  bodies  the  duty  of  seeing  that  "  the  Ancient  Landmarks  be 
preserved  "  :  this  duty  introduces  into  the  Masonic  system  of  jurisprudence  a 
feature  pecuUar  to  itself. 

The  form  of  Masonic  government,  by  which  the  sovereign  body  governs  the 
individual  chiefly  through  subordinate  bodies  created  by  itself,  adds  to  its 
jurisprudence  another  feature  little  known  to  civil  law. 

The  Masonic  jurisprudence  of  the  present  day  embraces  the  relations  of 
governing  bodies  to  one  another,  the  relations  between  them  and  their  subordi- 
nates, and  between  them  and  individual  members  of  the  Craft,  the  relations 
between  subordinates  and  between  them  and  their  members  and  other  Masons, 
and  the  relations  of  Masons  to  one  another. 

Like  the  common  law,  Masonic  jurisprudence  is  now  the  product  of  the 
growth  of  many  years ;  and  like  municipal  law  it  springs  from  fundamental 
principles,  from  usage,  and  from  the  enactments  of  governing  bodies. 

While  the  law  relating  to  all  the  departments  of  Masonry  is  similar  in 
character,  the  history  of  Masonic  Jurisprudence  more  properly  appertains  to 
the  Symbolic  degrees,  and  unless  otherwise  expressly  stated  this  discussion  will 
be  Umited  accordingly. 

The  Relations  of  Governing  Bodies  with  one  another.  — The  laws  govern- 
ing the  relations  of  Grand  Lodges  to  one  another  have  comparatively  more 
recently  come  before  the  Craft  for  consideration ;  but  they  seem  naturally  to 
come  first  in  a  sketch  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  whole  system. 

Without  regard  to  their  origin,  Grand  Lodges  are  conceded  to  be  sovereigns 
and  consequently  equals  in  all  their  powers  and  rights.  They  are,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  Masonic  Nations.  As  they  are  equal,  no  one  can  enact  law 
for  another ;  and  no  one  can  decide  for  another  what  Masonic  law  is,  neither 
as  affecting  their  mutual  relations  nor  in  any  other  respect.  Yet  the  moment 
there  are  two  or  more  Grand  Lodges  fraternizing  with  each  other,  there  must 
needs  be  some  rules  of  conduct  affecting  their  intercourse  with  one  another,  — 
to  be 'first  ascertained  and  declared  as  cases  arise. 

Naturally  the  laws  affecting  civil  nations  in  their  mutual  relations  were 
looked  to  in  order  to  ascertain  those  appropriate  to  Masonic  nations. 

Some  Masonic  writers  have  erroneously  assumed  that  all  "laws  of  nations" 
are  the  result  of  concurrent  enactment,  and,  therefore,  that  no  Masonic  laws 
affecting  the  relations  of  Grand  Lodges  can  be  said  to  exist,  except  such  as 
have  received  the  express  sanction  of  all  Grand  Lodges,  or,  at  any  rate,  can 
bind  only  those  which  have  expressly  given  their  sanction  to  such  laws.  But 
this  is  not  true  of  civil  nations ;  and  the  reasons,  therefore,  apply  with  greater 
force  to  Masonic  nations. 

It  has  long  been  held  by  writers  upon  International  Law,  or  the  Law  of 
Nations,  that  there  are  four  classes  of  that  law  :  — 

(i)  The  voluntary  law  of  nations,  arising  from  their  presumed  consent. 
(2)  The  customary  law,  arising  from  their  acquiescence  or  tacit  consent. 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  53^ 

(3)  The  convent i 077 alX'o.w,  arising  from  express  consent  or  actual  agreement.    And 

(4)  The  necessary  law,  arising  from  "  the  apphcation  of  the  law  of  nature  "  to  states. 

The  history  of  the  Institution  shows  the  recognition  of  all  these  and  their 
apphcation  to  inter-Grand  Lodge  relations.  But,  as  already  stated,  the  fore- 
going distinctions  have  not  always  been  recognized  ;  but  it  has  been  assumed 
that  all  laws,  applicable  to  the  intercourse  of  Grand  Lodges  with  one  another, 
are  binding  upon  any  given  Grand  Lodge  only  by  its  express  assent  thereto. 
But  this  is  not  in  accordance  with  sound  principle,  nor  with  the  law  observed 
by  civil  nations. 

"  We  call  that  the  necessary  Law  of  Nations  which  consists  in  the  application  of  the  law  of 
nature  to  nations.     It  is  necessary  because  all  nations  are  absolutely  bound  to  observe  it." 

Nations  are  naturally  free,  equal,  and  independent  of  one  another ;  each 
Nation  must  be  left  in  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  its  natural  rights;  the 
government  of  a  Nation  is  necessarily  exclusive  over  all  its  territory ;  all  rights 
on  the  part  of  foreigners  are  excluded,  and  no  State  has  the  smallest  right  to 
exercise  any  act  of  sovereignty  in  another  State.  These  are  among  the 
"necessary  laws  of  nations." 

The  first  two  of  these  have  been  always  applied  to  Grand  Lodges  as  a 
matter  of  course ;  the  third  has  been  sometimes  disputed  by  Grand  Lodges, 
which  claimed  no  territorial  jurisdiction,  but  undertook  to  exercise  govern- 
ment over  individuals  alone ;  but  such  bodies  would  not  now  be  recognized 
as  regular  Grand  Lodges.  The  fourth  has  been  more  frequently  contested  by 
a  few  Grand  Lodges,  which  have  rightfully  governed  lodges  in  a  territory  in 
which,  later,  an  independent  Masonic  government  has  been  established  and 
recognized,  and  which  have  claimed  to  govern  such  of  those  lodges  as  should 
choose  to  adhere  to  their  former  allegiance.  If  Great  Britain  had  undertaken 
to  exercise  sovereignty  over  communities  in  the  United  States,  which  should 
have  chosen  to  adhere  to  her  after  the  recognition  of  independence,  her  claim 
would  have  been  held  to  be  preposterous,  and  her  attempt  to  maintain  it  an 
outrageous  violation  of  the  Law  of  Nations  :  the  same  principle  applies  to 
Grand  Lodges,  and  the  very  general  consensus  of  opinion  is  now  to  that  effect. 

The  application  of  these  laws  to  several  important  questions  has  been  the 
occasion  for  considerable  discussion  by  Masonic  writers.  Some  Grand  Lodges 
hold  the  law  to  be  that  when  a  candidate  presents  his  petition  to  a  lodge 
having  jurisdiction,  and  it  is  received,  he  becomes,  in  Masonic  language,  "the 
work "  of  that  lodge,  and  no  other  lodge  can  afterward  interfere  with  this 
work.  If  the  candidate  is  rejected,  he  remains  perpetually  under  the  exclu- 
sive jurisdiction  of  that  lodge,  even  though  he  removes  into  another  Grand 
Lodge  jurisdiction.  Other  Grand  Lodges  hold  that  when  a  person,  rejected 
in  one  jurisdiction,  mov-es  into  another,  he  becomes  subject  to  the  laws  of  the 
latter,  and  freed  from  those  of  the  former :  so  that  it  has  often  happened  that 
a  candidate  has  been  rejected  in  one  State,  and  subsequently  moved  into 
another  and  there  been  made  a  Mason,  in  spite  of  his  previous  rejection. 


540  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

This  has  given  rise  to  complaint  against  the  lodge  that  such  action  is  a  breach 
of  Masonic  law,  injurious  to  the  complainant.  The  matter  has  been  much 
discussed,  and  the  conclusion  has  been  reached  that  when  a.  resident  within  a 
Grand  Lodge  jurisdiction  has  been  made  a  Mason  in  strict  conformity  with 
the  law  of  that  jurisdiction,  no  other  Grand  Lodge  has  any  just  ground  of 
complaint ;  but  several  Grand  Lodges  still  hold  that  making  a  Mason  of  a 
candidate  rejected  in  another  Grand  jurisdiction,  without  the  proper  consent, 
is  a  serious  breach  of  a  Masonic  comity,  and  that  he  is  not  a  regular  Mason. 

A  similar  question  has  grown  out  of  the  law  requiring  candidates  to  apply 
to  a  lodge  within  the  Grand  Lodge  jurisdiction  in  which  they  reside.  It  has 
frequently  happened  that  a  candidate  has  been  made  a  Mason  in  one  State, 
when  his  residence  at  the  time  was  in  another,  without  the  consent  of  the  lodge 
having  jurisdiction.  The  question  of  his  status  has  been  much  discussed  : 
while  there  has  not  been  a  full  agreement,  the  preponderance  of  opinion  and 
decision  now  is  that  a  person,  made  a  Mason  in  a  regular  lodge,  lawfully 
convened  and  Masonically  formed,  is  a  regular  Mason ;  the  lodge  may  be 
punished  for  irregular  proceedings,  and  the  candidate,  if  a  party  to  any  fraud, 
may  be  expelled,  but  until  disciplined  is  a  regular  Mason.  Still,  some  Grand 
Lodges  hold  that  a  person  so  made  is  a  clandestine  Mason ;  while  some 
others,  not  actually  denying  his  regularity,  prohibit  his  receiving  Masonic 
privileges  within  their  respective  jurisdictions. 

The  question  of  determining  the  residence  of  a  candidate  is  generally  one 
of  fact,  in  relation  to  which  the  two  Grand  Lodges  interested  may  well  come 
to  different  conclusions  :  there  being  no  superior  tribunal,  and  the  decision  of 
one  not  being  binding  on  the  other,  the  contest  would  be  interminable ;  but 
of  late  the  practice  has  arisen  of  submitting  the  questions  to  arbitration.  This 
method  is  so  reasonable,  and  so  much  in  accord  with  the  principles  of  Free- 
masonry, that  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  will  remain  a  permanent  feature  of 
inter-Grand  Lodge  Masonic  law,  made  so  by  the  general  assent  of  the  Grand 
Lodges  of  the  world. 

When  controversies  arise  between  Na*-.ions,  which  cannot  be  adjusted  by 
negotiation,  the  final  result  is  an  appeal  to  arms  ;  in  similar  cases,  Grand 
Lodges  withdrew  Masonic  relations,  and  forbade  the  members  of  their  respect- 
ive obediences  to  have  Masonic  communication  with  one  another. 

This  course  has  been  taken  in  many  instances,  but  within  a  few  years  past 
there  has  been  a  growing  sentiment  that  such  a  state  of  affairs  between  two 
Grand  Lodges  is  not  in  accord  with  the  principles  of  Freemasonry,  and,  in 
consequence,  there  is  a  corresponding  disposition  to  exhaust  every  other 
resource  to  effect  a  settlement,  before  resorting  to  this  Masonic  "  ultima 
ratio  ";  but  as  long  as  Masons  are  subject  to  human  imperfection,  cases  will 
undoubtedly  arise  in  which  this  action  will  be  deemed  a  necessity. 

The  Relation  of  Grand  Bodies  to  their  Constituents,  and  to  Individuals. 
—  The  relations  of  Grand  Lodges  to  lodges  and  to  individual  members  of  the 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  54 1 

Craft  may  be  considered  together.  When  men  undertake  to  establish  a  frame 
of  government  for  an  association  as  well  as  for  a  nation,  they  are  inevitably 
controlled  by  the  views  of  governments  which  they  have  acquired  by  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  they  are  placed  ;  and,  except  in  cases  of  revolution,  their 
ideas  are  generally  in  accord  with  the  civil  government  under  which  they  live. 
This  has  been  often  illustrated  in  the  organization  of  governing  bodies  in 
the  Masonic  Fraternity. 

Previously  to  1717  there  were  no  Grand  Lodges  :  theoretically  at  least,  the 
Grand  Master  was  the  head  of  the  Craft,  exercising  various  powers  by  immemo- 
rial usage  ;  the  making  of  new  laws  was  held  to  be  vested  in  general  assemblies 
of  the  Craft  supposed  to  be  held  annually.  No  records  were  kept,  and,  with 
few  exceptions,  the  laws  and  ceremonies  of  the  Craft  were  transmitted  orally 
from  generation  to  generation.  Freemasonry  as  an  Operative  Institution  had 
then  fallen  into  decay,  and  could  no  longer  be  maintained.  But  good  and 
really  great  men  were  connected  with  it  who  appreciated  in  some  degree,  at 
least,  the  sublimity  and  truth  of  its  principles  and  their  importance  to  human- 
ity. They  may  have  "  builded  better  than  they  knew,"  but  it  is  certain  that 
they  deemed  the  organization  worthy  of  preservation  as  a  Speculative  Institu- 
tion, when  it  could  no  longer  be  supported  in  its  Operative  character. 

As  a  consequence,  a  change  in  its  form  of  government  became  a  necessity. 
Therefore,  the  assemblies  of  the  Craft  were  held  upon  their  own  motion,  and, 
while  called  "  lodges,"  met  anywhere  and  at  any  time  as  occasion  called  :  this 
system  was  the  natural  result  of  the  itinerant  character  of  Operative  Masons. 
But  obviously  when  Masons  became  Speculative  only,  naturally  and  quite 
necessarily  their  meetings  would  be  held  with  some  kind  of  regularity,  and 
their  organizations  be  of  a  permanent  character ;  lodges  would  be  no  longer 
composed  of  those  who  chanced  to  be  present,  but  of  members  duly 
enrolled,  with  regularly  appointed  officers.  The  word  "  lodge  "  came  to  mean 
an  organized  association  of  a  permanent  character  instead  of  a  temporary  assem- 
bly of  Masons  presided  over  by  any  Master  who  happened  to  be  present. 
Permanency  of  organization  naturally  suggested  that  those  making  it  should 
have  warrant  therefor  from  the  governing  authority. 

When  the  idea  of  continuing  the  Society  as  Speculative  was  first  enter- 
tained, and  how  long  a  time  it  existed  before  the  changes  involved  in  that  idea 
culminated  in  a  system,  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  growth,  as  in  other  cases 
in  Masonry,  was  probably  slow.  But  before  171 7  such  progress  had  been 
made  that  some  lodges  had  fixed  places  for  holding  their  meetings,  and  had 
acquired  quite  a  permanent  character.  In  that  year  the  present  system  was 
formally  organized. 

The  history  of  that  organization  "must  be  read  in  the  light  of  surrounding, 
circumstances "  in  order  to  ascertain  its  true  character.  George  I.  had  lately 
ascended  the  throne  of  England  after  a  contest  of  more  than  thirty  years  between 
his  predecessors,  and  Parliament  representing  the  people.    These  predecessors 


542  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

had  undertaken  to  deprive  Parliament  of  the  powers  it  had  habitually  exer- 
cised. Among  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown  had  formerly  been  the  power  of 
dispensation ;  the  limits  of  this  power  had  not  been  defined,  and  James  II. 
had  undertaken  to  exercise  it  to  the  extent  of  annulling  all  law.  In  the  con- 
test which  followed  James  lost  his  throne,  and  in  the  "  Bill  of  Rights,"  assented 
to  by  his  successor,  this  prerogative  was  wholly  abandoned.  Whether  or  not  the 
word  and  the  idea  embodied  in  it  had  been  adopted  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
poUty,  it  had  been,  and  continued  to  be,  a  well-known  feature  of  that  polity. 
It  was  an  attribute  of  sovereignty  —  the  power  to  dispense  with  a  law  for  the 
benefit  of  a  particular  person  in  a  particular  case.  This  meaning  of  the  word 
was  well  and  universally  known,  although  the  power  had  been  abandoned  and 
had  ceased  to  exist  in  the  civil  government.  In  that,  the  power  of  Parliament 
was  supreme,  subject  to  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown ;  but  while  thus  supreme 
it  was  practically  hmited  by  certain  principles  established  by  "  the  usages  of  the 
realm."  It  is  not  possible,  in  a  work  of  this  character,  to  go  further  into 
detail,  but  a  clear  and  correct  conception  of  the  original  Grand  Lodge  system 
of  Masonic  government  cannot  be  obtained  without  a  close  study  of  the  con- 
temporaneous system  of  civil  law  in  England,  which  was  taken  as  a  pattern  by 
the  Masons  of  that  day. 

In  1 71 7  general  assembhes  of  the  Craft  were  abolished  and  the  supreme 
power  vested  in  the  Grand  Lodge  —  the  Masonic  Parliament.  The  privileges 
of  holding  lodges  at  pleasure  was  also  abolished,  and  no  new  lodge  could  be 
created  except  by  warrant  from  the  Grand  Lodge  or  the  Grand  Master ;  the 
Masters  and  Wardens  of  the  lodges  were,  ex  officio,  members  of  the  Grand 
Lodge.  The  powers  of  the  Grand  INIaster,  whatever  they  were,  were  left 
untouched ;  his  power  to  grant  dispensations  was  expressly  recognized,  but  it 
was  declared  that  "  the  inherent  right "  of  a  lodge  to  choose  their  own  mem- 
bers was  not  "  subject  to  a  dispensation."  Moreover,  the  binding  force  of  the 
Ancient  Landmarks  was  taken  for  granted.  With  these  limitations,  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  made  the  supreme  power  of  the  Fraternity  —  not  merely  the  ofificial 
organ  of  the  Craft,  but  the  supreme  governor  of  the  Craft  according  to  its 
own  good  will  and  pleasure. 

When  Freemasonry  was  established  in  this  country,  the  same  plan  of 
government  was  adopted.  The  Constitution  of  the  oldest  American  Grand 
Lodge  declares  that 

"  By  virtue  of  the  Ancient  Constitutions  and  usages  of  Freemasonry,  the  Grand  Lodge,  as  the 
supreme  Masonic  authority  in  this  Commonwealth,  is  invested  with  certain  original,  essential,  and 
unalterable  powers  and  privileges.  .  .  .  Every  warranted  lodge  is  a  constituent  part  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  in  which  assembly  all  the  powers  of  the  Fraternity  reside." 

There  was  no  exception  to  this  until  1787,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North 
Carolina  was  organized.  Here,  again,  the  effect  of  surrounding  circumstances 
is  strikingly  illustrated.  American  independence  had  been  achieved ;  the 
American  lodges  were  asserting  the  right  to  Masonic  independence  ;  a  consti- 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  ^43 

tution  for  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  been  framed  and  submitted 
to  the  people.  That  instrument  reversed  the  British  constitutional  system  of 
government :  while  in  the  latter,  ParUament  was  supreme  and  the  source  of  all 
power,  by  the  former  the  Congress  possessed  only  such  powers  as  were  granted 
to  it,  and  could  acquire  other  powers  only  by  a  new  delegation  thereof  from 
the  people. 

This  instrument  was  before  the  people  for  adoption  or  rejection,  when  the 
Masons  of  North  Carolina  met  to  form  a  Grand  Lodge ;  and  they  followed 
the  plan  contained  in  it.  Instead  of  organizing  a  Masonic  Parliameiit,  they 
organized  a  Masonic  Congress.  Their  constitution  could  be  changed  only  by 
submitting  the  proposition  to  the  lodges,  which  could  adopt  or  reject  it  at 
pleasure.  The  Grand  Lodge  formed  under  it  was  a  sovereign  body  only  in 
the  sense  in  which  the  government  of  the  United  States  is  sovereign ;  that  is, 
only  to  the  extent  specified  in  the  constitutions  of  each. 

While  the  large  majority  of  the  Grand  Lodges  formed  subsequently  fol- 
lowed the  old  plan,  the  Grand  Lodges  springing  directly  or  more  remotely 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  very  naturally  adopted  the  new  plan. 
In  consequence,  two  distinct  systems  of  Masonic  Jurisprudence  have  existed, 
and  still  exist  theoretically,  in  this  country,  but  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 
The  Masonic  jurists  of  the  United  States  are  divided  in  the  same  manner,  and 
frequently  the  difference  in  their  conclusions  may  be  traced  to  this  difference 
in  the  fundamental  principles  of  Grand  Lodge  government. 

It  should  be  said,  however,  that  quite  a  proportion  of  the  Grand  Lodges 
which  originally  adopted  the  new  system  have,  with  the  consent  of  their 
lodges,  abandoned  it,  and  adopted  the  other ;  but,  on  the  other  hand.  Grand 
Lodges  which  originally  adopted  the  old  system  have  been  induced  to  adopt 
the  new  one  in  revising  their  constitutions. 

But  it  must  be  said,  also,  that  practically  the  Grand  Lodges  which  have 
adopted  the  new  system,  frequently,  and  probably  generally,  disregard  it 
when  occasion  requires,  and  act  as  sovereign  bodies :  as  there  can  be  no 
appeal  from  their  decisions,  the  result  is  the  same  as  if  they  held  to  the 
opposite  theory. 

Grand  Lodges  have  always  created  and  terminated  the  existence  of  lodges, 
whenever  they  have  seen  cause  to  do  so  ;  and  in  general  have  prescribed  their 
rights,  powers,  and  duties,  although  under  the  Ancient  Landmarks  a  lodge  has 
inherent  powers  of  which  the  Grand  Lodge  cannot  deprive  it  save  by  revoking 
its  charter. 

Grand  Lodges,  acting  according  to  the  original  plan,  have  exercised  the 
power  as  inherent  in  themselves,  "of  investigating,  regulating,  and  deciding  all 
matters  relative  to  the  Craft,  or  to  particular  lodges,  or  to  individual  brothers," 
either  by  themselves  directly,  or  by  such  delegated  authority  as  they  in  their 
wisdom  and  discretion  have  seen  fit  to  appoint.  The  Grand  Lodges  adhering 
to  the  new  plan  generally  hold  that  they  cannot  exercise  many  of  these  powers, 


544 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


except  upon  appeal  from  the  subordinate  lodges.  The  former,  as  a  rule,  hold 
that  in  themselves  alone  resides  the  power  of  expelling  and  suspending  brethren 
from  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Masonry;  while  the  latter  quite  generally 
hold  that  this  power  resides  in  the  lodge  exclusively.  More  recently,  how- 
ever, some  of  them,  in  cases  coming  before  them  on  appeal,  have  exercised 
the  power  of  reversing  the  proceedings  of  the  lodge,  and  of  suspending  or 
expelling  the  accused. 

In  most  cases,  however,  the  matter  of  discipline  (except  as  to  members  of 
the  Grand  Lodge),  has  been  left  to  the  lodges,  subject  to  revision  on  appeal, 
and  to  confirmation  or  reversal  in  cases  of  suspension  or  expulsion.  The 
original  method  was  to  have  a  trial  by  the  lodge,  the  Master  acting  as  judge, 
and  the  other  members  as  the  jury.  As  the  lodges  increased  in  member- 
ship, this  method  became  cumbersome  and  unsatisfactory  for  other  reasons, 
and  the  plan  of  trial  by  Commission  and  the  Lodge  was  adopted.  Ordinarily, 
the  Commission  hears  the  case  and  reports,  —  in  some  jurisdictions  the  evi- 
dence, and  in  others  their  findings,  —  to  the  Lodge  which  proceeds  to  decide 
the  case  and  render  judgment.  Other  Grand  Lodges  have  a  Board  of  Trial 
Commissioners,  who  try  all  cases  (unless  the  Lodge  votes  to  try  the  case  itself), 
and  report  to  the  Grand  Lodge  their  decision  and  sentence,  if  any,  which, 
when  approved  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  stands  as  its  own  judgment. 

A  Grand  Lodge  is  the  supreme  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  Masonic 
power  in  its  jurisdiction ;  its  enactments,  decisions,  and  acts  are  binding  upon 
all  lodges  and  Masons  within  its  jurisdiction.  It  is  subject  only  to  the  Ancient 
Landmarks  ;  but  from  its  decisions  in  relation  to  them  there  is  no  appeal. 

There  has  been  mucli  discussion  as  to  the  power  of  a  Grand  Lodge  to 
discipline  a  Mason  of  another  jurisdiction,  who  comes  into  its  territory  and 
there  commits  an  offence  against  its  laws;  but  it  is  now  the  settled  doctrine 
that  a  Mason  from  another  jurisdiction  has  no  immunity  from  discipline  not 
possessed  by  resident  Masons,  and  the  statement  that  the  laws  of  a  Grand 
Lodge  "are  binding  upon  all  Masons  within  its  jurisdiction"  is  made  advisedly. 

The  Relation  of  Lodges  to  one  another,  and  to  Individual  Craftsmen.  — 
The  history  of  jurisprudence  concerning  the  relations  of  lodges  to  one  another 
and  to  individual  members,  and  of  Masons  to  one  another,  is  substantially  a 
history  of  the  development  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Institution. 

The  earliest  laws  of  Freemasons  must  have  been  few  and  of  the  most 
general  character.  They  were  evidently  founded  upon  a  belief  in  the  Father- 
hood of  God  and  the  consequent  recognition  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Man : 
this  is  not  known  historically,  but  is  a  necessary  inference  from  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  Institution  as  they  existed  when  we  have  the  first 
knowledge  of  them. 

Human  experience  has  shown,  however,  that  a  general  law  that  all  men 
must  be  "  good  men  and  true  "  is  not  sufficient,  and  that  as  the  world  grows 
older,  the  number  of  laws  relating  to  specific  details  also  increases.     Such  has 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  54^ 

been  the  case  with  Masonry  since  its  historic  period  commenced.  There  is 
ample  evidence  that  it  was  so  before  :  the  "  Charges  "  used  were  largely 
statements  of  Masonic  duty  as  to  specific  matters,  as  to  acts  which  might  be 
done,  and  acts  which  were  prohibited. 

With  no  written  law  for  a  guide,  it  was  inevitable  that  the  usages  of  the 
Craft  should  take  its  place  ;  this  would  be  the  more  certain  in  England,  where 
the  ''  usages  of  the  realm  "  had  already  become  a  great  part  of  "  the  common 
law,"  governing  the  people  in  their  relations  to  one  another  and  subject  only  to 
the  enactments  of  Parliament. 

At  the  time  of  the  reorganization,  in  1717,  there  was  no  "  Book  of  Con- 
stitutions "  ;  as  yet  the  law  of  the  Craft  was  found  in  its  usages,  but  according 
to  the  statements  of  Anderson  made  at  or  near  the  time,  and  supported  by 
other  conclusive  evidence,  there  existed  manuscripts  in  which  were  contained 
Charges  and  accounts  of  ancient  usages  of  the  Craft. 

In  1 718,  according  to  Anderson,  Grand  Master  Payne 

"  Desired  any  brethren  to  bring  to  the  Grand  Lodge  any  old  writings  and  records  concerning 
Masons  and  Masonry,  in  order  to  show  the  usages  of  ancient  times ;  and  this  year  several  old 
copies  of  the  Gothic  Constitutions  were  produced  and  collated." 

Apparently  this  request  produced  an  effect  precisely  the  reverse  of  what 
was  intended,  for  in  1720  Anderson  says  :  — 

"  This  year,  at  some  private  lodges,  several  very  valuable  ma7tiiscripts  (for  they  had  nothing 
yet  in  print),  concerning  the  Fraternity,  their  Lodges,  Regulations,  Charges,  Secrets,  and  Usages 
(particularly  one  writ  by  Mr.  Nicholas  Stone,  the  Warden  of  Inigo  Jones),  were  too  hastily  burnt 
by  some  scrupulous  Brothers;  that  those  papers  might  not  fall  into  strange  hands." 

The  same  fear  entertained  by  these  "  scrupulous  brothers "  has  induced 
others  many  times  since  to  do  the  same  thing. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  September,  1721, 

"  His  Grand  Worship  and  the  Lodge  finding  fault  with  the  old  Gothic  Constitution,  ordered 
Brother  James  Anderson,  A.  M.,  to  digest  the  same  in  a  new  and  better  method. 

"The  Constitutions  referred  to,"  says  Robert  Freke  Gould,  the  eminent  English  Masonic  his- 
torian, "were  certain  old  documents,  usually  in  roll  or  script  form,  containing  the  Legend  of  the 
Craft,  and  a  Code  of  Ancient  Regulations,  both  of  which  it  was  the  custom  in  old  days  to  read 
over  to  the  operative  Masons  on  their  first  admission  into  the  lodge." 

Anderson  prepared  his  manuscript,  and  the  Grand  Master,  at  the  desire  of 
the  Lodge,  appointed  fourteen  "  learned  brothers  "  to  examine  it  and  make 
report;  in  March,  1722,  +he  committee  reported, 

"  That  they  had  perused  Brother  Anderson's  manuscript,  viz. :  the  '  History,  Charges,  Regula- 
tions, and  Master's  Song,'  and  after  some  amendments  had  approved  of  it ;  upon  which  the  Lodge 
desired  the  Grand  Master  to  order  it  printed."  » 

In  January,  1723, 

"  Grand  Warden  Anderson  produced  the  new  Book  of  Constitutions,  now  in  print,  which  was 
again  approved  with  the  addition  of  the  antient  manner  of  constituting  a  lodge." 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  Book  of  Constitutions  was  not  a  code  of  law 
then  enacted,  but  a  compilation  of  old  laws  and  usages,  and  that  the  compilation 


546 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY, 


was  "  approved  "  and  not  the  laius ;  in  other  words,  the  laws  in  that  book  were 
recoEjnized  as  laws  already  existing,  and  were  not  then  created. 
One  of  the  regulations  was  that 

"  Every  annual  Grand  Lodge  has  an  inherent  power  and  authority  to  make  new  regulations, 
or  to  alter  these  for  the  real  benefit  of  this  aniient  Yx3\&xn\\y ,  provided  always  that  the  Old  La7id- 
marks  be  carefully  preserved"  etc. 

And  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  1723,  declared  that  a 

"  Grand  Lodge  duly  met  has  power  to  amend  or  explain  any  of  the  printed  regulations  in  the 
Book  of  Constitutions,  while  they  break  not  in  upon  the  Ant  lent  Rules  of  the  Fraternity  T 

This  is  an  express  recognition  that  there  are  "  Antient  Rules  "  which  the 
Grand  Lodge  has  no  power  to  "  break  in  upon  "  by  amendment  or  explana- 
tion. These  "  Rules  "  are  the  "  Antient  Landmarks,"  deemed  by  almost  all  the 
Craft  as  unchangeable  ;  it  is  true  that  some,  viewing  Masonic  government  from 
a  modern  stand-point,  deny  their  existence,  some  because  these  "Antient  Rules  " 
have  never  been  codified,  and  others,  because  Masons  disagree  as  to  what 
rules  are  Landmarks.  But  it  seems  to  be  obvious  that  "  Antient  Rules  "  spring- 
ing from  ancient  usages  cannot  be  codified  as  a  complete  code  any  more  than 
that  all  the  usages  of  the  Craft  can  be  enumerated. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  "  Old  Charges  "  as  collated  by  Anderson 
in  his  first  edition  are  Landmarks,  or  among  the  Landmarks,  and  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  Jurisprudence  of  Masonry  has  been  erected. 

The  Old  Regulations,  on  the  other  hand,  are  generally  capable  of  being 
changed  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  but  as  already  stated,  provided  that  the  Land- 
marks be  faithfully  preserved. 

All  the  Old  Regulations  containing  prohibitions  and  restrictions  upon  the 
action  of  lodges  are  subject  to  the  modification  "  except  by  dispensation," 
except  that  it  is  expressly  stated  that  one  power  of  a  lodge  is  "  not  subject  to 
a  dispensation.'' 

Thus  in  this  Book  of  Constitutions  we  find  the  express  recognition,  under 
the  ancient  laws  of  the  Craft,  of 

(i)  The  existence  and  inviolability  of  the  Landmarks; 

(2)  Subject  to  them,  the  sovereign  power  of  the  Grand  Lodge  ;  and 

(3)  The  power  of  the  Grand  Master  to  grant  dispensations  suspending  the  operation  of  a  law 
in  a  particular  case. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  Fraternity  naturally  call'^.d  for  the  enactment  of 
new  laws,  and  "  explanations "  of  the  old  ones,  now  termed  "  decisions." 
Accordingly  we  find  that  at  almost  every  session  tne  Grand  Lodge  took  action, 
but  always  iti  a  line  with  the  three  principles  above  stated.  In  more  than  one 
instance  it  was  discovered  that  the  usages  as  stated  in  the  Book  of  Constitu- 
tions was  not  in  accord  with  the  usage  in  the  old  lodges,  and  the  law  was 
corrected  accordingly. 

Unauthorized  books  were  published,  which  were  denounced  by  the  Grand 
Lodge.     But  in  1738  Anderson  pubHshed  a  second  edition  of  his  work,  giving 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  547 

an  abstract  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Lodge  up  to  that  date,  but  espe- 
cially the  decisions  of  the  Grand  Lodge  and  the  additions  to,  and  amendments 
of,  the  Old  Regulations  ;  he,  however,  changed  the  phraseology  of  the  Ancient 
Charges,  with  a  view  of  condensation  and  correction  :  while  his  work  was  at 
first  approved  by  the  Grand  Officers,  it  is  said  that  the  Grand  Lodge  refused 
its  sanction,  and  the  Ancient  Charges,  as  originally  published,  have  ever  since 
been  accepted  as  the  true  version.  His  book  seems  to  have  had  a  small 
circulation,  for  in  1 746  a  new  title-page  was  printed  and  substituted  for  the 
first  one  and  the  book  put  upon  the  market  as  printed  that  year. 

The  growth  of  Masonic  Jurisprudence  continued  to  be  in  the  enactment  of 
new  laws,  and  the  action  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  the  nature  of  decisions  and 
precedents.     The  original  idea  was  fully  recognized  and  adhered  to  closely. 

The  more  important  matters  were  published  in  the  Book  of  Constitutions. 
Editions  of  Anderson's  Constitutions,  edited  by  John  Entick,  were  published 
in  1756  and  1767  under  the  sanction  of  the  Grand  Lodge;  in  1769  the  latter 
edition  was  reprinted  in  a  different  form,  and  issued  (with  a  mere  change  of 
the  title-page),  in  Dublin  also ;  in  1776  an  Appendix  was  published  by  order 
of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  bound  in  the  copies  of  the  1767  edition  then  remain- 
ing on  hand.  In  1784,  by  order  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  another  edition  of 
Anderson's  Constitutions,  edited  by  John  Noorthouck,  was  published.  These 
editions  were  all  upon  the  same  general  plan,  so  far  as  the  enactments  and 
decisions  are  concerned,  and  naturally  each  edition  was  more  voluminous 
than  its  predecessors.  In  1815,  after  the  union  of  the  two  Grand  Lodges,  a 
Book  of  Constitutions  was  pubHshed,  but  it  no  longer  bore  Anderson's  name, 
was  much  smaller  than  the  previous  ones,  and  was  substantially  confined  to 
the  laws  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  Several  editions  on  the  same  plan  have  since 
been  published. 

But  a  disturbing  element  was  introduced  into  English  Freemasonry,  which 
has  left  its  traces  in  INIasonic  Jurisprudence,  especially  in  the  United  States. 
The  schism  resulting  in  the  formation  of  the  so-called  "Ancient  Grand 
Lodge  "  naturally  gave  rise  to  differences  in  minor  particulars ;  and  the  claim 
was  made  that  these  differences  were  of  vital  importance,  and  even  formed  a 
barrier  of  denial  of  recognition  of  one  faction  by  the  other.  The  union  of  the 
two  English  Grand  Lodges  in  1 8 1 3,  however,  produced  thereafter  unity  of  law  in 
that  jurisdiction  ;  but  in  America,  Grand  Lodges  had  been  formed  under  each  of 
the  two  English  systems,  and  being  independent  naturally  continued  the  polity 
originally  adopted.  In  ISIassachusetts  there  was  a  union  of  two  Grand  Lodges 
in  1792,  but  both  had  taken  Anderson's  Constitutions  as  their  guide,  and  their 
polity  was  the  same.  In  South  Carolina,  also,  there  were  originally  two  Grand 
Lodges,  one  under  each  of  the  English  bodies.  They  united  in  1808,  but  a 
schism  immediately  followed,  and  two  Grand  Lodges  existed  until  1814,  when 
a  union  was  effected.  The  result  of  the  blending  of  the  two  systems  is  plainly 
discernible  in  the  present  jurisprudence  of  that  jurisdiction.     The  same  is  true 


548 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


of  Virginia,  whose  Grand  Lodge  was  formed  by  Masons  holding  directly  or 
indirectly  under  both  the  rival  English  authorities. 

In  Pennsylvania,  however,  the  "Ancients"  completely  crushed  out  their 
rivals,  and  conducted  their  Masonic  affairs  according  to  the  system  established 
by  Dermott.  In  1783  Rev,  Dr.  Smith,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
published  an  "  Ahiman  Rezon,"  based  upon  the  similar  work  of  Dermott. 
His  version  of  the  Charges  followed  closely  those  in  Anderson's  second  edi- 
tion, with  much  amplification.  He  devotes  considerable  space  to  the  necessity 
of  secrecy,  making  it  of  paramount  importance.  The  power  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  confer  degrees  and  the  prerogative  of  the  Grand  Master  to  "  make 
Masons  at  sight "  are  expressly  stated  as  a  part  of  the  ancient  law. 

Under  the  other  organization  there  were  various  public  Masonic  ceremonies, 
in  which  the  Grand  Lodge  and  subordinate  lodges  participated  in  their  dis- 
tinctive character.  On  such  occasions  the  brethren  were  Masonically  clothed, 
the  officers  invested  with  their  jewels  and  other  insignia  of  office,  and  the  furni- 
ture necessary  for  holding  a  lodge  was  present ;  and  the  work  was  done  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  or  the  lodge,  as  the  case  might  be.  These  included  laying 
corner-stones  of  public  edifices,  opening  bridges,  dedicating  halls,  installations, 
etc.  Accounts  of  these  ceremonies  are  found  in  the  publications  authorized 
by  the  Grand  Lodge,  from  almost  the  date  of  the  earliest  printed  book  relating 
to  Masonry;  and  they  are  then  assumed  to  be  well-known  usages  of  the  Craft, 
In  the  Books  of  Constitutions  there  are  given  detailed  accounts  of  the  cere- 
monies performed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  on  various  occasions. 

In  Pennsylvania  it  has  been  claimed  that  there  are  no  public  Masonic 
ceremonies;  and  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  "Ancients"  insisted  more 
strenuously  upon  secrecy  than  did  the  adherents  of  the  old  Grand  Lodge, 
and  that,  in  consequence,  public  ceremonies  were  of  rarer  occurrence.  But 
there  is  ground  for  the  belief  that  the  claims  of  Pennsylvania  jurists  are  based 
upon  a  departure  from  the  ancient  usage  in  that  jurisdiction. 

In  1778  there  was  a  celebration  in  Philadelphia  in  honor  of  General 
Washington.  Dr.  Smith  gives  some  account  of  it  in  his  Ahiman  Rezon,  He 
delivered  a  sermon  upon  the  occasion.  He  says  that  the  brethren  assembled 
at  the  college  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  ;  they  were  "properly  cloathed, 
the  officers  in  the  jewels  of  their  lodges  and  other  badges  of  their  dignity." 
The  deacons  carried  their  wands ;  the  wardens  bore  their  pillars ;  the  Holy 
Bible  and  Book  of  Constitutions  were  borne  before  the  Grand  Master.  In  fine, 
the  procession  was  of  the  precise  character  as  those  of  the  other  organization  ; 
that  is  to  say,  a  regularly  formed  lodge  marched  in  a  procession  to  the 
church  where  the  exercises  took  place. 

As  the  wearing  of  Masonic  clothing  upon  any  other  than  Masonic  occasions, 
and  the  investment  of  officers  with  their  jewels  and  badges  of  office,  except 
when  doing  Masonic  work,  are  utterly  repugnant  to  Masonic  law  and  usage, 
the  conclusion  is  irresistible   that,  upon  this  occasion,  the  Grand  Lodge  of 


MASONIC  JURISPRUDENCE.  c^q 

Pennsylvania  appeared  in  public  as  such,  for  the  performance  of  Masonic 
work.  The  Grand  Master's  emblem  of  authority  has  no  use,  force,  or  meaning 
as  such  embletn  outside  of  a  lodge.  The  presence  of  the  Grand  Master,  clad 
in  his  official  insignia  and  bearing  the  emblem  of  authority,  conclusively  shows 
a  duly  formed  lodge  of  Masons. 

But  Dr.  Smith,  in  a  note,  relates  another  very  significant  circumstance 
which  happened  at  the  same  time  :  he  closed  his  sermon  with  an  ascription 
of"  Glory  to  the  Triune-God,"  and  the  doctor  says  :  — 

"At  the  word  '  Glory'  the  brethren  rose  together,  and  in  reverential  posture,  in  pronouncing 
the  names  of  the  Triune-God,  accompanied  the  same  by  a  corresponding  repetition  of  the  Ancient 
Sign  or  Symbol  of  Divine  Homage  and  Obeisance,  concluding  with  the  following  Response  : 

"'Amen!     So  let  it  ever  be.' " 

This  ceremony  was  evidently  arranged  in  advance,  and  was  not,  therefore, 
a  mere  unauthorized  act  of  the  brethren. 

The  account  of  this  celebration  was  published  five  years  after  it  took  place, 
and  if  there  had  been  anything  done  inconsistent  with  Masonic  law  and  usage, 
there  had  been  ample  time  to  ascertain  it.  The  publication,  therefore,  so  long 
afterward,  adds  to  the  weight  to  be  given  to  what  was  done. 

When  published  this  Ahiman  Rezon  was,  and  for  some  forty  years  con- 
tinued to  be,  the  "  Book  of  Constitutions  "  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  conclusion,  therefore,  seems  just  that  the  present  usage  in  that  jurisdic- 
tion is  somewhat  of  a  departure  from  the  original  law  and  usage. 

It  must  be  stated,  however,  that  in  all  the  jurisdictions  in  which  "  Ancient " 
Masonry  flourished,  the  emphasis  with  which  secrecy  was  enjoined  produced 
effects  still  plainly  discernible. 

What  was  understood  to  be  the  law  as  to  public  Masonic  ceremonies  in 
Anderson's  time  is  shown  by  his  accounts  of  the  "  levelling  of  foot-stones  "  by 
the  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Wardens,  "  attended  by  many  brothers  in  due 
form,"  on  dates  previous  to  171 7;  whether  the  accounts  are  historically 
correct  or  not,  they  show  what  the  usage  was  understood  to  be  at  the  time 
when  they  were  written. 

Anderson's  account  of  the  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  June  24,  1721, 
shows  that  the  Grand  Master  and  other  Grand  Officers  with  the  Masters  and 
Wardens  of  twelve  lodges,  formed  a  Grand  Lodge,  "  made  some  new  brothers  " 
and  "  marched  on  foot  to  the  hall  in  proper  clothing  and  due  form,"  where 
they  were  "  received  by  one  hundred  and  fifty,  true  and  faithful,  all  clothed  "  ; 
after  dinner  the  Grand  Master  was  proclaimed  and  he  and  his  officers  invested  ; 
and  after  the  business  was  finished,  he  ordered  a  brother  "  as  Warden  to  close 
the  lodge  in  good  time."  It  will  be  seen  that  at  this  early  date,  the  Grand 
Lodge  was  opened  in  one  hall,  did  business,  marched  (formed  as  such),  through 
the  streets,  to  another  hall,  and  after  performing  Masonic  work  there,  was 
duly  closed.  The  same  course  was  followed  year  after  year.  In  his  account 
of  the   assembly  and   feast,  January  29,  1730  [N.S.],  Anderson  gives   "as 


!5o 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


a  specimen  to  avoid  repetitions  "  a  full  account  of  the  procession.  To  this 
and  other  accounts  of  public  Masonic  ceremonies  in  the  Books  of  Constitu- 
tions approved  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  in  contemporaneous  publications  by 
Masons,  reference  only  can  be  made  ;  but  they  show  conclusively  that  public 
Masonic  ceremonies  are  usages  of  the  Craft  from  the  earliest  days  of  its 
written  history  to  the  present  time. 

But,  as  Anderson  said  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  the 
Grand  Lodges  in  this  country,  whether  "  Ancient "  or  "  Modern,"  had  "  the 
same  constitutions,  charges,  regulations,  etc.,  for  substance  "  ;  and  their  dif- 
ference in  details  affects  their  jurisprudence  to  no  such  extent  as  affects  full 
recognition  of  each  other  or  entire  harmony  in  their  mutual  relations. 

Grand  Masters'  Decisions.  —  The  immense  and  rapid  growth  of  Masonry 
in  this  country  soon  developed  the  study  of  "  Masonic  Jurisprudence."  Ques- 
tions arose  upon  which  the  decision  of  the  Grand  Master  was  invoked ;  other 
questions  came  directly  before  the  Grand  Lodge.  To  prevent  an  endless 
repetition  of  the  same  questions,  the  practice  arose,  some  thirty  years  ago,  of 
reporting  to  the  Grand  Lodge  the  decisions  of  the  Grand  Master,  and  the 
publication  of  these  decisions  and  those  of  the  Grand  Lodge  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  Craft.  Then  came  the  practice  of  having  the  Grand  Lodge  pass 
upon  the  decisions  of  the  Grand  Master,  not  with  the  purpose  of  affecting  the 
decision  of  the  particular  case  (for  in  that  the  action  of  the  Grand  Master 
was  final),  but  with  the  view  of  establishing  the  rule  for  the  future. 

The  occasions  for  these  decisions  were  more  numerous  from  the  fact  that 
nearly  all  of  the  Masonic  Monitors,  after  the  advent  of  Webb  in  1797,  had 
special  reference  to  the  ritual  and  ceremonials,  and  gave  little  attention  to  the 
law ;  so  that,  except  so  far  as  they  incidentally  show  the  usages  of  the  Craft, 
they  are  of  little  aid  in  the  study  of  jurisprudence.  There  were  some  excep- 
tions ;  and  the  science  cannot  be  understood  without  a  study,  not  only  of  the 
English  Books  of  Constitutions,  Monitors,  and  Ahiman  Rezons,  but  also  of 
the  earlier  publications  in  this  country,  such  as  the  Pennsylvania  Ahiman 
Rezon  of  1783;  the  Virginia  Ahiman  Rezons  of  1791,  1818,  and  1847;  the 
Massachusetts  Constitutions  of  1792  and  1798  ;  the  Maryland  Ahiman  Rezons 
of  1797, 181 7,  and  1826  ;  and  the  Ahiman  Rezons  of  New  York,  1805,  of  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee,  1805,  of  South  Carolina,  1807,  and  of  Kentucky, 
1808  and  1818. 

Treatises  on  Jurisprudence.  — The  practice  of  making  decisions  soon  sug- 
gested treatises  on  Masonic  law  and  digests  of  decisions.  The  first  to  enter  this 
field  was  Albert  G.  Mackey,  who  published  a  work  in  1855,  entitled,  "  Principles 
of  Masonic  Law."  This  ran  through  several  editions  in  a  very  short  time,  and, 
in  1859,  he  published  his  "Masonic  Jurisprudence."  In  1856  Robert  Morris 
published  a  "  Code  of  Masonic  Law  "  in  a  volume  of  nearly  five  hundred  pages. 
John  W.  Simons  followed  with  a  similar  work  in  1864.  George  W.  Chase 
published  a  "Masonic  Digest "  in  1859,  in  which  he  collected  the  decisions 


MASONIC  JURISPR  UDENCE.  5  5  I 

of  Grand  Masters  and  Grand  Lodges,  with  the  utterances  of  Masonic  Commit- 
tees. In  addition  to  these,  there  should  be  mentioned  The  Freemasons' 
Movthly  Magazine,  by  Charles  W.  Moore.  Its  publication  was  commenced 
in  1 84 1,  and  was  continued  for  thirty-two  years.  Questions  of  Masonic  law 
were  continually  discussed  in  it  with  an  ability  and  knowledge  that  make  the 
work  one  of  the  most  valuable  in  the  whole  range  of  Masonic  literature. 

The  publication  of  these  works  created  a  vivid  interest  in  the  subject,  and 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  Craft.  The  ritual,  symbolism, 
and  history  of  Freemasonry  had  offered  a  wide  field  for  study  and  research, 
and  to  these  were  now  added  its  jurisprudence.  A  system  had  grown  up  in 
this  country  which  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  full  discussion  of  these  subjects 
—  a  necessary  condition  for  the  evolution  of  truth.  In  nearly  all  the  Grand 
Lodges  a  standing  committee  was  appointed  (styled  "  Committee  on  Foreign 
Correspondence  "),  charged  with  the  duty  of  examining  the  annual  proceedings 
of  the  other  Grand  Lodges  and  of  reporting  upon  such  matters  found  therein 
as  may  be  deemed  of  interest  to  the  Craft.  This  naturally  led  to  a  compari- 
son of  the  enactments,  decisions,  usages,  and  action  of  the  Grand  Lodges,  and 
to  a  discussion  of  differences.  While  this  system  may  have  been  diverted 
from  its  purpose,  and  even  abused  in  some  cases,  it  is  certainly  true  that  it  has 
done  more  for  the  unification  of  the  Craft,  and  especially  to  secure  a  degree 
of  uniformity  of  Masonic  law  and  polity,  than  all  other  causes  combined.  In 
numerous  instances  the  discussions  of  these  committees  have  convinced  a 
Grand  Lodge  that  it  was  maintaining  an  erroneous  position,  and  has  led  to 
a  modification  of  its  action.  Decisions  of  Grand  Masters  and  Grand  Lodges 
are  made  more  carefully,  and,  in  fact,  with  all  the  consideration  marking  the 
judgments  of  the  highest  civil  courts. 

But,  as  in  case  of  the  civil  law,  and  especially  in  consequence  of  the 
differences  in  views  of  polity  already  noticed,  uniformity  of  law  has  not  been 
attained,  and  is  not  likely  to  prevail.  Yet  in  essentials,  and  in  all  matters 
affecting  the  relations  of  Masons  of  different  jurisdictions,  friction  and  the 
liability  to  dissensions  are  year  by  year  decreasing  ;  and  although  there  must  be 
differences  as  long  as  Masons  are  human,  yet  such  progress  has  been  made  in 
the  right  direction  that  we  may  certainly  look  forward  to  the  day  when  the 
Society  will  be  one  great  Brotherhood  united  in  a  common  purpose,  in  spite 
of  its  division  into  numerous  governing  organizations,  each  independent  and 
the  peer  of  all  the  rest. 

Masonic  Principles  Unchangeable.  —  The  study  of  the  history  of 
Masonic  Jurisprudence  suggests  one  danger  to  which  allusion  has  already 
been  made,  a  danger  not  very  apparent,  and,  therefore,  all  the  more  difficult 
of  avoidance.  Freemasonry  is  an  old  Institution,  with  fixed,  unchangeable 
principles,  whose  laws  are  intended  to  give  effect  to  those  principles ;  beyond 
this  laws  cannot  properly  go.  But,  especially  in  the  domain  of  jurisprudence, 
there  is  a  tendency,  almost  inevitable,  to  introduce  modern  ideas,  and  espe- 


552 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


cially  to  construe  the  laws  and  shape  the  proceedings  under  them,  according 
to  the  prevaiUng  views  of  the  time.  This  tendency  is  inherent  in  our  natures, 
or  rather  in  our  education,  and  is  not  perceptible  by  those  affected  by  it.  As 
an  illustration  :  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  old  usages  of  the  Craft  have 
been  materially  changed  in  the  matter  of  discipline.  It  is  now  universally 
held  that  it  is  a  necessary  result  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  Freemasonry 
that  a  Mason  shall  not  be  deprived  of  any  of  his  Masonic  rights  without  an 
opportunity  of  being  heard  in  his  defence  ;  but  a  careful  study  of  the  early 
records  shows  that  the  usage  of  the  Craft  was  that  the  lodge  had  plenary 
power  over  the  individual  Mason,  and  imposed  any  of  the  Masonic  penalties 
whenever  it  deemed  that  the  good  of  the  Craft  required  it.  If  candidates 
know  in  advance  that  they  hold  their  Masonic  character  only  at  the  will  of 
their  brethren,  they  cannot  complain  of  any  breach  of  faith,  if  their  brethren 
deprive  them  of  it.  Many  are  beginning  to  think  that  the  old  usage  was  the 
best,  and  that  our  laws,  in  their  anxiety  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  individual^ 
have  sacrificed  the  good  of  the  Craft.  The  argument  is,  that  if  Masons  had  to 
depend  on  the  good  opinion  of  their  brethren,  they  would  be  more  circum- 
spect ;  that  Masonic  trials  are  too  frequently  the  cause  of  dissension  and 
discord  ;  and,  more  than  all,  that  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  and 
producing  sufficient  testimony  as  to  specific  acts,  it  is  impossible  to  get  rid  of 
Masons  really  known  by  their  brethren  and  the  community  to  be  unworthy 
of  the  Masonic  character. 

In  this  respect,  however,  our  system  has  become  too  firmly  established  to 
be  overthrown.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  result  of  the  abuses  in  former  times 
of  the  procedure  under  the  criminal  laws.  The  change  is  a  forcible  illus- 
tration of  the  tendency  to  endeavor  to  "  improve  "  Freemasonry  and  make  it 
conform  to  the  vacillating  idea  of  men  in  different  times. 

The  study  of  Masonic  Jurisprudence  from  the  early  times  teaches  most 
emphatically  not  only  rigid  adherence  to  the  fundamental  principles  and  Land- 
marks of  the  Society,  unyielding  resistance  to  all  innovations  however  slight, 
and  faithful  obedience  to  the  laws  and  usages  of  the  Craft ;  but  also  that  while 
in  other  relations  one  may  lawfully  do  what  is  not  prohibited,  to  the  Mason 
whatever  does  not  find  a  warrant  in  those  Landmarks,  laws,  or  usages  is  abso- 
lutely forbidden. 


DIVISION    XIII. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


TJie  Royal  Arch  as  a  Separate  Degree  in  England  and  other  parts  of  the 
British  Empire.  The  Mark  Master  Mason^s  Degree  as  evolved  in  the 
United  Kingdom.  The  several  Grand  Chapters,  and  the  Royal  Arch 
Systems  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland,  including  Mark  Masonry, 
Mason's  Marks,  and  Past  Master's  Degree.  The  Grand  Chapters  of  Can- 
ada, Nova  Scotia,  Quebec,  and  New  Brunswick.  The  General  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter,  its  origin,  poivers,  and  jurisdiction.  State  Grand  Chapters, 
including  the  Independent  Grand  Chapters  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and 
West  Virginia  ;  separately  considered,  and  in  alphabetical  order,  together 
with  all  Chapters  holding  charters  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 
The  Order  of  High  Pries tiiood. 

By  Alfred  F.  Chapman,  P.-.G.-.G/.H.-.P.-. 
General  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  U.S.A.,  etc.,  etc. 


CHAPTER   I. 
Early  History  of  the  Capitular  Rite. 

The  Holy  Royal  Arch. — Whatever  may  be  said  concerning  the  Royal 
Arch  Degree,  there  is  no  question  as  to  its  importance  in  the  Masonic  world, 
nor  as  to  the  high  place  it  holds  in  perfecting  the  Craft  Degrees  in  England, 
and  of  being  the  fourth  of  the  Capitular  Degrees  in  America,  as  well  as  the 
seventh  in  the  series  of  degrees  peculiar  to  the  American  system. 

Its  origin  has  awakened  inquiry,  but,  profound  as  has  been  the  investiga- 
tion, authorities  have  not  ventured  to  give  it  an  earlier  date  than  about  1 740. 
Soon  after  this  it  came  into  notice  in  England,  stimulated  by  dissensions 
in  London,  between  the  "Ancients  "  and  the  "  Moderns,"  arising  in  1751 ;  and 
this  breach  in  the  amicable  relations  between  the  brethren  was  not  healed 

553 


554 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


until   articles   of  union   were  adopted  by  the  two  Grand  Lodges  in   1813, 
wherein  it  was  declared  that 

"  Pure  Ancient  Masonry  consists  of  three  degrees  and  no  more,  viz. :  those  of  the  Entered 
Apprentice,  the  Fellow  Craft,  and  the  Master  Mason,  including  tlie  Supreme  Order  of  the  Holy 
Royal  Arch." 

The  "  Ancients  "  and  "  Moderns."  —  It  will  be  as  well  here  as  later  to 
speak  of  the  disaffection  which  arose,  in  1751,  among  certain  of  the  brethren 
in  London,  who  separated  themselves  from  the  regular  lodges,  began  to  hold 
meetings  and  to  initiate  candidates,  without  authority  of  Grand  Lodge.  Dr, 
Mackey  quotes  Thory,  who 

"  Attributes  it  to  the  fact  that  the  Grand  Lodge  had  introduced  some  innovations,  altering  the 
rituals  and  suppressing  many  of  the  ceremonies  which  had  long  been  in  use." 

Dermott  and  Preston  agree  that  changes  took  place,  although  they  differ 
somewhat  as  to  time.  This  schismatic  body  of  1751  assumed  the  name  of 
Ancient  Masons,  and  styled  the  regular  Grand  Lodge  of  England, "  Moderns." 
At  about  this  period  (1740),  Laurence  Dermott  was  made  a  Mason,  and  six 
years  later  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  ;  and  he,  more  than  any  other,  seemed  to 
have  been  the  moving  spirit  in.  sustaining  this  great  schism,  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  to  his  decease  in  1791.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, Dermott  has  been  severely  criticised  by  his  opponents,  and  Laurie 
charges  him  with  unfairness  in  his  proceedings  against  the  Moderns,  with 
treating  them  bitterly,  with  quackery,  with  being  vainglorious  of  his  own 
pretensions  to  superior  knowledge,  and  claims  that  he  should  be  reprobated 
by  Masons  of  every  class,  who  are  anxious  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  Order. 
In  commenting  upon  this,  Dr.  Mackey  says  :  — 

"  I  am  afraid  there  is  much  truth  in  this  estimate  of  Dermott's  character.  As  a  polemic,  he 
was  sarcastic,  bitter,  uncompromising,  and  not  altogether  sincere  or  veracious.  But  in  intellectual 
attainments  he  was  inferior  to  none  of  his  adversaries,  and  in  a  philosophical  appreciation  of  the 
character  of  the  Masonic  Institution  he  was  in  advance  of  the  spirit  of  his  age.  Doubtless  he 
dismembered  the  Third  degree,  and  to  him  we  owe  the  establishment  of  English  Royal  Arch 
Masonry.  He  had  the  assistance  of  Ramsay,  but  he  did  not  adopt  Ramsay's  Scottish  degree. 
Royal  Arch  Masonry,  as  we  now  have  it,  came  from  the  fertile  brain  and  intrepid  heart  of  Dermot<. 
It  was  finally  adopted  by  his  opponents  in  1813,  and  it  is  hardly  now  a  question  that  the  change 
effected  by  him  in  the  organization  of  the  York  Rite  in  1740,  has  been  of  evident  advantage  to  the 
service  of  Masonic  symbolism." 

This  latter  estimate  of  Dermott  commends  itself  as  being  nearer  to  the 
truth,  especially  in  view  of  what  has  since  been  enacted ;  and  here  again  the 
clear  light  in  which  Mackey  has  placed  this  will  help  to  an  understanding  of 
what  is  of  chief  importance  in  comprehending  the  relations  which  the 
"Ancients"  and  the  "  Moderns  "  sustained  toward  each  other,  not  only  in 
Great  Britain,  but  also  in  America  :  — 

"The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Masons  was,  shortly  after  its  organization,  recognized  by  the 
Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  and,  through  the  ability  and  energy  of  its  officers,  but 
especially  Laurence  Dermott,  at  one  time  its  Grand  Secretary  (1752)  and  afterwards  its  Deputy 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  555 

Grand  Master,  and  the  author  of  its  Ahiman  Rezon,  or  Book  of  Constitutions,  it  extended  its 
influence  and  authority  into  foreign  countries  and  into  the  British  Colonies  of  America,  where  it 
became  exceedingly  popular,  and  where  it  organized  several  Provincial  Grand  Lodges,  as,  for 
instance,  in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina,  where  the 
lodges  working  under  this  authority  were  generally  known  as  '  Ancient  York  Lodges.' 

"  In  consequence  of  this,  dissensions  existed  not  only  in  the  Mother  Country,  but  also  in 
America,  for  many  years,  between  the  lodges  which  derived  their  warrants  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Ancients  and  those  which  derived  theirs  from  the  regular  or  so-called  Grand  Lodge  of 
Moderns.  But  the  Duke  of  Kent  having  been  elected,  in  1813,  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Ancients, 
while  his  brother,  Duke  of  Sussex,  was  Grand  Master  of  the  Moderns,  a  permanent  reconciliation 
was  effected  between  the  rival  bodies,  and  by  mutual  compromises  the  present '  United  Grand 
Lodge  of  Ancient  Freemasons  of  England'  was  established. 

"  Similar  unions  were  consummated  in  America,  the  last  being  that  of  the  two  Grand  Lodges 
in  South  Carolina,  in  18 17,  and  the  distinction  between  the  Ancients  and  the  Moderns  was 
forever  abolished,  or  remains  only  as  a  melancholy  page  in  the  history  of  Masonic  controversies." 

If  it  were  desirable  to  extend  inquiry  as  to  these  dissensions,  tlie  result 
would  be  of  small  profit,  and  of  but  little  permanent  advantage  in  Craft 
history.  Dr.  Dalcho,  of  South  Carolina,  spoke  of  these  differences,  and  the 
cause  of  them,  as  though  they  were  insignificant ;  others  have  thought  differ- 
ently ;  but,  looking  at  them  from  this  distance,  it  will  be  seen  that  more  good 
than  harm,  to  the  general  welfare  of  Freemasonry,  has  resulted  from  the 
schism. 

In  speaking  of  the  "Ancients"  and  "Moderns,"  Dr.  Mackey  credits  Dr. 
Dalcho,  who  was  made  in  an  "  Ancient "  lodge,  with  being  acquainted  with 
both  systems,  and  claims  that  a  comparison  of  his  writings  with  those  of 
Dermott  shows  that  the  Moderns  made  innovations  in  the  ritual  of  little  con- 
sequence possibly,  but  enough  to  awaken  opposition,  and  to  lead  to  the 
establishing  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient  Masons,  out  of  which  was  evolved 
the  Royal  Arch  Degree. 

Other  evidence,  too  reputable  for  successful  denial,  shows  that  the  Ancients 
had  marks  claimed  by  them  to  have  been  known  and  given  in  the  lodges 
which  they  left,  but  not  given  by  the  Moderns.  In  regard  to  this,  Dermott 
says  :  — 

"  A  Modern  Mason  may  with  safety  communicate  all  his  secrets  to  an  Ancient  Mason,  but 
that  an  Ancient  Mason  cannot,  with  like  safety,  communicate  all  his  secrets  to  a  Modern  Mason 
without  further  ceremony." 

History  does  not  instruct  us  concerning  the  differences,  and  is  specially 
silent  as  to  esoteric  matters.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  the  construction  of 
the  Third  degree  and  the  introduction  of  the  Royal  Arch  element  were  fruitful 
sources  of  difference.  The  Moderns  asserted  that  they  were  "  neither  Royal 
Arch  nor  Ancient,"  while  the  latter  contended  that  the  former  had  made 
innovations,  involving  changes  in  the  modes  of  recognition,  and  in  the  trans- 
position of  words.     In  regard  to  this  Dr,  Oliver  says  :  — 

"The  division  of  the  Third  degree  and  the  fabrication  of  the  English  Royal  Arch  appear,  on 
their  own  showin£r,  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  Ancients." 


556 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONK  Y. 


The  Anderson  Constitutions  and  the  Ahiman  Rezon.  —  Up  to  the  time  of 
the  schism,  Anderson's  "Constitutions  of  the  Freemasons,"  originally  pubHshed 
in  1723,  was  the  foundation  of  the  written  law  under  which  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England  and  lodges  warranted  by  it,  whether  at  home  or  in  America,  were 
governed.  But  when  the  Ancient  York  Masons  established  their  Grand  Lodge, 
they  held  it  to  be  necessary  to  have  their  own  Book  of  Constitutions.  This 
was  prepared  and  first  published  in  1756,  by  Laurence  Dermott,  under  the 
title  of  "Ahiman  Rezon,"  and  these  Constitutions  continued  to  be  the  law  of 
the  Ancients  until  the  union  in  1813.  The  Book  had  great  influence  also  in 
America,  where  many  of  the  lodges  and  Grand  Lodges  derived  their  existence 
from  the  Ancients. 

The  Royal  Arch  Degree.  —  The  Moderns,  or,  as  more  justly  styled,  the 
Constitutional  Grand  Lodge,  did  not  recognize  the  Royal  Arch  Degree,  nor 
introduce  it  into  their  system,  officially,  until  sixty-two  years  later  than  did  the 
Ancients.  In  1765  the  degree  was  worked  by  several  "Modern"  Masons  in 
England  ;  and,  in  1767,  the  Grand  Chapter  was  formed  by  authority  of  Lord 
Blaney,  the  Liimediate  Past  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  Dunckerley 
has  been  credited  with  its  adoption,  unofficially,  by  the  "  Moderns,"  but  there 
is  no  evidence  on  that  point,  and  Dr.  Oliver,  in  naming  the  year  1776,  doubt- 
less referred  to  1767,  as  before  noted. 

From  what  has  been  heretofore  said,  it  appears  that  during  1751-52,  the 
Royal  Arch  Degree  was  adopted  into  the  system  of  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of 
England  according  to  the  Old  Constitutions,"  otherwise  called  the  "Ancients," 
and  later,  the  "Athol  Grand  Lodge."  In  1767^  the  degree  was  virtually 
adopted  by  the  "  Constitutional  Grand  Lodge,"  or  the  "  Moderns  "  ;  "  and  in 
1 8 13  it  was  formally  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  English  Rite,  or,  series  of 
degrees,  by  the  United  Grand  Lodge." 

Consensus  of  Masonic  Opinion.  —  It  is  not  within  our  purpose  to  push 
inquiry  into  the  field  of  speculation  merely,  concerning  the  more  remote 
origin  of  the  Royal  Arch  Degree,  for  the  reason,  chiefly,  that  others  have 
given  their  attention  to  this  in  so  highly  an  intellectual  manner,  that  it  is  quite 
unnecessary  to  risk  what,  after  all,  might  prove  to  be  a  repetition.  Brother 
Hughan,  in  his  "  Origin  of  the  English  Rite,"  alludes  to  and  quotes  the 
opinions  of  recognized  Masonic  authorities,  to  the  effect  that  mutilation  of 
the  Third  degree  did  not  take  place,  consequently  the  Royal  Arch  Degree 
could  not  have  been  fabricated  or  evolved  from  that.  But  these  are  debatable 
points,  to  follow  which  would  necessarily  carry  us  back  beyond  that  which  we 
know,  and  lead  us  again  into  the  maze. 

Dermott  inquired,  —  in  an  address  to  the  "Gentlemen  of  the  Fraternity,"  — 

"  Whether  it  is  possible  to  initiate  or  introduce  a  Modern  Mason  into  a  Royal  Arch  Lodge 
(the  very  essence  of  Afasoiiry) ,  without  making  liim  go  through  Ancient  ceremonies?  " 

1  Since  this  work  was  brought  out,  we  have  traced  the  Royal  Arch  Degree  at  Fredericksburg, 
Virginia,  in  1753. 


|liiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiMmi;lliil[||iliillll,Uillllll1lllilllilllillil|lllllllllliiiillllllhll 
irMiiiiiillilillllllliirlliliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiPifiitniiiiiMlllifliiimlliinliilinillhlliiililiii:i 


DERMOTT'S    ROYAL   ARCH. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


559 


This  was  in  allusion  to  the  differences  between  the  "Ancients  "  and  "  Moderns," 
and  goes  to  show  his  own  belief  in  the  existence  of  "'Ancient'  ceremonies," 
without  instructing  us  as  to  their  origin. 

Notwithstanding  what  we  have  said  negatively  as  to  speculation  merely,  it 
is  desirable  that  some  notice  be  taken  of  the  opinions  of  various  authors, 
touching  the  origin  of  the  Royal  Arch.  In  doing  this,  much  must  of  necessity 
be  left  unsaid,  to  limit  repetition  ;  but  enough  may  be  said  to  indicate  the  drift 
of  the  story. 

Dr.  Oliver  declared,  that  the  degree 

"  Is  very  properly  denominated  the  English  Royal  Arch,  for  it  was  doubtless  a  fabrication  of 
this  country,  and  from  hence  was  transmitted  to  every  part  of  the  world,  where  it  now  prevails." 

The  doctor  further  says  :  — 

"  The  '  true  word '  was  never  lost,  but  transferred  by  the  seceding  brethren,  at  the  great  schism 
in  1740,  to  the  Royal  Arch,  and  in  corroboration  of  this  hypothesis,  I  have  before  me  an  old 
French  engraving  of  the  ichnography  of  a  Master's  lodge,  dated  in  that  very  year,  containing  the 
usual  emblems,  and  on  the  coffin  the  veritable  word  in  Roman  capitals.  .  .  .  The  legend 
progressed  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  century,  increasing  in  dimensions,  and  slightly 
varying  in  particulars,  until  it  attained  the  form  in  which  it  now  appears,  and  requires  a  portion  of 
the  Ineffable  degrees  to  render  the  fable  interesting,  although  by  no  means  complete." 

Brother  Hughan  confesses  his 

"  Inability  to  decide  which  was  the  senior,  the  Cotitinental,  or  the  English  Royal  Arch,  and  as 
tliey  had  so  much  in  common,  the  facts  which  are  authenticated  are  not  antagonistic  to  their  having 
a  somewhat  similar  beginning;  but  all  we  can  say  is,  that  their  exact  origin,  and  the  names  of  the 
originators,  have  not  yet  been  elucidated,  though  a  fair  approximate  date  may  be  fixed  upon, 
\^i. :  a  year  or  two  prior  to  1740  —  for  the  period  of  their  advent." 

He  quotes  Brother  Joseph  Robbins,  of  Illinois,  to  the  effect  that  the  mutila- 
tion of  the  Third  degree  was  a  fiction,  and  says  that 

"The  real  differences  (between  the  Ancients  and  Moderns),  consisted  in  additions^  leaving  the 
three  degrees  substantially  as  they  were  prior  to  the  introduction  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry.  We  did 
not  see  this  so  clearly  some  years  ago  as  we  do  now,  having  at  that  time  relied  upon  well-known 
authorities,  but  subsequent  investigation  led  us  to  support  the  theory  that  we  have  virtually  the 
Third  degree  as  it  was  prior  to  1750." 

Concerning  the  introduction  of  the  degree,  our  Brother  says  :  — 

"  Inasmuch  as  it  will  be  seen  that  the  degree  was  worked  in  London  and  Dublin  about  1740, 
being  some  six  years  prior  to  Dermott's  '  exaltation,'  and  ten  or  more  before  the  '  Athol '  Grand 
Lodge  was  started,  it  must  be  incorrect  to  credit  the  '  seceders  '  with  the  introduction  of  Royal 
Arch  Masonry  into  this  country." 

As  to  the  degree,  he 

"  Favors  the  theory  that  a  word  was  placed  in  the  Royal  Arch  prominently,  which  was  previously 
given  in  the  sections  of  the  Third  degree,  and  known  as  '  the  ancient  word  of  a  Master  Mason."  We 
understand  it  is  still  so  communicated  in  some  Master  Mason's  lodges  on  the  Continent,  and  we 
know  that  it  is  to  be  found  on  old  tracing-boards  of  early  last  century." 

Early  Reliable  History.  —  Leaving  the  province  of  debate  for  that  of 
history,  it  is  clear   that   the  earliest  reliable  record  in  English  Royal  Arch 


560 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Masonry  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  public  by  Brother  T.  B. 
Whytehead,  in  the  columns  of  The  Freonason,  London,  in  November, 
1879.  This  painstaking  and  scholarly  brother  quotes  Brother  Hughan  as 
having  presented  the  treasurer's  book  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons  at  York,  to  the  York  Lodge,  which  says  :  "  A  most  sublime  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  was  opened  on  the  8th  February,  1778."  This,  — says  Brother 
Whytehead,  — 

"  In  connection  with  the  earlier  minute-book  just  come  to  light,  completes  the  chain  of  Royal 
Arch  history  at  York  from  the  7th  February,  1762,  to  the  loth  September,  1781." 

It  appears  that  this  York  Lodge  was  granted  a  warrant  January  12,  1761, 
held  its  first  meeting,  February  2d,  "  at  Mrs.  Chuddock's,  at  the  Punch  Bowl, 
in  Stonegate,"  and  in  the  following  year,  "on  Sunday,  February  7,  1762,  a 
most  Sublime,  or  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  opened  at  the  sign  of  the  Punch  Bowl." 

The  historian  here  reUed  on  copied  the  first  minute  exactly,  and  we  repro- 
duce it :  — 

"  A  Most  Sublime  or  Royal  Arch  Lodge  open'd  at  the  Sign  of  the  Punch  Bowl  in  Stonegate, 
York,  on  Sunday  the  7th  of  February  1762.     Present : 
"  Frodsham,        P.  H.  \ 
"  Oram,  Z.  L.   [  in  the  Chairs. 

"  Granger,  J.  A.  ) 

"  Owen. 
"At  this  Lodge,  Brothers  Burton,  Palmes,  Tucker,  and  Dodgson  petition'd  to  be  raised  to  the 
4th  Degree  of  Masonry,  commonly  call'd  the  Most  Sublime  or  Royal  Arch,  were  accepted  and 
accordingly  made." 

This  record  is  significant  of  the  fact  that  the  Royal  Arch  Degree  was 
already  well  known,  otherwise  the  words  "  commonly  called  the  Most  Sublime 
or  Royal  Arch  "  were  used  without  regard  to  the  truth,  an  admission  which  the 
most  thoughtless  would  not  care  to  make. 

The  tide-page,  carefully  copied  by  Brother  Whytehead,  fully  sustains  the 
claim  of  prior  knowledge  of  the  degree,  as  the  reading  will  show  :  — 

"  Minute-book  belonging  to  the  Most  Sublime  Degree  or  Order  of  Royal  Arch  appertaining  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  All  England,  held  at  the  City  of  York,  1762." 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  meetings  of  this  Royal  Arch  Lodge  were  held  at 
somewhat  irregular  intervals,  but  always  on  Sunday,  until  August  17,  1768, 
when  the  day  of  meeting  was  changed  to  Wednesday. 

As  an  historic  fact,  it  should  be  memorable  that  the  word  Chapter,  as 
applied  to  the  Lodge,  was  used  for  the  first  time  in  the  record  of  April  29, 
1768  ;  and,  in  alluding  to  this.  Brother  Whytehead  says  :  — 

"  It  is  noteworthy  (hat  this  is  the  first  minute  in  which  the  body  is  entitled  '  Chapter,'  pre- 
viously it  having  been  always  denominated  a  '  Lodge."  " 

First  Titles  of  Presiding  Officers. — The  titles  given  to  the  presiding 
officers,  up  to  June  3,  1772,  were  then  changed  from  P.  H.,  Z.  L.,  and  J.  A., 
to  S.,  H.T,,  and  H.  A.     We  do  not  know  of  any  reason  for  questioning  the 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


561 


interpretation  given  to  the  first  three,  by  Brother  Whytehead,  who  imagines 
them  to  stand  for  Propheta,  Haggai ;  Zerubbabel,  Legislator ;  and  Jeshua, 
iVrmiger.  As  to  the  other  three,  the  initials  are  of  such  familiar  application, 
that  further  explanation  need  not  be  attempted. 

The  entries  in  this  record  book  were  not  made  with  complete  regularity,  as 
many  blank  pages  were  left,  indicating  that  rough  minutes  were  taken  but 
never  entered  in  the  book,  as  was  no  doubt  intended.  This  custom  had  its 
parallel  in  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  The  rough  min- 
utes on  slips  of  paper  were  kept  with  similar  lack  of  entry  in  the  recoid  book, 
where  the  blank  pages  are  still  as  mute  as  those  of  its  English  fellow ;  and,  what 
seems  remarkable,  the  blanks  in  each  case  occur  during  a  great  portion  of  the 
same  period,  the  last  entry  in  the  York  record  book  being  made  January  6, 1 776. 

First  Known  Rules  and  Orders. — The  first  entry  in. the  second  record 
book  was  of  February  8,  1778,  when  Sunday  was  again  adopted  as  the  day  of 
meeting.  The  titles  of  the  chair  officers  remained  as  S.,  H.  T.,  and  H.  A. 
throughout ;  and  here  too  is  recorded  the  fact  that  "  Rules  and  Orders  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  All  England  "  were  established.  These  rules  are  of  much 
historical  importance,  inasmuch  as  they  determine  that  fees  shall  be  paid  for 
warrants  ;  that  "  annual  returns  of  members  "  shall  be  made  to  Grand  Chapter ; 
that  all  "  by-laws  "  be  subject  to  the  approval  of  Grand  Chapter ;  that 

"No  innovation  in  the  business  of  the  Chapter"  shall  be  made,  "and  if  any  doubts  should 
arise,  they  must  always  be  referred  to  the  Grand  Chapter  for  decision  " ;  "  That  they  shall  con- 
tribute annually  to  the  Grand  Chapter  at  York,  so  much  as  they  reasonably  can,  towards  the  fund 
to  be  employed  to  benevolent  and  advantageous  purposes  "  ;  "  That  no  man  of  bad  or  immoral 
character  be  admitted  a  companion,  nor  any  one  until  he  hath  passed  the  several  probationary 
degrees  of  Craft  Masonry,  and  thereby  obtained  the  necessary  passport  as  a  reward  for  services." 

These  rules  further  provide,  that  "no  man  shall  be  admitted  for  an  unworthy 
consideration,"  but  for  the  promotion  of  "  peace  and  harmony,"  and  for  the 
encouragement  of  whatever  may  be  for  the  "  common  welfare." 

An  analysis  of  the  "  Principia  to  be  observed  by  all  Regularly  Constituted 
Chapters  of  the  Degree  of  Royal  Arch,"  shows  that  the  constitutions  and  rules 
which  now  obtain  in  the  Grand  Chapters  of  America  are  but  parts  and 
counterparts  of  this  York  original,  and  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  rules 
then  recorded  were  not  new,  but  were  well  known  in  practice,  among  brethren 
of  the  Royal  Arch  degree. 

The  Term  "Companion."  —  As  an  item  of  peculiar  significance,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  words  "  admitted  a  Companion  "  establish  beyond  any 
question  the  fact  that  "  Companion  "  is  not  of  recent,  nor  of  American 
parentage ;  but  that  it,  like  much  else  that  is  obscure  in  Freemasonry,  had  its 
origin  at  a  time  when  the  penman's  skill  and  the  printer's  craft  were  not 
trusted  with  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  inner  life  of  the  Ancient  Fraternity. 

The  Mark  Degree  in  England.  —  The  Mark  Degree  had  been  worked  in 
England,  in  lodges  held  under  immemorial  usage,  derived,  we  are  told,  from 


562 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


the  old  Athol  York  Grand  Lodge.  The  United  Grand  Lodge  dedined  to 
adopt  the  degree  into  its  system,  as  it  was  pledged  under  the  articles  of  union 
to  acknowledge  the  three  Craft  Degrees  only,  including  the  Royal  Arch. 

Effort,  however,  was  not  wanting  on  the  part  of  brethren  who  wished  to 
cultivate  the  Mark  Degree,  and  this  secured  the  adoption  of  an  opinion  by 
Grand  Lodge,  in  March,  1856,  that  the  degree  is  "not  positively  essential, 
but  a  graceful  appendage  to  the  degree  of  Fellow  Craft." 

It  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  trace  in  detail  the  introduction  of  the 
degree,  nor  to  name  the  several  immemorial  lodges  in  which  it  was  known  to 
have  been  worked.  In  1856  measures  were  concerted  for  uniting  all  Mark 
Master  Masons  in  an  organization,  and  this  resulted  in  establishing  the 
"  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Master  Masons  of  England  and  Wales,  and  the 
Colonies  and  Dependencies  of  the  British  Crown."  The  first  meeting  was 
held  in  June,  1856,  and,  to  carry  out  the  general  desire,  a  meeting  was  held 
on  May  30,  1857,  "of  representatives  from  all  existing  Mark  lodges  in 
England,  wherever  they  could  be  found."  At  this  meeting  report  was  made 
"  in  favor  of  a  general  union  of  all  Mark  lodges  upon  equal  terms  in  a  Grand 
Mark  Lodge." 

Some  of  these  lodges  held  under  authority  from  Scotland,  against  the 
opinion  of  those  under  England  ;  but  the  final  and  complete  union  was  secured 
on  terms  satisfactory  to  all  concerned.  Thus  far  Right  Hon.  Lord  Leigh 
had  been  Grand  Master,  and  the  ten  "  old  [time  immemorial]  lodges  "  in 
England,  together  with  seven  lodges  holding  from  Scotland,  acknowledged 
the  supremacy  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  At  this  meeting,  June,  i860,  Right  Hon. 
the  Earl  of  Carnarvon  was  elected  Grand  Master. 

The  care,  almost  amounting  to  judicial  delay,  with  which  this  Supreme 
body  was  brought  into  existence,  gives  authority  to  its  historical  papers  ;  and 
the  work  done  by  itself  as  to  the  beginning  of  the  Mark  Degree,  is  so  complete 
that,  whatever  else  we  shall  say,  will,  in  the  main,  be  from  a  report  on  the 
"  Origin  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Master  Masons  of  England,  etc.,  as  set 
forth  by  Order  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Master  Masons."  This  report 
opens  by  saying  :  — 

"  There  is  probably  no  degree  in  Freemasonry  that  can  lay  claim  to  greater  antiquity  than 
those  of  Mark  Man  or  Mark  Mason,  and  Mark  Master  Mason. 

"  In  A.D.  1598,  William  Schaw,  Master  of  Works  to  King  James  VL,  orders  the  Marks  of  all 
Masons  to  be  inserted  in  their  work. 

"  In  the  seventeenth  century,  Mother  Kilwinning  Lodge  made  members  choose  their  Marks, 
and  charged  them/c>«r  shillings  each." 

In  1865  a  report  was  made  in  Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland,  that 

"  In  this  country  from  time  immemorial,  and  long  before  the  institution  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Scotland  (in  1736),  what  is  now  known  as  the  Mark  Masters'  degree,  was  wrought  by  the 
Operative  lodges  of  St.  John's  Masonry." 

In  a  conference  of  delegates  in  187 1,  —  representing  the  Grand  Lodge  and 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


563 


Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Ireland,  and  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Mark  Master  Masons  of  England,  —  on  the  subject  of  the  "  Position 
of  the  Mark  Degree  in  England,"  Brother  Frederick  Binckes  said  :  — 

"  I  believe  there  are  some  Mark  lodges  in  the  North  that  have  documents  to  show  that  they 
worked  upwards  of  a  hundred  years  ago.  The  Minerva  Lodge,  at  Hull,  has  worked  the  Mark 
Degree,  if  I  am  rightly  informed,  almost,  if  not  quite,  from  its  formation  in  1782." 

Brother  Andrew  Kerr,  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  spoke  of  very  old  lodges 
in  Scotland,  developing  from  Operative  into  Speculative  lodges,  and  showed 
that  in  the  "  Lodge  of  Edinburgh,  Mary's  Chapel,  the  members  signed  the 
books  with  their  Marks"  ;  also,  that  it  was  ordained  in  1598,  that  on  receiving 
a  Fellow  Craft  or  ^Master,  his  name  and  "  Mark  "  should  be  "  inserted  in  the 
same  book." 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  custom  of  choosing  a  "  Mark,"  and 
placing  it  on  the  work  of  the  Operative  Mason,  is  a  very  old  one,  and  that  the 

"  Mark  Degree  was  regularly  worked  in  many  lodges,  meeting  under  one  or  the  other  of  the 
two  Constitutions,  as  well  as  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  meeting  from  time  imme- 
morial at  York." 

One  other  extract  from  the  report  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Master 
Masons,  previously  referred  to,  to  show  the  antiquity  of  the  degree,  as  well  as 
the  position  it  then  occupied,  and  this  subject  can  be  left  in  the  keeping  of 
the  brethren  :  — 

"On  January  7th,  A.D.  1778,  the  Banff  Operative  Lodge  resolved:  'That  in  time  coming,  all 
members  that  shall  hereafter  raise  to  the  degree  of  Mark  Mason,  shall  pay  one  merk  Scots,  but 
not  to  obtain  the  degree  of  Mark  Mason  before  they  are  passed  Fellow  Craft :  and  those  that 
shall  take  the  degree  of  Mark  Master  Mason  shall  pay  one  shilling  and  sixpence  sterling 
unto  the  Treasurer  for  behoofe  of  the  Lodge.  None  to  attain  the  degree  of  Mark  Master  Mason 
until  they  are  raised  Master.'  This  shows  clearly  the  relative  positions  of  the  degrees  of  Mark 
Mason  or  Mark  Man,  and  Mark  Master  Mason,  to  each  other,  and  to  the  Operative  Craft.  Every 
Operative  Mason,  or  Fellow  Craft,  being  obliged  to  be  made  a  Mark  Man  or  Mark  Mason,  before 
he  could  '  Mark '  his  work.  While  the  degree  of  Mark  Master  Mason  was  confined  to  those, 
who,  as  Masters  of  lodges  or  Master  Masons,  had  been  chosen  to  rule  over  the  Fellow  Crafts." 

Mark  Masonry  has  further  attention  in  connection  with  the  Royal  Arch  in 
Scotland. 

The  Royal  Arch  System  in  Ireland.  —  In  correspondence  in  connection 
with  the  "Conference  of  Delegates,  relating  to  the  Mark  Degree,  in  1871," 
Right  Worthy  Brother  Robert  W.  Shekleton,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  Ireland, 
wrote  to  Brother  F.  Binckes,  Grand  Secretary  of  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Mas- 
ter Masons,  as  follows  :  — 

"  In  Ireland  the  Mark  Degree  is  worked  exclusively  under  the  control  of  the  Grand  Chapter. 
No  separate  warrants  are  issued  to  hold  Mark  lodges;  but  Royal  Arch  chapters  are.  by  virtue  of 
their  Royal  Arch  warrants,  alone  empowered  to  work  the  Mark  Degree.  There  are  separate 
certificates,  if  desired,  for  the  Mark  Degree,  as  it  can  be  conferred  on  a  Master  Mason  at  any  time 
after  he  has  obtained  that  degree,  whereas  he  must  have  been  registered  in  Grand  Lodge  books 
as  a  Master  Mason  for  six  months  before  he  can  get  the  Royal  Arch  Degree." 

This  Statement  by  Brother  Shekleton  places  the  position  of  the  Mark 


c64  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXRY. 

Degree,  in  Ireland,  clearly  enough,  though  it  does  not  fix  the  period  of  its 
introduction.  This,  however,  is  obscure ;  but  the  indications  are  that  it  was 
introduced  into  the  Irish  system  at  a  period  corresponding  pretty  closely  to 
the  time  of  its  earliest  known  appearance  in  England. 

As  to  the  Royal  Arch  Degree,  we  can  safely  accept  the  opinion  of  Brother 
Hughan,  quite  recently  given  in  his  "  History  of  Apollo  Lodge,"  p.  92,  wherein 
he  says : — 

"  Whatever  the  Roval  Arch  may  have  been  at  this  period  [174^],  it  may  be  taken  as  established 
that  the  ceremony  was  worked  at  York,  London,  and  Dublin,  about  1740,  in  a  systematic  manner." 

The  degree  was  met  with  in  1752,  says  Hughan,  under  the  Ancients,  and 
again  in  1759,  when  a  Brother  Carroll,  from  Ireland,  an  ''Ancient,"  was 
refused  relief  by  Grand  Secretary  Spencer,  who  replied  :  — • 

"  Our  Society  is  neither  Arch,  Royal  Arch,  nor  Ancient,  so  that  you  have  no  right  to  partake  of 
our  charity." 

We  cannot  do  better  than  to  rely  on  the  following  statement  by  Brother 
Hughan,  that 

"The  degree  or  ceremony  was  known  years  prior  to  the  inauguration  of  the  schismatic 
Grand  Lodge  of  1751 ;  hence  neither  that  body,  nor  its  energetic  Grand  Secretary,  Laurence 
Dermott,  can  be  credited  with  its  origin,  although  it  is  probable  that  their  recognition  ol  the  degree 
gradually  led  to  its  adoption  in  England,  officially  and  generally." 

In  recognition  of  recent  investigation,  made  and  being  made  in  Ireland,  it 
will  be  well  to  note  that  tlie  introduction  of  the  Royal  Arch  Degree  into  Ire- 
land has  been  credited  to  Laurence  Dermott ;  but  there  does  not  appear  to 
be  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  this  claim.  As  to  the  exact  date  of  its  intro- 
duction, opinion  is  less  certain.  The  evidence,  however,  is  ample  to  show 
that  the  "  higher  degrees  "  v/ere  conferred,  until  a  comparatively  recent  date, 
tinder  a  Lodge  warrant. 

Francis  C.  Crossle,  Provincial  Grand  Secretary  of  Down,  who  has  given 
much  attention  to  antiquarian  Masonic  research  in  Ireland,  says  :  — 

"The  system  of  conferring  the  Royal  Arch  and  Knight  Templar  degrees  under  the  Craft 
warrant  seems  to  have  been  of  Scottish  origin ;  but  that  it  received  pretty  universal  acceptance  in 
this  country  is  manifest  from  the  fact  that,  so  early  as  1779,  the  '  High  Knight  Templar  of  Ireland, 
Kilwinning  Lodge,'  Dublin,  was  in  the  habit  of  conferring  'The  Chair,'  'The  Excellent,'  'The 
Super-Excellent,'  '  The  Royal  Arch,'  '  The  Knight  Templar,'  and  '  The  Prince  Rose  Croix.'  So 
far,  however,  from  being  invested  with  any  authority  for  such  a  practice,  the  charter  of  this  lodge 
simply  authorized  the  formation  of  a  lodge  for  conferring  the  three  degrees  of  Craft  Masonry." 

The  same  authority  says,  the 

"  Custom  of  conferring  the  higher  degrees,  under  the  sole  authority  of  a  Craft  warrant,  was  the 
rule,  and  not  the  exception;  .  .  .  nor  was  it  undl  the  year  1836  that  the  Grand  Priory,  and  1834 
that  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Ireland,  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  and  reduced  to 
order  the  system  which  at  present  obtains." 

American  readers  will  notice  that  "  the  Excellent,"  "  the  Super-Excellent," 
"the  Royal  Arch,"  and  "  Knight  Templar  "  correspond  with  those  conferred 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


565 


in  St.  Andrew's  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  as  shown  by  its 
records  of  August  28,  1769.  "The  Chair,"  as  standing  alone,  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  used  in  the  latter  body,  as  applied  to  a  degree,  though  the  terms, 
"  Passed  the  Chair,"  "  Secrets  belonging  to  the  Chair,"  and  "  Duties  of  the 
Chair,"  no  doubt  allude  to  the  same  ceremony,  now  known  in  America  as  the 
Past  Master's  degree. 

It  is  not  clear  as  to  how  early  the  degree  of  Installed  Master  was  worked 
in  Ireland  ;  but  that  it  was  evolved  out  of  the  Royal  Arch  Degree  seems  to  be 
the  opinion  of  Gould  and  other  Masonic  authorities. 

Brother  Crossle  submitted  various  seals,  warrants,  collars,  certificates,  and 
other  matters  of  evidence,  all  going  to  show  the  close  connection  between  the 
three  Craft  degrees  and  the  "  higher  degrees,"  and  that  the  latter  were  con- 
ferred under  the  Lodge,  or  Craft  warrant.     In  this  line  he  said  :  — 

"  The  books  of  St.  Patrick's  Lodge,  No.  "jj,  Newry,  also  record  the  fact  that  The  Mark,  The 
Royal  Arch,  and  Knight  Templar  degrees  were  systematically  conferred  under  the  sanction  oi 
their  Craft  warrant." 

This  Lodge  is  the  eighth  oldest  in  Ireland,  and  celebrated  its  one  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary  on  December  27,  1887.  Included  in  his  exhibit  were 
the  "Royal  Arch  and  Knight  Templar  seals  belonging  to  Lodge  No.  205, 
which  was  originally,  in  the  year  1749,  connected  with  the  35th  Regiment." 
Several  aprons  were  shown,  in  which  the  blue,  red,  and  black  colors  were  used 
on  the  borders  of  each,  "  denoting  that  the  wearer  was,  in  virtue  of  his  exalta- 
tion to  the  higher  degrees  ot  Royal  Arch  and  Knight  Templar  Masonry, 
entitled  to  add  the  colors  of  the  red  and  black  to  the  blue  trimming  to  his 
Craft  apron."  The  oldest  of  these  aprons  could  not  have  been  worn  by  its 
owner  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  latter  part  of  the  year  18 10. 

As  already  shown,  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  did  not  assume  control 
of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  Ireland  until  1834.  An  effort,  however,  had  been 
made,  in  18 13,  to  have  the  Grand  Lodge  recognize  the  Royal  Arch  Degree, 
but  this  was  met  by  a  vote  of  censure  on  the  brother  who  proposed  it.  Brother 
Crossle  says  :  — 

"  This  makes  it  abundantly  clear,  that  no  other  degrees  were  recognized  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Ireland  than  the  simple  three  authorized  by  the  earliest  Grand  Lodges." 

The  higher  degrees,  including  the  Royal  Arch,  the  Knight  Templar,  and 
the  Knight  of  Malta,  as  well  as  others  heretofore  named,  were  worked  under 
a  Lodge  warrant,  without  interference  by  Grand  Lodge,  which  must  have  had 
knowledge  of  the  fact,  although  it  did  not  recognize  the  degrees.  Evidently 
the  brethren  interested  came  together,  formed  under  a  Lodge  warrant,  and 
conferred  the  higher  degrees.  Indeed,  Brother  Crossle  shows  that,  as  late 
as  August  5,  1830,  "A  Grand  Chapter  was  opened,  when  the  degrees  of  Arch 
Mason,  Knight  Templar,  and  Knight  of  Malta  "  were  conferred  on  three 
brethren  whose  names  are  given  in  the  record. 


r65  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  Royal  Arch  System  in  Scotland.  —  If  one  were  looking  for  reasons 
why  so  little  is  known  of  the  origin  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  a  strong  one 
comes  uppermost ;  and  this  is  so  well  expressed  in  the  "  Introduction  "  to  the 
"  Laws  of  the  Supreme  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Scotland  "  that  we  pre- 
sent it  here  :  — 

"  But  with  regard  to  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  no  certain  evidence  has  been  brought  forward  to 
point  out  the  epoch  when,  or  the  individuals  by  whom,  it  was  brought  to  Britain.  One  principal 
cause  of  the  obscurity  which  hangs  over  this  branch  of  the  science  is,  that  while  St.  John's  Masonry 
has  been  always  connected  with  public  buildings,  the  greater  part  of  the  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  in- 
cluding the  Royal  Arch  degree  itself,  was  practised  only  in  private. 

"  In  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  England  and  Ireland,  there  has  always  been  a  close  connection 
between  Royal  Arch  Masonry  and  Masonic  Templarism ;  and  scarcely  half  a  century  has  elapsed 
since  these  w^ere  placed  under  two  distinct  governing  bodies.  In  the  Stirling  Ancient  Lodge  are 
still  preserved  two  old,  rudely  engraved  brass  plates  :  one  of  these  relates  to  the  first  two  degrees 
of  Masonry ;  the  other  contains  on  the  one  side  certain  emblems  belonging  to  a  Master's  lodge, 
and  on  the  reverse,  five  figures ;  the  one  at  the  top  is  called  the  '  Redd  Cross,  or  Ark,'  at  the  bot- 
tom is  a  series  of  concentric  arches,  which  might  be  mistaken  for  a  rainbow,  were  there  not  a 
key-stone  at  the  summit,  indicative  of  an  arch." 

This  authority  also  says  that  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Stirling  was  origi- 
nally formed  for  the  higher  degrees  formerly  practised,  if  not  by,  at  least  under 
the  connivance  of,  the  Stirling  Ancient  Lodge.^ 

"  No  minute-book,  however,  seems  to  have  been  kept  prior  to  1743,  or  if  kept,  it  has  been 
lost,  or  perhaps  carried  away  during  the  time  of  the  Rebellion.  This  minute-book  of  1743  is  the 
oldest  written  record  now  extant ;  and  no  other  chapter  in  Scotland  has  been  able  to  show  docu- 
mentary evidence  in  its  fivor  of  an  earlier  date  than  1765,  although  in  these  years  the  chapters 
were  already  accounted  old  and  in  full  operation." 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  two  old  brass  plates  held  by  the  Stirling 
Ancient  Lodge,  with  their  "series  of  concentric  arches,"  they  were  thought  to 
be  of  sufficient  importance  for  mention  in  the  introduction  to  the  "  Laws  and 
Regulations"  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland,  edition  of  1869,  and  of  conse- 
quence in  tracing  the  origin  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree.  Old  and  rude  they  are 
said  to  be,  but  the  latter,  as  applied  to  the  engraving,  is  evidence  not  only  of 
antiquity,  but  also  of  a  desire  to  teach  by  symbols.  This  is  in  harmony  with 
the  genius  of  Freemasonry  of  every  age,  and  conveys  a  lesson  quite  as  strong 
as  words,  expressive  of  a  wish  to  conceal  from  the  uninitiated  a  knowledge  of 
Craft  mysteries,  common  to  members  of  the  Fraternity.  We  are  told  that  "  the 
age  of  these  plates  is  unknown,  but  they  can  scarcely  be  more  modern  than 
the  beginning  or  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,"  a  period  in  the  history 
of  Masonic  degrees  when  the  five  senses  were  more  completely  relied  upon 
for  receiving  and  communicating  Masonic  information  than  is  common  now, 
even  with  the  ritual. 

[1  The  Stirling  plates,  and  the  records  of  the  Royal  Arch  of  1743,  hnve  never  been  exhibited 
within  the  memory  of  any  Companion;  and,  although  Brother  Hughan  has  repeatedly  challenged 
their  production,  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  iiave  been  produced.  Brother  Hughan  believes 
they  never  existed.  The  earliest  actual  minute  of  conferring  that  degree  known,  is  the  year  1753, 
and  is  preserved  at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia.  —  Ed.] 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


567 


The  suggestion  that  these  concentric  arches  might  be  mistaken  for  a  rain- 
bow gives  force  to  a  question  in  the  "Mason's  Examination,"  of  1723: 
"Whence  comes  the  pattern  of  an  Arch?"     "Answer.  From  the  Rainbow." 

Whether  this  ancient  symbol  was  the  germ  from  which  the  Royal  Arch 
degree  sprung,  we  do  not  venture  a  suggestion  ;  nor  need  we  inquire  con- 
cerning it  with  any  hope  that  history  will  reveal  the  secret.  We  do  know, 
however,  that  Royal  Arch  Masonry  is  securely  established  in  Scotland,  where, 
as  we  are  assured,  — 

"  The  Royal  Arch  degree  has  now  a  separate  head,  and  can  never  again  be  disjoined  from 
Masonry;  and  however  unimportant  those  who  have  never  had  the  patience,  or  zeal  to  break  the 
shell  and  penetrate  to  the  kernel  may  deem  it,  it  will  long  continue  to  flourish,  and  prove  one  of 
the  strongest  supports  of  Truth,  Peace,  and  Concord." 

The  Degrees  Conferred.  —  Before  further  inquiry  is  made  concerning  Royal 
Arch  Masonry  in  Scotland,  it  will  be  well  to  learn  the  names  of  the  several 
degrees  recognized  there.  These  are  stated  in  the  Constitution  in  the  follow- 
ing language  :  — 

"  The  Supreme  Chapter  practises  and  recognizes  no  degrees  of  Masonry  but  those  of  Mark 
Master,  Past  Master,!  Excellent,  Royal  Arch,  Royal  Ark  Mariner,  the  Babylonish  Pass  (which  last 
is  commonly  called  the  Red  Cross  degree,  and  is  composed  of  three  points,  viz. :  Knights  of  the 
Sword,  Knights  of  the  East,  and  Knights  of  the  East  and  West),  and  the  three  Installation  degrees." 

This  section  should  be  read  in  connection  with  Article  XVI.,  Sec.  26  :  — 

"All  chapters  holding  of  the  Supreme  Chapter  of  Scotland  are  entitled  to  grant  the  following 
degrees,  viz. :  Mark,  Past,  Excellent,  and  Royal  Arch." 

We  must  be  careful  here  not  to  confound  a  Grand  Chapter  with  a  chapter 
holding  under  it.  The  former  takes  control  of  degrees  not  permitted  to  the 
latter,  as  shown  in  Art.  XVI.,  Sec.  26. 

Mark  Masonry, —  In  a  chapter  on  "  Mark  Masonry,"  Laurie  gives  a  good 
deal  of  space  to  the  "  Marks  "  of  the  workmen,  including  the  use  of  the 
"Mark,"  and  a  large  number  of  illustrations,  ranging  in  date  from  1128  to 
that  of  "  Robert  Burns,  inscribed  upon  the  Bible  presented  by  him  to  '  High- 
land Mary.'  "  He  also  speaks  of  the  manner  of  giving  instruction  in  reading 
the  Marks,  and  gives  the  following  interesting  dialogue  :  — 

" '  How  many  points  has  your  Mark  got  ?  ' 

"  'Three  points.' 

" '  To  what  do  they  allude  ?  ' 

"  '  To  the  three  points  of  an  equilateral  triangle  ' 

"'Please  demonstrate  it  as  an  Opi^rative  Mason.' 

"'A  point  has  position,  without  length,  breadth,  or  thickness;  a  line  has  length,  without 
breadth  or  thickness,  and  terminates  in  two  points ;  and  three  Ones  of  equal  length,  placed  at 
equal  angles  to  each  other,  form  an  equilateral  triangle, —  which  is  the  primary  figure  in  geometry.' 

"  '  Please  to  explain  this  figure  as  a  Speculative  Mason.' 

"  '  The  equilateral  triangle  represents  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  —  The  Great  Architect  of  the  Uni- 
verse, having  no  material  form,  exists,  pervading  all  space ;  the  Creator  of  all  things,  Governor  of 
all  animate  and  inanimate  nature,  Fountain  of  Wisdom  :  Whose  greatness,  perfection,  and  glory  is 
incomprehensible,  and  Whose  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercies  are  over  all  His  other  works." " 

1  The  Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland  has  dropped  the  Past  Master's  degree. 


r58  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

In  classing  the  workmen,  due  regard  is  had  for  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  ranked  at  the  building  of  King  Solomon's  Temple,  and  made  familiar 
in  America  in  the  Master's  degree. 

The  Mark  Master  is  regarded  as  an  Overseer,  and  is  thus  referred  to  :  — 

"  The  duty  of  the  Foreman,  or,  as  he  is  occasionally  designated,  the  Mark  Overseer,  was  to 
direct  and  instruct  the  Fellow  Crafts  or  Markmen  in  the  details  of  the  work  upon  which  they  were 
engaged,  and  see  that  it  was  completed,  according  to  the  plan  furnished." 

In  regard  to  the  Ritual  used  in  Scotland,  "  Instructions  "  for  each  degree 
are  provided,  and  those  for  the  Mark  may  be  inferred  from  the  following 
explanation  by  Laurie  :  — 

"  The  Form  of  Initiation  and  legend  of  the  Mark  Overseer  is  of  an  Eastern  character,  referring 
to  the  preparation  of  the  materials  for  building  Solomon's  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  navigating 
the  rafts  on  which  they  were  conveyed  along  the  coast  of  the  Great  {i.e.,  Mediterranean)  Sea, 
guided  by  a  light-house  situated  on  one  of  the  peaks  of  Mount  Lebanon.  The  Speculative  lecture 
inculcates  a  constant  practice  of  the  principles  of  morality,  in  every  position  in  life,  beautifully 
illustrated  by  the  operations  of  the  Mason,  under  the  guidance  of  scientific  rules  fashioning  with 
persevering  industry  the  rude  block  into  the  perfect  form,  having  it  approved  and  marked  for  its 
place  in  the  intended  building;  and  applying  the  illustration  both  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  indi- 
vidual mind  as  well  as  to  the  moral  fabric  of  society,  and  pointing  to  the  hope  that  all  may  become 
living  stones  of  God's  own  temple.  Such  a  system  of  scientific  and  moral  discipline  was  evidently 
well  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the  Craftsman,  whose  associations  required  him  frequently 
to  wander  to  great  distances,  in  search  of  employment,  and  while  residing  among  strangers, 
enabled  him  to  teach  by  his  example,  and  to  live  in  concord  and  good  fellowship  among  the 
members  of  the  Craft  with  whom  his  labors  were  associated." 

Masons'  Marks.  —  One  of  the  first  to  point  out  the  existence  of  Masons' 
Marks  on  Ecclesiastical  and  other  buildings  of  any  considerable  importance, 
was  George  Godwin,  an  eminent  architect,  but  not  a  Freemason.  Brother 
E.  W.  Shaw  is  credited  with  having  devoted  years  of  study  to  this  subject,  and 
with  having  made  a  most  remarkable  collection  of  Marks,  amounting  to  sev- 
eral thousands  in  number.  He  regarded  these  as  being  the  Marks  of  the 
various  Masons,  their  object  being  "  the  recognition  of  individual  work  and 
payment  of  individual  work."  So  close  was  his  study  that  he  pointed  out  the 
Marks  of  French  Masons  in  Fountains'  Abbey  as  being  somewhat  different 
from  the  Marks  of  English  Masons.  It  appears  also  that  these  Marks  were 
handed  down  from  father  to  son,  and  that  the  Marks  of  various  members  of 
one  family  could  be  distinguished  by  some  peculiar  variation  or  additional 
symbol. 

There  is  an  interesting  story  of  the  "Antiquity  of  a  Mark,"  in  the  Liberal 
Freemason  for  December,  1883,  illustrating  this  practice.  Shames  Barness, 
modernized  into  James  Barnes,  born  in  Scotland  in  February,  1728,  received, 
by  inheritance,  a  Mark  that  was  known  to  have  been  in  the  family  a  long  time. 
This  Mark  is  the  ducal  crown  of  the  clan,  and  was  transmitted  to  his  son 
Robert,  and  so  down  to  William  Wylie  Barnes,  who  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Caledonian  Lodge,  No.  254,  in   1869,  and  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  in  Union 


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MASONS'    MARKS. 


THE    CAPITULAR   DEGREES.  cyi 

Chapter,  No.  6,  in  1870,  both  in  Dundee,  Scotland.  It  is  now  registered  in 
the  books  of  Mystic  Chapter,  in  Medford,  Massachusetts,  U.S.A. 

William  received  this  Mark  from  his  grandfather,  David  Barnes,  in  1869, 
his  father,  Robert  John  Barnes,  not  being  a  Mason.  In  this  family  was 
another  Mark,  a  cross  and  motto,  —  thus,  "  Vitum  -f-  Dirigat,"  —  which  David 
stated  had  been  in  the  family  for  ages,  and  that  it  had  been  brought  back 
**  from  the  wars  by  Sir  Hugh."    David  Barnes  died  in  1876,  aged  ninety-six  years. 

The  traditions  associated  with  the  Marks  in  this  family  of  Shames  Barness 
help  to  give  color  to  the  claim  of  relationship  between  Royal  Arch  Masonry 
and  Masonic  Templarism,  and  invests  the  Mark  of  the  "  Cross  and  Motto  " 
with  peculiar  significance.  The  statement  by  the  sturdy  Scotch  grandfather, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years,  to  his  grandson  William  in  1869,  that  this  Mark 
"  had  been  in  the  family  for  ages,"  and  that  it  was  brought  back  *'  from  the 
wars  by  Sir  Hugh,"  runs  in  similar  lines,  and  suggests  the  possibility  of  points 
of  contact  detected  in  the  East  by  the  early  Templars  \yide  Bishop  Perry's 
opinion  in  this  work],  and  that  these  points  have  been  utilized  in  building  the 
degrees  as  recognized  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland,  and  named  in  its 
Constitution. 

For  those  who  may  be  specially  interested  in  the  Marks  of  the  workmen, 
the  reproduction  of  "  Masons'  Marks,"  in  this  work,  —  which  comprise 
Marks  from  various  historic  edifices  in  Europe,  and  the  East,  many  of  them 
now  published  for  the  first  time,  —  will  be  found  particularly  valuable.  This 
was  compiled  by  Brother  Hughan,  and  includes  selections  from  his  private 
collection.  Laurie,  D.  Murray  Lyon,  and  R.  F.  Gould,  have,  also,  given 
numerous  illustrations  in  their  respective  histories  of  Freemasonry. 

In  speaking  of  Marks,  Brother  Lyon  says  :  — 

"  The  registration  of  Craftsmen's  Marks,  provided  for  in  those  laws  that  are  known  to  have 
been  promulgated  in  the  sixteenth  century  for  the  regulation  of  the  then  existing  Scotch  lodges, 
was  the  perpetuation  of  a  custom  that  had  prevailed  in  the  building  fraternity  for  ages." 

The  Schaw  Statutes,  of  1598,  require  that  the  name  of  each  newly  admitted 
"  fellow  of  craft  or  maister  "  be  inserted  in  the  Lodge-book  ;  but  this  does  not 
establish  the  existence  of  the  Mark  Degree,  as  such.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
degree  does  not  appear  to  have  been  worked  by  the  lodge  journeyman  until 
about  1789  The  earliest  record  known,  relating  to  the  existence  of  the  Mark 
Degree  in  Scotland,  is  given  by  the  distinguished  Masonic  historian,  Brother 
William  J.  Hughan,  in  an  extract  from  the  records  of  "  Lodge  Operative, 
Banff,"  under  date  of  January  7,  1778  :  — 

"  That  in  time  coming,  all  members  that  shall  hereafter  raise  to  the  degree  of  Mark  Mason, 
shall  pay  one  merk  Scots,  but  not  to  obtain  the  degree  of  Mark  Mason  before  they  are  passed 
Fellow  Craft:  and  those  that  shall  take  the  degree  of  Mark  Master  Masons  shall  pay  one  shil- 
ling and  sixpence  sterling  unto  the  Treasurer  for  behoofe  of  the  lodge.  None  to  attain  to  the 
degree  of  Mark  Master  Mason  until  they  are  raised  Master." 

This  record  shows,  by  implication,  that  the  Mark  Degree  was  known  prior 


5 -2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

to  January  7,  1778,  but  that  its  place  in  Masonic  degrees  had  not  been  fixed. 
It  must  have  been  considered  of  consequence  also,  because  of  the  formality 
and  precision  of  the  record.  Whatever  else  may  be  desirable  in  the  way  of 
information  concerning  this  degree,  and  of  the  period  when  it  was  introduced 
into  Scotland,  much  must  be  left  to  conjecture.  This,  however,  is  settled  : 
the  degree  was  given  its  rank  in  the  series  permitted  by  the  Constitution  of 
the  "  Supreme  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Scotland,"  to  be  conferred  by 
chapters  of  its  obedience,  on  January  7,  1778,  and  this  will  conclude  further 
remarks  concerning  it,  under  this  Constitution. 

Past  Degree.  —  Laurie  describes  the  "  Chair  or  Past  Master "  as  being 
worked  in  a  separate  apartment,  with  none  but  Past  Masters  present.  The 
Master-elect  is  examined  as  to  his  qualifications,  and  if  he  is  found  to  be  com- 
petent to  discharge  the  duties  of  Master  of  a  lodge,  he  is  obligated  by  the 
Past  Masters,  and  "  receives  a  word,  sign,  and  token." 

Report  is  made  to  the  Lodge  accordingly.     He  further  says  :  — 

"Few  Speculative  references  are  attached  to  the  ceremonial,  it  being  properly  only  an  obliga- 
tion guaranteeing  to  the  Lodge  that  the  Master  will  act  faithfully  and  properly  towards  them." 

It  is  not  clear  when  this  degree  came  to  be  adopted  into  the  Royal  Arch 
system.  That  it  is  there  is  shown  by  what  has  already  been  quoted  from  the 
Constitution,  while  the  presumption  is  that  the  degree  is  one  of  growth  or 
evolution.  Certain  it  is  that  the  earlier  Masons  employed  terms  now  familiar 
in  the  degree,  and  as  properly  descriptive  of  it  as  though  of  recent  date. 

As  late  as  1859  Laurie  gave  it  a  sort  of  dual  place,  as  if  the  Grand  Chap- 
ter and  the  Grand  Lodge  each  could  work  it.     He  says  of  it :  — 

"Although  this  is  now  frequently  communicated  by  Royal  Arch  chapters  as  a  separate 
degree,  with  a  formal  initiatory  ceremonial,  embracing  words,  signs,  and  tokens,  it  belongs  to  the 
Order  of  Craft  Masonry,  and  is  still  practised  by  many  of  the  lodges  in  the  Third  degree,  but  is 
only  communicated  to  the  newly  elected  Master  when  about  to  be  installed." 

This  paragraph  shows  the  transition  of  the  degree  from  the  Lodge  to  the 
Chapter,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  Chapter  had  adopted  it  as  a  separate 
degree ;  and  further,  that  the  Lodge  communicates  it  to  the  newly  elected 
Master  only,  at  a  time  prior  to  his  installation,  a  ceremony  too  familiar  to 
Masters  and  Past  Masters  of  lodges  to  need  repetition. 

As  to  the  antiquity  of  the  degree,  it  will  be  safer  to  regard  it  as  one  of 
evolution  ;  for,  while  we  may  not  be  able  to  say,  beyond  question,  when  or 
where  it  first  found  recognition,  we  can  show  a  similarity  of  terms,  or  idiomatic 
expressions,  which  by  a  process  of  growth  or  evolution  have  crystallized  into 
this  sometimes  abused  degree. 

It  needs  no  argument  to  show  that  a  time  was  when  apprentices  had  all 
the  secrets  that  could  be  conveyed  to  "  fellows  of  craft  or  maisters,"  and  Laurie 
repeats :  — 

"  That,  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  apprentices  were  not  only  eligible  for,  but 
actually  filled,  the  offices  of  Deacon  and  Warden  in  the  Lodge  of  Kilwinning;  and  that  about  the 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  573 

close  of  the  same  century  [1693]  the  Lodge  recognized  '  passing '  —  i.e.,  a  promotion  to  fellowship  — 
simply  as  an  '  honor  and  dignity.'  " 

This  description  of  "  passing,"  as  an  "  honor  and  dignity,"  appUes  to  the 
Past  degree  of  the  Chapter,  and  suggests  the  possibihty  that  here  was  the 
germ  from  which  it  grew;  although  the  term  "passing"  was  used  in  speaking 
of  the  quahfications  of  "prentices,"  as  early  as  September  i,  1716,  On 
December  27,  1720,  the  same  word  was  employed  in  a  more  extended  sense. 
Under  this  date  the  records  of  Lodge  Dunblane  Saint  John  contain  this 
minute  :  — 

"Compeared  John  Gillespie,  writer  in  Dunblane,  who  was  entered  on  the  24th  instant,  and 
after  examination  was  duly  passt  from  the  Square  to  the  Compass,  and  from  an  Entered  Prentice 
to  a  Fellow  of  Craft  of  this  Lodge." 

Similar  entries  follow,  but  none  to  show  that  the  Past  degree  was  known 
to  have  any  existence  as  a  degree. 

In  his  "  Origin  of  the  English  Rite,"  Brother  Hughan  tells  us  that  at  a 
"  Lodge  of  Emergency  "  on  November  30,  i  769,  at  Bolton,  four  brethren  were 
installed  Masters,''  and  that  the  historians  say  :  — 

"  This  is  the  first  record  of  brethren  being  made  installed  Masters,  or  '  passing  the  Chair,"  in 
order  to  qualify  them  for  the  Royal  Arch." 

The  same  distinguished  author  says  :  — 

"  There  were  nine  brethren  exalted  on  29th  December,  1768,  and  of  these  nine,  three  had  not 
served  in  the  chair  before  their  exaltation."  ...  "  This  is  noteworthy,  because  even  at  this  period 
Virtual  or  Honorary,  instead  of  Actual  Past  Masters  were  eligible  for  Royal  Arch  Masonry." 

Only  this  in  addition  need  be  said  concerning  this  degree  of  Past  Master. 
The  date  given  by  Brother  Hughan  is  explicit  and  carries  the  known  practice 
of  the  degree  back  to  that  period  in  England.  As  to  the  time  when  it  was 
first  introduced  into  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  Scotland,  historians  are  compara- 
tively silent.  The  inference  is  sustained  that  its  adoption  would  be  at  about 
the  period  of  the  "  Bolton  "  date  given  by  Brother  Hughan. 

As  to  its  recognition  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  Brother  D.  Murray 
Lyon  tells  us  that  it  was 

"  During  the  Grand  Mastership  [of  Lord  Rosslyn]  and  at  the  February  Communication  of 
1872,  Grand  Lodge  for  the  first  time  recognized  the  Past  Master's  ceremonial  of  Installation. 
This  was  sanctioned,  not  with  the  view  of  inaugurating  a  higher  or  other  degree  of  Masonry,  but 
of  authorizing  the  use  of  the  ritual  of  Installed  Masters  as  used  in  England,  so  as  to  remove  the 
disqualification  which  hitherto  prevented  Scotch  Past  Masters  being  present  at  the  installation  of 
Masters  in  English  lodges." 

Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Canada.  —  As  a  political  agency,  the 
"  Dominion  of  Canada''  was  unknown  when  "The  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal 
Arch  Masons  of  Canada  "  was  organized  ;  the  great  "  North-west  "  was  an  out- 
lying territory,  better  known  in  connection  with  Hudson  Bay  than  as  containing 
Provinces  ;  while  the  people  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  were  accus- 
tomed to  speak  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  as  if  they  were  far-off  countries, 


574 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


very  remotely  concerned  in  the  civil  and  religious  affairs  of  the  "  Maritime 
Provinces." 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  Freemasons  of  the  two  Canadas  had  but 
Httle  fraternal  intercourse  with  those  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Bnmswick  ;  and 
the  latter  had  closer  intimacy,  because  of  more  easy  water  carriage,  with  their 
brethren  in  the  United  States. 

The  Masonic  authorities  under  which  the  Freemasons  in  these  several 
Provinces  held  were  the  same  ;  each  was  a  British  Province,  and,  in  harmony 
with  their  system,  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  had 
established  lodges  in  the  two  Canadian  Provinces  (now  Quebec  and  Ontario), 
and  Royal  Arch  chapters  followed  the  lead  of  the  Craft  degrees. 

The  printed  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada  show  that  the 
oldest  chapter  is  "Ancient  Frontenac,"  in  Kingston,  established  in  1797. 
This  Chapter,  now  No.  i  on  the  Canada  Registry,  did  not  take  part  in  the 
Convention  held  in  Hamilton,  January  19,  1857,  which  organized  "The  Grand 
Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  of  Canada." 

Three  chapters  were  represented  in  Convention,  to  wit :  The  Hiram  Chap- 
ter, in  Hamilton,  established  in  1820;  St.  John's,  in  London,  1844;  and  St. 
John's,  in  Hamilton,  established  in  1855.  These  are  now  Nos.  2,  3,  and  6, 
respectively,  Canadian  Registry.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  records  show  that 
seven  chapters  had  been  estabhshed  at  the  time  when  the  Convention  was 
held.  These  were  the  four  already  mentioned,  together  with  St.  Andrew's,  in 
Toronto,  in  1847  1  St.  George's,  1854,  in  London  ;  Moira,  1856,  in  Belleville  ; 
and  these  chapters  are  now  numbered,  cf  Canadian  Registry,  from  i  to  7,  in 
the  order  indicated. 

At  the  outset  the  Convention  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  England,  tmitatis  frniiandis,  but  to  "  assimilate  with  the 
usages  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  United  States,"  the  three  degrees, 
not  recognized  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England,  were  adopted,  viz. :  — 

"  The  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  and  Most  Excellent  Master  Masons'  degrees,  shall  be  taken 
by  all  persons,  to  entitle  them  to  be  admitted  to  membership  in  any  Chapter  under  this  jurisdic- 
tion, but  that  Royal  Arch  Masons  who  may  have  taken  their  degrees  in  any  regularly  warranted 
Chapter  under  any  other  jurisdiction,  may  be  admitted  as  visitors  to  any  Chapter  in  this  Province, 
when  working  in  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  or  in  any  degree  which  such  visitor  may  have  taken 
under  a  regularly  warranted  Lodge  or  Chapter." 

The  adoption  of  the  foregoing  delayed  recognition  by  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  England,  which  said  it  could  not 

"  Consistently  with  its  duty,  entertain  official  relations  with  a  body  which  holds,  as  essential 
to  admission  within  its  pale,  the  possession  of  degrees  which  are  not  recognized  by  the  Grand 
Lodge,  or  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England." 

Correspondence  followed  this  declination,  and  official  relations  were  soon 
established  between  the  Supreme  Grand  Chapter  of  England  and  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Canada,  on  the  basis  that  Enghsh  Royal  Arch  Masons  can  enter 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  c^c 

Canada  chapters,  and  remain  during  the  entire  "  ceremony  of  exaltation," 
even  though  they  "  are  not  in  possession  of  those  ijitermediate  degrees  of 
Mark,  Past  Master,  and  Most  Excellent." 

Necessarily,  this  was  a  limited  recognition,  emphasized  further  in  the  clos- 
ing part  of  the  same  communication  from  WiUiam  Gray  Clarke,  G.  S.  E., 
under  date  of  February  lo,  i860,  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  am  instructed  to  state  that  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  Supreme  Grand  Chapter  of 
England,  they — the  Grand  Principals  —  fully  recognize  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  reserving, 
however,  to  all  Chapters  now  in  Canada,  who  are  still  holding  charters  under  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  England,  as  also  to  all  English  Royal  Arch  Masons,  all  their  rights,  titles,  and  privileges,  as 
fully  and  freely  as  though  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada  had  not  been  formed." 

Naturally  enough,  it  was  only  a  matter  of  time  when  opinions  would  differ 
as  to  the  construction  of  the  words  of  reservation.  This  arose  early  in  1861, 
when  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England,  by  charter,  attached  a  chapter  to  "  Dal- 
housie  Lodge,  No.  835  (E.  R.),  at  Ottawa,  Canada  West."  Against  this 
Canada  protested,  but  admitted  the  right  of  chapters  of  prior  date,  of  English 
Registry,  to  make  Royal  Arch  Masons  of  Master  Masons,  whether  of  English 
or  Canadian  Registry ;  denying,  however,  that  any  new  charter  or  authority 
to  work  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  to  be  attached  to  or  granted  to  any  existing 
lodge  of  English  Registry,  in  Canada,  could  be  granted,  under  the  terms  of 
recognition. 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  England  cited  the  terms  of  Union,  in  1813,  "  includ- 
ing the  Supreme  Order  of  the  Holy  Royal  Arch,"  and  said  :  — 

"  That  under  the  arrangement  entered  into  between  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter  of 
England,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  they  have  not  only  the  right,  but 
are  bound  to  afford  to  all  Lodges  and  Masons  in  Canada,  holding  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land, the  means  of  completing,  under  the  English  Constitution,  their  degrees,  if  they  do  not  already 
possess  them,  by  attaching  a  Chapter  to  each  Lodge." 

It  is  difficult  to  deny  the  logical  correctness  of  this  reasoning,  though  it 
may  not  be  to  the  liking  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada.  England  includes 
the  Royal  Arch  degrees  in  her  Craft  system ;  Canada  does  not.  The  former 
feels  bound  to  give  to  a  lodge  once  established  all  that  her  system  represents, 
and  to  protect  such  lodge  in  the  maintenance  of  its  rights  and  privileges,  so 
long  as  the  lodge  maintains  allegiance  to  Mother  Grand  Lodge.  The  latter 
holds  that  recognition  is  a  bar  to  all  this  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Canada,  except  as  applied  to  charters  ante-dating  its  organization. 

Without  discussing  this  question  further,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that, 
when  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada  were  organized,  each 
recognized  the  existence  of  lodges  and  chapters  of  English  Registry,  within 
their  respective  territorial  jurisdiction,  and  accepted  recognition  subject  to 
such  a  condition  of  facts.  The  possibihties  may  not  have  been  considered, 
but  these  include  also  the  existence  of  amity  between  all  the  bodies  thus 
concerned. 


i^-j^  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  Fraternal  recognition  "  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada  was  granted  by 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Ireland  on  February  17,  1858,  coupled,  however,  with 
the  following :  — 

"  But  that  it  demands  for  the  chapters  in  Canada  and  individual  companions  who  prefer  to 
retain  their  Masonic  connexion  with  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Ireland,  the  free  exercise 
of  their  existing  Masonic  rights,  and  requires  that  the  Royal  Arch  warrant  of  any  chapter  whose 
'  Blue'  warrant  has  been,  or  is  about  to  be,  returned  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland  shall  be  sur- 
rendered to  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Ireland." 

"And  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Ireland  further  demands  the  continuance  of  its 
present  privileges  of  issuing,  on  proper  memorial,  Royal  Arch  warrants  to  be  attached  to  any 
Symbolic  lodge,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland  (in  Canada)." 

On  June  15,  1859,  the  Supreme  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Scotland, 
by  Chairman  of  Committee,  and  Grand  Scribe  E.,  gave  recognition,  in  frater- 
nal and  congratulatory  terms,  to  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  and  "  virtually 
surrendered  all  her  former  power  in  Canada,  except  over  such  of  her  chapters 
as  were  in  existence  at  the  time  of  recognition." 

It  is  highly  creditable  to  the  Royal  Arch  Masons  representing  the  several 
Grand  Chapters  claiming  rights  and  privileges  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  and  especially  so  to  the  latter,  that  neither  has 
receded  from  the  high  character  which  dignifies  and  ennobles  the  Craft.  The 
rights  of  all  have  been  carefully  guarded,  and  the  privileges  of  each  have  been 
cherished  with  such  decorum  that  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada  now  has 
eighty-two  chapters  on  its  Registry,  with  a  total  membership  of  three  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  thirty-six. 

Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia.  —  In  September,  1869,  a 
committee  appointed  by  Royal  Union  Chapter,  No.  118,  Registry  of  England, 
and  a  committee  appointed  by  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  No.  55,  Registry  of 
Scotland,  each  working  in  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  First  Principal  of 
Hiram  Chapter,  warranted  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  met  in  joint 
committee ;  and,  on  their  unanimous  agreement,  a  Convention  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons  was  called,  to  be  held  in  Halifax  October  14,  1869,  and  delegates 
from  all  the  chapters  in  the  Province  were  invited  to  meet  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  Grand  Chapter. 

The  Convention  assembled  in  Masonic  Hall,  Halifax.  Representatives  and 
members  of  the  three  chapters  named  were  present,  together  with  a  repre- 
sentative of  St.  John's  Chapter,  No.  130,  Registry  of  Scotland,  working  in 
Pictou,  Nova  Scotia ;  but  the  latter  expressed  the  unwillingness  of  his  chapter ' 
to  enter  into  the  movement.  The  Convention,  however,  proceeded  in  regular 
form  ;  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia  was  established.  Grand  Officers  were 
elected  and  installed,  and  the  chapters  in  the  jurisdiction,  which  joined  in  the 
movement,  were  duly  placed  on  the  Registry  of  Nova  Scotia  and  numbered 
according  to  rank  and  precedence  :  "  Royal  Union,"  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia, 
No.  I  ;  "  St.  Andrew's,"  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  No.  2  ;  "  Hiram,"  Goldenville, 
Nova  Scotia,  No.  3, 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  577 

When  the  Grand  Chapter,  Nova  Scotia,  was  organized,  there  were  five 
chapters  in  the  Province,  to  wit :  the  three  just  named  and  numbered  i,  2,  3, 
and  having  a  membership  respectively  of  50,  60,  and  2,31  —  "^  total  of  143; 
and  the  two  other  chapters,  known  as  "Union,"  No.  loS,  and  "  St.  John's," 
No.  130,  each  of  Scotch  Registry,  having  a  membership  of  18  and  14, 
respectively,  —  a  total  of  32. 

The  good-will  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England  was  given  to  the  new 
Grand  Chapter  at  its  beginning,  it  being  taken  as  a  foregone  conclusion  that 
the  organization  of  a  Grand  Chapter  would  follow  the  organization  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  due  recognition  of  which  had  been  secured. 

In  Scotland,  a  less  friendly  feehng  existed,  and  this  was  prolonged  for  some 
years  ;  but  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia  secured  local  affection,  strength- 
ened by  the  complete  recognition  of  Grand  Chapters  in  the  United  States ; 
and,  under  judicious  management,  came  into  full  and  undisputed  occupancy 
of  the  territory  of  the  Province.  On  November  22,  1875,  Union  Chapter, 
No.  loS,  chartered  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland,  September  20,  1865, 
united  with  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  on  April  29,  1876,  St. 
John's  Chapter,  No.  130,  chartered  March  6,  1869,  by  the  same  authority, 
united  in  a  like  manner ;  and  these  two  are  now  on  the  Nova  Scotia  Registry 
as  No.  7  and  No.  8,  respectively. 

At  the  present  time  the  Grand  Chapter  has  twelve  chapters  on  its  Registry. 
Eight  of  these  are  in  Nova  Scotia  proper  :  Shannon,  No.  9,  being  in  St.  John's, 
Newfoundland;  Prince  of  Wales,  No.  10,  in  Sydney,  Cape  Breton  ;  Alexander, 
No.  II,  in  Charlottetown,  Prince  Edward  Island  ;  and  Prince  Edward,  No.  12, 
in  Summerside,  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  total  number  of  affiliated  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  under  Grand  Chapter,  based  on  the  returns  of  18S9,  is  now  five 
hundred  and  thirty. 

The  Constitution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  of 
the  United  States  provides  that,  — 

"  Whenever  there  shall  be  three  subordinate  chapters  regularly  chartered  and  constituted  in 
any  State,  District,  Republic,  or  Territory,  by  virtue  of  authority  derived  from  this,  its  Constitu- 
tion, a  Grand  Chapter  may  be  established  as  soon  as  convenience  and  propriety  may  dictate ; 
provided  that  the  approbation  of  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  shall  have  been  first  obtained. 
And  any  Grand  Chapter  thus  established  shall  have  and  possess  all  the  rights,  privileges,  and 
prerogatives  conferred  upon  Grand  Chapters  by  this  Constitution." 

In  applying  this  article  of  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia  was  organized  according 
to  what  is  known  in  the  United  States  as  the  American  system,  constructively 
so  at  least,  for  the  Grand  Chapters  of  England  and  Canada  had  virtual  knowl- 
edge of  intention,  and  gave  prompt  recognition  to  the  new  Grand  Chapter. 
It  is  noticeable  also  that  the  titles  of  officers,  Grand  and  subordinate,  corre- 
spond with  those  adopted  in  the  United  States.  The  first  Grand  High  Priest, 
Hon.  Alexander  Keith,  so  long  and  favorably  known  in  Freemasonry  in  Nova 


578 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Scotia,  took  part  in  the  Convention  which  organized  the  Grand  Chapter.  He 
was  ably  assisted  by  M.  W.  Stephen  R.  Sircom,  his  successor  and  Past  Grand 
Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  Nova  Scotia,  now  Uving  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
and  by  J.  Conway  Brown,  deceased,  July  23,  1871,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty- 
three  years. 

Notwithstanding  his  premature  death.  Brother  Brown  had  succeeded  in 
bringing  to  light  many  old  documents  of  much  historic  value  in  Freemasonry. 
In  this  he  was  aided  intelligently  by  others,  and  these  were  happily  printed  in 
the  early  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Chapter. 

These  old  documents  were  described  by  Brother  Brown,  as  ranging  from 
November  16,  1784,  to  April  25,  1825,  and  refer  to  the  Mark  degree  in  St. 
Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  155  (now  No.  i,  R.  N.  S.),  Artillery  Lodge,  No.  2  (now 
Virgin,  No.  3,  R.  N.  S.),  and  a  Lodge,  No.  210,  whose  record  has  passed 
from  memory. 

The  charter  of  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  was  issued  March  26,  1768,  and  bears 
the  signature  of  Laurence  Dermott  as  Grand  Secretary,  and  in  two  other  places. 

Virgin  Lodge,  R.  E.,  was  originally  established  at  Halifax,  February  18, 
1782,  by  dispensation  from  John  George  Pyke,  Esq.,  Grand  Master  of  Nova 
Scotia.  The  name  "Virgin"  was  borne  until  October,  1784,  when  a  warrant 
was  issued  under  the  name  of  Artillery  Lodge  ;  but  on  September  22,  1800, 
the  original  name  of  "  Virgin  "  was  resumed  by  permission.  Up  to  1 784  the 
records  show  that  two  Worshipful  Masters  were  elected  during  the  year, 
Brother  Adam  Fife  being  the  second ;  and  this  brings  us  to  where  the  first 
record  is  made  relating  to  the 

Mark  Degree.  —  "  Halifax,  i6th  Novr.  1784. 

"  Upon  application  to  the  Worshipful  Brother  Fife,  he  was  pleased  to  open  a  Master  Mark 
Masons'  Lodge. 

"  Worship.  Bro.  Fife,  Master,  formerly  of  213,  a  Square. 

"  Bro.  Hall S.  W. 

"     "     Allen J.  W.  of  L.  No.  155. 

"     "     Lewis Tyler        "  210. 

"  The  following  brethren  received  the  degree  of  Master  Mark  Masons,  and  made  choise  of  the 
following  marks,  viz. : 

"  Wm.  Matthews,  of  Lodge  No.  155 Mark  —  A  Bible. 

"  Hugh  McBean,      "  "      2  Artillery "     —  Level. 

"  Jno.  Wigton,  "  "  "         "      —  Compass. 

"  And.  Gray,  "  "  "         "      — Keys. 

"Edwd.  Byrn,  "  "  "         "      — 5  Points. 

"  Jas.  Johnston,        "  "  "         "      —  Plumb  Rule. 

"  These  brethren  having  justly  paid  the  demands  for  such  Marks,  hath  received  the  same  with 
proper  instructions. 

"On  December  9th,  1785,  six  brethren  received  the  Mark  degree,  under  the  same  warrant, 
one  of  them  being  Alex.  Mcintosh.  On  February  10,  1786,  a  Master  Mark  Masons'  Lodge  being 
opened,  this  Brother  Mcintosh  stated  that  he  was  formerly  a  Mark  Mason,  but  had  forgot  the 
Landmarks,  and  that  upon  recollection  found  the  Sword  to  be  his  former  Mark,  and  that  the 
Lodge  would  indulge  him  to  keep  the  same,  which  was  unanimously  agreed  to." 

These  quotations  taken  from  the  original  minute-book  of  Virgin- Artillery- 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


579 


Virgin  Lodge  give  the  earliest  known  date  of  working  the  Mark  degree  in 
America,  and  show  the  importance  attached  to  choosing  and  recordiHg  a 
*'  Mark."  Other  entries  of  record  show  the  way  and  the  manner  by  which 
the  degree  could  be  and  was  worked  in  another  lodge.  Up  to  and  including 
December  9,  17S5,  four  members  of  Lodge,  No.  155,  had  received  the  Mark 
degree ;  and  this  fact  led  to  its  being  worked  in  that  Lodge. 

Under  date  of  January  14,  1786,  Jno.  Allen  [see  copy  of  record,  November 
16,  1784]  addressed  a  letter  to  Worshipful  Brother  Fife,  "  In  behalf  of  the 
brethren  of  Lodge,  No.  155,"  stating  their  intention  to  have  the  Mark  degree 
"  established  under  the  sanction  of  our  own  warrant."  The  reply  will  indicate 
the  nature  of  the  correspondence,  and  goes  to  illustrate  the  order  and  regu- 
larity which  prevailed  in  the  business  of  the  Craft  at  that  early  period.  It  is 
of  interest  also,  in  the  fact,  that  the  conferring  of  the  degree  carried  with  it  the 
obligation  of  choosing  and  recording  a  "  Mark  "  :  — 

"  Halifax,  loth  Febry.,  5786. 
"  Worship'!  Brethren : 

"  I  have  laid  your  letter  to  me,  dated  the  14th  Janry.,  5786,  before  the  Mark  Lodge,  held  under 
sanction  of  Warrant  No.  2,  Registry  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  we  have  considered  your  request  respect- 
ing those  Brethren  that  belong  to  your  Body  that  are  members  of  our  Mark  Lodge.  I  have  the 
pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  that  your  request  be  granted. 

"  I  accordingly  transmit  you  a  list  of  your  members  together  with  their  Marks,  hereby  trans- 
ferred from  our  Warrant  to  yours. 

"  Bro.  William  Hogg Mark  —  Triangle. 

"    "     William  Matthews "     —  A  Bible. 

"    "      Robert  Geddes "     —  Urica. 

"     "      Robt.  Bucan "     —  Oblong  Square !  " 

At  a  meeting  held  February  21,  1786,  at  the  request  of  Worshipful  Brother 
Duncan  Clarke,  who,  with  five  others,  received  the  M.  M.  M.  degree  at  that 
date,  the  brethren  of  Lodge  No.  210,  who  received  their  Marks  under  Artillery 
Warrant,  No.  2,  were  permitted  to  transfer  their  Marks  to  and  under  the 
Warrant  of  No.  210. 

As  to  the  "  demands "  to  be  paid  for  Marks  and  proper  instructions. 
Companion  Brown  was  unable  to  say,  as  no  cash  account  appears. 

By-Laws,  Rules,  and  Regulations.  —  Following  the  lead  of  Companion 
Brown,  and  being  convinced  that  the  Royal  Arch  degree  in  Nova  Scotia  ante- 
dated 1797,  as  given  in  the  by-laws  of  Royal  Union  Chapter,  some  of  the 
zealous  companions  continued  investigation,  and  discovered  additional  docu- 
ments, showing  ample  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  their  behef.  These 
documents  are  highly  interesting,  but  too  bulky  for  insertion  here.  Neverthe- 
less we  present  the  beginning  of  a  code  of 

"  By-Laws,  Rules,  and  Regulations  to  be  observed  and  kept  by  the  Brethren  of  the  Sublime 
Order  or  Chapter  of  a  Royal  Arch  Lodge  of  the  Most  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of  Free 
and  Accepted  York  Masons,  held  under  the  sanction  of  Warrant  No.  211  of  the  Ancient  Grand 
Registry  of  London,  dated  the  30th  Day  of  June  A.D.  1780,  and  in  the  Year  of  Masonry  5780, 
Vol.  8,  Letter  H.  Granted  to  a  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Ancient  York  Masons  at  Halifax  in 
Nova  Scotia,  by  the  Right  Worshipful  and  Most  Noble  Prince  John  (the  third),  Duke  Marquis 
and  Earl  of  Atholl,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  Grand  Master  of  Masons." 


58o  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

These  by-laws  are  in  divisions  or  sections,  niuiibered  from  i  to  12.  We 
quote  a  part  of  the  first  only  :  — 

"  That  this  Chapter  or  Royal  Arch  Lodge  shall  be  held  Quarterly,  that  is  to  say  on  the  Second 
Wednesday  in  the  Montlis  of  March,  June,  September,  and  December,  in  every  year  during  its 
continuance,  at  the  Golden  Ball  or  Elsewhere  in  the  town  of  Halifax." 

The  by-laws  are  clear  and  comprehensive,  showing  also  a  thoroughness 
characteristic  of  experienced  and  intelligent  men.  They  provide  for  emer- 
gency meetings,  the  issuing  of  "summonses,"  to  prevent  "non-attendance," 
at  least  twenty-four  hours  before  the  meeting.  The  officers  were  to  be  elected 
annually ;  the  dues  to  be  paid  toward  raising  a  charity  fund,  for  the  benefit 
of  "  Royal  Arch  Masons  "  only,  "  on  each  Quarterly  Lodge  night,"  were  "Two 
shillings  and  sixpence."  The  fees  for  being  made  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  were 
;!^3,  \os.,  and  5^-.  to  the  Tyler;  and  no  more  than  two  could  be  made  on  one 
night. 

This  code  was  "  Signed  and  Agreed  to  at  Halifax  in  Nova  Scotia,  this  15  th 
Day  of  September,  a.d.  1782,  and  in  the  year  of  Masonry,  57S2,"  by  fifteen 
members. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  first  three  officers  were  styled  High  Priest,  First 
King,  and  Second  King.  At  the  meeting  of  September  20,  1782,  five  names 
are  given,  thus  :  — 

"  The  Rt.  Worshipful  Brother  Hugh  Kirkham H.  P. 

"         "  "  "J  'lo-  Woodin ist  K. 

"        "  "  "        Ephm.  Whiston 2d  K. 

"        "  "  "        John  Cody S. 

"         "  "  "         John  Willis 

It  was  made  the  duty  of  the  Scribe  to  issue  the  "  summonses." 

At  this  meeting  Grand  Master,  "John  George  Pyke,  John  Clark,  and 
Joseph  Peters,  Past  Masters  of  Regular  Lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Ancient 
York  Masons "  .  .  .  "  were  by  us  Installed  and  Instituted  into  the  Sublime 
Secrets  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry."  After  which,  "  An  Assembly  or  Encamp- 
ment of  Sir  Knights  Templars  being  formed,  the  said  Brothers,  J.  G.  Pyke, 
John  Clark,  and  Joseph  Peters,  were  Instituted  and  Dubbed  Knights  of  the 
Most  Noble  and  Right  Worshipful  Order  of  Sir  Knights  Templars." 

Three  similar  entries  of  record  are  made  during  the  year  1782  :  and  others 
follow  in  17S3-1784,  in  language  quite  as  explicit.  We  mention  this  as  a 
tribute  to  the  brethren  then  concerned,  and  as  a  notice  also  of  the  early 
introduction  of  Templar  Masonry  into  Nova  Scotia. 

The  degrees  now  worked  under  the  Constitution  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Nova  Scotia  are  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and  Royal 
Arch  Mason. 

Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Q,uebec.  —  At  the  seventeenth  annual  con- 
vocation of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  held  in  the  city  of  Ottawa,  October 
14,  1874,  formal  permission  was  granted  to  the  chapters  in  Quebec  to  meet 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


581 


and  take  such  action  as  might  be  deemed  advisable  for  organizing  a  Grand 
Chapter  for  that  Province.  Following  this  friendly  action,  a  Convention  was 
held  in  Montreal  on  December  12,  1876,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  form  a 
Grand  Chapter,  with  the  title  of  "  M.  E.  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons 
of  Quebec."  The  constitution,  rules,  and  regulations  of  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  Canada  were  adopted,  mutatis  vmtandis,  Grand  Officers  were  elected  and 
installed,  and  proclamation  thereof  was  made. 

The  Convention,  as  stated  in  its  proceedings,  represented  a  majority  of 
chapters  in  the  Province,  and  these  were  "  Golden  Rule,"  No.  9,  Sherbrooke ; 
"  Provost,"  No.  14,  Dunham;  "  Carnarvon,"  No.  21;  "Mount  Horeb,"  No. 
25  ;  "  Montreal,"  No.  42  ;  "Royal  Albert,"  No.  43  ;  "St.  Charles,"  No.  51 ; 
all  in  Montreal.  These  chapters  were  of  Canadian  Registry,  and  unanimous 
in  their  action. 

In  the  preliminary  proceedings,  as  well  as  in  convention,  regularity  was 
observed,  and  the  entire  business  was  conducted  in  harmony  with  the  Ameri- 
can Masonic  system.  This  secured  recognition  by  the  Grand  Chapters  in 
America,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Quebec  was  conceded. 

Referring  to  the  reserved  rights  on  the  part  of  the  English,  Irish,  and 
Scotch  Grand  Chapters,  there  is  an  element  of  doubt  as  to  whether  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Quebec  must  not  inherit,  from  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  the 
reservation  made  by  the  Grand  Chapters  of  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland 
when  recognition  was  given  to  that  body.  We  have  to  regard  it  as  unfortunate 
that  circumstances  so  operated  as  to  secure  assent,  first  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Canada,  and  afterward  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  to  the  continued 
and  almost  parallel  existence  of  lodges  and  chapters  of  Englisli,  Irish,  and 
Scotch  Registry,  within  the  territory  which,  according  to  the  American  system, 
should  have  belonged  wholly  and  without  reservation  to  the  Canadian  Grand 
bodies.  But  the  English  system  did  not  concur  with  this,  as  has  been  seen  in 
our  remarks  on  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada. 

Possibly  no  serious  difference  of  opinion  would  have  arisen  to  disturb  the 
concurrent  harmony  of  the  several  Grand  bodies  herein  mentioned,  had  no 
other  agency  appeared ;  but  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Mark  Master  Masons,  of 
England  and  Wales,  etc.,  had  been  gathering  strength,  and  it  was  quite  as  firm 
in  maintaining  the  English  system  as  either  of  its  British  contemporaries. 
This  Grand  Lodge  recognized  the  existence  of  Mark  Lodges  in  Quebec,  to 
which  it  had  granted  warrants  of  confirmation.  Naturally  enough,  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Quebec  protested,  even  to  declaring  non-intercourse  with  Grand 
Mark  Lodge.  In  the  discussion  it  was  developed,  in  a  circular-letter  issued 
September  15,  18S4,  by  authority  of  Grand  Mark  Lodge,  that  the  latter 
entrenched  itself  as  follows  :  — 

"There  have  always  been,  since  1760,  and  long  previous  to  the  constitution  of  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Quebec,  'Time  Immemorial '  Mark  Lodges  connected  with  English  Craft  Lodges  in 
Montreal.     Of  this  we  have  ample  documentary  evidence,  and  the  main  fact  is  admitted  by  tho 


582  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Grand  Z.*.  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  at  page  16  of  Proceedings,  July  nth,  18S4.  Three 
of  these  'Time  Immemorial "  Mark  Lodges  desired  to  place  themselves  under  Supreme  English 
Jurisdiction  in  the  Mark  degree,  as  their  members  were  already  under  Supreme  English  Jurisdic- 
tion in  the  Craft  and  Royal  Arch  degrees.  This  Grand  Lodge  has  acknowledged  them  as  regu- 
lar, by  granting  them  what  is  practically  a  warrant  of  confirmation.  It  has  created  for  them  no 
new  status.  They  were  legal  bodies  before.  Some  of  the  principal  members  of  the  Grand  Chap- 
ter of  Canada  received  the  Mark  degree  in  one  of  these  Time  Immemorial  Lodges." 

This  will  show  the  line  of  argument  adopted  by  Grand  Mark  Lodge  in  sup- 
port of  its  position.  But  to  this  Quebec  demurs,  and  points  to  the  terms  of 
mutual  recognition.  Organized  late  in  1876,  it  opened  correspondence  with 
Grand  Mark  Lodge,  and  in  1878  said :  — 

"  It  recognized  the  Grand  Mark  Lodge  as  the  rightful  and  supreme  authority  over  the  Mark 
degree  in  England  and  Wales  and  the  Colonies  and  Dependencies  of  the  British  Crown,  wherein 
no  Grand  body  exists,  or  of  riglVt  may  be  formed,  claiming  jurisdiction  over  that  degree.  '  This 
recognition  was  accepted  by  Grand  Mark  Lodge,  which  promptly  and  unconditionally  recognized 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Quebec,'  and  representatives  v»-ere  exchanged." 

The  warrants  of  confirmation  were  obnoxious  to  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Quebec,  but  were  defended  by  England.  Extended  and  prolonged  corre- 
spondence followed,  without  change  of  views  by  either,  and  we  have  to 
continue  in  the  hope  that  a  settlement  satisfactory  to  each  will  be  made  as 
soon  as  possible.  Li  the  meantime,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Quebec  claims 
exclusive  jurisdiction  over  the  Mark,  Past,  Most  Excellent,  and  Royal  Arch 
degrees,  and  confers  them  within  its  territorial  limits,  in  full  fellowship  with 
the  Grand  Chapters  of  America. 

Grand  Eoyal  Arch  Chapter  of  New  Brunswick.  —  Under  date  of 
March  i,  1887,  a  circular  notice  was  issued  to  the  several  chapters  in  the 
Province  of  New  Brunswick,  over  the  names  of  five  "  First  Principals  of  the 
same  number  of  chapters  in  that  Province,"  calling  a  Convention  to  be  held 
in  Masonic  Temple  in  the  city  of  St.  John,  on  March  22,  18S7.  This  was 
done,  as  stated  in  the  notice  :  "  In  accordance  with  Resolutions  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  the  regular  Royal  Arch  chapters  working  in  this  Province." 

The  chapters  taking  part  in  the  Convention  were  Carleton,  No.  47,  repre- 
sented by  nine  P.  Z.'s  and  H. ;  Fredericton,  No.  77,  represented  by  three 
P.  Z.'s  ;  Union,  No.  84,  represented  by  five  P.  Z.'s  and  P.  J. ;  St.  Stephen,  No. 
125,  represented  by  two  P.  Z.'s;  and  these  four  were  of  the  registry  of  Scot- 
land ;  New  Brunswick,  No.  10,  represented  by  P.  Z.,  Z.,  and  H. ;  Botsford, 
No.  39,  represented  by  P.  Z.  and  Z. ;  Woodstock,  No.  89,  represented  by  Z. : 
these  three  were  of  Registry  of  Canada. 

In  due  course  of  business  transacted,  it  was 

"  Unanimously  Resolved,  That  the  Chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  now  represented  in  this 
Convention  hereby  declare  themselves  to  be,  and  do  hereby  erect  and  establish,  the  Supreme  and 
Governing  body  for  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  New  Brunswick  by  the  title  of  '  The  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  New  Brunswick." " 

The  titles  adopted  for  officers  are  substantially  the  same  as  used  in  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Scotland.     "  H."  and  "  J.,"  or  "  P.  J.,"  mentioned  among 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


583 


those  taking  part  in  the  Convention,  correspond  to  King  and  Scribe,  used  in 
the  United  States,  and  in  Nova  Scotia. 
It  was  "  resolved,"  to  procure 

"  The  Working  Ritual  for  conferring  degrees  as  practised  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts." 

In  the  matter  of  degrees,  it  was  declared  by  resolution  :  — 

"  That  this  Grand  Chapter  has  authority  over  the  Masonic  degrees  of  '  Mark  Master,' '  Past 
Master,"  '  Excellent  Master,"  '  The  Royal  Arch  Degree,"  and  the  Chair  Degrees  of  three  Principals, 
or  Installation  Degrees." 

The  first  chapter  in  the  Province  was  Carleton,  No.  47,  in  St.  John,  holding 
under  warrant  from  Scotland,  dated  December  19,  182 1.  The  degrees  worked 
by  it  were  necessarily  those  authorized  by  its  Mother  Grand  Chapter. 

Section  24,  of  its  "General  Rules"  [By-Laws,  Ed.  1867],  reads  :  — 

"A  Mark  Master  shall  not  be  entitled  to  the  R.  A.  Degree  until  he  shall  have  selected  his 
Mark,  and  had  the  same  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Marks  of  the  Chapter." 

New  Brunswick  Chapter,  No.  301,  also  in  St.  John,  was  originally  estab- 
lished under  warrant  from  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Ireland,  dated  February  24, 
1858.  It  affiliated  with  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Canada,  in  1868,  and  was 
borne  upon  the  Canadian  rolls  as  No.  10.  It  now  ranks  No.  2  on  roll  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  it  helped  to  establish.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  other  five 
chapters  were  ranked  after  the  two  named,  in  the  following  order  :  Frederic- 
ton,  Union,  St.  Stephen,  Botsford,  Woodstock. 

That  this  Grand  Chapter  was  happily  established  will  be  patent  to  all, 
when  it  is  remembered  that,  that  eminently  conservative  and  loyal  Freemason, 
B.  Lester  Peters,  Past  Grand  Master,  etc.,  etc.,  took  part  in  the  entire 
proceedings,  and  was  elected  Grand  Principal  Z.  It  is  also  matter  for  con- 
gratulation that  it  was  organized  according  to  the  American  system,  and,  like 
its  sister  Grand  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia,  is  in  sole  and  undisputed  possession 
of  the  territory  of  the  Province  whose  name  it  bears. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

Organization  of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter.  —  Before 
opening  inquiry  as  to  the  introduction  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  into  the 
United  States,  attention  will  be  given  to  the  General  Grand  Chapter  of 
Royal  Arch  Masons  of  the  United  States  of  America,  inasmuch  as  this  is 
the  largest  organization  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  existence,  if  not  numerically 
the  largest  Masonic  body  in  the  world. 


584 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR Y. 


It  is  the  genius  of  Freemasonry  in  the  United  States  that  every  name 
borne  upon  the  rolls  represents  a  member ;  and  this  sustains  the  statement 
that,  at  the  present  writing,  there  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  indi- 
vidual Royal  Arch  Masons,  holding  membership  in  the  several  chapters, 
Grand  and  subordinate,  owing  allegiance  to  the  General  Grand.  Chapter, 
exclusive  of  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  West  Virginia. 
No  one  of  these  persons  can  be  legally  counted  as  a  member  of  more  than 
one  chapter  at  the  same  time  ;  therefore  it  is,  that  the  custom  of  being  a 
"  contributing  member "  of  two  or  more  lodges  during  the  same  period,  or 
of  counting  one  a  member  on  the  rolls  of  as  many  different  lodges  or  chapters 
as  he  may  be  elected  in  and  pay  quarterages  to,  is  practically  unknown  in  the 
United  States. 

Initial  proceedings  for  bringing  this  body  into  existence  were  taken  by 
a  Convention  of  Committees  from  "  Saint  Andrew's "  Chapter  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts ;  "  Temple  "  Chapter,  of  Albany,  New  York,  and  "  Newbury- 
port "  Chapter,  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts.  This  Convention  assembled 
in  Masons'  Hall,  Boston,  October  24,  1797,  and  was  attended  by  Benjamin 
Hurd,  Jr.,  H.  P. ;  John  Soley,  Jr.,  K.,  and  William  Woart,  Secretary  of  St. 
Andrew's  ;  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  H.  P.,  and  John  Hanmer,  S.  of  Temple  ; 
Jonathan  Gage,  P.  K.,  and  Joshua  Greenleaf,  Jr.,  K.  of  Newburyport  Chapter. 
These  companions  were  already  distinguished  in  their  respective  localities, 
and  all  of  them  became  conspicuous  for  Masonic  zeal  and  fidelity. 

The  Convention's  Circular-Letter. — Thomas  Smith  Webb  was  chosen 
Chairman,  and  William  Woart,  Scribe  of  the  "  Convention."  A  method  of 
procedure  was  agreed  upon,  and  a  circular-letter  was  issued.  This  letter  is 
familiar  to  the  Fraternity,  but  its  importance  in  Royal  Arch  history  calls  for 
its  introduction  here  :  — 

"  Companions  :  From  time  immemorial,  we  find  that  Grand  Lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  have  been  established  wherever  Masonry  has  flourished,  for  the  purpose  of  granting 
warrants  for  the  erecting  of  private  Lodges,  as  well  as  for  the  establishment  of  certain  general 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  same. 

"  It  is  an  opinion  generally  received,  and  we  think  well  authenticated,  that  no  Grand,  Lodge 
of  Master  Masons  can  claim  or  exercise  authority  over  any  Convention  or  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  nor  can  any  Chapter,  although  of  standing  immemorial,  exercise  the  authority  of  a 
Grand  Chapter.  We  therefore  think  it  highly  expedient  for  the  regular  government  of  all  Chapters 
within  the  said  States,  who  exercise  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  to 
prevent  irregularities  in  the  propagation  and  use  of  those  rights  and  privileges,  that  there  should 
be  a  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  established  within  those  States.  And  whereas  this 
Convention  has  received  official  information  from  our  companions  at  Philadelphia,  that  the 
several  Chapters  within  their  vicinity  have  recently  assembled  and  established  a  Grand  Chapter 
of  Royal  Arch  Masons  for  their  government.  In  conformity  to  their  example,  we  think  it  our 
duty  to  recommend  to  the  several  Chapters  within  the  said  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont  and  New  York,  to  unite  and  form  a  Grand 
Chapter  for  the  said  States. 

"  The  local  situation  of  the  States  before  mentioned,  the  easy  and  frequent  intercourse  between 
their  several  principal  towns  and  cities,  as  well  as  the  similarity  of  habits,  manners  and  customs, 
as  citizens  and  as  Masons,  which  prevail  throughout  the  said  States,  induce  us  to  believe  that  a 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


585 


union  of  all  the  Chapters  therein  in  one  Grand  Chapter,  will  have  the  most  useful,  lasting  and 
happy  effects  in  the  uniform  distribution,  and  propagation  of  the  sublime  degrees  of  Masonry. 
They  therefore  take  liberty  of  recommending  to  the  consideration  of  your  Most  Excellent  Chapter, 
the  propriety  of  appointing  one  or  more  delegate  or  delegates  to  represent  your  Chapter  at  a 
meeting  of  the  several  Chapters  before  mentioned,  to  be  holden  at  the  City  of  Hartford,  in  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  on  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  January  next  ensuing,  investing  them  with  full 
power  and  authority,  in  conjunction  with  the  other  Delegates,  to  form  and  open  a  Grand  Chapter 
of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  to  establish  a  Constitution  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  all 
the  Chapters  that  now  are  or  may  be  hereafter  erected  within  the  said  States." 

This  circular-letter  was  signed  by  the  seven  companions  present,  in  the 
order  named,  and  as  a  "  Committee "  from  each  of  the  three  chapters 
represented.  It  was  duly  attested,  also,  by  William  Woart,  Scribe,  under 
date  of  October  24,  1797,  as  "A  true  Record  of  the  doings  of  this  Convention 
of  Committees." 

The  First  Convocation,  Constitution,  and  Rules.  —  Following  the  plan 
proposed  in  the  circular,  the  Convention  assembled  in  Hartford,  on  January 
24,  1 798,  and  nine  chapters  were  represented,  to  wit :  St.  Andrews,  as  before, 
except  Henry  Fowle,  Scribe,  appeared,  and  John  Soley,  Jr.,  did  not.  This 
chapter  held  under  the  warrant  of  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  82,  Registry  of 
Scotland,  and  has  its  records  from  August  12,  1769. 

King  Cyrus,  instituted  in  1 790,  same  representatives.  This  chapter  was 
called  "  Newburyport  "  in  the  first  Convention  records. 

Providence  Chapter,  No.  2,  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  Instituted,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1793.  Represented  by  Rev.  Abraham  L.  Clarke,  H.  P.,  and  Wilham 
Wilkinson,  Scribe. 

Solomon  Chapter,  Derby,  Connecticut.  The  record  of  proceedings  says 
this  chapter  was  "Instituted,  1794."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  its  first  record 
bears  date  of  December  29,  1795,  and  its  charter  the  date  of  March  15,  1796. 
Represented  by  Daniel  Holbrook. 

Franklin  Chapter,  No.  4,  Norwich,  Connecticut.  Chartered,  March  15, 
1796.     Represented  by  Gurdon  Lathrop. 

Franklin  Chapter,  No.  6,  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  Chartered,  May  20, 
1795.     Represented  by  Peter  Johnson. 

Hudson  Chapter,  Hudson,  New  York.  Instituted,  1796.  Represented  by 
Samuel  Edmonds,  Jr.,  H.  P.,  and  John  C.  Ten-Broeck. 

Temple  Chapter,  Albany.  EstabUshed,  February  14,  1797.  Represented 
by  Thomas  Smith  Webb. 

Horeb  Chapter,  Whitestown,  New  York.    Represented  by  Jedediah  Sanger. 

Of  these  three  chapters  last  named,  Temple  is  No.  5,  Hudson  is  No.  6  on 
the  roll  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York,  and  Horeb  is  extinct. 

The  Convention  established  a  Grand  Chapter,  to  have  jurisdiction  over 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut, 
Vermont,  and  New  York,  and  denominated  it  the  "  Grand  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  of  the  Northern  States  of  America." 


586 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


A  form  of  Constitution,  contained  in  a  preamble,  and  nineteen  sections, 
was  adopted,  and  the  business  was  concluded  on  the  third  day  of  the  session. 

This  Constitution  provided  for  a  Deputy  Grand  Chapter  in  each  of  the 
States  :  — 

"  To  have  the  government  and  superintendence  of  the  several  chapters,  and  of  the  lodges 
of  Most  Excellent  Masters,  Past  Masters,  and  Mark  Master  Masons,  within  their  respective  juris- 
dictions; and  shall  have  power,  by  patent,  under  their  seal  and  the  sign  manual  of  the  Deputy 
Grand  High  Priest  for  the  time  being,  attested  by  tlieir  Secretary,  to  constitute  new  Royal  Arch 
chapters  and  lodges  of  Most  Excellent  Masters,  Past  Masters,  and  Mark  Master  Masons'  degrees ; 
to  establish  a  uniform  mode  of  working,  to  assign  the  Umits  of  the  Royal  Arch  chapters  respectively, 
and  to  superintend  and  regulate  the  general  police  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  within  their  respective 
jurisdictions,  according  to  the  ancient  usages  and  customs  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry." 

The  Grand  Chapter  reserved  to  itself  "  Exclusive  power  of  hearing  and 
determining  all  controversies,  between  the  chapters  within  their  jurisdiction, 
and  of  making  such  rules  and  regulations  as  they  shall  deem  necessary  to 
carry  the  Constitution  into  effect."  It  also  reserved  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  Deputy  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapters  respectively,  "  with  the  right  of 
appellate  jurisdiction  over  all  their  proceedings  and  determinations,  with 
power  to  affirm  or  disannul  them."  It  further  provided  :  for  raising  the  requi- 
site funds ;  for  the  admission  of  all  chapters  within  the  States  named  ;  and, 
finally,  for  amending  the  Constitution  by  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the 
members. 

An  adjourned  meeting  was  held  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  January  9, 
and  10,  1799,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  in  September,  1798. 
The  Grand  Chapters  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  York  were 
represented,  the  latter  having  at  the  head  of  its  delegation  the  Hon.  DeWitt 
Clinton,  then  D.  G.  H.  P.  The  subsequent  Masonic  and  civil  places  of 
importance  filled  by  this  historic  character  invite  this  special  reference  to  his 
high  attainments  and  superior  ability. 

At  this  meeting,  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  chairman  of  a  committee,  reported 
certain  rules  of  order  and  a  revised  Constitution.  The  latter  was  in  four 
articles,  the  last  being  the  form  for  constituting  new  chapters,  and  installing 
the  High  Priest. 

This  changed  the  title  to  "  General  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons 
for  the  six  Northern  States  of  America,"  and  ordered  that  "  The  General 
Grand  Officers  shall  be  elected  by  ballot  on  the  second  Thursday  in  January, 
A.D.  1799,  and  in  every  seventh  year  thereafter,  for  which  and  other  purposes  " 
the  meetings  should  be  held  "  septennially,  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,  on 
the  second  Thursday  in  January." 

All  questions  in  lodge  or  chapter,  except  the  admission  of  candidates,  were 
to  be  determined  by  a  majority  vote  ;  but  the  Constitution  could  be  amended 
only  by  a  two-thirds  vote.     Section  6,  of  Article  II.,  reads  :  — 

"  No  warrant  for  holding  a  new  chapter  of  Royal  Arch,  Most  Excellent,  Past  and  Mark 
Master  Masons,  shall  be  granted  for  a  less  sum  than  forty  dollars ;  nor  shall  any  warrant  for  hold- 
ing a  Mark  Master  Masons'  lodge  separately  be  granted  for  a  less  sum  than  ten  dollars." 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  587 

Section  7,  showing  the  custom  obtaining  even  at  that  day,  provides  :  — 

"  No  warrant  shall  be  granted  for  instituting  Lodges  of  Most  Excellent,  or  Past  Masters,  inde- 
pendent of  a  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons." 

It  was  required  that  nine  Royal  Arch  Masons  might  petition  for  a  new 
chapter,  and  not  less  than  five  Mark  Master  Masons  for  a  lodge  of  that  degree, 
the  petition,  in  either  case,  to  be 

"  Accompanied  by  a  certificate  from  the  Chapter  or  Lodge  [as  the  case  might  be] ,  nearest  to 
the  place  where  the  new  Chapter  or  Lodge  is  intended  to  be  opened,  vouching  for  the  moral 
characters  and  Masonic  abilities  of  the  petitioners,  and  recommending,  to  the  Grand  Chapters 
under  whose  authority  they  act,  to  grant  their  prayer." 

Article  III.  ordained  that  assemblies  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  should  be 
called  Chapters  ;  and  those  of  Mark,  Past,  and  Most  Excellent  Masters,  Lodges. 
The  titles  of  officers  were  established,  substantially,  as  now  used,  the  High 
Priest,  King,  and  Scribe  in  each  chapter  to  be  the  Master  and  Wardens  in  the 
lodges;  and  "No  Mason  shall  be  a  member  of  two  separate  and  distinct 
bodies,  of  the  same  denomination,  at  one  and  the  same  time." 

Other  matters  of  internal  economy  were  provided  for  in  greater  detail  than 
in  the  first  Constitution,  in  better  form,  and  fcr  the  advantage  of  the  growing 
Rite  ;  among  them  this  :  — 

"  The  several  Deputy  Grand  Chapters  of  the  States  before  mentioned  shall  in  future  be 
styled.  State  Grand  Chapters  ;  they  shall  severally  consist  of  a  Grand  High  Priest,  Deputy  Grand 
High  Priest,  Grand  King,  Grand  Scribe,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Treasurer,  Grand  Chaplain,  and 
Grand  Marshal." 

The  High  Priests,  Kings,  and  Scribes  of  the  several  chapters  for  the  time 
being,  the  Past  Grand,  and  Deputy  High  Priests,  Kings,  and  Scribes  of  said 
Grand  Chapters  were  to  be  members  also. 

Various  Changes  adopted. — At  the  meeting  of  January  9,  1806,  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  resolved  itself  into  committee  of  the  whole  to  amend 
the  Constitution. 

The  title  was  changed  to  the  "  General  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons  for  the  United  States  of  America."  Sections  8  and  9  were  added  to 
Article  I. 

The  former  provided,  that  the  several  Grand  Officers  should  hold  their 
respective  offices  until  their  successors  were  duly  qualified,  in  case  anything 
should  prevent  septennial  elections ;  the  latter,  that  each  of  the  first  four 
officers  should  have  power  to  institute  new  Royal  Arch  chapters,  in  any  State 
where  no  Grand  Chapter  existed,  subject  to  the  required  recommendation. 

The  fee  for  a  new  chapter,  with  the  subordinate  degrees,  to  be  ninety 
dollars,  and  for  a  Mark  Masters'  lodge,  twenty  dollars,  exclusive  of  such 
compensation  to  the  Grand  Secretary  as  the  Grand  Officers  might  deem 
reasonable. 

Article  II.  was  amended,  and  somewhat  enlarged  :  State  Grand  Chaptero 
were  authorized  to  establish  and  collect  fees  for  new  chapters ;  Grand  Secre- 


588 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


taries  were  required  to  send  a  list  of  Grand  Officers  to  one  another  annually, 
and  to  the  General  Gtand  Secretary,  and  to  the  latter  a  copy  of  their  by-laws 
and  regulations.  It  was  ordained  that  "  Three  or  more  Royal  Arch  chapters, 
instituted  in  any  State,  by  virtue  of  authority  derived  from  this  Constitution,  a 
Grand  Chapter  may  be  formed  for  such  State,  with  the  approbation  of  one  or 
more  of  the  General  Grand  Officers  "  ;  but  this  could  not  be  done  until  "  one 
year  from  the  establishment  of  the  junior  chapter  in  the  said  State." 

Article  IV.  was  enlarged  to  require  that,  before  officers  could  enter  upon 
their  duties,  they  should  take  the  following  obligation  :  — 

"  I,  A B ,  do  promise  and  swear  that  I  will  support  and  maintain  the  General  Grand 

Royal  Arch  Constitution." 

The  next  septennial  meeting  was  to  be  held  in  New  York  in  September, 
1S12  ;  but  this  was  not  done  for  reasons  shown  in  a  report,  adopted  at  the 
meeting  held  in  New  York,  June  6,  181 6.     This  report  says  :  — 

"  The  situation  of  the  country  was  such  at  that  time  as  to  render  it  highly  inconvenient  for 
the  General  Grand  Chapter  to  convene,  and  the  meeting  having  been  prevented  by  a  casualty 
such  as  is  contemplated  by  the  8th  section  of  the  first  article  of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch 
Constitution,  your  committee  are  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the  present  meeting  is  holden  in 
pursuance  of  the  said  Constitution,  and  is  legally  competent  to  do  and  transact  any  business  which 
may  come  before  it." 

At  this  meeting  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New 
York,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  South  Carolina,  and  Maryland  were  represented. 
The  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  was  admitted  under  the  following  terms  :  — 

"The  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  and  District  of  Columbia  is  willing  to  support  the  Con- 
stitution of  this  General  Grand  Chapter.  It  will  not  grant  any  warrants  out  of  its  district,  and 
will  discountenance  all  chapters  formed  contrary  to  the  General  Grand  Constitution,  but  requests 
that  it  shall  not  be  forced  to  alter  its  mode  of  working,  if  any  difference  should  exist,  at  present, 
and  to  be  received  on  an  equality  with  the  other  Grand  Chapters." 

In  pursuance  of  business,  it  was  shown  that  the  General  Grand  King  had 
granted  warrants  or  charters  for  new  chapters,  as  follows  :  — 

St.  Andrew's Hanover,  New  Hampshire January  27,  1807. 

Trinity Hopkinton,  New  Hampshire February  lo,  1807. 

Phoenix Fayetteville,  North  Carolina September  i,  1815. 

Washington Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire November,  1815. 

Union Louisville,  Georgia December  16, 1815. 

Cheshire Keene,  New  Hampshire May  4,  1816. 

Concord Wilmington,  North  Carolina 1815. 

The  General  Grand  Scribe  had  granted  warrants  or  charters,  as  follows  :  — 

Washington  Chapter Newark,  New  Jersey May  26,  1813. 

Washington       "        Chillicothe,  Ohio September  20,  1815. 

Cincinnati  Mark  Lodge,  No.  i Hanover,  New  Jersey April,  1811. 

Union  "  No.  2 Orange,  New  Jersey Ju'y.  1812. 

These  several  charters  were  confirmed  accordingly. 

Mark  Lodges  of  the  Rite.  —  As  a  matter  of  record,  the  charters  to  the  two 
Mark  Lodges  in  New  Jersey  were  the  first  granted  by  General  Grand  Chapter. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


589 


The  last  organization  of  a  Mark  Lodge,  as  such,  was  reported  in  the  con- 
vocation of  September,  1826,  dispensations  having  been  granted  to  open  one 
in  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  and  one  in  St.  Francisville,  Alabama.  The  right  to 
organize  a  Mark  Lodge,  however,  though  not  exercised,  appears  to  have  been 
retained  in  the  Constitution  until  the  convocation  held  in  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, in  September,  1853.  At  this  session  a  series  of  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  was  adopted,  several  of  which  were  to  strike  out  the  word  or 
words,  "  Lodge  or  Lodges,"  wherever  they  appeared  in  connection  with  a 
lodge,  as  separate  from  a  chapter,  and  since  that  date  no  reference  is  made 
in  the  Constitution  to  a  Mark  Lodge,  as  such. 

Article  IIL,  Section  2,  of  the  Constitution  then  revised,  gave  a  Chapter  of 
Royal  Arch  Masons  power  by  its  charter  to  hold  "  Lodges  of  Most  Excellent, 
Past,  and  Mark  Master  Masons." 

The  Constitution,  revised  and  adopted  in  1880,  in  Article  IIL,  is  more 
explicit,  and  says  :  — 

"  No  dispensation  or  charter  shall  be  granted  for  instituting  Lodges  of  Most  Excellent  Masters, 
Past  or  Mark  Masters  independent  of  a  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons. 

"  Charters  for  instituting  Chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  shall  contain  also  the  power  to  open 
and  hold  Lodges  of  Most  Excellent,  Past,  and  Mark  Master  Masons  —  the  High  Priest,  King,  and 
Scribe,  for  the  time  being,  to  be  the  Master  and  Wardens  in  said  Lodges." 

Titles  of  Officers,  etc.  —  Beginning  with  the  Constitution  of  1 798,  the 
members  of  the  Grand  Chapter  were  described  to 

"  Consist  of  a  Grand  High  Priest,  a  Grand  King,  a  Grand  Scribe,  a  Grand  Secretary,  a 
Grand  Chaplain,  a  Grand  Treasurer,  a  Grand  Marshal,  and  likewise  of  the  Deputy  Grand  High 
Priests,  Kings  and  Scribes  of  the  several  Deputy  Grand  Chapters,  for  the  time  being,  and  of  the 
Past  Grand  High  Priests,  Kings  and  Scribes  of  the  said  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  and  the  said 
enumerated  officers  shall  be  the  only  members  and  voters  of  the  said  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter." 

The  Constitution  of  1 799  permitted  each  of  these  to  appoint  a  proxy,  and 
gave  State  Grand  Chapters  similar  authority.  In  18 16  the  office  of  Deputy 
General  Grand  High  Priest  was  established,  and  this  officer  was  given  equal 
and  similar  powers  to  those  of  the  Grand  King,  and  Scribe.  Subsequent 
changes  were  made  at  later  sessions,  until,  in  1880,  the  present  Constitution 
was  adopted,  and  the  title,  estabhshed  in  1806,  by  substituting  "of"  after 
"  Masons,"  was  made  :  "  General  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  of 
the  United  States  of  America."     The  body  is  now  composed  of 

1.  "  General  Grand  High  Priest,  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  General  Grand  King, 
General  Grand  Scribe,  General  Grand  Treasurer,  General  Grand  Secretary,  General  Grand  Chap- 
lain, General  Grand  Captain  of  the  Host,  General  Grand  Principal  Sojourner,  General  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Captain,  Three  General  Grand  Masters  of  the  Vails,  and  General  Grand  Sentinel." 

2.  "Of  the  Past  General  Grand  High  Priests,  Past  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priests,  Past 
General  Grand  Kings,  and  Past  General  Grand  Scribes." 

3.  "  Of  the  Past  Grand  High  Priests  of  Grand  Chapters  in  this  jurisdiction." 

4.  "  Of  the  Grand  High  Priests,  Deputy  Grand  High  Priests,  Grand  Kings,  and  Grand  Scribes, 
or  their  proxies  duly  appointed,  of  the  Grand  Chapters  in  this  jurisdiction." 

5.  "  Of  the  High  Priests,  Kings  and  Scribes,  or  their  proxies  duly  appointed,  of  the  constituted 
Chapters  chartered  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter." 


590 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Rights  and  Prerogatives. — The  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter,  as  expressed  in  the  Constitution  up  to  1829,  were  in  part 
inferential ;  but  this  does  not  imply  that  the  body  failed  to  regard  itself  as 
being  clothed  with  supreme  power.  A  committee  was  appointed,  in  1826,  to 
revise  the  Constitution,  and  this  was  done,  on  report,  in  1829. 

The  Constitution  then  adopted  determined  that :  — 

"  The  General  Grand  Chapter  shall  have  and  maintain  jurisdiction  overall  State  Grand  Chap- 
ters, and  over  chapters  in  those  States,  Districts,  Republics,  or  Territories,  which  recognize  this 
jurisdiction,  and  where  there  is  no  Grand  Chapter  regularly  established,  agreeably  to  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Constitution;  and  shall  have  the  authority  to  suspend  the  proceedings  of  such  State 
Grand  Chapters,  and  such  chapters  in  States  where  there  is  no  Grand  Chapter,  as  may  knowingly 
violate  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution ;  to  settle  all  difficulties  which  may  arise,  and  to 
give  such  advice  and  instruction  as  may  seem  most  conducive  to  their  peace,  and  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  great  cause  of  benevolence  and  virtue." 

This  remained  unquestioned  until  1856,  when  a  radical  change  was  pro- 
posed, and,  in  1859,  adopted. 

The  first  clause  of  this  revised  section  assumed  that  all  powers  of  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  were  derived  from  the  State  Grand  Chapters,  and 
that  it  could  have  no  others  except  such  as  might  be  granted  by  them. 

In  1865  this  was  revised  so  as  to  read  :  — 

"  The  General  Grand  Chapter  has  and  possesses  no  other  powers  than  such  as  are  indis- 
pensably necessary  to  the  exercise  of  its  general  powers,  and  consistent  with  the  nature  of  the 
confederation  between  the  State  Grand  Chapters.  It  can  exercise  no  doubtful  powers,  nor 
any  powers  by  implication  merely ;  and  all  Masonic  powers  not  hereby  granted  to  it  are  reserved 
to  the  Grand  and  Subordinate  Chapters  of  the  several  States,  or  to  the  Royal  Arch  Masons 
individually." 

This  clause  was  reenacted  in  1880;  the  jurisdiction  over  States,  Districts, 
Republics,  and  Territories  is  practically  the  same  as  in  1829  ;  the  power  to 
discipline  State  Grand  Chapters  is  annulled ;  it  may  decide  questions  of 
Masonic  law,  usage,  and  custom  which  may  arise  between  Grand  Chapters ; 
it  may  decide  any  question  referred  to  it  by  a  Grand  Chapter,  such  decision 
to  be  final,  as  of  the  "  Supreme  judicial  tribunal  of  Royal  x^rch  Masonry  in  the 
last  resort." 

Triennial  Convocations. — At  the  convocation  of  1826,  it  was  voted  to 
strike  out  the  word  "  septennial,"  and  to  insert  the  word  "  triennial."  Since 
which  time  the  sessions  have  been  triennial. 

The  time  and  place  for  these  meetings  have  been  fixed,  as  a  rule,  at  each 
preceding  convocation,  except  that,  at  the  session  of  January,  1799,  provision 
was  made  whereby  special  convocations  could  be  called,  and  this  is  still 
retained  in  the  Constitution. 

The  meetings  of  the  Convention,  and  the  first  two  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  have  been  sufficiently  noticed.  The  third  convocation  was  held  in 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  January  9,  1806.      It  was  there  decided  that  the 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


591 


fourth  should  be  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  September,  181 2.  This 
was  interrupted,  by  circumstances  already  noticed,  incidental  to  the  war 
usually  spoken  of  as  the  War  of  181 2. 

In  18 1 6  a  special  notice  was  issued,  in  consequence  of  which  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  met  in  New  York,  New  York,  on  June  6,  1816.  Thomas  Smith 
Webb,  General  Grand  King,  presided,  and  it  was  found  that  the  Grand  Chap- 
ters of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  and 
South  Carolina  were  represented,  and  delegates  from  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Maryland  were  in  attendance.  At  this  meeting  Webb  was  elected  General 
Grand  High  Priest,  but  preferred  to  decline ;  whereupon  the  Hon.  DeWitt 
Clinton,  of  New  York  City,  was  unanimously  elected.  He  was  reelected  in 
18 19  for  seven  years,  and  again  in  1826  for  three  years,  but  died  before  the 
term  expired.  Webb  was  elected  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest  in  18 16, 
and  died  while  holding  that  office. 

The  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  sessions  were  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  the 
latter  on  September  10,  1829,  when  Edward  Livingston  was  elected  to  suc- 
ceed Clinton. 

It  was  ordered  that  the  eighth  meeting  sliould  be  held  in  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, in  September,  1832,  but  that  city,  with  others  in  the  United  States, 
"  being  afflicted  with  cholera,"  the  meeting  was  not  called  at  that  time,  but 
was  held  by  order  of  the  General  Grand  Officers,  on  November  28,  1832. 

Since  that  time  the  meetings  have  been  held  as  follows  :  — 

Ninth  Convocation  in  Washington,  Dist.  Columbia,  December    7,  1835. 

Tenth  "  "   Boston,  Massachusetts,  September  11,  1838. 

Eleventh  "  "    New  York,  New  York,  September  14,  1841. 

Twelfth  "  "    New  Haven,  Connecticut,  September  10,  1844. 

Thirteenth  "  "   Columbus,  Ohio,  September  14,  1847. 

Fourteenth  "  "    Boston,  Massachusetts,  September  10,  1850. 

Fifteenth  "  "    Lexington,  Kentucky,  September  13,  1853. 

Sixteenth  "  "    Hartford,  Connecticut,  September    9,  1856. 

Seventeenth  "  "    Chicago,  Illinois,  September  13,  1859. 


Eighteenth    Convocation 


It  had  been  fixed  by  vote  that  this  should  be  held  in  Memphis,  Tennessee, 
on  September  lo,  1862  ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  war  then  prevaiHng,  the 
convocation  could  not  be  held  at  the  time  and  place  selected. 

Under  date  of  June  8,  1865,  Albert  G.  Mackey,  General  Grand  High 
Priest,  issued  a  summons,  duly  attested  by  the  General  Grand  Secretary,  for  a 
meeting  to  be  held  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  September  7,  1865.  In  this  document 
it  was  stated  that  "  The  representatives  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  unhappy  and  discordant  condition  of  the  country,  could  not 
be  convened,"  in  Memphis,  in  1862;  they  were  accordingly  summoned  to 
meet  in  Columbus,  as  above  stated. 

At  this  convocation,  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, New  York,  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Tennessee,  Louisiana, 


eQ2  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

California,  New  Jersey,  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  Ohio,  Michi- 
gan, Indiana,  Illinois,  Arkansas,  and  Washington  Chapter,  No.  i,  of  Kansas 
were  represented. 

Some  of  the  Grand  Chapters,  not  represented,  had  followed  the  action  of 
their  respective  States,  and  claimed  to  have  seceded ;  but  this  will  be  noticed 
more  particularly  in  speaking  of  Grand  Chapters. 

On  motion  of  Companion  J.  Q.  A.  Fellows,  of  Louisiana,  unfinished  busi- 
ness of  1859  was  called  up,  and  the  Constitution  was  amended  by  striking  out 
the  words  "  Second  Tuesday  in  September,"  and  inserting  the  words  "  at  such 
time  and  place,"  so  as  to  read  :  "Triennially  at  such  time  and  place  as  shall 
from  time  to  time  be  designated  for  that  purpose."  This  continues  to  govern, 
and  the  convocations  are  held  accordingly. 

On  motion  of  Companion  Fellows,  it  was  voted,  that  the  time  and  place  of 
the  next  triennial  meeting  should  be  at  "Nine  o'clock  a.m.,  September  8,  1S65, 
City  of  Columbus,  Ohio." 

It  was  also  on  motion  of  this  Companion  that  the  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution, defining  the  powers  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  Section  7,  Article 
I.,  of  the  present  Constitution,  was  adopted. 

Treating  the  convocation  of  September  7,  1865,  as  the  eighteenth,  subse- 
quent convocations  have  been  held  as  follows  :  — 

Nineteenth  Convocation,     in  Columbus,  Ohio,  September  8,  1865. 

Twentieth  "  "  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  September  15,  1868. 

Twenty-first  "  "  Baltimore,  Maryland,  September  19,  1871, 

Twenty-second  "  "  Nashville,  Tennessee,  November  24,  1874. 

Twenty-third  "  "  Buffalo,  New  York,  August  21,  1877. 

Twenty-fourth  "  "  Detroit,  Michigan,  August  24,  1880. 

Twenty-fifth  "  "  Denver.  Colorado,  August  13,  1883. 

Twenty-sixth  "  "  Washington,  Dist.  Columbia,   September  28,  1886. 

Twenty-seventh  "  "  Atlanta,  Georgia,  November  19,  1889. 

The  convocation  held  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  September  7,  1865,  was  called 
there  because  the  Grand  Encampment,  Knights  Templar,  of  the  United  States 
had  fixed  to  hold  its  triennial  conclave  in  that  city,  and  the  General  Grand 
High  Priest  thought  it  would  be  for  the  greater  interest  and  convenience  of  all 
concerned.  The  convocations  for  1868  and  187 1  were  held  concurrently  with 
the  conclaves  of  that  body.  At  the  latter,  it  was  decided  by  General  Grand 
Chapter  that  its  interests  would  be  better  served  by  holding  its  convocations 
at  a  convenient  distance  from  the  place  chosen  by  Grand  Encampment,  and 
during  another  week  of  the  month.  This  was  further  emphasized  by  vote  at 
Atlanta,  whereby  it  was  determined  to  meet  in  a  different  year,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  twenty-eighth  triennial  convocation  will  be  held  in  Minneapolis, 
July  22,  1 89 1,  and  the  succeeding  ones  every  three  years  thereafter.  The 
triennial  conclave  will  follow,  in  1892. 

Reminiscences.  —  The  forms  of  conducting  business  at  the  earlier  convo- 
cations were  strictly  in  accord  with  the  generally  dignified  Masonic  customs  of 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


593 


the  period.  In  January,  1 799,  Thomas  Smith  Webb  was  chairman  of  a  com- 
mittee that  reported  certain  rules  of  order,  unanimously  adopted.  The  second 
of  these  was  :  "  No  member  shall  be  permitted  to  depart  the  Grand  Chapter 
without  leave,  nor  without  giving  the  customary  salutes  "  ;  the  third  :  "  Every 
member  who  speaks  on  any  subject  shall  rise  and  respectfully  salute  the  chair 
in  Masonic  form."  The  word  "  salutes,"  in  the  second  rule,  indicates  that 
each  of  the  three  principal  officers  was  to  be  saluted,  a  custom  not  unfamiliar 
to  many  of  the  present  generation  of  Masons. 

It  does  not  appear  that  a  seal  was  procured  until  1806.  At  the  session 
held  that  year,  it  will  be  recalled,  the  title  was  changed  to,  "  The  General 
Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  for  the  United  States  of  xA.merica." 

Thomas  Smith  Webb  was  elected  General  Grand  King,  and  was  "  appointed 
to  devise  and  procure  a  suitable  seal  for  the  use  of  the  General  Grand  Chap- 
ter," not  to  cost  more  than  fourteen  dollars.  This  seal  was  circular  in  form, 
one  inch  and  five-eighths  in  diameter,  was  bordered  by  a  line,  within  which 
were  the  words,  "  General  Grand  R.  A.  Chapter,  United  States."  Within  this 
circle  of  words  was  an  open  book,  having  on  the  left-hand  page  the  words, 
"  Book  of  the  Law." 

To  prevent  printing  and  circulating  incorrect  copies  of  the  Constitution, 
the  copyright  was  vested  in  Companion  Webb.  This  goes  in  evidence  as  to 
the  care  manifested,  by  the  comparatively  young  body,  in  conducting  the  busi- 
ness of  Royal  Arch  Masons. 

Ritual.  —  The  first  direct  reference  to  the  work  or  ritual  was  in  1S19, 
when  a  committee  was  appointed,  to  consider  measures  — 

"  For  the  more  extensive  diffusion  of  Masonic  light,  a  more  thorough  and  extensive  organization 
of  Grand  and  Subordinate  Chapters,  and  a  more  regular  system  of  labor  and  thorough  discipline 
throughout  the  jurisdiction." 

If  any  report  was  made,  there  is  no  record  of  it. 

In  1826  a  similar  effort  was  made,  when  it  was  reported  that,  as  the  first 
Article  of  the  Constitution  required  the  first  four  officers  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  to  perfect  themselves  in  the  work,  it  would  be  sufficient  if  one  of 
them  should  "  prescribe  the  mode  of  work  before  closing."  In  1847  i^  ^^^^ 
resolved  :  — 

"That  you  will  never  suffer  either  more  or  less  than  three  brethren  to  be  exalted  in  your 
Chapter  at  one  and  the  same  time,  shall  be  construed  literally." 

In  1850  the  matter  of  work  and  lectures  was  considered  and  exemplified. 
This  latter  was  by  St.  Paul's  Chapter  of  Boston,  Stephen  Lovell,  H.  P.  The 
result  was  agreed  to,  but  a  committee  of  ten  distinguished  companions 
recommended,  — 

"That  in  all  things  not  decided  upon  at  this  meeting,  as  a  system  of  work,  —  the  work  and 
lectures,  remain  as  they  were  or  may  be  modified  under  the  several  Chapters  and  Grand  Chapters 
under  this  jurisdiction,  until  otherwise  further  directed  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter." 


594 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


In  1853  Stephen  Lovell  directed  the  exhibition  of  the  work,  which  was 
severely  criticised  in  a  minority  report ;  but  the  motion  to  strike  out  the 
majority  report  was  lost,  —  40  noes,  38  ayes.  The  whole  subject  was  then 
laid  on  the  table. 

An  attempt  to  have  a  convention  raised  to  meet  in  Baltimore,  in  1855,  to 
"  obtain  a  uniform  mode  of  work  "  did  not  succeed. 

In  i860  effort  was  made  by  the  General  Grand  High  Priest,  Grand  King, 
and  (}rand  Scribe,  in  session  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  to  establish 
"the  true  and  ancient  work"  ;  but  this  was  only  partially  successful. 

Other  and  later  efforts  have  been  made.  A  change  in  a  "  word,"  made  in 
Baltimore  in  187 1,  was  reversed  at  Nashville  in  1874,  since  which  time  little 
or  no  friction  because  of  ritualistic  matters  has  prevailed. 

In  1880  the  Rituals  of  the  Mark,  Past,  Most  Excellent,  and  Royal  Arch 
degrees  were  rehearsed  by  committee  of  "  Esoteric  Work  "  ;  and  the  "  Grand 
Council"  was  authorized  by  vote  "to  promulgate  it  to  the  several  Grand 
Chapters,  in  this  jurisdiction,  in  such  manner  as  to  them  may  seem  proper." 

A  note,  correctly  introduced  by  the  General  Grand  Secretary,  says  :  — 

"  It  is  proper  to  state  that  only  the  essential  instruction  pertaining  to  each  degree,  with  the 
technical  forms  of  communicating  the  same,  were  adopted." 

These  essentials  have  been  widely  promulgated  since  that  year  in  Grand 
Chapters,  and  in  chapters  holding  immediately  under  the  General  Grand 
Chapter. 

The  Constitution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  calls  for  a  "Committee  on 
Ritual,"  as  one  of  the  "Standing  Committees."  These  committees  have  gen- 
erally been  conservative  in  their  reports,  and  cautious  not  to  offend  what  may 
be  called  localisms.  In  this  respect  we  can  but  approve  their  conservatism, 
and  applaud  the  wisdom  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  in  not  attempting  to 
formulate  a  ritual  in  extenso. 

Statistics.  —  It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  growth  and  support  of 
the  General  Grand  Chapter  throughout  its  entire  history ;  but  this  might  be 
of  more  interest  to  the  few  than  to  the  many,  and  we  forbear.  A  brief  con- 
sideration of  this  shows  that  no  statistical  records  were  carried  into  the  printed 
proceedings,  if  such  were  made,  prior  to  1859.  Ending  with  August  of  that 
year,  there  were  25  Grand  Chapters  within  the  jurisdiction.  These  repre- 
sented 777  chapters,  with  a  total  membership  of  28,982.  To  these  add  9 
chapters,  holding  charters  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  with  a  member- 
ship of  226. 

No  statistics  were  given  in  the  printed  proceedings  of  1865  \  but  in  1868 
there  were  34  Grand  Chapters,  with  1632  chapters,  and  73,942  members; 
and  6  chapters,  holding  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  with  no  members. 

The  statistics  of  1889  show  that  there  are  38  Grand  Chapters  on  the  roll, 
which,  with  33  chapters  holding  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  with  1482 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


595 


members,  makes  the  total  of  2071  chapters,  and  148,178  members,  owmg 
obedience  to  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  The  present  writing  will  show  40 
Grand  Chapters,  and  a  considerable  increase  in  the  number  of  members. 

In  this  enumeration,  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and 
West  Virginia  are  not  .included.  These  three  never  were  constituents  of  the 
General  Grand  Chapter. 

Income.  —  The  income  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  for  the  triennial 
term  reported  in  1859  was  ^991.53. 

For  the  corresponding  term,  reported  in  1889,  the  income  was  ^7422.15. 
This  marked  increase  is  largely  due  to  regulations  adopted  in  18S0,  looking 
to  this  end. 

Sources  of  Revenue.  —  These  are  :  Fees  for  dispensations  and  charters  for 
new  chapters  ;  for  candidates  exalted  in  these  ;  z.  per  capita  tax  on  their  mem- 
bers ;  and  a  per  capita  tax  on  the  membership  in  the  jurisdiction  of  each 
Grand  Chapter.  In  each  case  these  are  reasonable,  the/i?r  capita  tax  in  the 
latter  case  being  especially  so  ;  but  the  aggregate  sum  affords  an  income  suffi- 
cient to  support  the  General  Grand  Chapter  in  comfortable  independence, 
and  to  permit  it,  when  occasion  calls,  to  appropriate  generous  sums  in  aid  of 
the  afflicted  and  distressed.  A  notable  instance  of  this  occurred  in  1886, 
when  ^1200  were  given  for  the  relief  of  sufferers,  by  reason  of  earthquake,  in 
South  Carolina. 

The  regulations  which  have  contributed  to  this  increase  of  income  have 
proved  to  be  of  most  salutary  effect,  and  have  aided  in  securing  the  means  to 
do  what  the  founders  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  contemplated,  and  that 
is  to  diffuse  Masonic  light  and  information  by  a  liberal  distribution  of  its 
printed  proceedings. 

Degrees.  —  It  is  noticeable  that,  for  many  years  succeeding  its  organization, 
the  General  Grand  Chapter  retained  in  the  Constitution  a  provision  for  grant- 
ing warrants  to  Mark  Lodges ;  but  the  degrees  over  which  a  Chapter  had 
jurisdiction  were  described  as  "  Royal  Arch,  Most  Excellent,  Past  Master's, 
and  Mark  Master  Mason's  degrees."  Amendments  and  revisions  were  frequent 
until,  in  the  Constitution  of  1853,  it  was  fixed  in  Section  9,  Article  I.,  that 

"  The  only  degrees  recognized  by  this  General  Grand  Chapter,  to  be  conferred  in  Chapters 
under  its  jurisdiction,  are  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and  Royal  Arch 
Mason." 

This  reading  was  retained  in  the  Constitution  of  1880,  now  in  force,  with 
this  variation  :  "  The  degrees  recognized  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter  to  be 
conferred,"  etc.  Commencing  with  1829,  recommendation  was  made  to  place 
the  degrees  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  under  authority  of  State  Grand 
Chapters,  but  not  without  consent  of  the  Grand  Council  in  any  State,  if  such 
body  existed  ;  but  this  was  only  permissive. 

In  1S44  a  full  report  on  Degrees  was  made,  reenforcing  the  above  action 


596 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


of  1829.'  It  was  found  that  some  discrepancy  in  the  order  of  conferring  the 
degrees  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  existed,  and  it  was 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Grand  Chapter  that  the  conferring  the  degrees 
of  Royal  Arch  and  Select  Masters,  should  be  subsequent  to  that  of  the  Royal  Arch." 

The  case  of  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  from  Europe  was  considered  in  this  report. 
He  had  taken  the  degrees  of  "  Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow  Craft,  Master 
Mason,  and  Royal  Arch  Degree."  Recommendation  was  made  that  every 
chapter,  within  the  jurisdiction,  have  authority  to  confer  the 

"  Degrees  of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  and  Most  Excellent  Master,  on  such  companions  to 
the  end  that  they  may  be  healed,  and  thereby  made  regular  Royal  Arch  Masons,  free  of  charge." 

This  authority  has  been  continued,  and  is  embodied  in  the  present  Constitution. 
In  1850  inquiry  into  the  expediency  of  forming  a  General  Grand  Council 
was  decUned.  A  resolution:  "That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  General  Grand 
Chapter,  those  are  constitutional  Masonic  degrees  only  which  are  conferred  in 
regular  *  Blue  '  Lodges,  Royal  Arch  Chapters,  Encampments  of  Knights  Tem- 
plars and  the  appendant  Orders,  Councils  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  and 
Supreme  Councils  of  the  *  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite,'  and  their  inferior 
jurisdictions,"  was  indefinitely  postponed.  In  1853  the  subject  of  Council 
Degrees  was  again  reported  on.  The  committee  regretted  that  past  action,  by 
General  Grand  Chapter,  had  given  rise  to 

"  Misapprehensions,  and  induced  the  belief  that  the  Royal  and  Select  deg-ees  were  within  the 
pale  of  the  Royal  Arch  Masonry."  ...  "  But  when  we  come  to  trace  the  common  source  of  title, 
we  are  unable  to  discover  how  this  body  has  ever  had  any  rightful  jurisdiction  over  them ;  and  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  it  is  incumbent  on  this  body  to  prove  title  affirmatively  and  conclu- 
sively, and  not  to  rely  upon  the  weakness  of  the  title  of  any  other  claimant." 

An  examination  of  the  Constitution  led  to  the  conclusion  embodied  in  two 
resolutions  :  — 

"  That  G.  G.  Chapter,  and  the  governing  bodies  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  affiliated  with,  and 
holding  jurisdiction  under  it,  have  no  rightful  jurisdiction  or  control  over  the  degrees  of  Royal 
and  Select  Masters. 

"  That  this  G.  G.  Chapter  will  hereafter  entertain  no  question  or  matter  growing  out  of  the 
government  or  working  of  those  degrees  while  in  their  present  position." 

These  resolutions  were  adopted,  and  the  practice  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  conforms  with  them.  The  later  action  of  some  Grand  Councils  and 
Grand  Chapters,  whereby  the  former  surrendered,  and  the  latter  permitted 
them  to  be  conferred  in  chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  worked  no  good  to 
either.  Most  if  not  all  of  such  Grand  Councils  have  revived  and  retaken 
possession  of  the  Council  Degrees  by  mutual  agreement,  and  Royal  Arch 
Masonry  is  the  more  healthy  because  of  less  friction  consequent  on  closing  an 
agency  contributing  thereto. 

Mark  Degree. — This  is  the  first  in  the  series  of  degrees  in  Capitular 
Masonry,  as  established  under  the  American  system.  Referring  to  what  is 
said  concerning  this  degree,  under  the  sub-titles  of  "The  Mark  Degree  in 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


597 


England,"  and  "  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia,"  we  know  that 
the  Mark  degree  was  conferred  in  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  on  November  i8, 
1784,  and  frequently  thereafter,  prior  to  1790.  The  Grand  Chapter  of 
Connecticut  shows  that  it  was  conferred  on  May  18,  1791,  in  Hiram  Chapter, 
No.  I,  in  Newtown.  This  Chapter,  the  first  in  the  State,  was  chartered  by 
Washington  Chapter,  of  New  York  City,  and  dated  April  29,  1 791.  Washington 
Chapter  came  to  be  known  as  the  "  Mother  Chapter,"  as  a  number  of  chapters 
derived  parentage  from  it.  Its  history  is  obscured,  in  consequence  of  the 
destruction  of  its  early  records  and  papers  by  fire.  We  made  it  a  personal 
matter,  in  1872,  to  visit  New  York  in  search  of  information  concerning  it; 
but  were  soon  met  with  the  statement  that  the  records  and  papers  we  aimed 
to  examine  had  been  in  the  safe  of  the  then  High  Priest  of  a  chapter, 
"Ancient  No.  i,"  as  remembered,  but  all  were  consumed  by  a  disastrous 
fire  in  1856,  whereby  his  and  other  business  houses,  down  town,  had  been 
destroyed. 

The  Mark  was  familiar  in  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  in  Boston,  in  March,  1 793, 
and  the  degree  was  conferred,  July  25,  1793. 

The  charter  of  Providence  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  in  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  dated  September  3,  1793,  and  granted  by  Washington  Chapter, 
authorizes  it  to  confer  the  degrees  of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most 
Excellent  Master,  and  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and  all  these  were  conferred  in  the 
Chapter,  October  5,  1793. 

On  May  18,  1795,  the  Mark  degree  was  conferred  in  Jerusalem  Chapter, 
in  Philadelphia;  and  on  November  5,  1796,  the  Mark,  and  Most  Excellent 
Masters'  degrees  were  conferred. 

These  instances  are  ample  to  show  an  early  familiarity  with  the  degree, 
but  not  to  sanction  surprise  that  it  has  become  the  first  in  the  series  of  the 
Capitular  Rite. 

Past  Degree.  —  Under  the  sub-title  of  "  The  Royal  Arch  System  in  Scot- 
land," "  Past  Degree,"  will  be  found  a  consideration  of  it.  It  is  the  second 
in  the  series  authorized  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  Further  reference 
to  it  is  made  in  noticing  "The  Royal  Arch  System  of  Ireland." 

In  England  "  Past  Master  "  is  understood  to  mean  one  who  has  actually 
served  twelve  months  as  Master  of  a  lodge.  It  is  under  Grand  Lodge,  but 
is  not  termed  a  separate  degree.  In  1 744,  the  words  "  having  passed  the 
Chair  "  were  used  to  describe  a  ceremony.  It  has  been  said  also,  that  the 
"  Installed  Master,"  was  originated  at  about  this  period.  The  Constitution, 
1723,  concerning  the  installation  of  the  Master,  speaks  of  "certain  significant 
ceremonies  and  ancient  usages." 

Dr.  John  Dove,  of  whom  mention  is  made  under  "Virginia,"  said  to  Grand 
Lodge,  in  1872  :  — 

"  I  had  intended  to  have  said  something  in  condemnation  of  the  action  of  the  M.  E.  Grand 
Chapter  of  England,  in  abolishing  the  degree  of  Past  Master  and  substituting  a  so-called  Chair 


egg  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Degree.    A  degree  which  had  thus  been  practised  for  loo  years,  and  by  us  in  Virginia  since  1790, 
ought  not  thus  summarily,  at  the  dictum  of  any  one  Grand  body,  to  be  abolished." 

In  a  code  of  by-laws,  adopted  by  Jerusalem  Chapter,  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  September  5,  1789,  it  is  said  :  — 

"  No  brother  can  be  exalted  until  he  has  been  at  least  three  years  a  Master  Mason,  and  has 
presided  six  months  as  Master  of  some  regularly  warranted  Lodge,  or  has  passed  the  Chair  by 
Dispensation." 

The  charter  of  Providence  Chapter,  already  referred  to,  shows  that  the 
position  now  occupied  by  the  degree  was  already  well  defined  prior  to 
September,  1793.  The  companions  in  Boston  moved  more  slowly,  as  the 
degree  has  no  Chapter  record  there  prior  to  March  16,  1796,  when  three 
brethren  were  "  Past,"  and  thirteen  others  were  "  Past  "  during  that  year. 

At  about  this  time  the  chapter  working  under  the  charter  of  Harmony 
Lodge,  No.  52,  in  Philadelphia,  conferred  the  degree.     The  by-laws  required, 

"  That  every  brother  who  has  not  passed  the  Chair  shall  pay  fourteen  dollars,  out  of  which 
the  dispensation  shall  be  paid  for ;  if  past  the  Chair,  for  being  exalted,  eight  dollars." 

This  by-law  was  adopted  June  19,  1799.  In  January,  1801,  a  committee 
of  Grand  Chapter  found  that  two  brothers  had  been 

"  Passed  the  Chair  without  having  been  duly  elected  Worshipful  Masters  of  said  Lodge,  and 
without  having  previously  obtained  dispensations  from  the  R.  W.  Grand  Master." 

The  degree  was  held  as  prerequisite  to  receiving  the  Royal  Arch  degree ; 
therefore  the  necessity  of  a  dispensation.  This  rule  is  still  observed  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  a  candidate  for  the  Mark,  Most  Excellent,  or  Royal  Arch 
degree  must  be  "  a  Past  Master,  either  by  election  or  dispensation." 

It  appears  that  Washington  Chapter,  of  New  York  City,  chartered  five 
chapters  in  Connecticut.  In  giving  the  date  of  the  charter  of  Hiram 
Chapter,  No.  i,  as  May  18,  1791,  Grand  Secretary  Joseph  K.  Wheeler  says  :  — 

"At  the  meetings  of  Hiram  Mark  Lodge,  so  called,  the  several  degrees  of  Mafk  Master, 
Master  in  the  Chair,  and  Most  Excellent  Master  were  conferred,  and  the  records  were  kept  sepa- 
rate from  the  Chapter  records  for  several  years." 

Then  follows  the  statement  that  the  by-laws,  —  and  these  are  quoted, — 
were  adopted  March  3,  1792. 

On  January  15,  1796,  "the  first  notice  of  the  degree  of  Past  Master,  or 
Master  in  the  Chair,"  appears  in  Solomon  Chapter,  No.  5, 

It  does  not  require  any  argument  to  show  that  a  more  complete  system  of 
Masonic  government  was  being  developed,  and  this  finally  and  completely 
embraced  the  degree  of  Past  Master. 

Most  Excellent  Master.  —  Necessarily,  something  more  than  an  outline 
sketch  of  this  degree  must  be  given,  and  largely  from  the  fact  that  so  much 
has  been  said,  in  allusion  to  it,  that  is  incorrect  and  misleading.  In  his 
oration  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  in  Boston,  in 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


599 


1869,  the  late  Hon.  William  S.  Gardner  treated  it,  as  indeed  he  did  the 
system,  lightly,  and  evidently  without  such  prior  investigation  as  the  occasion 
was  entitled  to.  In  his  history  of  "  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  United 
States,"  appended  to  Gould's  American  edition,  M.  E.  Josiah  H.  Drummond 
quotes  Companion  Gardner  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  impression  that  his 
treatment  of  the  subject  is  to  be  relied  upon.  M.  E.  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  in 
his  addition  on  "Templar  Masonry  in  the  United  States,"  does  worse,  and 
repeats  the  glaring  error,  saying  :  — 

"  The  first  mention  of  the  Most  Excellent  Master's  degree,  and  without  doubt  the  first  time 
it  was  ever  conferred  in  any  chapter  outside  of  Temple  Chapter,  Albany,  where  it  originated,  was 
in  the  old  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  Boston,  during  the  visit  made  to  it  by  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  in 
February,  1795." 

In  his  address  to  the  General  Grand  Chapter  in  1883,  the  acting  General 
Grand  High  Priest  said  enough  about  Webb  to  have  prevented  the  repetition 
of  errors  concerning  him  ;  but  error  reasserts  itself,  and  necessitates  the 
reiteration  of  facts  here. 

Thomas  Smith  Webb. — The  Grand  Commandery  of  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island  shows  that  Thomas  Smith  Webb  was  born  in  Boston,  October 
30,  1 77 1.  The  records  of  Rising  Sun  Lodge,  formerly  in  Keene,  New  Hamp- 
shire, show  that  he  was  initiated  December  24,  1790,  passed  and  raised, 
December  27,  1790.  He  withdrew  from  membership,  was  again  admitted, 
December  27,  1791,  and  finally  withdrew,  March  7,  1792.  The  evidence 
in  Keene  is  that  he  was  a  bookbinder. 

Rising  Sun  Lodge  came  into  disrepute  in  1805,  on  the  finding  of  a  "  special 
deputation."  The  charter  was  arrested,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  ordered  its 
seal  to  be  broken.     The  offences  of  the  Lodge  were 

"  Glaring,  flagrant,  and  insufferable,  against  their  own  by-laws,  in  direct  violation  of  the 
laws  of  Grand  Lodge  and  the  Constitutions  of  Masonry." 

It  may  be  presumed  that  making  Masons  of  "  young  men  under  age  "  was 
among  its  offences  ;  for  Webb,  it  appears,  was  but  little  over  nineteen  years  old 
when  initiated.  On  May  18,  1796,  he  received  the  Royal  Arch  degree  in 
Harmony  Chapter,  No.  52,  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  classed,  in  the  records,  as 
a  sojourner.  We  have  never  seen  authority  for  saying  when  or  where  he 
received  the  other  Chapter  Degrees.  He  came  into  notice  at  the  organiza- 
tion of  Temple  Lodge,  in  Albany,  New  York,  by  authority  of  Grand  Lodge, 
November  11,  1796.  Of  this  Lodge  John  Hanmer  was  Master,  and  Webb 
was  Senior  Warden.  A  special  convention  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  Albany, 
including  Hanmer  and  Webb,  was  held.     The  former 

"  Proposed  that  the  subject  of  opening  a  Royal  Arch  chapter  should  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion by  all  the  companions  present,  ...  as  there  is  no  chapter  in  this  part  of  the  country." 

Webb  was  elected  High  Priest  on  February  14,  1797,  when,  with  "Ben- 
jamin Beecher  and  James  Pamelly,"  the  "  Lodge  was  opened  in  the  degree  of 


(5oo  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Most  Excellent  Master."  This  was  the  first  t'une  his  name  appeared  in  connec- 
tion with  that  degree ;  nor  does  it  appear  in  the  records  of  Temple  Chapter 
later  than  June,  1799. 

This  of  itself  is  sufficient  to  show  that  Webb  could  not  have  worked  the  Most 
Excellent  degree  in  Temple  Chapter  two  years  before  the  body  existed,  and 
fifteen  months  before  he  was  made  a  Royal  Arch  Mason.  Neither  could  he 
have  worked  it  in  St.  Andrew's  Chapter  at  the  time  specified ;  and,  when  he 
and  Hanmer  did  work  the  Most  Excellent  degree,  "  after  their  manner,"  in 
this  Chapter,  on  October  24,  1797,  the  degree  had  been  known  for  years,  out- 
side of  Temple  Chapter,  and  familiarly  so  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island. 
In  the  latter  case,  witness  the  charter  of  Providence  Chapter. 

John  Hanmer. — John  Hanmer  was  an  EngUsh  Mason,  and,  as  deduced 
from  his  own  writing,  came  to  the  United  States  in  1793  or  1794.  He 
exhibited  a  document  from  the  Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  England,  to  the 
effect  that  he  was  "  skilled  in  the  Ancient  Lectures  and  mode  of  Work,  as 
approved  and  practised  in  England."  Writing  from  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, under  date  August  23,  1809,  Hanmer  said  that  he  had  been  engaged  in 
"  Masonic  proceedings  in  America  for  more  than  fifteen  years." 

This  shows  that  he  did  not  originate  the  degree,  although  it  is  probable 
that  Webb  and  he  added  a  large  portion  of  Scripture  to  the  Ritual,  Clearly, 
Hanmer  was  the  ritualist  at  the  outset,  as  see  proceedings  of  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  New  York.  At  the  convention  of  March  14,  1798,  to  organize  a 
Grand  Chapter,  Hanmer  was  High  Priest  of  Temple  Chapter,  and  was  chosen 
Deputy  Grand  Secretary ;  he  was  chairman  of  a  committee  of  five  "  to  draft 
a  Code  of  By-Laws  "  ;  chairman  of  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  "  Form  of  War- 
rant," to  print  the  same,  and  procure  a  seal ;  also  of  a  committee  to  receive 
applications  of  Chapters  and  Mark  Lodges  for  warrants  and  to  grant  them ; 
and,  on  January  30,  1 799,  he  was 

"Appointed  to  superintend  the  different  Chapters  and  Mark  Lodges  in  this  State,  to  establish 
a  uniform  mode  of  working  and  lecturing,  according  to  the  directions  of  the  Grand  Officers." 

At  the  Convention  Webb  represented  Hibernian  Chapter,  New  York,  and  on 
January  29,  1799,  was  elected  Deputy  Grand  High  Priest.  Whatever  else  this 
may  indicate,  it  strongly  suggests  that  Webb  was  then  better  known  for  execu- 
tive than  ritualistic  ability.  The  publication  of  the  "  Freemason's  Monitor," 
in  1797,  in  Albany,  in  view  of  all  the  facts,  in  no  way  weakens  this  suggestion. 

Origin,  etc. — As  to  the  origin'  of  the  Most  Excellent  degree,  that  is 
obscure.  The  Irish  system  embraces :  The  Chair,  The  Excellent,  The  Super- 
Excellent,  The  Royal  Arch,  The  Knight  Templar,  and  The  Prince  Rose  Croix  ; 
and  the  Scotch  system,  The  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Excellent,  and  Royal 
Arch.  Excepting  The  Chair,  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  in  Boston,  worked  the 
degrees  named  in  the  Irish  system,  in  1769,  and  as  late  as  1797.  The  first  to 
give  way  to  a  change  of  name  was  the  Super-Excellent.     On  December  14, 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  5oi 

1797,  Oli^'cr  Prescott  received  the  Excellent,  and  Most  Excellent  degrees,  and 
the  Royal  Arch  in  August,  1799.  The  Mark,  and  Past  degrees  had  been 
received  by  him  November  13,  1797. 

This  indicates  transition,  and  suggests  that  the  Super-Excellent  degree  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago  contained  the  marrow,  and  something  of 
the  bone,  of  the  Most  Excellent  degree. 

P>e  this  as  it  may,  we  do  not  have  space  to  discuss  probabilities,  and  so 
return  to  dates. 

The  charters  granted  in  Connecticut  by  Washington  Chapter,  of  New  York, 
heretofore  spoken  of,  show  that  Hiram  Chapter,  chartered  April  29,  1791,  had 
the  degree,  as  noticed  in  speaking  of  the  Past  degree. 

The  charter  of  Providence  Chapter,  date  of  September  3,  1 793,  gives  the 
names  of  the  degrees  as  Mark,  Past,  Most  Excellent,  and  Royal  Arch,  and  its 
records  show  that  all  of  them  were  conferred  October  5,  1793.  Four  other 
chapters,  chartered  in  Connecticut  by  Washington  Chapter,  subsequent  to 
1 791,  and  the  charter  of  Providence  Chapter,  bear  unimpeachable  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  the  degree  of  Most  Excellent  Master  was  familiar  to  Washing- 
ton Chapter  in  the  earliest  months  of  1791.  Where  this  chapter  found  it  is 
not  known ;  the  accident  by  fire  obliterated  a  history  that  otherwise  would 
have  been  instructive.  In  Pennsylvania,  where  the  supremacy  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  was  never  acknowledged,  and  where  the  work  of  Webb  never 
was  encouraged,  the  Most  Excellent  degree  was  conferred  in  Jerusalem  Chap- 
ter, No.  3,  on  November  5,  1796,  more  than  three  months  before  Temple 
Chapter  existed. 

The  Royal  Arch  Degree.  —  The  fourth  and  crowning  degree  of  the  Ameri- 
can Capitular  Rite  has  been  so  fully  discussed  in  Chapter  I.,  in  connection 
with  the  English,  Irish,  and  Scotch  systems,  that  more  need  not  be  said  con- 
cerning it. 

The  records  show  that  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  No.  3,  in  Philadelphia,  had  the 
degree  in  1767;  and  those  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  in  Boston,  first  called 
Royal  Arch  Lodge,  that  the  degree  was  conferred  by  it,  first,  on  August  28, 
1769.  Since  that  time  it  has  remained  secure  in  its  superior  place  in  Royal 
Arch  Masonry.  The  term  Royal  Arch  Lodge  was  succeeded  by  Chapter  and 
Royal  Arch  Chapter,  Chapter  was  used  in  Connecticut  as  early  as  September 
5,  1783  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  September  5,  1789  ;  in  New  York,  April  29,  1791  ; 
in  Massachusetts,  December  19,  1794,  and,  it  is  not  without  reason  to  say,  at 
considerably  earlier  periods. 

The  word  Chapter  took  the  place  of  Lodge  in  England,  for  the  first  time, 
xA.pril  29,  1768.  The  word  Companion,  used  in  the  chapter  in  place  of 
Brother,  was  first  used  in  England  February  8,  1778.  Each  of  these  state- 
ments is  drawn  from  the  1762  "Lodge-Chapter"  records  at  York.  These 
terms.  Chapter  and  Companion,  were  soon  carried  to  America,  where  they 
have  since  flourished  as  elements  in  the  Capitular  system  in  America  and  in 
the  American  Masonic  Rite. 


502  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Grand  Chapters  of  the  United  States.  —  In  our  treatment  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  it  has  been  indicated  that  all  the  State  Grand  Chapters  owe 
obedience  to  it,  those  that  took  part  in  its  organization  no  less  than  the  Grand 
Chapters  that  have  been  organized  since  1 798,  and,  under  the  provisions  o' 
the  Constntution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  have  become  constituent  mem 
bers  of  it. 

To  the  exceptions  already  noticed,  to  wit :  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia,  and  West  Virginia,  may  be  added  Florida,  during  its  earlier 
history.  These,  however,  will  be  named  in  alphabetical  order  in  the  roll  ol 
Grand  Chapters  now  to  be  considered. 

Before  entering  upon  this,  it  is  proper  to  notice  the  fact  that  eight  Grand 
Chapters  assumed  to  withdraw  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  because  the  convocation  to  be  held  in  Memphis  in  1862  was  not  so 
held  [see  ante\.  In  1871  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  reported  his  reply, 
and  reasons  for  it  [see  Printed  Proceedings,  18 71,  pp.  17,  18],  to  the  ques- 
tion :  "  Is  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  to  which  we  owe  allegiance,  in 
existence,  and  has  it  had  a  legal  existence  since  1859?"  Correctly,  as  we 
think,  he  replied  affirmatively.  His  opinion  and  ruling  were  examined  by  a 
committee  of  pronounced  legal  and  judicial  ability,  and  both  were  sustained  in 
the  report,  which  included  the  declaration,  "  that  this  General  Grand  Chapter 
has  never  ceased  to  exist,  since  its  organization,  is  correct."  This  was  adopted 
by  General  Grand  Chapter,  there  being  twenty- eight  Grand  Chapters  repre- 
sented, in  the  possible  number  of  thirty-four. 

To  go  back  a  Httle,  it  appears  that,  in  the  triennial  convocation  of  1865,  it 
was  noticed  that  several  Grand  Chapters  had  failed  to  hold  their 

"  Regular  convocations,  as  provided  by  their  respective  Constitutions,  and  the  Constitution  of 
the  General  Grand  Chapter,  thereby  incurring  legal  disabilities ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  all  Grand  Chapters  which  have  failed  to  meet  in  consequence  of  the  recent 
war,  are  declared  to  be  in  good  standing  in  this  body,  and  entitled  to  continue  their  relations 
with  it." 

This,  together  with  a  cordial  invitation  to  all  Grand  Chapters  to  unite, 
"  without  reference  to  past  differences  of  any  character,"  was  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  seventeen  Grand  Chapters  represented. 

In  1868  it  was 

"Resolved,  That  no  Grand  Chapter,  organized  by  the  authority  of  this  M.  E.  General  Grand 
body,  or  which  at  any  time  has  become  a  constituent  member  of  this  body,  can  lawfully  sever  its 
connection  with  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  United  States  of  America  without 
its  consent,  but  the  allegiance  of  said  Grand  Chapters  is  inalienable  and  now  due." 

Twenty-two  Grand  Chapters  were  represented,  and  the  resolution  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

In  1 87 1,  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Florida,  Iowa,  North  Carolina,  and  Ver- 
mont came  into  "  the  National  fold,"  and  twenty-eight  Grand  Chapters  were 
represented.     Other  Grand  Chapters  have  resumed  their  proper  relations,  and 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  603 

support  the  Resolution  of  1868,  above  quoted,  with  becoming  loyalty.  The 
General  Grand  Chapter,  however,  has  not  resorted  to  coercive  measures,  in 
any  instance,  but  has  wisely  left  it  to  the  returning  flow  of  loyalty,  and  the 
remedial  processes  of  time,  to  solve  the  problem  of  National  jurisdiction  by 
the  General  Grand  Chapter  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Alabama.  — An  attempt  was  made  on  the  third  Monday  in  May,  1823,  to 
form  a  Grand  Chapter  for  the  State  of  Alabama.  At  that  time  there  were  four 
chapters  in  the  State,  holding  charters  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter ;  the 
junior  of  these  charters  was  dated  in  February,  1823.  A  convention  was  held 
in  Mobile,  on  the  date  first  given,  when  it  was  resolved  to  establish  a  Grand 
Chapter.  Monroe  Chapter,  the  junior,  took  exceptions,  and  carried  the  case 
to  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  where  it  was  carefully  considered  at  the  session 
of  1826,  and  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Chapter  for  the  State  of  Alabama,  in  May,  1823, 
prior  to  'the  expiration  of  one  year  from  the  establishment  of  the  junior  chapter  in  such  State," 
was  prohibited  by  the  nth  Section  of  the  2d  Article  of  the  General  Grand  Constitution,  and  that 
therefore  this  General  Grand  Chapter  cannot  ratify  or  approve  the  proceedings  of  the  convention 
held  at  Mobile." 

It  was  recommended  to  the  four  chapters  to  proceed  without  delay  to  form 
a  Grand  Chapter.     This  was  done,  and  the  body  now  ranks  from  June  2,  1827. 

The  charters  and  dispensations  granted  by  the  organization  of  1823,  and 
the  work  done  under  them,  were  confirmed,  for  the  reason  that  the  companions 
concerned  organized  the  body  from  "  oversight  or  misapprehension  of  the 
Constitution." 

This  Grand  Chapter  adopted  a  resolution,  in  1861,  declaring  its  connection 
with  the  General  Grand  Chapter  dissolved.  In  December,  1875,  this  resolu- 
tion was  repealed,  and  relations  resumed  with  the  General  Grand  body.  As  a 
matter  of  history,  this  Grand  Chapter  became  dormant  in  1831,  but  representa- 
tives of  the  several  chapters  met  in  1837  and  reorganized  it,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  General  Grand  Constitution. 

Arizona.  —  In  this  Territory,  chapters  were  established  by  dispensations, 
confirmed  by  charters  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  as  follows  :  Arizona, 
No.  I,  Phrenix,  March  10,  1880;  Charter,  August  27,  1880:  Prescott,  No.  2, 
Prescott,  June  21,  1882;  Tucson,  No.  3,  Tucson,  July  25,  1882;  Cochise, 
No.  4,  Tombstone,  January  10,  1883  ;  charters  to  the  three,  August  15,  1883. 
The  General  Grand  High  Priest,  in  person,  constituted  Tucson  Chapter,  early 
in  September,  1883  ;  Flagstaff,  No.  5,  Flagstaff;  dispensation.  May  28,  1889. 

Arkansas.  —  The  General  Grand  Constitution  of  1850  provided,  that 

"  Three  chapters  regularly  instituted  and  consecrated  in  any  State,  District,  Republic,  or 
Territory,  by  virtue  of  authority  derived  from  this  Constitution,  a  Grand  Chapter  shall  be  estab- 
lished so  soon  as  convenience  and  propriety  may  dictate," 

Charters  having  been  granted  to  three  chapters  in  Arkansas,  the  oldest 
under  date  of  September  17, 1841,  the  Grand  Chapter  was  organized  April  28, 


6o4 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


1 85 1.  At  the  session  of  1874,  held  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  that  distinguished 
lawyer,  jurist,  and  Freemason,  Elbert  H.  English,  of  Little  Rock,  was  elected 
General  Grand  High  Priest.  He  had  helped  to  organize  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  Arkansas,  and  was  its  first  Grand  High  Priest.  Few  men  were  known  so 
well  among  Freemasons  as  he,  and  his  death,  on  September  i,  1884,  caused  a 
general  sorrow  in  the  Fraternity. 

California.  —  The  first  meeting  of  Freemasons  in  California,  preliminary 
to  organizing  a  lodge,  was  held  in  August,  1849  J  ^"^  ^0°^''  San  Francisco 
Lodge  was  estabhshed.  A  dispensation  was  granted  May  9,  1850,  to 
organize  San  Francisco  Chapter ;  and  a  charter  was  granted  on  September 
13th  following.  On  May  6,  1854,  a  convention  was  held  in  Sacramento,  to 
organize  a  Grand  Chapter,  in  which  three  chapters  were  represented,  to  wit : 
San  Francisco,  No.  i  ;  Sonora,  No.  2,  and  Sacramento,  No.  3.  The  charters 
of  the  two  latter  were  granted  September  17,  1853.  This  convention 
adopted  a  constitution  for  Grand  Chapter,  and,  after  a  three  days'  session, 
adjourned  to  meet  in  San  Francisco,  on  July  28,  1854,  when  the  Grand 
Chapter  was  duly  organized  and  the  Grand  Officers  were  installed. 

Canada.  —  Possibly  it  may  excite  surprise  that  the  General  Grand  Chapter 
has  been  concerned  at  any  time  in  establishing  a  chapter  in  Canada.  Such, 
however,  is  the  fact,  as  reported  in  the  session  of  1829.  It  was  there  shown 
that  "  Most  Excellent  General  Grand  High  Priest  DeWitt  Clinton  presented 
a  dispensation  on  the  9th  day  of  February,  1828,  to  James  Robinson  Wright 
and  others,  to  form,  open,  and  hold  a  chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  the 
Town  of  Kingston,  in  the  Province  of  Upper  Canada,"  and  the  General 
Grand  Secretary  was  directed  to  "  engross  a  warrant  for  Union  Chapter  at 
Kingston,  Upper  Canada."  The  General  Grand  Chapter  long  since  ceased 
to  interfere  in  foreign  jurisdictions,  and  the  companions  of  Canada  regulate 
their  own  affairs. 

Colorado.  —  During  the  series  of  years  1 861-1864,  correspondence  was  so 
interrupted,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  that  Httle  or  none  could  be  had  with 
the  then  General  Grand  High  Priest,  whose  home  was  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  The  General  Grand  King,  under  provisions  of  the  Constitution, 
granted  a  dispensation  for  Central  City  Chapter,  No.  i,  in  Central  City, 
Colorado,  under  date  of  March  23,  1863;  and,  by  the  same  authority,  the 
Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest  granted  one  for  Denver,  No.  2,  in  April 
following.  Charters  were  granted  to  these  two  chapters  September  8,  1865. 
Dispensation  to  Pueblo  Chapter,  No.  2,  at  Pueblo,  was  granted  May  24,  1871  ; 
and  a  charter,  on  September  20,  1871.  Charters  were  granted  November  25, 
1874,  to  Georgetown,  No.  4,  and  to  Golden,  No.  5  ;  and  the  Grand  Chapter 
was  organized  May  11,  1875.  ^^^  subsequent  history  of  this  body  has  been 
highly  commendable,  a  marked  epoch  therein  being  the  session  of  1883,  held 
in  Denver,  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 


THE    CAPITULAR   DEGREES. 


605 


Connecticut.  —  In  the  opening  pages  of  the  early  history  of  the  chapters 
in  Connecticut,  Grand  Secretary  Wheeler  says  :  — 

"  The  early  history  of  Washington  Chapter,  No.  3,  is  somewhat  peculiar,  as  its  records 
date  back  to  A.D.  1783,  although  the  first  charter  was  not  granted  until  March  15,  1796.  It  is 
undoubtedly  the  first  record  of  anything  pertaining  to  an  organization  of  Royal  Arch  Masons 
in  this  jurisdiction,  and  we  give  it  as  we  took  it  from  their  old  records,  now  carefully  preserved 
and  in  the  possession  of  the  chapter  at  Middletown." 

On  September  5,  1783,  six  members  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  2,  in 
Middletown,  stated,  over  their  signatures,  that  they  had  been  "  duly  initiated 
into  the  Most  Subhme  degree  of  an  Excellent,  Super- Excellent  and  Royal 
Arch  Mason,  in  regular  constituted  Royal  Arch  chapters,"  and  after  examining 
each  other  at  St.  John's  Lodge  room,  at  Mrs.  Abigail  Shaler's,  they  "  duly 
opened  and  held  the  first  regular  Grand  Royal  Arch  chapter."  Officers  were 
elected  as  stated  in  the  record,  where  the  names  and  titles  of  office  appear. 

The  first  meeting  after  organization  was  held  in  the  same  place,  September 
12,  1783,  and  of  "  Royal  Arch  Masonry  3783  "  :  ~— 

Present  :  —  R.  W.  Oliver  I^ewis High  Priest. 

R.  W.  John  Lewis  DeKovan Captain  General. 

William  Joyce Senior  G.  M. 

William  Redfield Second  G.  M, 

David  Starr Third  G.  M, 

Edward  Miller Scribe. 

Further  record  of  business  is  made,  by  which  it  appears  that  John  Heart,  a 
"well  known  Royal  Arch  Mason,"  was  elected  a  member,  and  the  Master 
of  each  of  two  lodges  was  elected  to  be  made  a  Royal  Arch  Mason. 

The  first  five  charters  to  chapters  in  Connecticut  were  granted  by  Wash- 
ington Chapter,  the  ''Mother  Chapter,"  so-called,  and  these  commenced  — 
"  At  a  Washington  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  held  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  North  America,  on  " —  [adding  day  and  date]. 

The  first  charter  was  to  Hiram,  No.  i,  in  Newtown,  and  was  dated  April 
29,  1 79 1.     The  others  were  to 

Franklin,  No.  2,  New  Haven  , May  20,  1795. 

Franklin,  No.  4,  Norwich March  15,  1796. 

Solomon,  No.  5,  Derby March  15,  1796. 

These  several  charters,  from  "  Washington  Chapter,"  were  signed  by  John 
Abrams,  H.  P.,  W.  C,  R.A.  M. ;  Jno.  Ludlow,  K.,  W.  C,  R.  A.  M. ;  Wm. 
Richardson,  S.,  W.  C,  R.  A.  AL  ;  attested  by  Elias  Hicks,  Secretary. 

The  initials  show  the  nomenclature,  at  the  beginning  of  1791,  to  have  been 
High  Priest,  King,  Scribe  [respectively],  of  Washington  Chapter,  of  Royal 
Arch  Masons.     On  May  4,  1 796,  the  titles  were  given  in  Washington,  No.  3, 

as  "  H.  P.,  K.,  S.,  Treasurer.  R.  A.  C,  Z 1,  First  G.  M.,  Second  G.  M.,  Third 

G.  M.,  Stewards,  Sentinels."     In  the  last  two  offices  there  were  two  in  each. 

The  first  record  of  Solomon  Chapter  is  dated  December  29,  1795.  In  this 
the  title  of  the  first  three  officers  is  the  same  as  in  Washington  Chapter.     The 


(3q5  cosmopolitan  freemasonry. 

others  are  "Zerubbabel,  Captain,  First,  Second,  Tliird  Grand  Master,  Secretary, 
Architect,  Clothier,  and  Tyler." 

The  by-laws  of  Hiram  Chapter  were  adopted  March  3,  a.d.  1792.  The 
officers  were  :  "  High  Priest,  King,  Scribe,  Zenibbabel,  a  Royal  Arch  Captain, 
three  Grand  Masters,  a  Treasurer,  a  Secretary,  an  Architect,  a  Clothier,  and 
a  Tyler." 

Article  VHI.  required  the  High  Priest  to  preside,  direct  the  business,  and 
"  occasionally  to  give  a  lecture."  The  duties  of  the  King,  Scribe,  Treasurer, 
and  Secretary  were  the  same  as  now ;  but  the  Scribe  was  to  "  cause  the  Secre- 
tary to  enter,  in  a  fair  and  regular  manner,  the  proceedings  of  the  Chapter," 
and  "  to  summons  the  members  for  attendance  at  every  regular  and  special 
meeting,.  .  .  and  also  to  administer  the  obligation. "  It  was  the  duty  of  Zerub- 
babel  to  "  superintend  the  arrangements  of  the  Chapter  "  ;  of  the  Royal  Arch 
Captain,  to  "  keep  watch  at  the  Sanctuary  "  ;  of  the  three  Grand  Masters,  "  to 
watch  the  Veils  "  ;  of  the  Clothier,  "  to  provide  and  take  care  of  the  Clothing  "  ; 
of  the  Architect,  "  to  provide  and  take  care  of  the  Furniture." 

In  this  article  we  get  a  very  good  suggestion  as  to  the  ritual ;  and  this  is 
strengthened  by  Article  VII.,  which  reads  :  — 

"After  the  Chapter  is  opened,  neither  member  nor  visitor  shall  be  admitted  but  on  giving  the 
signs  and  pass-words  to  the  Grand  Masters  and  to  the  Royal  Arch  Captain." 

These  two  articles  outline  the  ritual  then  in  use  in  the  Royal  Arch  degree, 
and  emphasize  the  opinion  that  very  little  change  has  been  made  in  it  since 
1 791.  The  Royal  Arch  ritual  was  familiar  when  Webb  was  initiated  ;  but  no 
doubt,  in  publishing  his  "  Monitor  "  in  1797,  the  exoteric  portions  of  the  ritual 
were  made  more  uniform  because  of  his  executive  skill  and  the  printer's  art. 

A  sixth  chapter,  "Vanden  Broeck,"  also  No.  5,  received  a  charter  from 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York,  dated  April  6,  1796,  though  its  first  record 
is  dated  December  24,  1795. 

These  six  chapters  met  in  convention,  in  Hartford,  May  17,  179S,  and 
organized  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Connecticut.  It  met  in  half-yearly  convoca- 
tions up  to  May,  1819.  The  constitution  was  then  revised;  and  "annual 
convocations  "  became  the  rule,  with  provision  for  calling  special  convocations. 

The  companions  in  Connecticut  were  highly  influential  in  organizing  the 
General  Grand  Chapter,  and  Ephraim  Kirby,  of  Litchfield,  was  elected  to  be 
the  first  General  Grand  High  Priest. 

Dakota.  —  In  1883  there  were  eight  regularly  chartered  chapters  in  the 
Territory  of  Dakota,  and  eight  others  under  dispensation,  all  holding  by 
authority  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  The  oldest  of  these  chapters  was 
Yankton,  No.  i,  in  Yankton.  The  dispensation  for  this  was  dated  April  15, 
1876  ;  and  the  charter  August  24,  1880. 

A  convention  was  held  June  10,  11,  and  12,  1884,  in  Aberdeen,  preliminary 
to  organizing  a  Grand  Chapter;  and  this  was  done  February  25,  1885. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


607 


This  Grand  Chapter  continued  until  the  Territory  was  divided,  and  the 
States  of  Nortli  and  South  Dakota  were  erected. 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  Dakota  had  exercised  its  sovereign  powers  to  the 
advantage  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  Territory.  Harmony  had  prevailed, 
and  the  Rite  flourished ;  but  the  act  of  division  and  the  dignity  of  statehood 
led  to  corresponding  action  in  the  Grand  Chapter. 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  General  Grand  Constitution,  the  Grand  Chap- 
ter of  South  Dakota  was  established  January  6,  1890 ;  and  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  North  Dakota  on  January  9,  1890. 

Delaware.  —  We  are  unable  to  give  any  clear  account  of  the  early  intro- 
duction of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  into  this  State.  A  Grand  Chapter  was 
organized  there  June  19,  1818;  but  this  finally  fell  into  decay,  until  it  was 
held  in  General  Grand  Chapter  that,  "  since  the  year  1856,  no  regular  Grand 
Chapter  had  existed  in  Delaware."  Under  date  of  October  20,  1868,  the 
General  Grand  High  Priest,  having  inquired  into  the  facts,  issued  an  official 
circular,  in  which  he  stated  the  fact  of  non-existence  of  a  Grand  Chapter, 
recognized  the  existence  of  "Washington  and  Lafayette  Chapter,  No.  i,  in 
Wilmington ;  Temple  Chapter,  No.  2,  in  Milford  ;  and  Hope  Chapter,  No.  4, 
in  Georgetown,"  and  declared  them  to  be  lawful  Royal  Arch  chapters,  with 
power  to  continue  work  under  the  warrants  held  by  them. 

In  December,  1867,  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  gave  a  dispensation  to 
organize  St.  John's  Chapter  in  Wilmington;  and  on  September  18,  1868,  this 
act  was  confirmed,  and  a  charter  was  granted.  A  convention  was  regularly 
called  at  Dover,  on  January  20,  1S69.  Representatives  of  four  chapters  [all 
then  in  the  State]  assembled.  A  Grand  Chapter  was  organized,  and  its  officers 
were  installed  by  the  General  Grand  High  Priest. 

District  of  Columbia.  —  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  District  has  had  a 
varied  experience,  inasmuch  as  the  chapters  have,  at  different  periods,  had 
different  supreme  heads.  On  January  21,  1807,  three  chapters  in  Baltimore, 
and  three  in  the  District  met  in  convention  in  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia,  and  organized  a  "  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  for  the  State  of 
Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia."  There  is  internal  evidence  that 
the  six  chapters,  represented  in  convention,  were  each  attached  to  a  lodge 
charter,  and  that  the  parent  of  one  or  more  of  them  was  from  Pennsylvania. 
Further  notice  of  this  will  appear  under  "  Maryland."  The  progress  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  1807  was  not  flattering ;  it  ceased  to  be  active  ;  a  reorgani- 
zation was  effected  November  9,  18 14,  by  three  chapters,  one  only.  Federal, 
No.  I,  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  participating.  This  1814  organi- 
zation issued  "Charters  of  Recognition,"  under  which  Federal,  No.  i,  became 
Federal,  No.  3,  and,  a  few  years  later,  Washington- Naval,  and  Potomac,  of 
the  District,  received  similar  charters  and  were  numbered  4  and  8,  respectively. 
This  Grand  Chapter  was  received  and  admitted  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  General  Grand  Chapter,  June  7,  181 6. 


508  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXRY. 

Early  in  1822  an  effort  was  made,  on  the  part  of  Federal,  No.  3,  Washing- 
ton-Naval, No.  4,  Potomac,  No.  8,  all  of  the  District,  and  Brooke  Chapter, 
No.  6,  of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  to  organize  a  Grand  Chapter  for  the  District  of 
Columbia.  The  convention  met  in  the  hall  of  Brooke  Chapter,  in  Alexandria, 
adjourned  to  August  nth,  then  to  September  loth,  when  a  letter  of  assent 
from  DeWitt  Clinton,  General  Grand  High  Priest,  under  date  of  August  30, 
1822,  was  read,  authorizing  the  organization  of  a  Grand  Chapter,  as  proposed 
by  the  convention.  An  adjournment  to  November  25,  1822,  was  taken;  but 
for  various  reasons,  chiefly  because  of  incomplete  representation,  the  new 
Grand  Chapter  was  not  organized  until  February  10,  1824. 

Potomac  Chapter  now  concluded  it  to  be  inexpedient  to  separate  from  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  and  District  of  Columbia,  and  this  title  was 
retained  until  the  session  of  1826,  when  it  was  agreed  and  settled  that  this 
Grand  Chapter,  of  1807-1814,  should  relinquish  all  jurisdiction  over  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  "  except  so  far  as  relates  to  the  Potomac  Chapter." 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  the  District  of  Columbia  existed  until  1833,  in 
apparently  good  condition,  although  it  issued  a  charter  to  Temple  Chapter, 
No.  4,  only.  Its  records  from  May  11,  1822,  to  January  8,  1S33,  were  well 
kept,  since  which  time  no  sign  or  record  of  it  can  be  found.  The  cause  of 
this  is  nowhere  mentioned,  but  we  venture  the  suggestion  that  the  doors  of  the 
several  chapters  were  closed  in  fear  of  Anti-Masonry,  and  the  Grand  Chapter 
died  suddenly. 

In  his  history  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, Companion  E.  T.  Schultz  quotes  its  favorable  action  toward  the  Grand 
Chapter,  taken  in  November,  1822,  together  with  its  opinion,  that 

"  They  ought,  as  a  prehminary  and  proper  step,  to  have  obtained  the  consent  of  this  Grand 
Chapter;  but  tliat  —as  it  is  the  wish  of  tlie  three  chapters  of  the  District  of  Columbia  to  form  a 
Grand  Chapter  for  themselves  "  —  consent  was  given. 

At  the  session  of  September,  1841,  Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  of  Maryland, 
Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  was  authorized 

"  To  take  the  necessary  steps  to  place  all  chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  in  that  part  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  State  of  Maryland,  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland," 

And  at  his  discretion,  to  do  such  acts  as  he  might  think  proper  in  completing 
the  business. 

At  the  session  of  September,  1844,  he  reported  the  order  duly  enforced, 
and  that  two  chapters  in  the  District  were  then  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland.  No  change  was  made  in  the  title  of  this  Grand 
body  until  1853,  when,  as  Companion  Schultz  says,  "  and  District  of  Colum- 
bia" was  added.  In  the  session  of  1856,  the  title  of  "Grand  Chapter  of 
Maryland  and  District  of  Columbia  "  was  used  in  General  Grand  Chapter,  and 
this  was  continued  until  after  the  present  Grand  Chapter  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  was  established. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


609 


This  Grand  Chapter  was  organized  by  a  convention  of  delegates  from 
Cokunbia  Chapter,  No.  15  ;  Washington,  No.  16;  and  Mt.  Vernon,  No.  20. 
The  convention  assembled  April  3,  1867;  adjourned  to  x\pril  6th;  then  to 
April  20th;  and  again  to  May  22,  1867.  Potomac  Chapter,  No.  8,  sent  dele- 
gates, with  credentials,  and  these  were  duly  received  and  admitted  to  seats  in 
convention,  April  6th;  but  under  date  of  April  16,  1867,  the  Secretary  of 
No.  8  sent  a  note  declining  further  attendance.  In  the  course  of  time,  how- 
.  ever,  Potomac  Chapter,  subordinate  to  the  American  Masonic  system,  took 
its  proper  place  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

The  closing  session  of  the  convention  was  on  May  22,  1867  ;  and  on  May 
23d,  —  the  day  following,  —  the  Grand  Chapter  was  erected  and  its  officers 
installed. 

Discussion  with  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  followed,  Potomac  Chapter 
being  the  principal  subject.  This  Chapter  refused  to  take  a  charter  from  the 
new  Grand  Chapter,  preferring  to  work  under  its  Maryland  charter.  Being 
declared  clandestine,  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  was  appealed  to.  He 
concluded  that  the  "  Companions  who  formed  the  so-called  Grand  Chapter  had 
been  hasty  and  irregular,"  and  gave  Potomac  Chapter  the  right  to  work  under 
its  warrant. 

The  new  Grand  Chapter  quoted  its  action,  as  being  regular,  and  showed 
the  resolution  adopted,  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  and  the  District 
of  Columbia,  on  November  13,  1866,  dissolving  connection 

"  Between  the  State  of  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  that  the  chapters  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  be  requested  to  form  a  Grand  Chapter  for  said  District  of  Columbia." 

The  case  went  to  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  at  the  session  of  1868,  when 
majority  and  minority  reports  were  made.  The  latter  contained  three  reso- 
lutions :  First,  recognizing  the  Grand  Chapter  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  giving  its  officers  seats  in  General  Grand  Chapter ;  second,  placing 
Potomac  Chapter  under  the  urisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  but 
"  without  territorial  jurisdiction  over  candidates  for  the  Capitular  Degrees  "  ; 
third,  declaring  all  acts  of  censure,  suspension,  or  expulsion,  growing  out  of 
the  formation  of  the  Grand  Chapter,  null  and  void. 

Maryland  did  not  feel  satisfied  with  this  action,  and  resolutions  to  this 
effect  were  adopted  in  1868  ;  but  in  November,  1869,  resolutions  were  adopted, 
"  reHnquishing  its  jurisdictional  rights  over  the  District  of  Columbia  so  long  as 
it  remains  the  seat  of  the  National  Government,"  and  fully  recognizing  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  the  District  of  Columbia  as  a  regular  Grand  Chapter. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  all  signs  of  this  friction  have  long  since  disap- 
peared ;  and  when  Noble  D.  Larner  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  the  District  of 
Columbia  was  elected  General  Grand  High  Priest  in  1886,  none  were  more 
zealous  in  his  behalf  than  the  representatives  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Maryland. 


5 JO  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Florida.  —  The  first  connection  between  the  General  Grand  Chapter  and 
Masonry  in  Florida  appears  to  have  been  made  when  DeWitt  Clinton  granted 
dispensations  for  a  Mark  lodge  in  St.  Augustine,  and  another  in  St.  Francis- 
ville  in  Florida,  as  reported  at  the  session  of  1826. 

Prior  to  1S47  there  were  three  chapters  in  Florida,  to  wit:  Magnolia,  No. 
16,  at  Apalachicola,  and  Florida,  No.  32,  at  Tallahassee,  both  chartered  by  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Virginia ;  and  a  chapter  at  St.  Augustine,  chartered,  in  error, 
by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  South  Carolina,  itself  a  constituent  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter. 

Delegates  from  these  three  chapters  assembled  in  Tallahassee  on  January 
II,  1847,  and  organized  a  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  for  the  State 
of  Florida. 

It  forthwith  decreed,  that  the 

"  Degrees  of  Royal  Master  and  Select  Master  shall  be  deemed  to  be  Chapter  degrees,  to  be 
given  in  Chapters,  unless  otherwise  directed  by  Grand  Chapter." 

On  February  8,  1847,  it 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Florida,  duly  appreciating  the  advantages  of  a  Masonic 
head  and  paramount  authority,  is  disposed  to  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  of  the  United  States." 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  felt  that  the  chapter  at  St.  Augustine  was  not 
legally  instituted,  and  had  adopted  a  resolution  of  remedy  in  1844.  This, 
however,  was  misinterpreted  in  Florida.  The  companions  took  offence, 
and  held  aloof  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 

In  1856  signs  of  settlement  began  to  appear;  and  the  General  Grand 
High  Priest  was  authorized  to  recognize  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Florida,  and 
place  it  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  Grand  Chapters,  at  its  desire. 

Before  this  was  carried  into  effect,  the  war  period  stayed  proceedings,  until, 
on  January  13,  1869,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Florida  accepted  an  invitation,  and 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Chapter  accepts  such  invitation  in  a  true  Masonic  spirit,  and  will 
hereafter  bear  allegiance  and  support  to  the  said  General  Grand  Chapter." 

Georgia.  —  At  what  time  was  Royal  Arch  Masonry  introduced  into  Georgia? 
is  a  question  that  cannot  be  answered  from  the  Grand  Secretary's  office,  nor 
do  the  records  in  possession  of  that  Grand  Chapter  show.  Evidently  there 
were  Royal  Arch  Masons  there  before  1806.  Possibly  the  degree  was  worked 
under  lodge  charters  long  before,  but  of  this  there  is  little  evidence.  In  an 
oration  by  the  R.  W.  Junior  Grand  Warden,  Brother  J.  H.  Estill,  before  Grand 
Lodge  in  1887,  we  are  told  that  Royal  Arch  Masonry  made  its  first  appearance 
in  Georgia,  in  Union  Lodge,  No.  3,  and  that  within  it  Georgia  Chapter  was 
born. 

The  records  of  General  Grand  Chapter  show  that  Georgia  Chapter  received 
its  dispensation  from  that  body ;  and  Dr.  John  Dove  of  Virginia  gives  it  the 
date  of  December   i,   1804.      The   General  Grand   Chapter  also  chartered 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


6ii 


Union  Chapter,  Louisville,  Georgia,  on  December  i6,  1S15  ;  Augusta  Chapter, 
Augusta,  December  6,  1S18;  Mechanics  Chapter,  Lexington,  June  10,  1S20; 
Webb  Chapter,  November  16,  1S21  ;  FrankHn  Chapter,  by  DeWitt  Clinton 
(place  and  date  not  given),  before  September  16,  1826,  as  it  was  then  reported 
that  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Georgia  had  been  regularly  organized,  and  it  was 
received  and  recognized  "  as  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  Grand 
Chapter  within  the  State." 

At  the  session  of  1847,  a  committee  reported,  in  General  Grand  Chapter, 
that  sufficient  documentary  evidence  had  been  found,  to  show  that  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Georgia  "■  is  a  constituent  member  of  this  Grand  body  " ;  but  it 
had  not  been  represented,  or  made  returns,  since  1822,  although  it  was  organ- 
ized February  4th  of  that  year.  The  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest  gave 
a  dispensation  for  a  chapter  in  Macon,  June  21,  1838  ;  and  the  Grand  Chapter 
reorganized  May  3,  1841.  This  reorganized  body  was  represented  in  1847, 
and,  as  a  rule,  up  to  and  including  1S59,  after  which,  and  following  the  political 
action  of  the  State,  it  assumed  to  withdraw  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter, 
md  did  not  fully  resume  its  proper  relations  until  April,  1875,  when  in  regular 
'"convocation  it  resolved  to  renew  its  connection  with,  and  fealty  to,  the  General 
Grand  Chapter.  The  twenty-seventh  Triennial  Convocation  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  was  held  in  Atlanta  in  November,  1889. 

Idaho.  —  On  June  18,  1867,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Oregon  granted  a  charter 
for  Idaho  Chapter  in  Idaho  City;  and  :his  was  constituted  August  18,  1867. 
The  Grand  Chapter  is  said  to  "  have  acted  under  the  impression  that  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  had  virtually  ceased  to  exist."  On  petition  the  Gen- 
eral Grand  Chapter  adopted  a  report,  on  the  case,  which  included  "good 
faith  "  on  the  part  of  the  petitioners,  heaUng  of  all  companions  exalted  in  the 
chapter,  and  the  granting  of  a  charter  to  Idaho  Chapter,  No.  i,  Idaho  City, 
on  September  18,  1868.  Under  authority  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  other 
chapters  were  established  as  follows :  Cyrus,  No.  2,  Silver  City,  Dakota, 
February  14,  1870;  Boise  City,  No.  3,  Boise  City,  March  30,  1S70;  charter 
to  each,  September  20,  1S71  :  Lewiston,  No.  4,  Lewiston ;  no  dispensation; 
charter,  August  27,  1880:  Alturas,  No.  5,  Hailey,  Dakota,  May  22,  1884; 
charter,  October  i,  1S86.  To  the  foregoing,  Pocatello,  No.  6,  was  added  by 
dispensation,  May  28,  1889. 

Illinois.  —  Under  date  of  July  19,  1841,  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High 
Priest  granted  a  dispensation  for  Springfield  Chapter,  in  Springfield,  and  a 
charter  was  granted  by  General  Grand  Chapter,  September  17,  184 1.  At  the 
session  of  1S44,  the  same  officer  reported  that  he  had  granted  a  dispensation 
to  organize  Lafayette  Chapter,  in  Chicago,  dated  July  2,  1S44.  In  1847  he 
reported  that  he  had,  since  1844,  granted  dispensations  for  Jacksonville 
Chapter,  No.  3,  in  Jacksonville  ;  and  for  Shawneetown  Chapter,  No.  6,  at 
Shawneetown.  The  General  Grand  Scribe  had  granted  dispensations  for 
Horeb  Chapter,  No.  4,  in  Henderson,  March  10,  1846;  for  Quincy  Chapter, 


6l2 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


No.  5,  in  Quincy,  April  i,  1S46;  and  these  several  acts  were  confirmed  by 
warrants  granted  during  the  respective  sessions.  In  September,  1S50,  the 
same  officer  had  granted  dispensations  for  Howard  Chapter,  July  28,  1848; 
and  Stapleton  Chapter,  June  28,  1849.  Hie  General  Grand  King  had  given 
dispensation  for  Reynolds  Chapter,  in  Cambridge,  dated  March  2,  1850;  and 
the  Grand  Scribe,  for  Barrett  Chapter,  at  Rock  Island,  dated  August  i,  1849. 

Before  some  of  these  later  dispensations  had  been  passed  upon  by  General 
Grand  Chapter,  the  General  Grand  King  had  given  authority  to  seven  chap- 
ters to  organize  a  Grand  Chapter  for  the  State  of  lUinois ;  and  this  was  done 
April  10,  1850. 

The  Triennial  Convocation  of  1S59  was  held  in  Chicago. 

Indiana.  —  It  appears  in  evidence  that  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  elected 
Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest  in  1816,  granted  dispensations  for  Madi- 
son Chapter,  in  Madison,  and  Brookville  Chapter,  in  Brookville ;  but  in 
consequence  of  his  death  prior  to  the  session  in  1S19,  no  report  of  these  was 
made  of  a  character  to  gain  for  them  official  recognition.  No  further  evidence 
of  the  existence  of  these  bodies  was  presented,  but  it  was  shown,  in  1844,  that 
Madison  Chapter  had  continued  its  labors  for  years.  A  charter  was  granted 
by  General  Grand  Chapter  to  Vincennes  Chapter,  in  Vincennes,  dated  May 
13,  1820.  At  the  session  of  1844,  it  was  reported  that  these  three  bodies  had 
organized  a  Grand  Chapter  in  1823,  but  no  documentary  evidence  of  this  had 
been  presented  to  General  Grand  Chapter.  Brookville  Chapter  soon  after 
dropped  out  of  sight.  Investigation  made  at  this  session  found  that,  on  May 
13,  1823,  a  Grand  Chapter  had  been  formed,  as  above,  but  no  meeting  was 
held  by  it  afterward.  Madison  Chapter  had  worked  until  1829,  when  it  sus- 
pended. On  July  10,  1842,  fourteen  Royal  Arch  Masons  assumed  to  reopen 
it,  all  in  good  faith  ;  this,  together  with  their  otherwise  good  Masonic  conduct, 
and  the  petition  of  the  companions  concerned,  secured  confirmation  of  a 
charter  to  Madison  Chapter,  No.  i,  on  September  12,  1844.  Its  past  work, 
however,  was  declared  to  be  illegal,  but  authority  was  given  to  heal  all  who 
had  received  degrees  in  it,  on  their  appearing  personally.  Dispensation  had 
been  granted  for  King  Solomon's  Chapter,  in  Richmond ;  and  a  charter  was 
ordered  September  14,  1838.  Dispensation  was  granted  for  Logan  Chapter, 
Logansport,  March  12,  1S39;  and  charter  ordered  September  17,  1841. 
Dispensation  for  Lafayette  Chapter,  No.  3,  was  given  by  the  Deputy  General 
Grand  High  Priest,  August  17,  1843,  to  be  located  in  Lafayette;  charter 
granted  September  11,  1844.  The  chapters  assembled  by  permission,  dated 
November  18,  1845,  and  the  Grand  Chapter  for  the  State  of  Indiana  was  regu- 
larly organized  December  25,  1845. 

Indian  Territory.  —  Dispensations  to  organize  chapters  in  Indian  Territory 
were  granted  :  to  Indian,  No.  i,  February  23, 1878  ;  chartered  August  27, 1880  : 
Oklahoma,  No.  2,  Atoka,  February  14,  1880;  chartered  August  27,  1880: 
Burneyville,  No.  3,  Burneyville,  March  2,  1885  ;  renewed  December  6,  1886, 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


613 


but  for  lack  of  support,  surrendered  in  April,  1S87  :  Savanna,  No.  4,  Savanna, 
March  12,  1886;  chartered  October  i,  1886  :  Tahlequah,  No.  5,  Tahlequah, 
dispensation  January  16,  1888;  chartered  November  22,  1889. 

At  the  session  of  18S9,  the  General  Grand  Chapter  voted  permission,  and 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Indian  Territory  was  regularly  organized  February  15, 
1890. 

Iowa.  —  Dispensations  were  issued  for  Iowa  Chapter,  No.  i,  Burlington, 
August  24,  1843  ;  chartered  September  11,  1S44  :  Iowa  City  Chapter,  No.  2, 
Iowa  City,  March  19,  1844;  chartered  September  17,  1847:  Dubuque 
Chapter,  No.  3,  Dubuque;  chartered  September  17,  1847:  Washington 
Chapter,  No.  4;  chartered  September  17,  1853.  McCord  Chapter,  No.  5, 
at  Fairfield,  received  a  dispensation,  presumably,  under  date  of  March  18, 
1853  ;  but  the  death  of  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  thirteen  days 
later,  prevented  his  making  a  report,  and  the  chapter  was  chartered  by  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Iowa,  June  14,  1854. 

The  aforenamed  chapters  met  in  convention  at  Mount  Pleasant,  by  sanction 
of  the  General  Grand  Scribe,  and  organized  the  Grand  Chapter  of  the  State  of 
Iowa,  June  8,  1854. 

We  now  have  to  notice  an  incident  in  the  life  of  this  body  that  manifests 
all  the  freshness  of  youth,  and  but  little  of  the  matured  Freemason.  Within 
about  two  years  after  being  organized,  the  usefulness  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  came  under  discussion.  The  Grand  High  Priests  early  gave  emphasis 
to  this  negative  feeling.  In  1857  the  delegates  to  the  next  session  of  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  were  instructed  to  vote  for  its  dissolution.  This  was 
reenforced  in  1858.  The  Grand  Chapter  asserted  its  sovereign  and  indepen- 
dent right  to  organize  chapters  in  Nebraska  or  elsewhere,  where  no  Grand 
Chapter  existed,  and  finally,  on  August  16,  i860,  the  resolution,  declaring  the 

"  Grand  Chapter  sovereign  and  independent,  and  in  no  manner  whatever  subject  to  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  of  the  United  States,  and  this  Grand  Chapter  is  forever  absolved  from 
all  connection  therewith," 

Was  passed  by  a  vote  of  twenty- eight  ayes  to  fifteen  nays. 

This  condition  of  things  continued  for  nine  years,  when,  at  the  Triennial 
Convocation  in  September,  187 1,  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  reported 
that,  under  date  of  October  26,  1869,  he  had 

"  Received  official  notice  that  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Iowa  had  rescinded  the  act  of  secession 
passed  in  1S60,  and  had  directed  that  the  O.". B.\ of  allegiance  should  be  administered  to  all  the 
members  of  Chapters  in  that  jurisdiction,  and  that  hereafter  it  would  be  administered  to  candidates 
receiving  the  Royal  Arch  degree." 

Representatives  of  the  Grand  Chapter  were  present  in  1871,  and  have 
been  at  succeeding  sessions  of  General  Grand  Chapter. 

Robert  F.  Bower  of  Keokuk  was  elected  General  Grand  High  Priest  in 
1880,  and  died  while  in  ofifice. 

Kansas.  —  At   the   Triennial  Convocation  of   1859   the    address   of   the 


6l4  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOXRY. 

General  Grand  High  Priest  showed  that  he  had  given  dispensations :  to 
Leavenworth  Chapter,  No.  i,  Leavenworth,  dated  January  24,  1857;  and  for 
Atchison  Chapter,  No.  2,  Atchison,  dated  May  iS,  1S59.  A  charter  was 
ordered  for  the  latter,  by  vote,  September  14,  1S59.  It  was  then  called 
Washington  Chapter,  and  in  the  proceedings  of  1862-5  ^^^^  1865,  Washington, 
No.  I.  The  dispensation  to  the  former  was  renewed  in  April,  1863  ;  and  on 
September  8,  1865,  a  charter  was  granted.  On  the  same  date  a  charter  was 
voted  to  Fort  Scott  Chapter,  Fort  Scott,  the  dispensation  having  been  granted 
and  so  reported  by  the  Grand  Secretary  ;  but  no  date  was  given.  Permission 
was  granted  by  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest ;  and,  in  January,  1866, 
a  convention  was  held,  and  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Kansas  was 
regularly  organized,  February  23,  1S66. 

Kentucky.  —  It  is  shown  in  the  preamble  to  the  proceedings  of  the  con- 
vention which  organized  the  Grand  Chapter,  that  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Deputy 
General  Grand  High  Priest,  had  granted  dispensations  for  three  chapters  in 
Kentucky,  to  wit :  in  Lexington,  Frankfort,  and  Shelbyville,  one  in  each,  under 
date  of  October  16,  181 6.  This  is  confirmed  by  proceedings  of  General 
Grand  Chapter,  September  9,  1819;  but,  in  consequence  of  Webb's  death, 
details  were  not  given.  The  preamble  quoted  the  Constitution  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter,  whereby  it  was  made  competent  for  three  chapters  to  form  a 
Grand  Chapter ;  also,  to  show  that  the  clause  requiring  the  junior  chapter  to 
be  one  year  old  was  by  them  complied  with.  The  three  chapters  were  fully 
represented  by  the  High  Priest,  King,  and  Scribe  of  each,  and  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  Kentucky  was  regularly  organized  December  4,  181 7. 

Correspondence  incident  to  the  organizing  of  a  Grand  Chapter  is  printed 
at  length  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Kentucky,  including 
recognition  by  Webb,  dated  at  "  Worthington,  Ohio,"  December  12,  181 7,  and 
by  DeWitt  Clinton,  December  30,  1817  ;  and  formal  recognition,  with  approval, 
was  given  September  9,  1819. 

At  the  annual  convocation  of  1825  resolutions  were  adopted,  to  petition 
the  General  Grand  Chapter,  and  to  correspond  with  Grand  Chapters  on  the 
"propriety  of  dissolving  "  the  former.  Along  memorial  was  issued,  setting 
forth  reasons  affirmatively ;  the  conclusion  being  that  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  was 

"  An  institution  calculated  to  waste  the  funds  of  our  Order,  engender  ambition,  administer 
food  to  vanity,  and  every  way  incompatible  with  the  pure  and  sublime  principles  of  Masonry.  We 
also  apprehend  tliat  it  will  be  used  by  political  men  as  a  convenient  instrument  to  further  their 
intrigues  and  spread  their  influence." 

This  memorial  was  referred  to  a  committee  in  General  Grand  Chapter, 
which  committee  concluded  :  — 

"  That,  as  a  majority  of  the  Grand  Chapters  of  the  several  States  comprising  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  dissented  from  the  resolution  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Kentucky,  if  was  not  expedient  to 
take  any  further  measures  on  the  subject." 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


615 


Kentucky  seemed  to  be  content  with  this  action,  and  her  proceedings  show 
to  this  effect.  In  1S56  the  General  Grand  Secretary  reported  that  "Twenty- 
six  Grand  Chapters  acknowledged  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  in  the  United  States,"  and  Kentucky  was  included  in  the  list.  The 
Grand  Chapters  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  Florida  did  not  so  appear.  A 
similar  report,  from  the  same  ofificer,  in  September,  1859,  showed  that  Kentucky 
and  North  Carolina  Grand  Chapters  had  passed  resolutions  of  withdrawal  from 
the  General  Grand  Chapter. 

In  1S74  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  said,  in  his  address  to  the  General 
Grand  Chapter :  — 

"  I  am  happy  to  announce  that  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Kentucky  has  rescinded  her  resolutions 
of  withdrawal,  and  has  renewed  her  allegiance.  Her  representatives  are  here  with  us,  and  I 
believe  the  warm  welcome  they  have  received  has  removed  any  lingering  doubts  they  may  have 
entertained  as  to  the  wisdom  of  their  course." 

Louisiana.  —  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  this  State  was  at  times  disturbed  in 
its  condition.  Coming  before  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  because  of  this, 
in  September,  1S44,  it  was  there  shown  that  the  Royal  Lodges,  Concordia  and 
Perseverance,  together  with  "  such  officers  and  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
as  were  Royal  Arch  Masons,"  had  organized  a  Grand  Chapter  in  1813.  This 
body  was  attached  to  and  made  dependent  upon  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  the 
Grand  Master  "was  declared  to  be,  ex  officio,  and,  by  'inherent  right,'  Grand 
High  Priest  of  the  new  Grand  Chapter." 

It  was  stated  that  these  lodges  were  originally  organized  in  St.  Domingo, 
under  charters  emanating  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  with  powers 
to  confer  all  the  degrees  up  to  the  Royal  Arch.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
revolution  in  St.  Domingo  some  of  the  members  escaped  to  Cuba,  and  thence 
to  New  Orleans,  where  the  lodges  were  reopened  under  the  original  charters, 
which  they  had  preserved. 

In  September,  1S29,  this  Grand  Chapter  petitioned  to  be  admitted  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  In  view  of  all  the  facts,  and 
considering  it  for  the  best  interests  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  this  v/as  done 
September  11,  1S29,  and  Lafayette  Chapter,  in  St.  Francisville,  chartered  by 
the  General  Grand  Chapter  in  1826,  was  placed  under  the  immediate  juris- 
diction of  the  Grand  Chapter. 

This  Grand  body  worked  in  good  faith  and  allegiance,  until  1831,  after 
which  it  held  no  meeting  for  any  purpose  until  April,  1S39,  and  chapters 
under  it  ceased  to  exist,  except  Holland,  No.  9. 

In  1 84 1  the  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  directed  by  the  Grand 
Master,  notified  "  certain  Royal  Arch  Masons,  in  New  Orleans,"  to  assemble, 
elect  Grand  Officers,  and  reorganize  the  Grand  Chapter.  A  second  meeting 
followed,  of  which  Holland  Chapter  was  notified,  and  "a  body,  styling  itself 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Louisiana,  was  organized." 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  held  :  that  the  body  of  18 13  voluntarily  sur- 


5i6  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASOaYRY. 

rendered  its  independent  jurisdiction,  and  enrolled  itself  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  General  Grand  Chapter;  that  it  ceased  to  hold  meetings  after  1831, 
as  required  by  the  second  article  of  the  General  Grand  Constitution ;  that  all 
chapters  in  the  State  came  under  direct  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  "  which  alone  could  legally  exercise  authority  over  the  territory 
thus  vacated." 

In  conformity  with  this,  the  charter  of  Holland  Chapter,  having  been  "  lost 
or  stolen,"  and  revoked  by  this  1841  organization,  was  replaced  by  a  new  one, 
and  on  September  16,  1847,  charters  were  confirmed:  to  New  Era  Chapter, 
in  New  Orleans ;  to  Clinton  Chapter,  in  East  Feliciana ;  and  to  Red  River 
Chapter,  in  Shreveport. 

It  was  also  found  at  this  session  of  1S47  :  "That  there  was  not  at  this  time 
any  constitutional  and  legally  authorized  Grand  Chapter  in  the  State  of 
Louisiana."  The  Association  assuming  the  functions  of  a  Grand  Chapter 
was  declared  to  be  "  spurious,  clandestine,  and  illegal,"  and  regular  Royal 
Arch  Masons  were  forbidden  to  hold  any  Masonic  intercourse  with  it  or  its 
offspring. 

The  General  Grand  King  authorized  Holland  Chapter,  No.  i  ;  New  Era 
Chapter,  No.  2  ;  Red  River  Chapter,  No.  3  ;  and  Clinton  Chapter,  No.  4,  to 
"  organize  anc^  establish  a  Grand  Chapter  for  Louisiana  "  ;  and  this  was  done 
May  I,  1848. 

Maine.  —  On  February  13,  1805,  a  "Warrant  of  Constitution  "  was  granted 
to  "  John  Coe  and  others,  empowering  them  to  open  a  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons  in  the  town  of  Portland,"  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Massachusetts. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  Maine  was  not  set  off  from  Massachusetts  until 
it  was  erected  into  a  separate  State,  in  1820.  Dispensations  were  voted  for 
two  new  chapters,  by  the  same  Grand  body,  on  December  7,  18 19,  and 
charters  were  subsequently  granted,  to  wit :  Montgomery,  Bath ;  and  New 
Jerusalem,  Wiscasset ;  and,  on  December  29,  1819,  for  Jerusalem  Chapter,  in 
Hallowell.  These  three  chapters  were  regularly  constituted,  on  July  18, 
19,  and  21,  1820,  respectively,  by  Henry  Fowle,  Deputy  Grand  High 
Priest,  who  made  report  accordingly  to  Hon.  James  Prescott,  Grand  High 
Priest. 

On  February  7,  1821,  Mt.  Vernon  Chapter,  of  Portland,  and  the  three 
constituted  in  1820,  met  by  their  representatives,  in  Portland,  adopted 
"  provisionally  the  constitution  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Massachusetts,"  and 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maine  was  regularly  organized.  The  subsequent  history 
of  this  body  has  been  characterized  by  loyalty  and  usefulness.  It  felt  the 
baneful  effect  of  Anti-Masonry,  and  failed  to  meet  in  1834,  1841,  1842,  1843. 
Having  been  incorporated,  January  19,  1822,  and  duly  organized  under  the 
Act,  January  28,  1824,  it  was  summoned,  under  an  order  from  one  of  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace,  after  each  failure,  elected  officers,  and  qualified  them. 
The  marked  ability  displayed  in  this  jurisdiction  has  been  recognized  else- 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


617 


where,  and  the  General  Grand  Chapter  has  elected  from  it  two  General  Grand 
High  Priests,  to  wit :  Robert  P.  Dunlap,  in  1847,  1850,  and  1S53  ;  and  Josiah 
H.  Drummond,  in  1871. 

Maryland.  —  On  October  24,  1806,  Concordia  Chapter,  of  Baltimore, 
issued  a  circular-letter  to  the  several  chapters  of  Baltimore  and  the  District 
of  Columbia,  requesting  them  to  send  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  held 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  on  the  third  Wednesday  in  the  next  January 
[January  21,  1807],  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Grand  Chapter  for  the 
State  of  Maryland  and  District  of  Columbia. 

[See  "  Capitular  Masonry  in  Maryland,"  by  E.  T.  Schultz.] 

The  chapters  in  Baltimore,  and  taking  part  in  this  convention,  were 
Washington,  Concordia,  and  St.  John's.  Brother  Schultz  says  that  Washing- 
ton Chapter 

"  Undoubtedly  was  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Jerusalem,  instituted  in  1787  by  virtue  of  the 
dispensation  or  warrant  of  Lodge  No.  7,  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Jerusalem,  at  Chestertown,  and 
was  attached  to  Lodge  No.  15,  now  Washington  Lodge,  No.  3." 

It  merged  with  Concordia  in  1822, 

There  are  no  records  of  Concordia  Chapter  of  earlier  date  than  January  10, 
1810;  but  the  same  authority  says:  "The  records  of  Concordia  Lodge 
establish  the  fact  that  it  was  existing  as  early  as  1804."  He  tells  us  :  "The 
only  degree  mentioned  is  that  of  the  Holy  Royal  Arch." 

The  second  record  book  commences  March  8,  18 16,  and  this  "recites 
that  the  chapter  was  held  in  Concordia  lodge-room  [old  Watch  House],  and 
that  it  was  attached  to  that  Lodge,"  and  "  after  being  dormant  some  years,  it 
resolved  to  revive  and  continue  the  labors  of  Concordia  Royal  Arch  Chapter." 
A  committee  was  appointed  and  secured  for  it  a  "'Charter  of  Recognition,' 
dated  November  12,  1816,  as  Concordia  Chapter,  No.  5."  This  charter  is 
"  identical  in  language  to  the  charter  of  recognition  of  Chapter  No.  2,"  "  and 
proves  that  Concordia  Chapter  was  also  instituted  in  1797."  "St.  John's 
Chapter,"  our  brother  says,  "was  undoubtedly  attached  to  St.  John's  Lodge, 
No.  34,  and  which  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland." 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  of  1807, 
reorganized  November  9,  1814,  is  discussed  under  the  head  "District  of 
Columbia,"  and  nothing  further  need  be  said  of  it  here  than  that  the  joint 
title,  except  from  1824  to  1853,  was  retained  until  1869,  when  Maryland 
acquiesced  and  recognized  the  District  of  Columbia  as  a  separate  jurisdiction, 
and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  became  sole  and  supreme  in  the  State. 

Apart  from  anything  we  have  said  heretofore,  of  Grand  Chapter  jurisdiction 
in  Maryland,  we  will  now  notice,  very  briefly,  the  claim  somewhat  recently 
made  that  an  independent  Grand  Chapter  existed  in  Maryland  as  early  as 
1797.  We  copy  in  part,  z.fac-simile  of  a  document,  or  dispensation,  to  Philip 
P.    Eckel,  and   "sundry  Royal   Arch   Masons,"  in  Baltimore   and   vicinity, 


5i8  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

empowering  Eckel  to  "  act  as  High  Priest,"  "  to  assemble  a  sufficient  number 
of  companions,  within  the  said  city  of  Baltimore  and  there  open  and  hold  a 
chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,"  etc.,  etc. ;  said  "  instrument  to  be  in  force 
until  the  twenty-second  of  June,  next,  and  no  longer  "  :  — 

"  Witness  the  Seal  of  the  Grand  Chapter,  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  for  the  State  of  Maryland, 
countersigned  by  the  Grand  Scribe,  at  Baltimore,  this  eighth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  Masonry 
Five  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Ninety-Seven. 

"Anno  Domini,  1797.  GEO.  L.  Gray,  Grand  Scribe." 

This  was  issued  by  David  Kerr,  G.  H.  P. ;  and  Brother  Schultz  says  that  he 
was  at  the  time 

"  Grand  Master,  and  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  control  over  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  believed 
to  be  inherent  in  Grand  Masters,  issued  his  dispensations  for  the  formation  of  these  several  chapters 
which  then,  in  connection  with  the  chapter  attached  to  Washington  Lodge,  formed  June  24, 
1797,  the  first  independent  Grand  Chapter  in  the  United  States." 

This  body,  he  says,  became  dormant  about  1803. 

Our  brother  quotes  another  paper,  from  "  Lodge,  No  7,  Royal  Chapter  of 
Jerusalem  or  Lodge  of  Super-Excellent  Masons,"  certifying  to  certain  breth- 
ren, and  giving  them 

"  Power  and  authority  to  erect  a  Royal  Chapter  of  Jerusalem  or  Lodge  of  Arch  Masons,  attached 
to  No.  15,  according  to  the  established  rules  of  the  Royal  Craft.  Signed  by  the  undermentioned 
Grand  Officers,  and  countersigned  by  the  Grand  Secretary  p.t.,  this  9th  day  of  April,  in  the  year 
5897,  Sealed  with  the  Grand  Seal.  The.  Duplessis,  G.  M.  Z. ;  Pere  Lethebury,  G.  M.  H. ;  Edw'd 
Worrell,  Sec'y,  R.A.p.t." 

This  Lodge  No.  7  was  warranted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania. 

We  cannot  reach  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  Brother  Schultz,  that  an 
"Independent  Grand  Chapter"  existed  in  Maryland  in  1797. 

If  the  documents  quoted  are  rehed  upon  to  establish  this,  then  we  must, 
on  equally  good  authority,  accept  the  record  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  2, 
made  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,  September  5,  "1783,  and  of  Royal  Arch 
Masonry  3783,"  that  the  six  Royal  Arch  Masons  who  signed  the  preamble  or 
introduction  to  the  record  of  that  date,  "  duly  opened  and  held  the  first 
regular  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,"  on  the  date  above  quoted. 

Brother  Schultz  says,  elsewhere  :  — 

"  But  it  is  probable,  that  Royal  Arch  chapters  were  attached  to  most  of  the  active  lodges  in  the 
State.  Hiram  Lodge,  No.  27,  at  Port  Tobacco,  as  we  have  seen,  resolved  to  open  a  Royal  Arch 
chapter." 

This  is  confirmed  by  Philip  P.  Eckel,  High  Priest,  of  Concordia  Chapter, 
October  24,  1806,  who  said  :  — 

"The  necessity  of  a  Grand  Chapter  must  appear  obvious,  when  we  reflect  that  our  chapters 
are  held  under  the  sanction  of  lodges." 

Without  giving  to  this  space  which  we  cannot  spare,  we  have  to  conclude, 
on  the  evidence  presented,  that  the  document  to  "  Philip  P.  Eckel  was  the 
beginning  of  Concordia  Chapter ;  that  David  Kerr,  Grand  Master,  ex  officio, 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


619 


signed  himself  G.  H.  P.,  —  Grand  High  Priest,  —  in  harmony  with  the  rule 
whereby  chapters  were  attached  to  lodges ;  that  the  word  Grand,  in  these 
several  documents,  was  used  as  a  form  rather  than  a  substance  ;  and  that  the 
authority  intended  to  be  conveyed  was  in  the  nature  of  certificates  to  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  that  they  might  admit  others  to  the  degree,  after  the  manner 
practised  in  Lodges  No.  155,  and  No.  210,  in  working  the  Mark  degree,  in 
Hahfax,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1786;  in  Washington,  "Mother,"  Chapter,  of  New 
York,  in  1791  to  1796  [see  its  warrant]  ;  and,  finally,  that  the  action  taken  in 
Concordia  Chapter,  in  Baltimore,  October  24,  1806,  and  the  document  quoted, 
as  of  that  date  by  Brother  Schultz,  and  signed  by  Philip  P.  Eckel,  High  Priest, 
were  acts  preliminary  to  the  "  first  independent  Grand  Chapter  "  in  Maryland, 
to  wit :  The  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  and  District  of  Columbia,  organized 
January  21,  1807. 

Massachusetts.  — The  opening  record  of  this  body  bears  date  of  March 
13,  1798,  under  the  title  :  "  Deputy  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Massachu- 
setts." The  last  meeting  under  this  title  was  a  "  special "  on  April  2,  i  799  ; 
and  on  September  17,  1799,  the  title,  which  has  been  retained  ever  since, 
appears,  to  wit :  "  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Massachusetts." 

The  records  of  this  body,  from  1798  to  i860,  having  been  printed,  we 
refer  to  that  volume,  and  limit  our  notice  here.  The  Royal  Arch  degree  was 
conferred  for  the  first  time  in  Massachusetts,  so  far  as  known,  August  28, 
1769,  in  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  called  "  Royal  Arch  Lodge  "  for  a  few  years  ; 
under  sanction  of  the  charter  of  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  82,  Registry  of 
Scotland. 

From  its  first  record,  of  August  12,  1769,  until  1788,  the  title,  "Royal 
Arch  ]\Iaster,"  was  used.  In  17S9  William  McKean  became  High  Priest. 
This  brother  was  present  as  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  and  Knight  Templar  August 
28,  1769,  and  continued  with  the  chapter  until  his  death,  in  1820.  King 
Cyrus  Chapter,  of  Newburyport,  having  a  charter  dated  July  9,  1790,  and  St. 
Andrew's  Chapter,  by  their  duly  appointed  representatives,  organized  this 
Grand  Chapter,  as  stated,  March  13,  1798,  Its  annual  meetings  have  been 
held  without  a  single  omission ;  special  ones  have  been  frequent ;  and,  since 
1847,  quarterly  meetings  have  been  held  regularly. 

Its  history  is  one  of  singular  fidelity  and  loyalty  to  Freemasonry,  and  espe- 
cially so  to  the  high  purposes  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry.  Influential  at  home 
and  respected  abroad,  it  has  been  honored  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter  in 
electing  three  of  her  Past  Grand  High  Priests  to  the  high  office  of  General 
Grand  High  Priest,  to  wit :  Benjamin  Hurd,  Jr.,  in  1806  3  Paul  Dean,  in  1847, 
1850,  and  1853  ;  and  Alfred  F.  Chapman,  in  1883. 

Since  the  original  Convention  to  organize  the  General  Grand  Chapter  was 
held  in  Boston,  the  Triennial  Convocations  of  183S  and  of  1850  were  held  in 
that  city. 

Michigan.  —  Dispensations  were  granted  by  the  General  Grand  High  Priest  ? 


,320  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

for  Monroe  Chapter,  in  Detroit,  December  3,  iSiS;  for  St.  Joseph's  Valley 
Chapter,  in  Niles,  May  16,  1844 ;  for  Jackson,  No.  3,  in  Jackson,  both  by  the 
Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest ;  date  in  the  latter  case  not  given :  but 
charters  were  granted  September  11,  1819,  for  the  first;  September  14,  1847, 
for  the  second  ;  and  September  16,  1847,  for  the  third,  by  vote  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter.  Permission  was  given  by  the  General  Grand  Scribe,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 848  ;  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Michigan  was  regularly  organized  March 
18,  1848. 

The  Masonic  ability  displayed  in  this  Grand  Chapter  has  been  of  the 
highest  character,  and  this  has  been  conspicuously  recognized  by  the  long- 
continued  approval  of  the  Craft  in  the  American  system.  The  Triennial 
Convocation  of  1880  was  held  in  Detroit,  the  Mother  City  of  Royal  Arch 
Masonry  in  Michigan. 

Minnesota.  —  The  General  Grand  Chapter  granted  a  dispensation,  by  vote  : 
to  Minnesota  Chapter,  No.  i,  September  17,  1853  ;  chartered,  by  same  author-' 
ity,  September  11,  1856.  The  General  Grand  High  Priest  gave  dispensations  : 
for  VermilUon  Chapter,  No.  2,  in  Hastings,  June  20,  1857  ;  and  for  St.  Anthony 
Falls  Chapter,  No.  3,  in  St.  Anthony,  January  5,  1858.  Charters  were  voted 
to  the  second  and  third  of  these,  September  14,  1859.  Under  authority  from 
Albert  G.  Mackey,  G.  G.  H.  P.,  dated  December  i,  1859,  a  convention  of 
these  three  chapters  was  held  in  St.  Paul,  December  17,  1859.  A  constitution 
was  adopted,  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Minnesota  was  regularly  organized. 

The  first  Grand  High  Priest  was  A.  T.  C.  Pierson,  a  Freemason  of  conspic- 
uous ability,  who  achieved  a  national  reputation  in  every  grade  of  Freemasonry 
in  the  American  Rite. 

It  was  voted  to  hold  the  Triennial  Convocation  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  in  Minneapolis  in  1891. 

Mississippi.  —  The  organization  of  the  first  lodge  in  Mississippi  was  by 
charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Kentucky,  followed  by  two  other  lodges, 
under  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee,  and  the  organization  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  in  July  and  August,  18 18.  This  gives  authority  for  saying  that  Royal 
Arch  Masonry  began  in  the  State  under  authority  from  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  by  DeWitt  Clinton,  G.  G.H.  P.,  who,  in  1S26,  had  granted  a  dis- 
pensation for  Port  Gibson  Chapter.  This  was  confirmed  by  a  charter  granted 
September  15,  1826.  Dispensations  for  chapters  were  subsequently  granted 
by  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest :  for  Vicksburg,  in  Vicksburg,  June 
17,  1840  ;  chartered  September  17,  1841  :  by  General  Grand  High  Priest,  for 
Wilson,  in  Holly  Springs,  October  30,  1841  ;  by  Deputy  General  Grand  High 
Priest,  for  Columbus,  in  Columbus,  February  7,  1842  ;  and  Jackson,  in  Jack- 
son, August  28,  1843;  charters  for  these  three  were  granted  September  12, 
1844. 

The  Deputy  reported,  in  1847,  that  he  had  given  dispensations  for  Carroll- 
ton  Chapter,  in  Carrollton ;  and  Yazoo  Chapter,  in  Yazoo  County.    Charter  to 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  62 1 

CarroUton  was  granted  September  17,  1847.  It  appears  that  a  charter  had 
been  granted  for  Natchez  Chapter,  No.  i,  Natchez,  at  a  period  antedatmg  all 
others  in  Mississippi;  but,  at  the  session  of  1847,  this  was  reported  "lost." 
On  September  16,  1847,  "a  certified  copy  of  the  original  charter  of  Natchez 
Chapter,  No.  i,"  was  granted  by  vote  to  said  chapter  with  the  explanation,  that 
"  the  present  General  Grand  Officers  "  were  not  the  same  as  those  in  office  at 
the  time  the  lost  charter  was  originally  granted. 

By  permission  of  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  dated  March  12, 
1846,  the  chapters  met  in  convention,  and  organized  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Mississippi,  May  18,  1846.  A  comparison  of  the  above  dates  with  other  facts 
shows  that  the  General  Grand  Chapter  legislated  concerning  chapters  in 
Mississippi  after  the  Grand  Chapter  was  formed ;  but  this  action  was  in  con- 
firmation of  former  work.  At  the  session  of  1847,  moneys  were  returned  to 
Natchez,  and  to  Vicksburg  Chapters,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  dollars  to 
each,  evidently  for  dues  that  should  have  been  paid  to  the  Grand  Chapter. 

The  relations  of  the  Grand  Chapter  with  the  General  Grand  Chapter  were 
interrupted  by  the  war  period  ;  but  these  were  resumed  as  of  old.  Represent- 
atives attended  the  session  of  1868,  and  these  have  continued  to  manifest  the 
ability  characteristic  of  the  Fraternity  in  Mississippi. 

Missouri.  —  Under  the  Constitution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  dis- 
pensations and  charters  for  chapters  were  granted  and  confirmed,  as  follows  : 
Missouri,  No.  i,  Missouri  Territory,  but  in  St.  Louis,  April  3,  1819;  charter, 
September  16,  1826:  Palmyra,  No.  2,  Palmyra,  prior  to  September,  1838; 
charter  by  Grand  Chapter  of  Missouri,  October  16,  1847:  Liberty,  No.  3, 
Liberty,  April  18,  1842  ;  Weston,  No.  4,  Weston,  January  17,  1843  ;  Lafayette, 
No.  5,  Fayette,  May  13,  1843  ;  Booneville,  No.  6,  Booneville,  March  3,  1843  ; 
charters  to  Nos.  3,  4,  5,  and  6,  September  11,  1844  :  Hannibal,  No.  7,  Han- 
nibal; and  St.  Louis,  No.  8,  St.  Louis,  prior  to  September,  1847,  ^^  charters 
were  voted  to  these  two  September  17,  1847. 

Delegates  from  the  chapters  numbered  i,  2,  5,  and  6  assembled  in  St. 
Louis,  and  organized  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Missouri,  October  16,  1846. 

It  does  not  appear  that  prior  consent  had  been  granted  by  any  General 
Grand  Officer  of  authority  to  do  so,  although  the  General  Grand  Secretary 
reported  that  he  had  been  notified  to  the  contrary  by  the  Grand  Secretary  of 
the  new  Grand  Chapter.  It  being  apparent  that  the  Missouri  companions 
acted  in  good  faith,  the  Grand  Chapter  was  relieved  of  all  irregularities,  and 
fully  recognized,  by  General  Grand  Chapter,  September  16,  1847.  It  was  also 
setded  that  the  Chapters  U.  D.,  in  Missouri,  should  pay  dues  only  to  October 
16,  1846.  This  Grand  Chapter  has  been  represented  in  every  session  of  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  held  since  it  was  organized,  except  in  1874  and  1886. 
The  Triennial  Session  of  1868  was  held  in  St.  Louis. 

Montana.  —  While  this  was  yet  a  Territory,  dispensations,  confirmed  by 
charters  for  chapters,  had  been  granted  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter  as 


522  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

follows  :  Virginia  City,  No.  i,  July  14,  1866  ;  Helena,  No.  2,  Helena,  Decem- 
ber, 1867;  charter  to  each,  September  18,  1868:  Deer  Lodge,  No.  3,  Butte 
City,  October  10,  1874;  charter,  November  25,  1874:  Valley,  No.  4,  Deer 
Lodge  City,  July  22,  1880;  charter,  August  27,  1880:  Yellowstone,  No.  5, 
Miles  City,  January  2, 1866  ;  Billings,  No.  6,  Billings,  May  6,  1886  ;  Livingston, 
No.  7,  Livingston,  July  15,  1886  ;  charters  to  each  of  these  three,  October  i, 
1886  :  Dillon,  No.  8,  Dillon  ;  dispensation,  January  15,  1887  :  and  Great  Falls, 
No.  9,  Great  Falls,  March  13,  1889  ;  charter  to  each,  November  22,  1889. 

Nebraska.  —  Dispensations  were  granted,  and  subsequently  confirmed  by 
charters  :  for  Omaha  Chapter,  No.  i,  Omaha,  Nebraska  Territory,  November 
21,  1859;  Key-stone  Chapter,  No.  2,  Nebraska  City,  January  25,  i860; 
Nebraska  Chapter,  No.  3,  Plattsmouth  ;  all  chartered  September  8,  1865.  On 
February  14,  1867,  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest  gave  permission, 
a  convention  of  chapters  was  held,  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Nebraska  was 
regularly  organized,  March  19,  1867.  The  Grand  Chapter  has  been  among 
the  most  zealous  in  diffusing  Masonic  information,  and  in  promoting  the 
general  welfare  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry. 

Nevada.  —  Chapters  were  established  in  Nevada  by  dispensations,  con- 
firmed by  charters,  as  follows:  Lewis,  Carson  City,  May,  1863;  charter, 
September  8,  1865  :  Virginia  City,  Virginia  City,  September  8,  1865  ;  charter, 
September  18,  1868  :  Austin,  Austin,  October,  1866  ;  charter,  September  18, 
1868  :  White  Pine,  No.  4,  Hamilton,  January  10,  1871  ;  charter,  September 
20,  187 1.  The  General  Grand  High  Priest  gave  the  letter  of  authority,  dated 
November  i,  187 1.  A  convention  of  the  four  chapters  was  held,  and  the 
Grand  Chapter  was  regularly  organized  November  18,  1873. 

New  Hampshire. — The  printed  proceedings  [Session  of  1816]  of  the 
General  Grand  Chapter  show,  that  the  "  General  Grand  King  "  had  granted 
"  warrants  or  charters  "  :  for  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  Hanover,  January  27,  1807  ; 
Trinity  Chapter,  Hopkinton,  February  16,  1807  ;  Washington  Chapter,  Ports- 
mouth, November,  1815  ;  Cheshire  Chapter,  Keene,  May  4,  1816;  all  of  which 
was  ratified  June  7,  181 6. 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  being  duly  notified  by  "John  Harris,"  that  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  New  Hampshire  had  been  "  formed  and  organized,"  on 
June  10,  1 8 19,  action  was  taken  to  recognize  said  Grand  Chapter,  "under  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  General  Grand  Chapter."  Additional  notice  was  taken  of 
this  in  1S26,  that  it  had  been  "  legally  and  constitutionally  formed." 

The  General  Grand  High  Priest  granted  a  "  warrant "  :  for  Union  Mark 
Lodge,  No.  I,  in  Claremont,  April  3,  18 19;  but  this  passed  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Grand  Chapter. 

New  Jersey. — Warrants  were  granted  :  for  Cincinnati  Mark  Lodge,  No.  i, 
Hanover,  in  April,  181 1  ;  and  for  Union  Mark  Lodge,  No.  2,  in  Orange,  in 
July,  1812;  and  these  were  confirmed  in  1816.  The  General  Grand  Scribe 
gave  dispensation,  for  Washington  Chapter,  No.  i,  in  Newark,  May  26,  18 13. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


623 


This  dispensation  was  renewed  by  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  D.  G.  G.  H.  P., 
June  9,  1819;  and  General  Grand  Chapter  ordered  a  charter  September  11, 
181Q.  DeWitt  Clinton  issued  a  dispensation  for  Franklin  Chapter,  No.  3, 
reported  September  16,  1826,  without  date,  but  charter  was  granted.  Clinton 
also  gave  permission  to  form  a  Grand  Chapter,  and  this  was  recognized  in  1826. 
It  was  shown  in  report  to  General  Grand  Chapter,  September  10,  1819,  in 
forming  a  Grand  Chapter  in  New  Jersey,  that  there  were 

"  Two  Royal  Arch  chapters  in  the  State,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter, 
and  one  under  Pennsylvania,  which  does  not  acknowledge  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter." 

Consequently  a  Grand  Chapter  could  not  be  formed  until  there  were  three 
chapters  acknowledgmg  this  jurisdiction. 

Tittle,  if  anything,  is  said  of  this  body  subsequently.  The  cultivation  of 
Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  State  was  not  flattering ;  but  we  quote  a  resolution, 
adopted  in  General  Grand  Chapter,  September  17,  1841  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  Hiram  Chapter,  at  Trenton,  be  advised  to  place  itself  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  that  said  Grand  Chapter  be  advised  to 
legalize  the  proceedings  of  Hiram  Chapter  subsequent  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Grand  Chapter 
ot  New  Jersey." 

On  March  13,  1848,  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest  granted  dis- 
pensations for  Union  Chapter,  No.  i,  and  on  March  20,  1848,  for  Newark 
Chapter,  No.  2,  both  in  Newark ;  and  charters  were  voted  to  them  Septem- 
ber 17,  1850.  This  was  executed  in  part  only;  for  on  September  17,  1853, 
it  appeared  that  Newark,  No.  2,  had  been  merged  into  Union  Chapter,  and 
no  further  action  was  required. 

In  1856,  Union  Chapter,  No.  i,  in  Newark,  was  "the  only  regularly  char- 
tered chapter,  immediately  subordinate  to  the  General  Grand  Chapter,"  in  the 
State. 

On  September  3,  1854,  the  General  Grand  King  had  dispensated  Enter- 
prise Chapter,  No.  2,  in  Jersey  City.  The  General  Grand  High  Priest  had 
done  the  same  for  Boudinot  Chapter,  No.  5,  in  Burlington;  and  charters  for 
these  two  were  voted  September  11,  1856. 

As  early  as  July,  1853,  Hiram  Chapter,  No.  4,  had  asked  of  New  York  to 
be  transferred  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  This  request 
came  to  the  latter  body,  was  recognized  by  the  General  Grand  High  Priest, 
and  confirmed  by  General  Grand  Chapter.  Hiram  Chapter,  No.  4,  first  in 
Trenton,  was  released  from  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York,  November  14, 
1854,  and  received  a  new  charter  from  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  September 
II,  1856,  as  Hiram  Chapter,  No.  4,  in  Eatontown. 

On  application  by  Chapters  Nos.  2,  4,  and  5,  the  General  Grand  High 
Priest  gave  approval  on  January  24,  1857;  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New 
Jersey  was  regularly  organized  February  13,  1857.  It  has  been  honorably 
represented  at  all  succeeding  Triennial  Sessions  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 


624 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


New  Mexico.  —  Chapters  in  this  Territory  were  estabUshed  by  the  General 
Grand  Chapter,  as  follows:  Santa  F^,  No.  i,  Santa  F6,  December  ii,  1865  ; 
charter,  September  18,  1868  :  Silver  City,  No.  2,  Silver  City,  February  22, 
1876;  charter,  August  24,  1877:  Las  Vegas,  No.  3,  Las  Vegas,  March  10, 
1881  ;  Rio  Grande,  No.  4,  Albuquerque,  January  12,  1882  ;  charters  to  each, 
August  15,  1883:  Deming,  No.  5,  Uemmg,  February  28,  1885;  charter, 
October  i,  1886. 

New  York.  —  We  have  nothing  before  us  to  show  when  the  Royal  Arch 
degree  first  appeared  in  New  York.  We  shall  assume,  however,  that  the 
degree  was  conferred  under  lodge  charters,  as  practised  in  England.  On 
September  5,  1781,  a  warrant  was  issued  by  the  Duke  of  Athol,  appointing 
Rev.  William  Walter,  Provincial  Grand  Master,  with  power  to  open  a  Provin- 
cial Grand  Lodge  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Robert  Macoy  says  that  the  first 
meeting  of  this  Grand  Lodge  was  held  December  5,  1782.  There  were  nine 
lodges  then  in  the  city,  and  six  military  lodges  connected  with  the  British 
Army.  In  view  of  the  known  custom,  the  Royal  Arch  degree  could  not  have 
been  unknown  to  all  of  these,  and  we  must  infer  that  Washington  Chapter, 
styled  the  "  Mother  Chapter,"  had  its  origin  in  this  Grand  Lodge,  if  not  in 
one  or  more  of  the  fifteen  lodges. 

We  have  noticed  this  chapter,  in  speaking  of  Connecticut,  but  repeat,  so 
iar  as  to  say  that  its  early  records  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  New  York,  so  its 
origin  is  unknown.  We  have  seen,  however,  that  it  granted  warrants  for  chap- 
ters through  a  series  of  years ;  the  earliest  known  being  that  of  Hiram  in 
Newtown,  Connecticut,  dated  April  29,  1791. 

The  records  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York  show  that  it  was  organized 
by  the  following  chapters  :  Hudson,  of  Hudson ;  Temple,  of  Albany  ;  Horeb, 
of  Whitestown ;  Hibernian,  of  New  York ;  and  Montgomery,  of  Stillwater. 
Of  these  chapters,  Hudson  was  instituted  in  1796  ;  Temple  Chapter,  February 
14,  1797,  in  which  Thomas  Smith  Webb  was  a  prominent  figure.  We  have  no 
dates  as  to  the  others.  Nevertheless,  representatives  from  these  five  assembled 
in  Albany,  and  established  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York,  March  14,  1798. 

At  the  outset  Mark  lodges  were  recognized,  warrants  to  erect  them  and 
chapters  were  granted,  and  the  body  prospered.  \\\  1820  thirty-six  chapters 
and  three  Mark  lodges  were  represented  in  Grand  Chapter;  in  1829,  fifty- 
five  chapters  reported;  in  1839  and  1840  the  attendance  of  thirteen  only  was 
reported;  after  which  improvement  is  observable  ;  in  1853  sixty-one  chapters 
are  reported  on  the  roll,  and  prosperity  has  elevated  this  as  the  largest  State 
Grand  Chapter  in  America. 

Aside  from  the  Anti-Masonic  depression,  the  Grand  Chapter  has  had  its  share 
of  internal  troubles  ;  these  have  been  treated  with  discretion,  and  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Rite. 

The  Grand  body  was  organized  with  DeWitt  Clinton,  Deputy  Grand  High 
Priest ;  Thomas  Frothingham,  Deputy  Grand  King ;  Jedediah  Sanger,  Deputy 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


625 


Grand  Scribe  ;  John  Hanmer,  Deputy  Grand  Secretary,  and  Thomas  Smith 
Webb,  Deputy  Grand  Treasurer,  in  the  order  given.  In  1799  CUnton  was 
Grand  High  Priest,  and  Webb,  Deputy  Grand  High  Priest,  the  highest  office 
to  which  the  latter  attained  in  Grand  Chapter,  It  may  be  added  here  that 
Webb  became  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  but  never  was  General  Grand 
High  Priest,  as  stated  by  Brother  Schultz,  in  his  Maryland  Chapter  History. 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  held  its  sessions  of  1816,  1819,  1826,  1829, 
and  1 841  in  the  city  of  New  York.  DeWitt  Clinton  was  elected  General 
Grand  High  Priest,  1816-1826;  Edward  Livingston,  1829-1835  ;  John  L. 
Lewis,  1865  ;  James  M.  Austin,  1868;  and  David  F.  Day,  in  1889  :  all  being 
Past  Grand  High  Priests  of  New  York.  This  of  itself  speaks  in  praise  of  the 
men  and  of  the  companions  of  the  jurisdiction. 

North  Carolina.  —  It  is  generally  agreed  that  a  Grand  Chapter  was  estab- 
lished in  North  Carolina  on  June  22,  1822,  that  it  existed  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  finally  became  dormant.  It  existed  in  1826,  and  was  one  of  the 
Grand  Chapters  that  concurred  in  the  resolution,  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Kentucky,  in  favor  of  dissolving  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 

This  latter  body  had  authorized  the  erection  of  chapters,  by  dispensations, 
confirmed  by  charters  as  follows  :  Phoenix,  in  Fayetteville,  September  i,  1815  ; 
Concord,  in  Wilmington,  1815  ;  charters  to  each,  June  7,  181 6  :  Wadesborough, 
Wadesborough,  1822  ;  charter,  September  15,  1826. 

We  hazard  the  suggestion  that  these  three  chapters,  one  being  U.  D., 
formed  a  Grand  Chapter,  and  that  its  defective  title  was  consequent  upon  a 
corresponding  administration  of  affairs  in  the  then  General  Grand  Secretary's 
office,  not  made  apparent  until  soon  after  1826. 

During  the  session  of  1847,  Charles  Gilman,  General  Grand  Secretary, 
showed  in  his  report  that  such  a  body  had  been  a  constituent  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter,  but  had  ceased  to  exist  about  twenty  years  prior.  He  reported 
chapters  in  Halifax,  Tarborough,  Fayetteville,  and  Wilmington,  not  in  corre- 
spondence with  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  though  he  thought  most,  if  not 
all  of  them,  were  instituted  under  its  immediate  jurisdiction.  Of  these  facts 
he  had  obtained  knowledge  too  recently  for  investigation.  It  was  shown  also 
that  three  of  these  chapters  had  assembled  on  June  28,  1847,  and  organized 
a  Grand  Chapter.  Means  were  taken  to  cure  defects,  so  that  the  body  might 
come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 

This  Grand  Chapter  was  represented  in  the  Triennial  Convocations  of  1850 
and  1856.  In  1857  it  withdrew  its  allegiance,  and  this  was  continued  until  the 
session  of  1871,  when  it  reappeared  by  its  representatives,  in  allegiance  to  the 
General  Grand  Chapter. 

Ohio.  —  The  movement  to  organize  a  Grand  Chapter  in  Ohio  was  started 
in  Cincinnati  Chapter,  which  body  asked  the  chapters  then  in  the  State  to 
meet  at  Worthington,  on  October  21,  181 6.  This  resulted  in  organizing  and 
formally  opening  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Ohio,  on  October  24,  1816. 


626  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Of  the  chapters  concerned,  Washington,  at  Chilicothe,  held  by  dispensation 
from  the  General  Grand  Scribe,  granted  September  20,  1815  ;  charter  con- 
firmed in  18 1 6,  by  General  Grand  Chapter.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
meeting  a  committee  to  examine  credentials  reported  as  follows  :  — 

"  On  examination  it  appears  that  American  Union  Chapter,  of  Marietta,  originated  in  the  year 
1792 ;  that  Cincinnati  Chapter  existed  prior  to  the  27th  of  January,  1798 ;  that  Horeb  Chapter  had 
authority  from  the  Deputy  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  State  of  Maryland  and  District  of  Columbia, 
dated  8th  March,  1815,  which  Grand  Chapter  is  in  connection  with  the  General  Grand  Chapter 
of  the  United  States." 

And  this  was  followed  by  the  names  of  the  representatives. 

Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  under  date  of 
September  28,  181 6,  and  writing  from  Cincinnati,  gave  a  letter  of  approval, 
referring  in  it  to  the  General  Grand  Constitution,  which  did  not  apply  to 
chapters  existing  prior  to  January  27,  1798.  Thus  encouraged,  the  Grand 
Chapter  was  organized  as  above  written,  and  the  chapters  were  given  rank 
as  follows :  American  Union,  No.  i  ;  Cincinnati,  No.  2  ;  Horeb,  No.  3  ; 
Washington,  No.  4.     The  first  regulation  adopted  was  :  — 

"This  Grand  Chapter  acknowledges  the  authority  of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Constitution." 

On  September  9,  181 9,  the  General  Grand  Chapter  voted  to  receive  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Ohio  into  the  union  under  its  jurisdiction. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  American  Union  Lodge  was  organized  in  Roxbury, 
in  Massachusetts.  On  going  West,  some  of  its  members  carried  the  charter 
with  them,  and  reopened  the  lodge,  and  thus  arose  American  Union  Chapter. 
Cincinnati  Lodge  originally  held  by  charter  from  New  Jersey,  September  8, 
1 791,  and  thus  arose  Cincinnati  Chapter. 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  held  its  Triennial  Convocations  of  1847  ^1^^ 
1865  in  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Oregon.  —  Dispensations,  subsequently  confirmed  by  charters,  granted  by 
the  General  Grand  Chapter,  were  issued  to  organize  chapters  as  follows : 
Multomah,  No.  i,  in  Salem,  May  3,  1856:  charter,  September  11,  1856: 
Clackamas,  No.  2,  Oregon  City,  December  17,  1857;  charter,  September  14, 
1859:  Portland,  No.  3,  Portland,  January  i,  1859;  charter,  September  14, 
1859. 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  Oregon  was  organized  September  18,  i860.  Very 
little  was  heard  of  this  body  in  General  Grand  Chapter  during  and  for  some 
time  after  the  war  period.  It  established,  by  dispensation,  a  chapter  in  Idaho 
City,  Idaho,  June  18,  1867,  "under  the  impression  that  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  had  virtually  ceased  to  exist."  This  being  made  to  appear  at  the 
Triennial  Session  of  1865,  also,  that  all  parties  had  acted  without  sufificient 
information,  but  in  good  faith,  the  General  Grand  Chapter  legalized  the  pro- 
ceedings, and  granted  a  charter  to  Idaho  Chapter,  No.  i,  Idaho  Territory, 
September  18,  1868. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


627 


The  Grand  Chapter  of  Oregon  has  been  borne  upon  the  roll  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  since  its  organization.  It  first  appeared  in  the  printed 
proceedings  in  1865.  Its  great  distance  from  the  places  of  meeting,  and  the 
cost  of  travel,  interfered  with  its  being  represented  in  General  Grand  Chapter, 
until  1880. 

Pennsylvania.  —  In  1758  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  "Ancients," 
issued  warrants  for  Lodges  Nos.  2,  and  3,  the  latter  being  styled  "  Royal  Arch 
Lodge  No.  3  "  —  both  to  meet  in  Philadelphia. 

The  records  do  not  show  when  the  latter  commenced  to  work,  but  it 
initiated,  "with  the  first  step  of  Masonry,"  October  22,  1767.  It  is  not  so 
clear  when  it  first  worked  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  but  the  historian  of  the 
chapter,  in  February,  1883,  quoted  to  the  effect,  that  a  brother,  "connected 
with  the  army,  and  made  in  1759  by  our  Brothers  Maine,  Woodward,  and 
Ledly,  all  Royal  Arch  Masons,"  was  proposed  for  membership,  on  December 

I,  1767- 

He  also  said  :  — 

"  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  No.  3,  had  the  following  furniture  for  conferring  the  Royal  Arch  degree : 
an  Arch,  the  Veils,  two  Triangles,  a  Pedestal  with  lid,  two  floor  Cloths,  three  Crowns,  three  Scep- 
tres, two  Coronets,  and  one  Mitre." 

The  chapter  adopted  its  first  by-laws,  September  5,  17S9,  and  these 
provided,  that 

"  No  brother  can  be  exalted  until  he  has  been  at  least  three  years  a  Master  Mason,  and  has 
presided  six  months  as  Master  of  some  regular  warranted  lodge,  or  has  passed  the  Chair  by 
dispensation," 

And  for  the  first  time  the  body  is  spoken  of  in  these  as  a  chapter.  The  new 
by-laws  created  the  following  officers  :  High  Priest,  King,  Scribe,  Royal 
Arch  Captain,  First  Grand  Master,  Second  Grand  Master,  Third  Grand 
Master,  Treasurer,  and  Secretary. 

The  same  historian,  Charles  E.  Meyer,  Past  Grand  High  Priest,  says  :  — 

"  About  1795  one  James  Molan  appears,  and  claimed  to  be  the  only  person  in  the  city  who 
knew  the  Royal  Arch  degree.  He  presented  no  credentials,  but  induced  the  Masters  of  Lodges 
Nos.  19,  52,  and  67  to  allow  the  use  of  their  warrants  for  the  purpose  of  opening  chapters  and  a 
Grand  Chapter.  He  elected  a  Grand  High  Priest,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  interfered,  suspended 
the  warrants  of  the  three  lodges,  and  disbanded  the  pretended  body." 

All  this  is  shown  in  reprint  of  Grand  Chapter  proceedings.  These  charters 
were  subsequently  restored  :  — 

"  The  Grand  Lodge  then  proceeded  to  open  the  Grand  Holy  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of 
Pennsylvania,  under  the  immediate  sanction  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  on  November  23,  1795." 

The  Grand  Lodge  found  that  Molan  was  without  credentials  in  any  degree 
of  Masonry,  that  he  had  misled  worthy  brethren,  that  he  had  no  authority 
from  any  source,  that  his  body  necessarily  was  a  pretended  one,  that  all 
authority  over  Ancient  York  Lodges  in  Pennsylvania  was  vested  in  Grand 
Ladge,  and  that :  — 


528  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

"  Whereas,  Since  many  years  there  has  been  established  in  this  city  [Philadelphia],  according 
to  ancient  forms,  a  Royal  Arch  chapter,  under  the  sanction  of  the  warrant  of  Lodge  No.  3,  whose 
work  has  met  with  approbation  of  all  visiting  Royal  Arch  Masons  from  the  different  parts  of  the 
world ; 

"  And,  whereas.  The  number  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  is  greatly  increased,  insomuch  that  other 
chapters  are  established  in  this  city  and  other  parts  of  Pennsylvania;  " 

//  ^uas  finally  resolved,  "  That  a  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  be  opened,  under  the  immediate 
sanction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania." 

In  1810  Grand  Chapter  held  that  "Ancient  Masonry  consists  of  four 
degrees,"  and  that  a  Master  of  a  lodge,  — 

"  On  due  trial  and  examination  by  the  Chiefs  of  the  chapter  to  which  he  shall  have  applied, 
and  by  them  found  worthy  of  being  admitted  to  the  Fourth  degree,  —  the  Holy  Royal  Arch,"  etc. 

On  May  20,  1822,  resolutions  for  reorganizing  Grand  Chapter  were  pre- 
sented. A  committee  was  appointed,  the  Grand  Lodge  received  their 
application  kindly,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  conference. 

On  January  5,  1824,  a  constitution  previously  agreed  upon  was  amended 
and  adopted;  and  this  constitution  was  reported,  in  1864,  to  be  the  only 
"  compact  agreement  or  understanding,  of  any  kind  whatsoever,"  "  entered 
into  between  the  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Chapter." 

The  degrees  of  Mark  Master  and  Most  Excellent  Master  were  styled  Hon- 
orary degrees  in  this  constitution.  That  of  Past  Master  has  been  referred  to. 
All  of  these  were  made  preliminary  to  the  Royal  Arch,  but  warrants  were  to 
be  granted  for  Mark  Master's,  and  ISIost  Excellent  Master's  lodges,  and  a 
certificate  for  each  of  these  degrees  was  provided. 

Up  to  1824  the  titles  were  :  First  Grand  Chief,  Second  Grand  Chief,  Third 
Grand  Chief,  First  Grand  Master,  Second  Grand  ^Master,  Third  Grand  Master, 
Grand  Holy  Royal  Arch  Captain,  Grand  Secretary,  and  Grand  Treasurer. 

On  May  24,  1824,  "  First  Grand  Chief  presiding,"  the  officers  were  elected, 
with  the  new  titles  of  Grand  High  Priest,  Grand  King,  Grand  Scribe,  Grand 
Captain  of  the  Host,  Grand  Principal  Sojourner,  Grand  Royal  Arch  Captain, 
Three  Grand  Masters,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Treasurer,  Grand  Chaplain, 
Grand  Marshal,  and  two  Grand  Stewards. 

Differing  from  all  others  it  has  no  Deputy  Grand  High  Priest ;  the  Treas- 
urer precedes  the  Secretary  and  follows  after  the  Grand  Scribe  ;  three  Grand 
Masters  of  the  Veils  rank  as  above ;  then  the  "  Grand  Marshal,  two  Grand 
Masters  of  Ceremonies,  a  Grand  Pursuivant,  and  a  Grand  Tyler." 

A  charter  granted  under  the  present  constitution  includes  the  right  to  open 
Most  Excellent,  and  Mark  lodges,  and  these  degrees  are  prerequisite  to  the 
Royal  Arch. 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  Pennsylvania  has  never  been  included  in  the  juris- 
diction of  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  It  still  declines  to  come  into  the 
union  of  Grand  Chapters,  while  the  State  Grand  Commandery  pursues  a 
different  policy,  and  is  a  constituent  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Knights 
Templar  of  the  United  States. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  629 

In  respect  to  territorial  jurisdiction,  it  does  not  go  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  the  State,  but  pursues  the  consistent  course  of  non-interference  with  Gen- 
eral Grand  Chapter,  and  this  is  respected  accordingly. 

The  chapters  in  the  State  were  given  rank  and  precedence  according  to 
the  date  of  their  organization,  if  recognized  as  being  in  existence,  real  or 
inchoate,  on  January  5,  1824. 

Rhode  Island.  —  We  have  no  means  of  showing  when  or  where  the  com- 
panions who  organized  Providence  Royal  Arch  Chapter  received  the  Royal 
Arch  degree,  even  if  this  were  essential.  The  charter  of  this  chapter  w^as 
■  originally  given  by  Washington  Chapter,  "Mother,"  of  New  York,  September 
3,  1793,  as  previously  stated.  It  took  part  in  establishing  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  and  afterward  in  organizing  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Rhode  Island,  on 
March  12,  179S. 

This  Grand  body  came  into  the  union  at  once,  and  was  an  active  constitu- 
ent of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  until  it  was  suggested  by  some  of  its  leading 
members  that  the  interruption  consequent  upon  the  war  period  had  dissolved 
the  latter  body.  This  has  had  sufficient  effect  to  prevent  representation  of 
the  body  in  General  Grand  Chapter  since. 

Legislation  by  the  latter  denies  the  right  to  secede,  but  calmly  leaves  it  for 
this  venerable  Grand  Chapter  to  choose  its  position.  It  takes  control  of  the 
Mark,  Past,  Most  Excellent,  and  Royal  Arch  degrees,  in  the  order  as  origi- 
nally given  in  the  charter  of  Providence  Chapter. 

It  was  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  session  of  January  9,  and  10,  1 799,  that 
the  title  "  General  Grand  "  was  established. 

South  Carolina.  —  The  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York 
show  that  it  granted  a  warrant  for  Carolina  Chapter,  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  on  February  i,  1803.  Apart  from  this  we  shall  not  attempt  to  go 
back  of  Unity  Chapter  to  seek  for  the  organization  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in 
this  State.  At  the  session  of  1806  it  was  reported  that  the  General  Grand 
King,  and  General  Grand  Scribe  had,  "  conjointly,  issued  a  warrant  for  insti- 
tuting Unity  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  the  town  of  Beaufort,  South 
Carolina"  ;  and  on  January  9,  1806,  the  General  Grand  Chapter  voted  that  it 
be  "confirmed  and  made  permanent."  The  dispensation  for  Unity  Chapter, 
Beaufort,  was  granted  March  i,  1805. 

The  War  of  1S12  interfered  to  prevent  the  meeting  ordered  for  that  year, 
and  it  is  evident  that  the  business  of  the  Rite  was  not  always  made  a  matter  of 
record.  The  records  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  give  very  litde  informa- 
tion concerning  Royal  Arch  Masonry  in  the  State  prior  to  the  organization  of 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  South  Carolina,  which  was  done  May  29,  181 2. 

This  body  was  represented  and  recognized  in  the  sessions  of  1S16,  1S26, 
and  1829.  The  Anti-Masonic  period  stayed  its  progress;  but  it  was  again 
represented  in  1 844,  and  until  1859.  Necessarily  the  War  interrupted  communi- 
cation ;  but  the  fact  that  the  Grand  Chapter  refused  to  withdraw  its  allegiance, 


630 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


"  And  during  the  whole  of  the  rebelUon,  by  a  resolution  adopted  in  1861,  the 
oath  of  office  and  of  initiation  have  included  allegiance  to  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,"  was  stated  Avith  pride,  in  the  sessions  of  1862-65,  by  Albert  G. 
Mackey,  General  Grand  High  Priest,  and  Past  Grand  High  Priest  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  South  Carolina. 

Tennessee.  —  A  dispensation  was  granted  by  the  General  Grand  High  Priest, 
for  Cumberland  Chapter,  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  dated  March  2,  18 18,  and 
confirmed  by  charter,  September  11,  1819.  Dispensations  for  chapters,  sub- 
sequently confirmed  by  charters,  were  granted  as  follows  :  Franklin,  Franklin, 
March  25,  1824;  Clarksville,  Clarksville,  December  11,  1824;  La  Fayette, 
Columbia,  January  5,  1825.  These  were  each  approved  on  September  15, 
1826.  The  records  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  say  that  "  Charters  were 
granted  on  the  dates  we  have  here  placed  after  dispensations."  It  is  evident 
that  these  several  chapters  were  recognized  as  holding  charter  powers,  as  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Tennessee  was  reported  in  General  Grand  Chapter  to  have 
been  legally  and  constitutionally  formed,  and  it,  with  four  other  Grand  Chap- 
ters, was  recognized  as  regular,  under  the  authority  and  sanction  of  this  General 
Grand  Chapter,  on  September  16,  1826,  at  which  session  it  was  represented. 

The  Grand  Chapter  was  organized  on,  and  takes  precedence  from,  April  3, 
1826.  This  confirmation  will  be  better  understood  when  it  is  borne  in  mind 
that  the  General  Grand  Constitution  gave  powers  to  the  first  four  officers 
of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  to  "  institute  new  chapters,"  and  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1829  changed  this  reading  to  "grant  dispensations  or  charters."  In 
the  Constitution  of  1853  the  word  "charters,"  in  this  connection,  was  omitted. 

This  Grand  Chapter  has  been  highly  influential  in  the  interests  of  the  Rite, 
and  has  been  respected  in  General  Grand  Chapter  accordingly. 

The  Triennial  Session  of  1874  was  held  in  Nashville,  and  John  Frizzell, 
Past  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter,  was  elected  General  Grand 
High  Priest  in  1877. 

Texas.  — The  first  notice  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  Texas,  by  the  General 
Grand  Chapter,  was  on  September  8,  1835,  when  application  was  made,  and 
on  the  next  day  a  "  warrant  or  charter  "  was  granted  for  San  Filipe  de  Austin 
Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  i,  in  San  Filipe  de  Austin.  The  removal  of  this 
chapter  to  Galveston,  on  June  2,  1840,  was  approved  by  General  Grand 
Chapter  in  1844. 

At  the  session  of  1847,  Charles  Gilman,  General  Grand  Secretary,  made 
a  statement  concerning  unrecognized  chapters  in  Texas,  and  this  calls  for 
examination. 

It  appears,  by  printed  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Texas,  that 
*'  Dugald  McFarlane,  a  Scotch  Mason,  and  ten  or  twelve  other  companions," 
organized  a  chapter,  without  warrant,  about  1837,  in  Matagorda,  and  styled 
it  Cyras  Chapter.  Doubts  arising  as  to  their  legality,  they  petitioned  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Texas,  in  1841,  and  the  Grand  Master,  "John  A.  Greer, 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES. 


631 


Esquire,  Grand  Master  of  Free  and  Accepted  Ancient  York  Masons,  in 
the  Republic  of  Texas,  and  the  Masonic  jurisdiction  thereunto  belonging," 
granted  their  petition,  and  a  dispensation  for  Rising  Star  Chapter,  in  San 
Augustine,  and  another  for  Lone  Star  Chapter,  in  Austin,  this  last  being  dated 
December  10,  1841. 

These  chapters  appear  in  the  proceedings  as  Cyrus,  No.  i  ;  Lone  Star, 
No.  2  ;  and  Rising  Star,  No.  3.  They  at  once  held  a  convention,  organized 
a  Grand  Chapter,  adopted  a  constitution,  and  applied  to  Grand  Lodge  for 
sanction  and  full  authority  over  Royal  Arch  Masonry.  On  December  23, 
1841,  the  Grand  Lodge,  having  received  official  information, — 

"  Resolved,  That  we  surrender  all  jurisdiction  over  the  said  chapters  and  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
to  the  said  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  —  they  now  being  the  appropriate  head,  and  should,  of 
right,  control  and  govern  the  same." 

This  Grand  Chapter  asserted  itself;  but  the  General  Grand  Chapter  of 
the  United  States  refused  to  recognize  it,  holding  it  to  be  irregular,  adopting 
resolutions  to  this  effect  in  September,  1847  ;  and  forbidding  all  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  — 

"To  hold  Masonic  intercourse  with  the  said  so-called  Grand  Chapter  of  Texas,  its  suL/ordi- 
nates,  and  those  acknowledging  the  authority  of  said  Grand  Chapter." 

These  resolutions  were  sent  to  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Texas,  together  with 
an  expression  of  the  "  most  fraternal  feelings  towards  their  companions  in 
Texas."  They  were  told  that  the  General  Grand  Chapter  "  would  hail  with 
sincere  pleasure  an  acknowledgment  of  their  errors,  and  the  retracing  of  their 
steps,"  as  any  other  course  would  do  harm  to  the  common  cause. 

The  result  will  be  best  told  in  language  adopted  by  the  Grand  Chapter 
at  its  last  convocation,  held  in  January,  1 849  :  — 

"  The  effect  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  has  been  to  cut  off  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  Texas 
from  Masonic  communication  with  companions  in  other  portions  of  the  Union.  New  chapters 
have  been  formed  within  the  limits  of  this  State,  under  charters  emanating  from  tiie  General  Grand 
Chapter  of  the  United  States  ;  and  the  members  of  these  respective  Chapters  are  mutually  debarred 
from  entering  each  other.  Repeated  and  persevering  efforts  have  been  made,  and  an  extensive 
correspondence  carried  on  with  the  General  Grand  Secretary,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  this 
unhappy  controversy,  but  without  effect.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  your  committee,  nor  would  it 
be  advisable  to  discuss  at  this  time,  the  merits  of  the  controversy.  Your  committee  are  decidedly 
of  opinion,  that  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  harmony  among  the  Craft,  it  is  advisable  for  this  Grand 
Chapter  to  concede  to  the  demands  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  abandon  the  position  it  has 
assumed,  and  dissolve." 

Four  resolutions  followed  :  First,  to  donate  to  Grand  Lodge  of  Texas,  in 
trust,  all  property,  the  interest  to  be  used  for  charitable  purposes  ;  the  prin- 
cipal to  any  "  legally  constituted  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  organized  in  the 
State  of  Texas,"  on  demand.  Second,  subordinate  chapters  were  advised  to 
pursue  a  similar  course  to  subordinate  lodges.     Third,  — 

"  Resolved,  That  on  the  ist  day  of  March,  A.D.  1849,  A.L.  5849,  this  Grand  Chapter  Qi  Royal 
Arch  Masons  of  Texas  dissolve." 


532  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  fourth  made  it  the  duty  of  the  Grand  Secretary,  A.  S.  Ruthven,  to 
transmit  copies  of  the  report  and  resolutions  to  the  subordinate  chapters  and 
Grand  Officers. 

We  will  now  speak  of  other  chapters  established  in  Texas  by  the  General 
Grand  Chapter:  Washington,  No.  2,  in  Houston,  May  5,  1848;  Jerusalem, 
No.  3,  in  Anderson,  March  10,  1849  )  Trinity,  No.  4,  in  Crockett,  March  14, 
1S49;  Brenham,  No.  5,  in  Brenham,  April  14,  1849;  Austin,  No.  6,  Austin, 
April  14,  1849;  San  Jacinto,  No.  7,  Huntsville,  January  22,  1850;  Washing- 
ton, No.  8, ,  1850  (name  of  this  changed  to  Brazos)  ;  Rising  Star,  No.  9, 

San  Augustine,  February  2,  1850.  Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  Deputy  G.  G.  H.  P. 
granted  dispensation  for  No.  2  ;  the  others  were  by  Willis  Stewart,  General 
Grand  King. 

Charters  were  granted  September  14,  1850,  for  Nos.  2,  5,  6,  8,  and  9  of 
these  chapters,  and  the  dispensations  of  Nos.  3,  4,  and  7  were  continued, 
with  advice  to  obtain  charters  from  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Texas,  if  one  should 
be  organized  before  the  session  of  1853. 

The  name,  Austin,  No.  6,  was  changed  to  Lone  Star,  No.  6,  September  17, 
1850. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  this  session,  the  General  Grand  King 
granted  permission,  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Texas  was  regularly  organized 
December  30,  1850.  It  was  represented  in  the  sessions  of  General  Grand 
Chapter  in  1S53,  1856,  1859,  and  has  not  been  so  represented  since. 

At  the  annual  convocation,  in  June,  1861,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Texas, — 

"  Resolved,  That  all  connection  between  this  Grand  Chapter  and  the  General  Grand  Chapter 
of  the  United  States  is  dissolved  and  forever  annihilated  by  the  separation  of  our  State  from  that 
government." 

We  shall  only  repeat,  the  right  to  secede  from,  or  to  dissolve  connection 
with,  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  is  not  permitted  to  any  State  Grand  Chapter 
that  has  at  any  time  been  admitted  into  the  Union  of  Grand  Chapters ;  or,  as 
Judge  English  expressed  it,  "  admitted  into  the  American  Royal  Arch  Union." 

Utah.  —  The  General  Grand  Chapter  established  chapters  in  Utah  Ter- 
ritory, as  follows:  Utah,  No.  i,  Salt  Lake  City,  December  13,  1872;  charter, 
November  25,  1874  :  Ogden,  No.  2,  Ogden,  March  11,  1881  ;  Ontario,  No.  3, 
Park  City,  October  26,  1882  ;  charter,  to  each,  August  15,  1883. 

Vermont.  —  When  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  Northern  States 
of  America  adopted  the  Constitution,  on  January  26,  1798,  it  reserved,  in 
Section  18,  the  sole  power  of  granting  charters  for  opening  chapters  in 
Vermont,  and  New  Hampshire,  until  a  Deputy  Grand  Chapter  should  be 
established  within  those  States. 

The  records  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York  say  that  it  granted  a 
warrant  for  a  Mark  Master  Masons'  lodge  at  Bennington,  on  January  30, 
1799.  Further  reference  to  these  records  show  that  the  Deputy  Grand  High 
Priest  granted  a  dispensation  for  Jerusalem  Chapter,  in  Vergennes,  Vermont, 
on  March  25,  1805,  and  Grand  Chapter  a  charter  on  February  5,  1806. 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  633 

We  here  repeat,  what  seems  to  be  concurred  in,  that  a  Grand  Chapter  was 
formed  in  Vermont,  on  December  20,  1804  ;  but  we  are  not  told  where  Royal 
Arch  Masonry  entered  the  State,  nor  of  its  first  introduction  there. 

Referring  again  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York,  it 
will  be  seen  that,  in  February,  1805,  the  subject  of  a  Grand  Chapter  in 
Vermont  was  considered,  when  the  opinion  was  expressed  that  there  "  ought 
to  be  at  least  three  regular  Royal  Arch  chapters  to  form  a  Grand  Chapter," 
and  it  was  further  said  :  — 

"  Your  committee  have  had  authentic  evidence  from  respectable  sources  that  there  were  but 
three  members  at  the  formation  of  the  aforesaid  [Vermont]  Grand  Chapter." 

This  was  followed  by  disapproval,  and  a  recommendation  "  to  persons 
engaged  therein  to  desist "  from  trying  to  form  a  Grand  Chapter  in  Vermont. 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  on  January  9,  1806,  — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  General  Grand  Chapter  deems  it  advisable,  under  a  consideration  of  all 
the  circumstances  attending  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  in  the  State  of  Ver- 
mont, to  admit,  and  they  do  hereby  admit,  the  said  Grand  Chapter  of  Vermont  into  an  union  with 
us  under  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Constitution." 

Under  the  pressure  of  Anti-Masonry,  this  body  held  its  last  annual  con- 
vocation in  1832,  Nathan  B.  Haswell  being  then  Grand  High  Priest.  He  also 
attended  the  Triennial  Convocation  of  1832.  At  the  session  of  1844,  this 
zealous  companion  said  that  the  Anti-Masonic  spirit  had  nowhere  gained  so 
strong  a  foothold  as  in  Vermont,  and  concluded  with  the  assurance  that  the 
fidelity  of  the  brethren  and  companions  of  Vermont  had  never  been  shaken. 
This  companion  summoned  three  chapters,  which  had  resumed  labor,  to 
assemble  at  Burlington,  to  reorganize  the  Grand  Chapter.  Jerusalem  Chapter, 
No.  2,  was  revived  by  dispensation  from  the  General  Grand  Scribe,  in 
February,  1848,  without  charge.  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Vermont  began  to 
revive  in  1847,  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Vermont  shows  that  the  revived 
chapters  had  done  so  by  dispensations,  soon  following  this  revival,  from  the 
General  Grand  Chapter.  Under  sanction  of  Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  Deputy 
General  Grand  High  Priest,  given  to  Companion  Haswell,  the  Grand  Chapter 
was  reorganized  on  July  18,  1849. 

The  three  chapters  taking  part  in  reorganizing  were  Jerusalem,  No.  2, 
at  Vergennes;  Burlington,  No.  12,  at  Burlington;  and  La  Fayette,  No.  15,  at 
East  Berkshire. 

Champlain  Chapter,  in  St.  Albans,  petitioned  Grand  High  Priest  Haswell 
for  renewal,  in  October,  1849,  and  this  was  granted. 

On  June  19,  1850,  an  attested  copy  of  the  original  charter  of  Champlain 
Chapter  was  produced  in  Grand  Chapter,  with  proof  that  the  original  charter 
had  been  lost  by  fire.  Under  a  rule  relating  to  dormant  chapters,  Champlain 
paid  $25,  was  revived,  and  represented  at  this  Grand  convocation. 

The  Grand  High  Priest  named  ten  other  chapters  in  the  State,  not  then 
revived.     Since  then  the  Grand  Chapter  has  had  in  its  ranks  some  of  the 


634 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


ablest  of  American  Mason?,  worthy  successors  of  Nathan  B.  Haswell,  a  Grand 
High  Priest  of  the  highest  character. 

The  Grand  Chapter  was  represented  in  the  subsequent  Triennial  Sessions 
of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  until,  in  i860,  it  passed  what  the  General 
Grand  High  Priest,  in  1871,  termed  a  "  resolution  of  secession."  On  the  i6th 
day  of  June,  this  same  officer  was  informed,  by  telegraphic  dispatch,  that  the 
resolution  was  rescinded.  The  Grand  Chapter  was  represented  in  the  Trien- 
nial Session  of  1S71,  and  has  continued  to  be  harmonious  and  prosperous,  in 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  and  represented  in  the  Trien- 
nial Convocations. 

Virginia.  —  It  is  said  that  Royal  Arch  Masonry  was  introduced  into  Vir- 
ginia "  under  the  auspices  of  Joseph  Myers."  If  this  were  so,  the  date  may  be 
surmised  with  tolerable  exactness.     Our  own  thought  runs  in  another  channel. 

The  convention  of  six  lodges  which  met  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  on  May 
6,  1777,  to  choose  a  Grand  Master,  included  Cabin  Point  Royal  Arch  Lodge. 
This  lodge  was  chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  April  5,  1775,  for 
Cabin  Point,  and  named  as  stated.  Inasmuch  as  the  words  "  Royal  Arch  "  in 
connection  with  "  Lodge  "  have,  in  known  cases,  included  the  conferring  of  the 
Royal  Arch  degree,  we  conclude  that  the  introduction  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry 
into  Virginia,  under  a  Masonic  organization,  was  clearly  with  this  lodge. 

In  course  of  completing  the  business  of  this  convention,  it  was  shown  that 
lodges  in  Virginia  were  working  under  five  distinct  authorities,  to  wit :  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Ireland,  Pennsylvania,  and  America;  the  last  said  to  be  at 
second-hand. 

In  this  enumeration  there  is  ample  authority  for  thinking  that  the  Royal 
Arch  degree  was  conferred  under  the  warrant  of  more  than  one  lodge  ;  and 
this  is  made  certain  by  Dr.  Dove,  in  his  history  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  following  language  :  — 

"  Royal  Arch  Masonry  was  taught  and  practised  in  this  State  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last 
century,  under  the  authority  of  a  Master's  warrant,  until  the  want  of  some  specific  legislation 
seemed  evidently  indicated  for  the  internal  government  of  the  Royal  Arch  chapters  which  were 
then  growing  in  number  and  increasing  in  members." 

The  period  of  which  Dr.  Dove  here  spoke  was  the  early  part  of  1S06,  and 
to  show  that  he  was  better  qualified  than  any  other  person  to  speak  with 
authority,  we  present  the  fact  of  his  known  intellectual  ability,  in  connection 
with  the  record  that  he  was  present  at  every  meeting  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Virginia  from  December  17,  1S18,  to  December  17,  1S68. 

At  another  time,  he  shows  us  something  of  the  ritual  of  the  degree  ;  when, 
in  1872,  discussing  the  matter  of  "  substitutes,"  he  said, — 

"  We  have  been  in  the  constant  use  of  them  since  1792,  and  have  as  yet  seen  no  evil  result 
therefrom." 

In  association  with  this,  we  quote  Dr.  Dove,  on  a  much  discussed  degree, 
in  State  and  General  Grand  Chapters,  namely,  the  degree  of  Past  Master,  in 


THE    CAPITULAR   DEGREES. 


635 


the  Chapter  series,  whereof  he  said  :  "  It  has  been  practised  by  us  in  Virginia 
since  1790."  Whatever  may  have  been  the  complete  ritual  under  lodge  war- 
rants, it  was  practised  until  1820. 

On  January  7,  1S20,  in  Grand  Chapter,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  our  enlightened  Companion  James  Cushman,  H.  P.  of  Franklin  Chapter, 
No.  4,  Connecticut,  be  requested  to  exemplify  the  mode  of  work  at  present  adopted  by  the  Genera) 
Grand  Chapter  of  the  United  States,  it  appearing  from  his  credentials  that  he  is  fully  competent." 

The  degrees  of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and 
Royal  Arch  Mason  were  exemplified,  as  requested,  on  January  18,  1820,  and, 
after  "  the  most  solemn  deliberation,"  were  adopted  ;  and  this,  "  that  harmony 
and  uniformity  should  prevail  throughout  the  Masonic  world,  and  more  espe- 
cially the  United  States."  The  old  ritual  covered  the  degrees  of  Excellent 
and  Super- Excellent. 

A  Grand  Council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  was  formed  in  Richmond, 
in  1820,  but  this  ceased  to  exist  on  December  17,  1841.  The  degrees  con- 
trolled by  it  were  by  mutual  agreement  taken  in  control  of  the  Grand  Chapter 
under  a  series  of  resolutions,  one  of  which  will  show  all  that  need  be  said 
here  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  hereafter  the  degrees  in  subordinate  chapters  be  given  in  the  following 
order,  to  wit :  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  Royal  Master,  Select  Master, 
and  Royal  Arch." 

In  one  of  the  early  chapters  of  Virginia  we  meet  again  the  word  "  Grand," 
but  will  not  discuss  it  further. 

On  May  3,  1806,  a  convention  was  held  in  "Norfolk  Borough,"  when  it 
was  shown  that  it  had  been  proposed  by  the  "  Grand  United  Chapter  of 
Excellent  and  Super-Excellent  Masons  of  Norfolk  to  the  Royal  Arch  chapters 
of  Richmond,  Staunton,  and  Dumfries  to  establish  a  Supreme  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  for  the  State  of  Virginia,"  and  this  was  done  on  May  i,  1808. 
This  was  without  reference  to,  or  in  association  with,  the  General  Grand 
Chapter  of  the  United  States,  from  which  body  it  has  always  held  aloof,  and 
maintained  an  individual  existence.  The  Supreme  Grand  Chapter  claimed 
the  right  to  organize  chapters  in  territory  not  occupied  by  a  State  Grand 
Chapter,  and  did  establish  two  in  Florida:  Magnolia  Chapter,  No.  16,  at 
Apalachicola,  and  Florida  Chapter,  No.  32,  at  Tallahassee  ;  and  these  two  took 
part  in  organizing  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Florida,  in  1847. 

When  it  was  sought  to  organize  the  Grand  Chapter  of  West  Virginia,  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Virginia  adhered  to  the  rule  set  up  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  State  :  — 

"  That  the  political  boundaries  of  a  State  being  definitely  given  and  decided  upon,  fixes  the 
Masonic  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that  State,  except  in  so  far  as  rights  may  have  vested 
under  charters  theretofore  lawfully  issued." 

It  then  had  nine  chapters  in  West  Virginia,  but  either  or  all  of  these  char- 
ters could  be  formally  surrendered.     It  agreed,  also,  to  the  rule  of  Grand 


636 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Lodge,  not  to  organize  any  new  chapters  in  West  Virginia  after  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  that  State  should  be  estabhshed,  it  being  understood  that  the  latter 
should  observe  the  same  restrictions  toward  Virginia. 

A  further  clause  in  Grand  Lodge  rules  carried  a  recommendation  to  sur- 
render the  old  or  original  charters,  and  take  new  ones  under  the  new  Grand 
body. 

The  relations  of  this  Grand  Chapter  with  other  State  Grand  Chapters  are 
of  the  most  fraternal  character.  As  to  uniting  with  the  General  Grand  Chap- 
ter, majority  and  minority  reports  have  been  presented  and  discussed  in  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Virginia,  with  the  result,  "  that  it  is  not  expedient  to  unite." 
The  General  Grand  Chapter,  however,  respects  the  territorial  jurisdiction  of 
the  Grand  Chapter,  as  bounded  by  State  lines  ;  and  that  body,  aside  from  its 
detached  existence,  maintains  correspondingly  good  relations  with  the  General 
Grand  Chapter. 

"Washington.  —  Dispensation  was  granted  November  i,  1869,  for  Seattle 
Chapter,  No.  i,  in  Seattle,  and  on  February  13,  1871,  for  Walla  Walla  Chap- 
ter, No.  2,  in  Walla  Walla;  charters  granted  these  two,  September  20,  1871. 
From  internal  causes  the  former  did  not  succeed ;  its  charter  was  suspended 
in  1874,  and  declared  forfeited  at  the  Triennial  Session  of  1880.  At  the 
request  of  Walla  Walla  Chapter,  its  number  was  then  changed  to  No.  i. 

Dispensation  was  granted  for  Spokane  Chapter,  No.  2,  Spokane  Falls, 
November  i,  1881  ;  for  Seattle,  No.  3,  Seattle,  January  2,  1883  ;  and  charters 
for  these  two,  on  August  15,  1883. 

A  preUminary  convention  was  held  in  Spokane  Falls,  on  June  6,  and  7, 
1884.  The  General  Grand  High  Priest  held  that  the  letter  of  approval  should 
have  preceded  the  holding  of  a  convention,  and  gave  the  authority  to  hold  a 
convention  in  Walla  Walla,  on  October  2,  1884.  Three  chapters  being  repre- 
sented, they  then  and  there  organized  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Washington.  A 
dispensation  had  been  granted  for  Tacoma  Chapter,  No.  4,  May  10,  1884,  by 
the  General  Grand  High  Priest ;  but  this  chapter  passed  to  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Grand  Chapter. 

West  Virginia.  —  Following  the  erection  of  the  State  of  West  Virginia, 
and  the  delay  because  of  the  war,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West  Virginia  was 
finally  established,  on  May  11,  1865,  although  a  series  of  convention  assem- 
blies had  been  held,  looking  to  the  event,  commencing  December  28,  1863. 

All  the  Masonic  bodies  in  the  State  held  charters  from  Grand  bodies  in 
Virginia,  the  Mother  State,  and  were  organized  under  certain  restrictions 
imposed  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  as  mentioned  in  the  item, 
"  Virginia." 

In  1870  there  were  in  West  Virginia  nine  chapters,  of  obedience  to  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Virginia,  and  the  movement  to  form  a  separate  Grand 
Chapter  began  in  Wheeling  Union  Chapter,  No.  '9,  in  Wheeling.  This  chap- 
ter issued  a  Memorial,  loyal  in  tone  to  "  Mother"  Grand  Lodge,  and  Grand 


THE    CAPITULAR  DEGREES.  (S^y 

Chapter,  but  seeking  permission  to  organize  a  Grand  Chapter  for  the  State. 
This  memorial  was  approved  by  Jerusalem  Chapter,  No.  55,  in  Parkersburg, 
on  November  17,  1870 ;  by  Star  of  the  West  Chapter,  No.  18,  at  Point  Pleas- 
ant, on  November  21,  1870 ;  and  by  Nelson  Chapter,  No.  26,  at  Morgantown, 
November  30,  1870.  It  was  passed  upon  in  Grand  Chapter  of  Virginia,  in 
December,  1870,  and  consent  was  given  "upon  the  same  terms  and  condi- 
tions, and  with  the  same  limitations,  as  the  consent  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Virginia  was  given  to  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Lodge  for  the  State  of  West 
Virginia." 

A  convention  was  held  in  WheeHng,  November  16,  1871,  in  which 
appeared  delegates  from  the  four  chapters  above  named  and  from  Lebanon 
Chapter,  No.  9,  at  Martinsburg.  The  sense  of  the  convention  was  expressed 
in  a  resolution,  "  to  now  organize  a  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  for  the  State 
of  West  Virginia."  This  was  done,  and  the  Grand  Officers  were  installed  by 
Most  Excellent  John  P.  Little,  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Virginia,  who  also  warned  the  companions  against  a  union  with  the  General 
Grand  Chapter,  and  this  warning  has  been  closely  observed.  He  further  told 
the  Grand  Chapter  that  it  had  "  full  authority  to  confer  the  degrees  of  Mark 
Master,  Past  Master,  Select  and  Royal  Masters,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and 
Royal  Arch." 

Wisconsin.  —  Dispensation  was  granted  by  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High 
Priest:  for  Milwaukee  Chapter,  No.  i,  in  Wisconsin  Territory,  February  16, 
1844;  for  Washington,  No.  2,  in  Platteville,  July  2,  1844;  and  to  Southport, 
No.  3,  in  Southport,  date  not  given ;  but  charters  were  granted  to  No.  i, 
September  11,  1844,  and  to  Nos.  2,  and  3,  on  September  17,  1847. 

Under  date  of  January  10,  1850,  the  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest 
gave  authority,  and  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  three  chapters  was 
held  in  Madison  ;  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Wisconsin  was  regularly  organized 
on  February  14,  1850. 

The  convention  adopted  a  constitution  for  the  Grand  Chapter,  and  ordered 
it,  together  with  the  constitution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  to  be  printed. 
It  also  authorized  the  Grand  Secretary  to  procure  a  seal  "  for  the  use  of  this 
Grand  Chapter." 

Joseph  K.  Stapleton,  Deputy  General  Grand  High  Priest,  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  the  printed  proceedings  and  Grand  constitutions,  and  under 
date  of  July  5,  1850,  at  Baltimore,  he  authorized  Argulus  W.  Stark  to  install 
the  Grand  Officers,  and  this  was  done  on  August  7,  1S50. 

We  have  to  notice  that  this  latter  date  is  set  down  as  that  when  this  Grand 
Chapter  was  organized.  An  examination  of  the  proceedings  of  this  body, 
date  of  February  14,  1S50,  shows  that  Grand  Officers  were  elected,  constitu- 
tion and  seal  were  adopted  and  ordered,  and,  lastly,  that  the  Grand  Sentinel 
of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Wisconsin  was  chosen.  The  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Wisconsin  convened  on  August  7,  1S50,  "  for  the  pur- 
pose of  installing  the  officers  of  said  Grand  Chapter." 


g.g  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  death  of  Companion  Stapleton  occurred  before  the  session  of  1853, 
and  this  will  account  for  the  fact  that  mention  of  this  Grand  Chapter  was  not 
made  in  the  printed  proceedings  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  until  a  later 
period. 

Wyoming.  —  Chapters  were  established  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter  in 
Wyoming,  as  follows  :  Wyoming  No.  i,  Cheyenne,  December  27,  1869  ;  char- 
tered September  20,  1871  :  Evanston,  No.  2,  Evanston,  April  25,  1876; 
Lebanon,  No.  3,  Laramie  City,  March  15,  1877  ;  charter  to  each,  August  24, 
1877  :  Garfield,  No.  4,  Rawlins,  March  25,  1S84  ;  chartered  October  i,  1886. 

Chapters  in  Foreign  Countries. — On  June  10,  1857,  the  General  Grand 
High  Priest  granted  a  dispensation  for  Honolulu  Chapter,  No.  i,  Honolulu, 
Sandwich  Islands ;  and  the  General  Grand  Chapter  voted  a  charter,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1859.  The  exhibit  from  this  chapter  shows  that  it  should  now  have 
fifty-seven  members,  with  a  possible  loss  or  gain  of  one  or  two. 

Key-stone  Chapter,  No.  i,  under  the  same  authority,  was  granted  a  dispen- 
sation, July  27,  1870,  and  charter,  September  20,  1871.  The  growth  of  this 
body  is  somewhat  retarded  by  local  causes.  It  depends  considerably  upon 
the  merchant  marine  for  candidates,  but  the  tides  serve  to  call  the  ships 
oceanward  at  hours  when  it  is  inconvenient  to  meet.  The  chapter,  however, 
has  twenty-nine  zealous  members,  as  appears  in  the  returns  of  1889,  to  the 
General  Grand  Chapter. 

King  Cyrus  Chapter,  established  in  Valparaiso,  Chili,  by  charter,  Septem- 
ber 8,  1865,  maintained  a  poor  existence  for  some  years,  as  also  did  St.  John's 
Chapter,  established  by  dispensation  in  May,  1863,  and  a  charter,  September 
8,  1868,  at  Smyrna,  Turkey.  The  General  Grand  Chapter  took  final  action 
towards  these  two  on  August  2  7,  1 880,  and 

"  Resolved,  That  the  charters  of  Cyrus  Chapter,  at  Valparaiso,  Chili,  and  St.  John's  Chapter, 
at  Smyrna,  Turkey,  both  subordinate  to  this  General  Grand  Chapter,  be  declared  forfeited,  and 
that  their  titles  be  dropj>ed  from  the  Registry  of  subordinate  chapters." 


THE   ORDER   OF   HIGH   PRIESTHOOD. 

This  is  an  Honorary  degree,  and  includes  a  system  of  initiation,  limited  to 
Royal  Arch  Masons  who  have  been  regularly  elected  as  High  Priests,  to  pre- 
side over  Royal  Arch  chapters. 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  discussed  it  in  1853,  to  the  effect  that  the 
legitimate  powers  of  a  Council  of  High  Priests  must  be  left  to  the  decision  of 
those  who  are  in  possession  of  the  Order,  but  failed  to  agree  that  it  had  no 
authority  to  enter  upon  the  investigation  of  the  question,  an  opinion  held  by 
Dr.  Mackey. 

A  resolution  was  read  :  "That  it  is  not  within  the  province  or  the  control 
of  this  General  Grand  Chapter,  or  of  any  State  Grand  Chapter,  to  define  the 


ORDER    OF  HIGH  PRIESTHOOD. 


639 


duties  or  powers  of  a  Council  of  High  Priests."  This  evidently  caused  debate, 
but  the  members  seemed  to  be  content  to  table  the  question.  Indeed,  the 
treatment  of  the  subject  indicated  a  preference  for  having  the  High  Priests 
receive  the  "  Order,"  but  that  it  was  not  essential. 

The  action  taken  by  General  Grand  Chapter,  on  qualifications  of  Past 
Masters,  indicates  that  a  requisite  member  of  Past  High  Priests  can  confer  the 
Order  on  a  High  Priest-elect. 

The  Massachusetts  Convention  of  High  Priests  was  established  on  Novem- 
ber 6,  1826,  in  its  present  form  ;  and  the  Order  was  conferred  on  eight  High 
Priests  before  the  year  closed.  The  membership  roll  of  this  body  commences 
with  William  McKean,  May,  1789,  and  shows,  with  few  exceptions,  annual 
additions  to  the  list.  No  one  was  admitted  between  1 795  and  1 799,  and  but 
one  other  interval  exceeds  two  years,  and  that  was  in  1830-31.  Its  present 
membership  exceeds  four  hundred. 

The  earliest  mention  that  we  have  seen  of  the  degree  in  Pennsylvania  is 
"December  12,  1825,"  under  Michael  Nisbet,  Grand  Pligh  Priest,  when  the 
degree  was  conferred  on  six  Past  High  Priests,  by  Past  Grand  High  Priest 
Newcomb.     This  was  done  in  Grand  Chapter. 

In  Virginia  the  Grand  High  Priest  is  President,  ex  officio,  of  the  Convention. 
On  the  first  night  of  each  annual  convocation  he  is  to  appoint  a  "  Convention 
of  Past  High  Priests,  to  meet  on  the  second  day  at  10  o'clock,  a.m.,  and  con- 
fer the  Order  of  High  Priesthood  on  all  the  High  Priests-elect  who  present 
themselves." 

As  to  a  more  general  inquiry,  as  to  the  Order  in  the  several  States,  we  fail 
to  see  that  it  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  require  it.  A  sufficient  number  of 
Past  High  Priests,  not  less  than  three,  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  confer  the 
Order,  assuming  that  they  are  personally  qualified,  on  High  Priests-elect,  pro- 
vided there  be  no  recognized  body  in  control  of  the  Order  in  the  State. 

In  view  of  the  precedents,  a  sufficient  number  of  Past  High  Priests,  having 
received  the  Order  of  High  Priesthood,  can  organize  a  Convention  of  High 
Priests  on  a  permanent  basis,  elect  its  officers,  to  wit :  President,  Vice-Presi- 
dent, Treasurer,  and  Secretary,  Chaplain,  Captain  of  the  Guard,  Conductor, 
Herald,  and  Sentinel.  The  five  last  named  may  be  appointed  by  the 
President.  As  a  matter  of  prudence,  the  State  Grand  Chapter  should  have 
knowledge  of  the  Convention. 

Conclusion.  —  It  only  remains  to  say  that,  in  preparing  these  two  chapters 
on  the  Capitular  Rite,  we  have  left  nothing  to  the  hazard  of  opinion  only.  In 
fixing  dates,  whether  in  Europe  or  America,  none  but  the  best  acknowledged 
authorities  have  been  relied  upon.  These  we  liave  not  failed  to  mention  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  work. 

In  the  United  States,  the  dates  are  those  given  in  the  original  proceedings 
of  the  General  Grand,  and  State  Grand  Chapters,  and  this  applies  to  all  the 
Grand  Chapters  in  America. 


640 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


Failing  in  these,  and  this  has  been  hmited  to  not  more  than  three  or  four 
cases,  we  have  found  good  warrant  for  whatever  the  pages  of  these  two  chap- 
ters on  the  Capitular  Degrees  may  contain,  and  especially  so  in  all  that  relates 
to  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapters  in  America. 


^'^.^.:  /y(-.    ^..... 


CHAPTER  in. 

The  Order  of  High  Priesthood. 


By  Edward  T.  Schultz,  32°,  P.-.D.-.G.-.H.-.P. 


History  and  Object  of  the  Order.  —  In  the  United  States,  no  one  is 
legally  entitled  to  receive  the  Order  of  High  Priesthood  unless  he  has  been 
elected  to  preside  over  a  chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons. 

In  many  jurisdictions  it  is  made  a  prerequisite  for  High  Priests-elect  to 
receive  the  Order  prior  to  installation  ;  while  in  others  its  reception  prior  to 
installation  is  not  held  to  be  essential,  but  it  is  conferred  upon  High  Priests 
and  Past  High  Priests  at  such  times  as  may  be  convenient. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  origin  and  early  history  of  the  Order,  the  earliest 
allusion  to  it  being  in  the  Constitution  adopted  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter, 
at  its  convocation  held  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  January  10,  1799.  In  the 
forms  adopted  for  the  Installation  of  Officers  of  a  subordinate  chapter,  occurs 
the  following  :  — 

"All  the  companions,  except  High  Priests  and  Past  High  Priests,  are  requested  to  withdraw 
while  the  new  High  Priest  is  solemnly  bound  to  the  performance  of  his  duties ;  and  after  the  per- 
formance of  other  necessary  ceremonies,  not  proper  to  be  written,  they  are  permitted  to  return." 

This  clause,  in  connection  with  the  declaration  of  the  installing  officer,  to 
wit :  "  I  now  declare  you  duly  installed  and  anointed  High  Priest,"  etc.,  leaves 
no  room  to  doubt  that  this  Order  was  known  and  worked  January  10,  1799. 

Action  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  —  This  provision  was  in  the  Con- 


ORDER    OF  HIGH  PRIESTHOOD. 


641 


stitution  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  until  1853,  when  it  was  repealed,  and 
a  resolution  adopted,  recommending,  — 

"That  every  newly  elected  High  Priest  should,  as  soon  as  convenient,  receive  the  Order  of 
High  Priesthood,  but  his  anointment  as  such  is  not  necessary  to  his  installation,  or  the  full  and 
entire  discharge  of  all  his  powers  and  duties  as  the  presiding  officer  of  his  chapter." 

Many  old  and  conservative  companions  viewed  this  action  of  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  with  great  regret,  holding  that,  from  the  earliest  period  in  the 
history  of  Capitular  Masonry  in  this  country  no  one  could  properly  be  installed 
High  Priest  of  a  chapter  unless  he  had  previously  received  the  Order  of 
High  Priesthood. 

Origin  of  the  Degree.  —  There  appears  but  little  doubt  that  the  degree 
was  fabricated  by  Thomas  Smith  Webb  and  his  associates,  at  about  the  same 
time  that  they  formulated  and  arranged  the  Capitular  system. 

Companion  William  Hacker,^  Past  Grand  High  Priest  of  Indiana,  in  an 
interesting  paper  upon  the  subject,  written  for  Mackey's  Encyclopaedia,  in 
1878,  concludes  that  Webb  and  his  co-advisers,  Benjamin  Hurd,  Jr.,  and 
James  Harrison,  were  the  true  authors  of  the  Order ;  but  says  :  — 

"Where  these  Most  Excellent  Companions  got  the  original  thought  or  germ  out  of  which  the 
Order  was  formed  will  have,  perhaps,  to  be  left  to  conjecture ;  yet  even  here  I  think  we  may  find 
some  data  upon  which  to  found  a  conclusion. 

"  In  setting  about  the  formation  of  an  Order  suitable  for  the  ofifice  of  High  Priest,  what  could 
be  more  natural  or  appropriate  than  to  take  the  Scriptural  history  of  the  meeting  of  Abraham  with 
Melchizedek,  Priest  of  the  Most  High  God  ;  the  circumstances  which  brouglit  this  meeting  about ; 
the  bringing  forth  the  bread  and  wine ;  the  blessings,  etc. ;  and  the  anointing  of  Aaron  and  his 
sons  to  the  Priesthood  under  the  Mosaic  dispensation  ?  It  does  seem  to  me  that  these  would  be 
the  most  natural  sources  for  any  one  to  go  to  for  facts  and  circumstances  to  work  into  an  Order  of 
this  kind. 

"  We  can  illustrate  this  point  farther  by  reference  to  a  note,  found  in  an  old  ritual  of  the 
'  Mediterranean  Pass  '  as  then — and  perhaps  it  may  be  so  now  —  conferred  under  the  Grand  Priory 
of  England  and  Wales,  preparatory  to  the  Order  of  Malta.    That  note  read  as  follows : 

"  '  In  some  priories  the  candidate  partakes  of  bread  from  the  point  of  a  sword ;  and  wine  from 
a  chalice  placed  upon  the  blade;  handed  to  him  by  the  Prelate.' 

"  Again,  in  an  old  manuscript  of  the  ritual  of  the  Royal  Grand  Conclave  of  Scotland,  now 
also  lying  before  me,  I  find  similar  language  used  in  the  ritual  of  the  Templars'  Order.  How 
well  the  thoughts  contained  in  these  extracts  have  been  worked  into  the  Order  of  High  Priest, 
every  well-informed  High  Priest  must  very  well  understand. 

"But  the  question  now  comes  up:  Were  Webb  and  his  associates  in  possession  of  these 
rituals  at  the  time  they  originated  the  Order  of  High  Priesthood  ?  I  think  they  were,  and  for 
these  reasons :  In  these  rituals,  to  which  I  have  referred,  I  find  these  expressions  used,  '  That  I 
will  not  shed  the  blood  of  a  K.'.T.'.  unlawfully';  'The  skull  to  be  laid  open,  and  all  the  brains  to 
be  exposed  to  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun ' ;  with  several  other  familiar  expressions,  which  every 
Royal  Arch  Mason  will  readily  recognize  as  appropriately  wrought  into  Webb's  Royal  Arch 
degree." 

How  Conferred.  —  The  Order  was  originally  conferred  in  occasional  coun- 
cils convened,  when  necessary,  as  Past  Master  lodges  are  now  convened,  to 
confer  the  Past  Master's  degree  upon  Masters-elect,  and  then  to  dissolve. 

1  Enc.  Mackey,  pp.  339  and  340. 


642 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


But,  in  process  of  time,  Councils  of  High  Priests  were  organized,  and  the 
Order  conferred  only  upon  such  as  the  members  might  approve. 

Companion  Hacker  says  that  the  earliest  authentic  record  that  he  could 
find  of  the  organization  of  such  a  council  was  that  of  Ohio,  in  1828.  But 
there  was  at  least  one  council  organized  four  years  previous  to  this  date. 
The  Council  of  High  Priests  of  Mary  hind  wdci  organized  May  7,  1824,  and  has 
had  a  continued  existence  to  the  present  time.  Its  records,  with  the  auto- 
graphic signatures  of  all  companions  anointed  since  that  date,  are  preserved 
and  are  highly  valued  by  the  companions  of  Maryland.  Among  those  who 
received  the  Order  in  this  Council  are  the  following  companions  of  other 
jurisdictions,  upon  whom  the  Order  was  conferred  by  courtesy,^  viz. :  Alex 
M.  Anderson,  of  Kentucky ;  Rev.  Fred  Clark,  of  Maine  ;  Asa  Childs,  of  Con- 
necticut ;  William  B.  Thrall,  of  Ohio ;  Albert  Pike,  of  Arkansas ;  and  John 
Goshom,  and  V.  P.  Chapin,  of  Virginia.  The  distinguished  Companion 
Edward  Livingston,  General  Grand  High  Priest-elect,  received  the  Order  in 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  under  the  auspices  of  this  Council  in  1830, 
prior  to  his  installation  into  office,  by  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Maryland  and 
District  of  Columbia  assembled  in  joint  convention.-  The  General  Grand 
Chapter  having,  by  resolution,  authorized  those  bodies  to  install  Companion 
Livingston  during  his  sojourn  in  that  city,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  the 
companions  deemed  it  was  not  proper  to  install  one  into  that  exalted  station 
who  had  not  received  the  Order  of  High  Priesthood. 


^H/C-«.-i 


(j^-ZH-'i^/U^-^l^-V- Aw^*    "O    1 


w 


1  Schultz's  Histon',  Vol.  IV.  pp.  575-580. 

2  Schultz's  History,  Vol.  IV.  p.  506. 


DIVISION    XIV. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


The  Council  of  Royal,  and  Select,  and  Super- Excellent  Masters  ;  together  with 
a  comprehensive  sketch  of  its  rise  and  organization ;  government  by  a 
General  Grand  Council,  Gratid  Councils,  and  Councils ;  including  the 
Independent  Grand  Councils,  and  those  of  Canada  and  England. 

By  Eugene  Grissom,  ]M.D.,  LL.D.,  t,2,°, 

Past  Deputy  Grand  Master,  Grand  Lodge  of  North  Carolina  ;  Past  Grand 
High  Priest,  R.A.M.;  Past  Grand  Comfnander,  K.T. ;  Inspector 
General,  A  : .A  : .S : .Rite ;  Sir  Knight  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Scotland, 
etc.,  etc. 


Preface. —  In  the  preparation  of  this  sketch  of  Cryptic  Masonry,  I  desire  to  express  my 
indebtedness  to  the  labors  of  the  distinguished  Companions  of  the  Rite,  —  J.  Ross  Robertson, 
Past  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Recorder  of  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Dommion  of  Canada,  Grand 
Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  (Ontario),  etc. ;  and  Josiah  H.  Drummond,  Past  Grand 
Master  of  the  General  Grand  Council  of  the  United  States.  The  works  of  other  venerable  and 
learned  brethren, —  Pike,  Mackey,  Oliver,  and  others,  —  and  the  latest  reports  of  the  Councils, 
have  been  freely  consulted  in  this  effort  to  present  a  concise  statement  of  the  past  and  present  of 
the  Cryptic  Degrees. 

Mackey  says :  "  I  learned  from  the  experience  of  my  early  Masonic  life,  that  the  character  of 
the  Institution  was  elevated  in  every  one's  opinion  just  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  knowledge 
that  he  had  acquired  of  its  symbolism,  philosophy,  and  history."  That  this  paper  may  not  be 
without  its  value  as  far  as  history,  at  least,  is  regarded,  is  the  earnest  hope  of 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Raleigh,  N.C,  June  25,  i8yo. 


CHAPTER   I. 
History  of  the  Cryptic  Rite. 

The  Legend  of  the  "Secret  Vault." — To  the  true  Mason,  the  Mysteries 
of  the  Secret  Vauk  present  lessons  of  unexampled  force  and  beauty. 

The  Lodge  is  the  arena  of  practical  Masonry  ;  it  is  especially  the  field 
of  operation  of  the  duties  that  devolve  upon  brethren,  one  to  another,  in  the 

643 


644  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

walks  of  life.  The  Chapter,  while  not  losing  sight  of  the  former,  concerns 
itself  more  with  the  search  after  the  perfections  and  the  culture  of  Truth.  It 
is  in  the  Secret  Vault  that  the  reflective  Mason,  who  looks  upon  the  "  Mystic- 
tie  "  that  binds  mankind  across  the  seas  and  around  the  earth,  as  one  of  the 
greatest  gifts  of  the  Divine  Master,  will  find  the  highest  satisfaction  in  the 
explanation  of  his  difficulties,  and  the  reward  of  his  faithful  labors. 

The  legend  of  the  Secret  Vault  is  rendered  by  Oliver  thus,  in  giving  an 
account  of  the  construction  of  the  Second  Temple  :'  — 

"  The  foundations  of  the  Temple  were  opened,  and  cleared  from  the  accumulation  of 
rubbish,  that  a  level  might  be  procured  for  the  commencement  of  the  building.  While  engaged 
in  excavations  for  this  purpose,  three  fortunate  sojourners  are  said  to  have  discovered  our  ancient 
stone  of  foundation,  which  had  been  deposited  in  the  secret  crypt  by  Wisdom,  Strength,  and 
Beauty,  to  prevent  the  communication  of  ineffable  secrets  to  profane  or  unworthy  persons. 

"  The  discovery  having  been  communicated  to  the  prince,  prophet,  and  priest  of  the  Jews, 
the  stone  was  adopted  as  the  chief  corner-stone  of  the  reedified  building,  and  thus  became,  in  a 
new  and  more  expressive  sense,  the  type  of  a  more  excellent  dispensation.  An  avenue  was  also 
accidentally  discovered,  supported  by  seven  pairs  of  pillars,  perfect  and  entire,  which,  from  their 
situation,  had  escaped  the  fury  of  the  flames  that  had  consumed  the  Temple,  and  the  desolation 
of  war  that  had  destroyed  the  city. 

"  The  Secret  Vault,  which  had  been  built  by  Solomon  as  a  secure  depository  for  certain 
secrets  that  would  inevitably  have  been  lost  without  some  such  expedient  for  their  preservation, 
communicated  by  a  subterranean  avenue  with  the  king's  palace ;  but  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, the  entrance  having  been  closed  by  the  rubbish  of  falling  buildings,  it  had  been  discovered 
by  the  appearance  of  a  key-stone  among  the  foundations  of  the  Sanctum  Sanctorum.  A  careful 
inspection  was  then  made,  and  the  invaluable  secrets  were  placed  in  safe  custody." 

Dr.  Mackey,  to  whose  erudition  Masonic  writers  of  the  present  day  are  so 
greatly  indebted,^  says,  in  reference  to  the  above  :  — 

"To  support  this  legend,  there  is  no  historic  evidence  and  no  authority  except  that  of  the 
Talmudic  writers.  It  is  clearly  a  mythical  symbol,  and  as  such  we  must  accept  it.  We  cannot 
altogether  reject  it,  because  it  is  so  intimately  and  so  extensively  connected  with  the  symbolism  of 
the  Lost  and  the  Recovered  Word,  that  if  we  reject  the  theory  of  the  Secret  Vault,  we  must 
abandon  all  of  that  symbolism,  and  with  it  the  whole  of  the  science  of  Masonic  symbolism. 
Fortunately,  there  is  ample  evidence  in  the  present  appearance  of  Jerusalem  and  its  subterranean 
topography  to  remove  from  any  tacit,  and  as  it  were,  conventional  assent  to  the  theory,  features  of 
absurdity  or  impossibility. 

"  Considered  simply  as  a  historic  question,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  existence  of 
immense  vaults  beneath  the  superstructure  of  the  original  Temple  of  Solomon.  Prime,  Robinson, 
and  other  writers,  who  in  recent  times  have  described  the  topography  of  Jerusalem,  speak  of  the 
existence  of  these  structures,  which  they  visited  and,  in  some  instances,  carefully  examined.  .  .  , 

"  Dr.  Barclay  ('  City  of  the  Great  King"),  describes  in  many  places  of  his  interesting  topography 
of  Jerusalem  the  vaults  and  subterranean  chambers  which  are  to  be  found  beneath  the  site  of  the 
old  Temple. 

"  In  the  earliest  ages,  the  cave  or  vault  was  deemed  sacred.  The  first  worship  was  in  cave- 
temples,  which  were  either  natural  or  formed  by  art  to  resemble  the  excavations  of  nature.  .  .  . 

"  The  vault  was,  in  the  ancient  mysteries,  symbolic  of  the  grave ;  for  initiation  was  symbolic 
of  death,  where  alone  Divine  Truth  is  to  be  found.  The  Masons  have  adopted  the  same  idea. 
They  teach  that  death  is  but  the  beginning  of  life ;  that  if  the  first  or  evanescent  temples  of  our 
transitory  life  be  on  the  surface,  we  must  descend  into  the  secret  vault  of  death  before  we  can  find 
that  sacred  deposit  of  truth  which  is  to  adorn  our  second  temple  of  eternal  life.     It  is  in  this  sense 

1  Historical  Landmarks,  Vol.  II.  p.  434.  2  Encyclopaedia  of  Freemasonry,  p.  852. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES.  645 

of  an  entrance  through  the  grave  into  eternal  life  that  we  are  to  view  the  symbolism  of  the  secret 
vault.  Like  every  other  myth  and  allegory  of  Masonry,  the  historical  relation  may  be  true,  or  it 
may  be  false ;  it  may  be  founded  on  fact,  or  be  the  invention  of  imagination ;  the  lesson  is  still 
there,  and  the  symbolism  teaches  it,  exclusive  of  the  history." 

The  Rise  of  the  Cryptic  Rite.  —  The  beautiful  Rite  of  the  Secret  Vault 
received  its  present  title  of  Cryptic  Masonry  from  the  Latin,  meaning  co7i- 
cealed,  and  the  Greek  term  crupe,  signifying  a  vault,  or  subterranean  passage.^ 
The  secret  vaults  of  the  early  Christians  were  known  as  cryptce. 

Cryptic  Masonry  properly  embraces  the  degrees  of  Royal  and  Select 
Master,  to  which  has  been  added,  as  an  appendant  or  honorary  degree,  that  of 
Super-Excellent  Master,  which,  however,  has  no  direct  connection  with  the 
former,  its  attributed  history  and  legend  referring  to  circumstances  separated 
by  a  long  period  from  the  transactions  commemorated  by  the  Cryptic  Degrees. 
Certain  analogies  of  symbolism  have  probably  associated  them. 

The  origin  of  these  degrees  has  been  the  subject  of  a  dispute,  more  than 
ordinarily  zealous,  because  it  was  compHcated  with  the  question  of  jurisdiction. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  have  been  communicated  by  Inspectors-General 
of  the  A.'.A.'.S.".  Rite,  or  other  agents  of  that  body,  or  of  the  Princes  of 
Jerusalem,  or  conferred  by  the  Rite  of  Perfection,  or  in  bodies  of  Royal  and 
Select  Masters  entitled  Councils,  either  in  organic  connection  with  the  body 
known  as  the  General  Grand  Council  of  the  United  States,  or  with  the  Grand 
Council  of  some  State  thereof.  They  have  also  been  conferred  in  councils 
held  within  the  bosom  of  chapters  of  the  Holy  Royal  Arch,  as  in  Iowa  at 
the  present  time,  or  in  "  Councils  appurtenant  to  Chapters,"  as  in  Texas 
(since  1864),  or  treated  directly  as  constituent  degrees  of  Royal  Arch 
Masonry,  as  in  Virginia  and  West  Virginia. 

The  persistent  life  and  power  of  these  degrees,  under  such  varying  circum- 
stances, and  the  fact  that,  by  a  steady  if  slow  development,  they  are  obtaining 
a  recognition  and  appreciation  hitherto  unknown,  is  evidence  that  Cryptic 
Masonry  must  and  does  represent  no  small  share  of  legendary  truth,  preserved 
to  succeeding  generations  from  those  elder  days  of  Masonic  wisdom  which  no 
man  can  number. 

Introduction  upon  this  Continent.  —  Ill.-.Comp.  Charles  K.  Francis  has 
well  said  :-  — 

"  It  may  not  be  improper  at  this  time  to  remind  the  companions  that  more  than  a  century  has 
passed  since  the  introduction  of  the  degrees  of  Royal  Master  and  Select  Master  into  this  country. 

"  They  came  from  Europe ;  but,  like  the  Royal  Arch  and  other  degrees  of  Freemasonry,  their 
origin  is  unknown.  Even  Freemasonry  herself  can  give  no  record  of  her  parentage  or  birthplace. 
It  is  true  that  such  distinguished  brethren  as  William  J.  Hughan  and  Robert  F.  Gould,  of  England 
(whose  work  in  the  field  of  Masonic  research  merits  the  highest  tribute  of  love  and  admiration 
from  the  Craft),  have  proved  the  right  of  modern  Freemasons  to  their  traditional  claim  that  they 

1  First  used  by  III.'.  Comp.  Rob.  Morris,  P.T.  I.  M.  (Ky.) ;  died  July  31,  1888.  This  distin- 
guished Masonic  writer  and  lecturer  was  known  all  over  the  Masonic  world.  Perhaps  no  man 
ever  knew  personally  more  Masonic  bodies.  He  was  crowned  Poet  Laureate  of  Masonry  in  New 
York.     Died  of  paralysis,  aged  seventy  years. 

■-  M.  P.  G.  M.,  Address,  Pennsylvania,  1888. 


5^6  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

are  the  lineal  descendants  of  the  Operative  Masons  of  the  Middle  Ages,  who  have  been  styled 
'  The  Master  Architects  in  the  Golden  Age  of  Architecture,"  and  '  Great  Mathematicians,'  perfectly 
experienced  in  mechanics,  and  who,  on  assumed  principles  of  science,  executed  some  of  the 
boldest  and  most  astonishing  works  which  were  ever  executed  by  man. 

"  But  still  unanswered  are  the  inquiries :  From  whom  did  those  mighty  builders  obtain  the 
great  secrets  of  their  art  ?  Who  taught  them  the  mysteries  of  Freemasonry  ?  In  what  land,  and 
when,  were  the  foundations  of  our  Mystic  Temple  laid  so  strong  and  deep  that  they  have  withstood 
the  shock  of  ages  ?  Who  can  tread  with  steady  and  certain  steps  the  dark,  winding,  and  almost 
obliterated  pathways  of  the  past,  and  open  a  clear  road  stretching  back  to  the  birthplace  of 
Freemasonry  ? 

"  Apart  from  the  records  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  the  Great  Light  of  Freemasonry,  how  little 
is  known  of  the  origin  of  anything !  How  limited  is  the  range  of  authentic  profane  history !  How 
little  has  been  saved  from  the  wrecks  of  nations  1  The  history  of  our  ancient  Fraternity,  beyond 
the  period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  yet  remains  to  be  written.  Still,  we  can  hope  that  its  undiscovered 
annals  may  yet  be  brought  to  light,  and  prove  the  assertion  of  tlie  distinguished  archaeologist,! 
Sir  William  Betham,  that  ancient  Phoenicia  was  the  cradle  of  Freemasonry,  and  that  our  Fraternity 
enjoyed  a  vigorous  manhood  long  before  the  time  of  King  Solomon. 

"  It  has  been  truly  said  that  '  before  a  nation  can  have  a  history,  it  must  have  a  national  life 
to  record.'  Individuals  form  families  which  develop  into  tribes,  and  they  make  the  nation.  In  a 
similar  way  Freemasonry  has  attained  its  present  development.  There  were  Freemasons  before 
the  Lodge  had  an  existence.  Individual  Freemasons  united  to  form  lodges,  and  lodges  com- 
bined to  form  Grand  Lodges.  In  process  of  time.  Royal  Arch  Masons  organized  Chapters,  and 
Royal  and  Select  Masters  established  Councils,  with  their  own  distinctive  forms  of  ritual  and 
government,  and  yet  connected  to  the  Lodge  by  as  strong  a  tie  as  that  binding  the  branches  of  an 
oak  to  the  noble  trunk  itself,  and  reaching  down  to  the  great  roots  which  stretch  far  below  the  soil 
and  bring  up  from  the  earthy  depths  those  mysterious  forces  that  give  the  tree  its  life.  And  yet, 
though  the  trunk  gives  life  to  the  branches,  they  in  their  turn  give  life  to  the  trunk,  nourishing  it 
with  the  food  gathered  by  their  leafy  fingers  from  the  air  and  the  sunlight. 

"  Thus  have  been  formed  Grand  and  Subordinate  bodies  in  the  three  departments  of 
so-called  'Ancient  Craft  Masonry,'  embracing  the  Lodge,  the  Chapter,  and  the  Council. 

"  Referring  to  the  lodges  that  took  part  in  the  inauguration  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England 
in  1717,  Brother  John  Lane,  of  England,  says :  ^  '  When  and  by  whom  these  and  other  old  lodges 
were  constituted  cannot  now  be  decided ;  but  that  they,  or  similar  combinations  of  Freemasons, 
existed  centuries  before  the  Grand  Lodge  Era,  cannot  be  reasonably  doubted.' 

"The  late  Dr.  Albert  G.  Mackey  said:'^  '  It  is  now  the  opinion  of  the  best  scholars  that  the 
division  of  the  Masonic  system  into  degrees  was  the  work  of  the  revivalists  of  the  eighteenth 
century;  that  before  that  period  there  was  but  one  degree,  or  rather  one  common  platform  of 
ritualism ;  and  that  the  division  into  Masters,  Fellows,  and  Apprentices,  was  simply  one  of  rank, 
there  being  but  one  initiation  for  all.' 

"  Brother  Hughan,'*  quoted  by  Brother  Gould  in  *  The  Four  Old  Lodges,'  as  well  as  by  Brother 
Lyon  in  '  History  of  the  Lodge  of  Edinburgh,'  says:  'I  have  carefully  perused  all  the  known 
Masonic  MSS.,  from  the  fourteenth  century  down  to  A.D.  1717  (of  which  I  have  either  seen  the 
originals  or  have  certified  copies),  and  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  reference  to  three 
degrees.'  .  .  . 

"  Referring  to  Freemasonry  in  Scotland,  where  are  found  the  most  ancient  lodge  minutes 
(those  of  the  Lodge  of  Edinburgh  dating  back  to  the  year  1599),  Brother  Gould  says:  '  In  the 
early  Masonry  of  Scotland,  the  only  degree  (of  a  speculative  and  s^'mbolic  character),  was  that  in 
which  the  legend  of  the  Craft  was  read,  and  the  benefit  of  the  Mason-word  conferred.'  And  he 
adds  that  there  is  no  evidence  to  indicate  the  existence  of  the  '  Second  degree,  as  now  practised, 
until  after  the  year  1717,  nor  of  the  Third  degree  until  the  year  1735.'  .  .  . 

"  Referring    to    the    Royal    Arch    degree.    Brother    Huglian    says :    '  Dr.    Rob.    Morris   of 

1  Etruria  Celtica,  Vol.  II.  pp.  85-97.     Dublin,  1842. 

2  Lane's  Masonic  Records,  p.  v.,  Introd.     London,  1886. 

3  Art.  Degrees,  Mackey's  Encyclopaedia. 

4  Gould's  Four  Old  Lodges,  p.  40.  London,  1879.  And  Lyon's  Hist.  Lodge  of  Edinburgh, 
p.  211.     Edinburgh,  1873. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES.  647 

Kentucky,  an  age  ago,  declared  that  the  origin  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree  must  be  ascribed  to 
about  1740,  and  it  is  impossible  to  improve  on  such  an  estimate  even  now.'  .  .  . 

"  In  the  year  1744  is  found  the  earliest  mention  of 'An  Assembly  of  Master  Masons,  under  the 
title  of  Royal  Arch  Masons.'  1  Brother  Sadler  states  that  '  the  earliest  reference  to  the  Royal  Arch 
in  the  [English]  Grand  Lodge  records  appears  in  the  minutes  of  a  Grand  Committee  of  the 
"  Ancients,"  September  2,  1752."  Dr.  Oliver  says  :  '  The  introduction  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree 
into  the  modern  system  could  not  be  earlier  than  the  dedication  of  Freemasons'  Hall  in  1776 ' ; 
and  '  Many  years  elapsed  before  the  system  was  arranged,  and  the  Order  of  the  Royal  Arch 
organized  so  as  to  constitute  an  independent  rite.' " 

"  Brother  J.  W.  S.  Mitchell,  in  his  '  History  of  Freemasonry,'  expresses  the  opinion  that  the 
degrees  of  Royal  Master  and  Select  Master  were  introduced  into  this  country  as  early  as  1766,  and 
he  quotes  the  statement  of  Brother  Philip  C.  Tucker,^  that  '  we  have  good  authority  for  saying 
that,  as  early  as  1766,  they  were  conferred  in  the  city  of  Albany."  .  .  . 

"  Brother  E.  T.  Schultz,  in  his  '  History  of  Freemasonry  in  Maryland,"  *  says  :  '  It  is  stated  that 
the  Royal  and  Select  degrees  were  conferred  by  Andrew  Francken  in  Albany,  in  1769.' 

"  The  fact,  however,  is  beyond  dispute,  that  in  the  year  1783  the  degrees  of  Royal  Master  and 
Select  Master  were  conferred  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina;  for,  in  February,  1827  (as 
stated  by  Dr.  Mackey  in  his  '  Manual  of  Cryptic  Masonry"),  a  committee,  appointed  by  the  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  South  Carolina  to  inquire  into  the  history  of  the  degrees  of  Royal  and 
Select  Masters,  reported  that  these  degrees  were  introduced  into  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in 
the  year  1783,  and,  that '  brethren  who  then  received  the  degrees  are  still  living,  venerable  for  their 
years  and  warm  attachment  to  the  glorious  cause  of  Freemasonry,  and  highly  respected  and 
esteemed  in  the  community  where  they  have  so  long  and  so  honorably  sojourned."  .  .  . 

"'The  True  Masonic  Chart," 5  published  by  Brother  J.  L.  Cross  nearly  three-quarters  of  a 
century  ago,  and  which  bears  the  approval  of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  at  the  time 
of  its  issue,  says:  'This  degree  [referring  to  Select  Master],  is  the  summit  and  perfection  of 
Ancient  Masonry,  and  without  which  the  history  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree  cannot  be  complete." 

"  Brother  Samuel  Cole,  Grand  Secretary,  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  in  the  '  Aliiman  Rezon," 
edited  by  him  in  the  year  1817,  and  approved  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland,  says,  in  regard  to 
the  degree  of  Select  Master :  '  We  know  of  no  degree  in  Masonry  that  has  a  more  needful  or  more 
important  connection  with  another  than  the  Select  with  the  Royal  Arch.  It  fills  up  a  chasm  which 
every  intelligent  Royal  Arch  Mason  has  observed,  and  without  it,  it  seems  difficult,  if  not  impos- 
sible, to  comprehend  clearly  some  of  the  mysteries  that  belong  to  the  august  degree  of  the  Royal 
Arch.  It  is  strange,  and  it  is  also  unfortunate,  that  very  few  have  received  the  useful  knowledge 
made  known  in  the  Select,  and,  indeed,  such  is  the  nature  of  the  degree,  that  we  cannot  feel 
freedom  to  allude  remotely  to  the  nature  of  its  secrets;  we  may,  however,  pronounce  it  the  key  to 
the  Arch.'  And  he  adds,  '  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  degree  was  in  use  long  before  those 
of  Most  Excellent,  or  Mark  Master.'  6 

"  Brother  Mitchell  says :  "  '  Without  the  legend  given  in  a  council,  it  is  utterly  impossible  for 
the  Master,  or  Royal  Arch  Mason  to  understand  and  properly  appreciate  the  teaching  of  Free- 
masonry.' (Brother  Mitchell  was  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Missouri,  1844-5,  ^^'^ 
the  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  same,  1846-7.) 

"A  committee  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Vermont  (1850)  said  :  ^  .  .  .  'They  place 
a  high  value  on  them  [the  degrees  of  Royal  Master  and  Select  Master] ,  and  are  ready  to  state 
their  own  conviction  that,  witliout  them,  Royal  Arch  Masonry  is  imperfect.'  Also,  '  If  well-attested 
Masonic  history  does  not  deceive  us,  they  had  found  a  resting-place  in  this  part  of  the  North 
American  continent  before  even  regularly  recognized  Royal  Arch  Masonry  itself  was  legitimately 
established  here.' " 

1  Masonic  Facts  and  Fictions,  p.  165.     London,  1887. 

2  Dr.  Oliver's  Letter  to  Dr.  Crucefix,  on  Origin  of  the  Royal  Arch. 

8  Grand  Master,  Grand  Lodge,  Vermont,  1847-1861,  and  Grand  High  Priest  of  Grand  Chapter 
of  same  State,  1852-1857. 

^Schnltz's  History  of  Freemasonry  in  Maryland,  Vol.  I.  p.  344. 
6  Cross's  The  Triie  Masonic  Chart,  pp.  13,  124.     New  Haven,  1820. 
6  Cole's  General  Ahiman  Rezon,  p.  221.     IBaltimore,  1817. 
'■Mitchell's  History  of  Freemasonry,  Vol.  I.  pp.  708,  709,  720. 
8  Proceedings  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  Vermont,  1850,  pp.  i^,  14. 


648  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Early  Government.  —  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  of  the  trans- 
mission of  the  Cryptic  Degrees  to  this  continent  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  through  the  possessors  of  the  degrees,  conferred  in  Lodges 
of  Perfection,  and  Councils  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  and  which  are  now 
included  in  what  is  recognized  as  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite. 
It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  Royal  and  Select  Master  were  "  side  "  degrees. 
Of  the  numerous  distinctions  that  grew  up  in  Europe,  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  many  degrees  are  attributed  to  the  invention  of  the  French, 
or  the  Scottish  Chiefs  of  Masonry. 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  the  formulation  of  the  legend  and  disposition  of 
the  ritual  was  the  work  of  Masonic  students  at  that  period,  but  there  is 
nothing  antecedently  improbable  in  the  view,  that  the  essential  legendary 
facts  and  instruction  had  been  preserved  in  the  great  mass  of  Masonic 
learning,  which  was  the  common  possession  of  the  Craft  when  working  in  but 
one  degree,  in  the  preceding  century.  Their  intimate  connection  with  the 
other  branches  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  their  great  beauty  and  utility,  and 
even  logical  necessity,  as  referred  to  in  the  above  extracts  from  Brother 
Francis's  admirable  address,  all  point  to  this  conclusion. 

That  no  man  can  definitely  trace  the  legend  in  its  primeval  form,  except 
as  confirmed  by  the  Talmudic  writers,  and  as  parallel  with  the  course  of  the 
ancient  mind,  in  searching  for  natural  and  philosophical  truth,  in  the  various 
rites  of  different  nations,  known  to-day  by  the  indefinite  term  of  "  Mysteries," 
is  no  stronger  as  an  argument  for  its  non-existence  in  some  shape,  than  can  be 
urged  against  the  gradually  developing  degrees  of  the  Royal  Arch,  or  of  the 
Lodge  itself. 

The  middle  of  the  last  century  was  an  era  of  awakening  research.  The 
philosophical  spirit  was  a  reaction  in  the  presence  of  the  corruption  of  courts ; 
and,  beginning  in  the  souls  of  advanced  thinkers,  it  developed,  in  the  latter 
portion  of  the  century,  into  such  struggles  for  human  liberty  and  universal 
fraternity,  as  the  revolutions  in  America  and  France.  This  enormous  devel- 
opment of  Masonic  influence  at  this  period,  and,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  its 
effect  upon  the  establishment  of  asylums  for  the  afflicted  of  every  ill ;  for  the 
extension  of  educational  blessings  to  the  great  masses ;  and  doubtless,  even 
its  reflex  effect  felt  in  the  great  religious  revivals  that  began  at  that  period, 
have  never  been  fairly  estimated  by  the  political  economist  and  social 
philosopher  of  this  day.  It  lies  out  of  the  beaten  track  of  the  "  profane." 
But  to  the  Masonic  student,  the  gathering  of  the  scattered  legends  and  the 
gradual  development  of  its  truths,  associated  with  the  symmetry  and  beauty 
of  the  degrees,  built  so  deftly  that  they  are  the  work  of  all,  and  yet  of  none, 
was  the  morning  light  of  the  modern  day  of  progress  for  humanity. 

Jurisdiction  of  Grand  Chapters.  —  In  reference  to  the  transmission  of 
the  degrees  to  North  America,  upon  the  question  of  the  modern  claim  by 
some   that  Grand   Chapters   held  jurisdiction,  the   subject  was  exhaustively 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


649 


discussed  by  M  /.  E  .-.  Companion  Albert  Pike,  ^  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Masonic  Law  and  Usage,  recognized  throughout  the  world  to-day  as 
unexcelled  in  profound  research  and  Masonic  knowledge. 

Brother  Pike  says  in  this  report  (and  its  importance  justifies  quotation  at 
length)  :  — 

The  A.-.A.-.S.-.Eite  Jurisdiction.  — "  In  the  year  1828  the  Grand  Chapter  of  South 
Carolina  received  a  communication  from  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland,  suggesting  the 
propriety  of  the  several  Grand  Chapters  in  the  United  States  assuming  jurisdiction  over  the 
degrees  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters.  The  matter  was  referred  to  a  committee  who  reported 
February  26,  1829,  and  their  report  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Grand  Chapter. 

"  That  committee,  after  extensive  and  careful  investigation  reported  that  in  February,  1783,  Dr. 
Dalcho  and  many  others  received  those  degrees  in  Charleston  in  the  Sublime  Grand  Lodge  of 
Perfection,  then  established  in  that  city.  That  when  the  Grand  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem 
was  established  in  Charleston,  February  20, 1788,  Joseph  Myers,  one  of  the  Deputy-Inspectors  who 
established  it,  deposited  in  the  archives  certified  copies  of  the  degrees  of  Royal  and  Select 
Masters,  from  Berlin,  in  Prussia,  to  serve  for  the  future  guidance  and  government  ot  that  new 
body.  That  from  1788  the  Grand  Olficers  and  Supreme  Council  of  Inspectors-General  at 
Charleston  had  been  steadily  in  the  habit  of  conferring  these  degrees;  and  in  1828  numbers  of 
councils  of  Select  Masters  were  acting  under  their  authority  in  the  Southern  and  Western 
States. 

"  The  committee  had  seen  and  perused  the  first  copy  of  those  degrees  that  ever  came  to 
America,  and  old  copies  of  charters  that  had  been  returned  by  councils  in  States  where  Grand 
Councils  had  been  formed  and  charters  obtained  from  such  Grand  Councils.  And  the  com- 
mittee reported  that  these  degrees  had  then  been  under  regular  and  independent  Masonic 
protection  and  authority  for  more  than  forty-six  years,  and  were  so  circumstanced  m  the  United 
States,  at  a  period  long  prior  to  the  establishment  of  Grand  or  General  Grand  Royal  Arch 
Chapters,  or  even  of  chapters  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  in  any  part  of  the  world ;  and  that  the  Grand 
Chapter  of  South  Carolina  ought  to  avoid  all  collision  with  contemporary  Masonic  jurisdictions 
regularly  established  and  much  longer  in  existence  than  their  own ;  and  so  reported  a  formal 
resolution  (which  the  Grand  Chapter  unanimously  adopted),  that  it  was  'improper  and 
inexpedient  to  assume  a  jurisdiction  over  the  said  degrees,  and  thus  to  interfere  with  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  our  brethren  in  another  and  higher  order  of  Freemasonry."  .  ,  . 

"  Of  the  Illustrious  brothers,  Myers,  Spitzer,  and  Forst,  the  Committee,  of  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  South  Carolina,  said:  'The  above-named  three  respectable  Brethren  and  Companions  are, 
and  have  steadily  been,  members  and  officers  of  the  said  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem.  Their 
evidence,  therefore,  must  be  conclusive  upon  these  points.' 

"  The  same  committee  (Royal  Arch  Masons,  be  it  observed,  and  a  Committee  of  a  Royal  Arch 
chapter,  inquiring  into  its  own  jurisdiction),  said  of  the  Brothers  and  Companions  Dr.  F.  Dalcho. 
Dr.  Isaac  Auld,  Dr.  James  Moultrie,  Sen.,  and  Moses  C.  Levy,  Esq.,  who  received  these  degrees 
in  Charleston,  in  1783,  from  the  Sublime  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection  :  '  Three  of  the  above- 
named  brothers  are  still  living,  venerable  for  their  years  and  warm  attachment  to  the  glorious 
cause  of  Freemasonry,  and  highly  respected  and  esteemed  for  their  standing  in  the  community 
where  they  have  so  long  honorably  sojourned,  and  they  are  still  members  of  the  same  Sublime 
Body.'  .  .  . 

"  There  is  still  further  testimony  to  be  adduced.  The  report  to  the  Grand  Chapter  which  we 
have  quoted  was  made  by  Companion  Moses  Holbrook,  its  Chairman,  and  unanimously 
adopted,  the  Grand  Chapter  thus  affirming  the  veracity  of  the  Masonic  witnesses  whose 
testimony  was  adduced.  In  1830  the  same  Companion  Holbrook  was  M  .'.  P .'.  Grand  Com- 
mander of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors-General  of  the  33^  for  the 
Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  at  Charleston. 

"  In  February,  A.  1.  2383,  the  M  .•.  E  .*.  G  .*.  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  South  Carolina, 

iNow  M.*. P. '.Grand  Commander  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors- 
General  of  the  33",  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  (resident  in  Washington,  D.C. ), 
the  Mother  Council  of  the  World  —  A  .•.  A .-.  S  .•.  Rite. 


(550  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

John  H.  Honour,  who  was  then  and  still  is  [1853]  M/.  P.\ Grand  Commander  of  the  Supreme 
Council  S.  G.  I.  G.  of  33^  for  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  at  Charleston,  stated, 
in  his  address  to  the  Grand  Chapter,  that  he  had  in  his  possession  a  manuscript  copy  of  the 
degrees  of  the  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  in  which  there  was  a  note  in  the  handwriting  of  Brother 
Holbrook,  dated  March  15,  1830,  in  these  words  :  — 

" '  In  Brother  Snell's  book  is  written  the  following :  — 

"'Supreme  Council  Chamber,  Charleston,  S.C.,  loth  Feb.,  1827. 

"  '  I  hereby  certify  that  the  detached  degrees,  called  Royal  and  Select  Master,  or  Select 
Masters  of  27,  were  regularly  given  by  the  Sublime  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection  (No.  2  in  the  U.S.A. "), 
established  by  Brother  Isaac  Da  Costa,  in  Charleston,  in  February,  1783,  one  of  the  original 
members  01  which.  Most  Illustrious  Brother  Moses  C.  Levy,  is  still  alive  and  a  member  of  it  to 
this  day,  without  ceasing  to  be  so  for  a  day.  1  And  further,  that  at  the  first  establishment  of  a 
Grand  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  in  Charleston,  February,  1788,  by  the  111.*.  Dep.  Inspectors- 
General  Joseph  Myers,  B.  M.  Spitzer,  and  A.  Forst.  Brother  Myers  (who  succeeded  Brother  Da 
Costa  after  his  decease),  deposited  a  certified  copy  of  the  degrees,  from  Berlin,  in  Prussia,  to  be 
under  the  guidance  and  fostering  protection  of  the  government  of  the  above  Grand  Council  of 
Princes  of  Jerusalem. 

"  '  Brother  Myers  shortly  after  this  (February  20, 1788) ,  resided  some  time  in  Norfolk,  Richmond, 
and  Baltimore  previous  to  his  removal  to  Europe,  and  he  communicated  a  knowledge  of  these 
degrees  to  a  number  of  brethren  in  those  cities.  The  original  copy  is  still  in  my  keeping;  and 
agreeably  to  the  obligations  of  the  same,  and  the  Grand  Constitutions  governing  those  degrees, 
viz. :  Royal  and  Select  Masons  of  27,  it  is  correct  and  lawful  to  give  them  either  to  Sublime 
Masons  who  have  arrived  to  the  Knights  of  the  9th  Arch  (13th),  or  to  Companions  of  the  3d 
Arch  (Royal  Arch  Masons).' 

"  Now,  as  to  these  facts,  we  think  we  are  entitled  to  say  that,  whatever  opinion  the  profane 
may  entertain  as  to  this  testimony,  any  Mason  who  denies  its  truth  or  insinuates  a  doubt  as  to  the 
facts  thus  testified  to  by  men  who,  to  attain  the  33',  had  to  be  Royal  Arch  Masons  and  Knights 
Templar,  takes  particular  pains  to  inform  all  the  rest  of  the  world  that  no  reliance  can  be  placed 
upon  any  Masonic  testimony,  but  that  a  Mason,  like  some  of  the  old  Fathers,  holds  it  to  be  justi- 
fiable '  to  lie  for  the  good  of  the  church,'  and  so  advises  them  to  look  upon  all  Masonry  as  a  mere 
fable,  and  collection  of  old  wives'  tales;  and  that  in  Masonry  the  stronger  the  testimony,  and  the 
less  the  probability  of  mistake,  the  greater  the  lie.  .  .  . 

Vermont's  Claim  of  Priority.  —  "The  Committee  of  Foreign  Correspondence  of  Vermont 
says  that  it  can  be  proved  that  these  degrees  were  conferred  in  this  country  prior  to  1783 ;  that  it 
has  good  authority  for  saying  that  as  early  as  1766  they  were  conferred  in  the  city  of  Albany,  and 
that  it  is  '  an  opinion  sustained  by  strong  authority,'  that  at  that  time  they  came  from  France,  and 
not  from  Prussia.  If  they  came  from  France,  they  did  not  come  from  the  York  Rite.  But  we  have 
no  doubt  they  were  so  conferred  there.  Sublime  Lodge  of  Perfection  No.  i  (that  in  Charleston 
being  No.  2),  was  the  first  Lodge  of  Perfection  established  in  the  United  States,  and  it  was  estab- 
lished at  Albany  prior  to  1783.  No  doubt  the  degrees  were  conferred  by  or  under  the  authority 
of  that  Lodge." 

Ecossais. — We  interrupt  the  quotation  from  this  important  paper,  to  note 
that  the  Lodge  of  Perfection  is  the  lowest  body  in  the  Scottish  Rite,  and  it 
includes  among  its  degrees  the  Ecossais,  of  which  Mackey  says  :■  "  The 
American  Mason  will  understand  the  character  of  the  system  of  Ecossaism, 
as  it  may  be  called,  when  he  is  told  that  the  Select  Master  of  his  own  rite  is 
really  an  Ecossais  degree  "  ;  and  again,^"  Of  this  degree  of  Ecossais,  that  of 
Select  Master  is  little  more  than  a  modification." 

1  The  Jewish  burial-place  of  Charleston  contains  his  tomb,  upon  which  is  inscribed  in  Hebrew  : 
"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Moses  Clava  Levy,  who  died  on  the  5th  of  Nisan,  5599,  nearly  90 
years  old,  a  native  of  Poland,  and  for  54  years  an  inhabitant  of  this  city.  He  was  a  kind  husband, 
a  fond  parent,  a  firm  friend,  an  indulgent  master;  incorruptible  in  integrity,  sincere  in  piety, 
unostentatious  in  charity.    This  stone  is  placed  by  his  only  son  and  child." 

•^  Mackey's  Encyclopaedia  of  Freemasonry,  p.  239. 

8  Mackey's  Lexicon,  444,  157. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


651 


French  Origin,  and  Organization  of  Councils  and  Grand  Councils.  —  To 

return  to  Most  Illustrious  Brother  Pike's  report :  — 

"  We  can  soon  learn  how  it  was  that  the  Council  degrees  came  about  1766  from  France,  and 
not  from  Prussia.  In  1761,  the  lodges  and  councils  of  the  superior  degrees  being  extended 
throughout  Europe,  Frederic  II.  (or  the  Great),  King  of  Prussia,  as  Grand  Commander  of  the 
Order  of  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret,  or  32d  degree,  was  by  general  consent  acknowledged  and 
recognized  as  Sovereign  and  Supreme  Head  of  the  Scotch  Rite. 

"  On  the  25th  Oct.,  1762,  the  Grand  Masonic  Constitutions  were  finally  ratified  in  Berlin,  and 
proclaimed  for  the  government  of  all  Masonic  bodies  working  in  the  Scotch  Rite  over  the  two 
hemispheres;  and  in  the  same  year  they  were  transmitted  to  Stephen  Morin,  who  had  been 
appointed,  in  August,  1761,  Inspector-General  for  the  New  World  by  the  Grand  Consistory  of 
Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret,  convened  at  Paris,  under  the  presidency  of  Chaillon  de  Joinville, 
representative  of  Frederic,  and  Substitute-General  of  the  Order.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
33°  was  not  then  created;  and,  under  Frederic  the  Great,  there  was  no  rank  higher  than  the  32°, 
nor  any  body  superior  to  a  Consistory.  When  Morin  arrived  in  the  West  Indies,  he,  agreeably  to 
his  patent,  appointed  M.  Hayes  a  Deputy  Inspector-General,  with  the  power  of  appointing  others 
when  necessary.  It  was  under  this  authority,  coming,  it  is  true,  from  the  Consistory  at  Paris,  held 
by  that  Consistory  as  the  delegate  and  representative  of  Frederic  the  Great,  that  the  Lodges  of 
Perfection  in  Albany  and  Charleston  were  established,  with  authority  to  confer  these  detached 
degrees.  .  .  . 

"  Many  rites  flourished  awhile  and  died.  The  French  and  Scotch  Rites  reduced  the  degrees 
practised  by  their  votaries,  the  former  to  seven,  the  latter  to  thirty-three,  and  some  auxiliary 
degrees.  By  common  consent  it  became  Masonic  law  that  the  three  first  degrees  were  the  joint 
property  of  all,  but  the  others  the  peculiar  property  of  the  inventors.  Royal  Arch  Masonry 
separated  itself  from  '  Blue '  Masonry,  organized  itself,  invented  three  new  degrees,  and  commenced 
an  independent  existence.  The  Royal  and  Select  Masters  formed  themselves  into  councils,  and 
after  a  time  they  too  organized  themselves  into  Grand  Councils  and  claimed  an  independent 
existence.  The  Supreme  Council  did  not  deny  the  right,  but  simply  retained  their  original  right 
to  confer  the  degrees,  and  charter  councils  in  States  where  no  Grand  Councils  have  been 
organized." 

The  limits  of  this  work  forbid  the  elaboration  in  detail  of  events,  and  the 
republication  in  full  of  Masonic  data  in  reference  to  Cryptic  Masonry,  from 
the  period  of  its  introduction  in  this  country  to  the  present  time.  The  writer 
would  refer  the  reader  to  the  valuable  History  of  the  Cryptic  Rite,  by  Illustri- 
ous Brother  J.  Ross  Robertson,'  Past  Grand  Master  and  Grand  Recorder  of 
the  Grand  Council  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  with  the  accompanying  history 
of  the  Grand  Councils  of  the  United  States,  by  Illustrious  Brother  Josiah  H. 
Drummond  (Portland,  Maine),  Past  Grand  Master  of  the  General  Grand  Council 
of  the  United  States. 

But  we  may  briefly  condense  from  Robertson  as  follows.  He  quotes  from 
Pike's  "  Historical  Inquiry  into  the  Constitutions  of  1 786  "  :  "  We  learn  from 
it  \i.e.,  the  record  at  Charleston],  that  Stephen  Morin,  Inspector-General  of 
all  the  Lodges,  Chapters,  Councils,  and  Grand  Councils,  etc.,  in  all  parts  of 
the  New  World,  gave  the  degree  of  Grand  Deputy  Inspector-General,  etc.,  to 
Brother  Francken  at  Jamaica"  ;  at  what  date  we  do  not  find. 

Francken  imparted  these  degrees  to  Moses  Michael  Hayes,  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  with  power  to  appoint  others.    Hayes  appointed  Isaac  Da  Costa 

1  The  Cryptic  Rite.     Robertson.    Toronto,  1888. 


652 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


(previously  referred  to),  as  Deputy  Inspector-General  for  South  Carolina.  On 
the  death  of  Da  Costa,  Joseph  Myers  succeeded.  Francken,  possessing  the 
authority  of  Morin,  opened,  December  27, 1 767,  a  Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Albany, 
New  York.     Robertson  adds  :  — 

"  The  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  had  no  actual  existence  by  that  name  until  1801 ; 
before  that  it  was  the  Rite  of  Perfection,  etc.  The  Supreme  Council,  founded  at  Charleston  in 
1801,  was  the  first  body  of  the  Rite,  by  that  name,  that  ever  existed.  This  divergence  from  the 
history  of  the  Cryptic  Rite  proper,  and  the  reference  to  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite,  are  necessary 
as  showing  the  genuineness  of  the  Royal  and  Select  Degrees,  and  the  claims  they  have  of  being 
bona  fide  '  side '  degrees  of  the  Rite  of  Perfection." 

Francken  had  also  endowed  one  Moses  Cohen  with  powers  similar  to  those 
of  Hayes.  Cohen  went  to  Jamaica,  and  established  a  Consistory,  one  of 
whose  members  was  Abram  Jacobs,  who  already  had  a  portion  of  the  degrees, 
having  obtained  them  in  a  Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Charleston.  One  of  his 
degrees  was  known  as  the  "Select  Masons  of  Twenty  Seven,"  and  Cohen  gave 
a  diploma  of  this,  November  9,  1 790,  to  Jacobs.  The  diary  of  Jacobs  relates  his 
subsequent  visit  to  Savannah  in  1792,  and  the  conferring  of  the  degree  of 
"  Select  Masons  of  Twenty  Seven,"  at  various  points  in  Georgia. 

Columbian  Grand  Council  of  Royal  Master  Masons.  —  In  1804  Jacobs 
went  to  New  York,  and  conferred  the  degrees  upon  Thomas  Lownds,  among 
many  others.     Robertson  says  :  — 

"  In  1808  the  dispute  between  Gourgas  and  Joseph  Cerneau  commenced.  Lownds  sided  with 
the  latter,  and  went  over  to  him,  capturing,  so  Gourgas  says,  the  Royal  and  Select  Degrees.  The 
credit  of  organizing  the  first  body  of  the  Cryptic  Rite  must  be  given  to  Lownds.  He  formed,  with 
others,  of  course,  Sept.  2,  1810,  the  '  Columbian  Grand  Council  of  Royal  Master  Masons."  This 
body,  on  Dec.  8,  1821,  received  within  its  fold  a  council  of  Select  Masters.  On  Jan.  25,  1823, 
'  Columbian  Grand  Council '  constituted  itself  a  Grand  Council  for  the  State,  and  issued  warrants 
as  late  as  1827.  In  1854  another  Grand  Council  was  formed  in  New  York  State,  its  members 
being  principally  adherents  of  what  was  known  as  the  '  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge.'  This  Grand 
Council  issued  warrants  to  subordinate  councils,  and  in  i860  united  with  the  Columbian." 

The  First  Council's  Records.  —  The  discovery  of  the  original  records  of 
Columbian  Council  induced  Brother  Josiah  H.  Drummond  to  prepare  a 
history  of  these  degrees,  in  1875,  to  be  used  as  an  appendix  in  the  publication 
of  the  records.     Brother  Drummond  says  :  — 

"  It  is  now  certain  that  Columbian  Council  (originnlly  styled  '  Grand  Council,'  as  all  the 
temporary  assemblies  in  which  the  Royal  Degree  was  conferred  were  then  called),  is  the  first  per- 
manent body  formed  for  conferring  any  of  these  degrees. 

"  It  has  been  heretofore  taken  as  true  that  it,  or  the  Grand  Council,  was  founded  and  chartered 
by  Joseph  Cerneau.  But  the  record  shows  that  Thomas  Lownds  was  the  founder,  that  it  was  a 
voluntary  body  without  a  charter,  and  that  Cerneau  was  never  even  present  at  one  of  its  meetings, 
so  far  as  the  record  discloses.  The  record  of  the  first  meeting  states  that  the  officers  were  elected 
and  installed.  The  names  of  those  present  are  given,  and  Cerneau's  name  is  not  among  them ; 
hence  the  officers  could  not  have  been  installed  by  him.  Like  the  early  councils  in  Massachu- 
setts, it  was  formed  by  no  other  authority  than  the  will  of  those  who  composed  it.  .  .  . 

"  It  has  been  claimed  that  Thomas  Smith  Webb  and  Jeremy  L.  Cross  received  the  degrees  in 
it,  but  the  name  of  neither  appears  in  the  records." 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


653 


Drummond  further  states  that  the  received  opinion  is  that  Lownds  did 
not  go  over  to  Cerneau  until  1809.     He  says  :  — 

"  But  this  division  did  not  enter  into  the  formation  of  Columbian  Council,  for  Thomas 
Lownds,  then  1  a  leading  man  in  the  Cerneau  party,  and  Sampson  Simpson,  an  equally  leading 
man  in  the  Gourgas  party,  united  in  founding  it.  But  whatever  the  source  from  which  he  received 
it,  he  was  legally  in  possession  of  it  as  a  '  side  degree,'  and  I  see  no  reason  why  he  and  his 
associates  had  not  full  power  and  authority  to  unite  and  form  a  body  of  a  permanent  character 
for  conferring  and  governing  this  degree.  .  .  . 

"  On  Jan.  i8,  1823,  Columbian  Council  adopted  a  resolution,  looking  to  the  formation  of  a 
Grand  Council  for  the  State,  and  one  was  formed  on  the  25th  ot  the  same  month.  But  Connect- 
icut had  founded  one  in  1819,  Virginia  in  1820,  and  North  Carolina  in  1822.  So  that,  while 
Columbian  Council  was  '  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of  her  way,"  the  degrees  were  disseminated, 
councils  were  formed,  and  Grand  Councils  organized  under  other  authority." 

But  another  branch  of  the  subject  demands  our  attention.  Mackey,  in  his 
"  History  of  Freemasonry  in  South  CaroHna,"  says  :  — 

"  The  Masons  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  contend  that  the  Royal  and  Select  Degrees  were 
introduced  by  Philip  P.  Eckel,  of  Baltimore,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  enlightened 
Masons  of  his  day,  who,  in  1817,  communicated  them  to  Jeremy  L.  Cross,  and  gave  him  authority 
to  confer  them  in  every  Royal  Arch  chapter  which  he  might  visit  in  his  official  character." 

Brother  Schultz,  in  his  "  History  of  Freemasonry  in  Maryland,"  says,  that 

"The  Royal  Master's  Degree  was  first  known  and  worked  in  the  Eastern  States,  while  the 
Select  Degree  was  first  known,  and  at  a  much  earlier  period,  in  the  Southern  and  Middle  States." 

He  boldly  asserts  :  — 

"  Nearly  all  the  early  Masonic  writers  of  the  country  concede  that  Philip  P.  Eckel  and 
Hezekiah  Niles,  of  Baltimore,  had,  at  an  early  period,  the  control  of  at  least  the  Select  Degree, 
and  that  from  them  emanated  the  authority  under  which  it  was  introduced  into  many  of  the  other 
jurisdictions  of  the  country." 

Brother  Niles,  writing  upon  the  Select  degree  in  the  "  Ahiman  Rezon,"  in 
181 7,  states  that  he  had  been  told  that  a  regular  chapter  of  the  Select 
degree  was  held  at  Charleston  many  years  before,  but  had  become  dormant, 
and  that  he  was  not  aware  that  it  was  worked  anywhere  but  in  Baltimore. 

Brother  Dove,  of  Virginia,  supposed  it  to  be  a  modern  honorary  degree, 
appendant  to  Royal  Arch  Masonry,  and  in  possession  of  a  distinguished  Chief 
of  the  State  of  Maryland,  who  delegated  his  powers  to  others,  until  in  1824, 
with  his  consent,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  took  charge  of  the  degrees, 
and  ordered  them  to  be  given  before  the  Most  Excellent  Master. 

This  error,  as  to  the  exclusive  authority  in  Baltimore,  led  to  the  action  of 
Virginia,  when  she  dissolved  her  Grand  Council  and  remanded  the  charge  of 
the  degrees  to  the  Grand  Chapter,  where  they  are  given,  to  the  present  day, 
without  regard  to  their  retrospective  character. 

Grand  Council  of  Maryland.  — But,  in  1872,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Mary- 
land passed  the  following  resolution  :  "  That  all  the  subordinate  chapters  in 

1  Columbian  Council  was  formed  September  2,  1810. 


654 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


this  jurisdiction  are  prohibited  from  conferring  any  other  degrees  than  those 
of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master,  and  Royal  Arch." 
Councils  were  formed,  and,  in  1874,  five  councils  organized,  in  Baltimore,  the 
Grand  Council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  for  that  State. 

In  reference  to  the  authority  of  Eckel,  Companion  Drummond  states  that 
he  did  no't  receive  the  Royal  Master's  degree  until  181 9,  and  then  from 
Ebenezer  Wadsworth,  of  New  York,  and  so  could  not  have  transferred  it  to 
Cross  at  an  earlier  date.  So  far  as  the  Select  degree  is  concerned,  Brother 
Schultz  publishes  an  old  document  which  recites  powers  conferred  upon  Eckel 
and  Niles  to  hold  a  chapter  of  Select  Masons,  which  was  to  be  "  in  extension 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  Royal  Secret,  as  introductory  to,  and  necessary  for 
the  better  understanding  of  the  superior  degrees,"  in  the  year  of  the  Temple 
2792,  by  Thrice  Illustrious  Brother  Henry  Wilmans,  "Grand  Inspector- 
General." 

From  what  source  Wilmans  derived  his  powers  is  unknown.  He  was  a 
native  of  Bremen,  resident  in  this  country  for  only  eight  years  at  the  most, 
and  died  in  1795,  as  the  register  of  old  Zion  Lutheran  Church  in  Baltimore 
shows.  Investigation  does  not  obtain  any  light  from  the  Grand  Lodges  of 
Berlin  or  Bremen,  nor  is  his  name  in  any  document  of  the  archives  of  the 
Supreme  Council  of  the  Southern  Jurisdiction.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that 
he  received  his  authority  from  Joseph  Myers,  Deputy  Inspector-General,  when 
in  Baltimore,  before  his  departure  for  Europe. 

Eckel  and  Niles,  deriving  their  powers  from  Wilmans,  conferred  the  Select 
degree  in  August,  181 6,  with  authority  to  confer  it  upon  Jeremy  L.  Cross. 

Brother  Cross  and  the  Cryptic  Degrees.  —  Brother  Cross,  to  whom  the 
rapid  and  general  dissemination  of  the  degrees  is  due  in  a  large  section  of  the 
United  States,  was  made  a  Royal  Arch  Mason  in  Champlain  Chapter,  No.  2, 
St.  Albans,  Vermont,  July  11,  1815,  while  engaged  in  "  lecturing  the  lodges." 
Brother  Drumuiond  has  traced  the  course  of  this  great  Masonic  pioneer  by  his 
letters  (yet  preserved),  from  Baltimore,  through  Western  Pennsylvania,  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana,  and  thence  to  Baltimore,  May,  181 7, 
everywhere  conferring  the  degrees.  He  afterward  went  North,  through 
Delaware  and  Pennsylvania  to  New  York,  and  then  East.  In  a  letter  from 
Haverhill,  New  Hampshire,  July  17,  181 7,  he  says  :  — 

"...  I  made  no  further  tarry  until  I  arrived  at  Windsor,  Vermont,  where  I  established  a 
council  of  Select  Masons.  They,  finding  that  the  degree  was  full  of  information,  and  that  it 
could  not  be  given  antecedent  to  that  of  the  Royal  Arch,  wished  for  a  warrant  to  empower  them 
to  confer  it,  upon  which  I  granted  them  one  in  the  words  following,  viz.:  — 

"  '  To  all etc. By  the  High  Power  in  me  vested  by  the  Thrice  Illustrious  and  Grand 

Puissant  in  the  Grand  Council  of  Select,  at  Baltimore,  etc.,  till  revoked  by  the  Grand  Puissant, 
etc.,  I  wish  you  to  write  me  at  this  place  by  the  next  mai)  respecting  my  granting  warrants,  and  if 
approving,  grant  me  that  power,  etc.  .  .  .'  " 

The  reply  is  not  known,  but  Brother  Drummond  points  out,  in  the 
document  lately  discovered  by  Brother  Schultz,  that  the  latter  (Eckel  and 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


655 


Niles),  expressly  allows  the  degree  to  be  conferred  on  Mark  Masters  who  have 
passed  the  Chair ;  but  Cross  limits  it  to  Royal  Arch  Masons.     He  says  :  — 

"  It  is  well  known  that  Eckel  and  Niles  held  that  it  should  be  conferred  before  the  Royal  Arch ; 
and,  following  their  instructions,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  so  conferred  it  until  it  was 
surrendered  to  the  Council,  and  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Virginia  so  confers  it  to  this  day.  With 
such  views,  Eckel  and  Niles  could  never  have  granted  authority  to  confer  it  '  only  on  Royal  Arch 
Masons  who  have  taken  all  the  preceding  degrees,  as  is  required  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter.' 
But  without  such  limitation.  Cross  could  not  form  independent  bodies;  and  the  charge  of  Staple- 
ton,  the  contemporary  and  co-worker  with  Eckel,  that  '  Cross  did  this  for  sordid  motives,'  is  well 
established." 

It  has  been  stated  that  Cross  was  expelled  by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Mary- 
land for  usurpation  of  power  and  misuse  of  the  same,  but  there  is  no  record 
of  such  action,  nor  was  he  a  member  of  a  chapter  under  its  jurisdiction,  nor 
did  he  ever  exercise  his  powers  in  that  State. 

Brother  Drummond  maintains  that  Cross  had  the  same  power  to  grant 
warrants  as  either  Eckel  or  Niles,  on  the  ground  that 

"  One  possessor  of  a  '  side '  degree  has  as  much  right  of  control  over  it  as  any  other  possessor, 
and  it  is  only  when  it  is  organized  and  the  right  of  control  vested  in  a  governing  body  or  bodies, 
that  the  possessors  of  such  a  degree  lose  the  right  of  disseminating  it.  Cross's  method  was 
preferable  to  the  voluntary  method,  as  it  insured  uniformity  of  organization." 

The  Cross  Councils  and  Charters.  — Whatever  motives  may  have  inspired 
Cross,  it  is  certain  that  the  result  of  his  work  was  of  the  greatest  value  to 
Cryptic  Masonry. 

Drummond  holds  that  ihe  first  pe?-maueni  body  of  Select  Masters  was  the 
council  formed  by  Cross  at  Windsor,  Vermont,  July  5,  181 7.  After  founding 
•others  at  Bradford,  Vermont,  and  Hopkinton,  New  Hampshire  (where  there 
had  been  a  council  of  Royal  Masters  since  August  5,  1815),  he  started  in 
September,  181 7,  to  visit  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Virginia,  caUing  upon 
Eckel  and  Niles  when  he  passed  through  Baltimore.  While  in  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  he  was  appointed  Grand  Visitor  by  the  Grand  Chapter 
of  Connecticut,  and  went  to  that  State  early  in  1818,  He  spent  part  of  the 
winter  in  Virginia,  forming  two  councils.  May  27,  1818,  he  gave  a  warrant 
for  a  council  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 

Drummond  says  that  he  has  seen  copies  of  many  of  these  charters,  and 
they  purport  in  terms  to  be  councils  of  Select  Masters.     Pie  states  :  — 

"  But  some  time  in  the  year  1818,  probably  in  January,  Cross  obtained  the  Royal  degree,  and 
soon  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting  the  two  in  one.  On  March  21,  1818,  Cross  says  in  his  diary, 
that  he  and  Companion  Hosmer  called  on  Companion  Stow  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  and  '  conferred 
on  him  two  degrees,  Royal  and  Select  Master.'  .  .  . 

"  I  have  caused  the  early  records  of  a  number  of  the  councils  warranted  by  Cross  to  be 
examined  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the  earliest  date  of  the  conferring  of  the  Royal  degree  by 
Cross.  I  find  that  New  Haven  Council,  No.  10,  was  organized  Oct.  16,  1818,  by  Cross  in  person, 
when  four  Companions  '  were  admitted  Select  Masters  in  due  form  with  the  preparatory  degree  of 
Royal  Master.' 

"...  Action  was  taken  in  Oct.,  1818,  looking  to  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Council,  and  on 
May  19,  1819,  the  Grand  Council  of  Select  Masters  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  was  formed,  the 


656 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


first  Grand  body  of  the  Rite  that  ever  existed.  The  constitution  authorized  the  councils  to 
confer  'the  degrees  of  Royal  and  Select  Master."  .  .  .  Between  May,  1818,  and  Aug.,  1819,  Cross 
perfected  his  system  for  organizing  councils  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  summer  of  1819  commenced  issuing  warrants  for  such  councils." 

Barker's  Cryptic  Mission.  —  John  Barker,  like  Cross  in  the  more  northern 
section,  was  an  active  pioneer  of  Cryptic  Masonry  throughout  the  South  and 
the  West,  as  known  at  that  period.  Drummond  regards  him  as  having  adapted 
his  system  from  Cross,  and  conjectures  that  he  may  have  been  the  same  man 
who,  in  Connecticut,  was  greeted  as  a  Master  by  Cross,  in  a  Hst  named.  But 
there  is  no  proof  of  this,  and  it  is  certain  that  Barker,  whose  operations  were 
extensive,  claimed  his  authority  from  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Southern 
Jurisdiction,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  his  well-known  career  for  so  many 
years,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  not  only  of  councils,  but  indirectly 
at  least  of  Grand  Councils,  could  have  been  successful,  except  with  the 
countenance  of  that  body. 

Barker  affixed  his  signature  to  the  warrants  issued  by  him  thus  :  "  John 
Barker,  K.  H.  S.  P.  R.  S.,  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General,  33°,  and  Agent 
for  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  United  States  of  America."  He  formed 
several  councils  in  Alabama,  from  which  a  Grand  Council  was  organized  at 
Tuscaloosa,  in  1827.  He  was  the  agent  of  the  Supreme  Council  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Grand  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  at  Natchez,  Mississippi,  in 
1829,  which  took  the  councils  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  of  that  State  under 
its  care  ;  and,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  seven  councils, 
many  years  afterward  (January  19,  1856),  organized  a  Grand  Council.  The 
closeness  of  the  relation  maintained  with  the  higher  degrees  of  the  A.\  A.*.S.'. 
Rite,  is  shown  by  the  instrument  of  the  Grand  Council,  Princes  of  Jerusalem,' 
conveying  jurisdiction  in  Mississippi  of  the  Royal  and  Select  degrees  to  the 
Grand  Council  thus  formed.  Mackey  distinctly  states  that  Scottish  Masonry 
was  introduced  in  that  State,  in  18 15,  by  the  establishment  of  a  Grand  Council 
of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  under  the  obedience  of  the  Supreme  Council. 

The  Formative  Period  of  Fifty  Years.  —  The  formative  period  in  Cryptic 
Masonry  may  be  considered  to  have  lasted  about  fifty  years,  and  when,  in 
1824,  the  mistake  was  made,  in  Maryland,  of  assuming  jurisdiction  by  the 
Grand  Chapter,  six  Grand  Councils  were  in  existence,  viz.  :  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Hampshire,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  Vermont.  Subse- 
quently Virginia  dissolved  her  Grand  Council  (1841),  under  the  belief  that 
jurisdiction  vested  in  the  Grand  Chapter,  and  primarily  in  that  of  Maryland ; 
whereas,  the  Grand  Council  is  now  known  to  have  been  in  existence  several 
years  before  even  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Maryland  received  the  surrender  of 
whatever  rights  were  claimed  by  Eckel  and  Niles.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
an  exceedingly  small  proportion  of  Masons  would  accord  to  these  brethren, 
to-day,  any  exclusive  right  to  the  degrees,  whether  on  the  ground  of  their 
existence  as  "  side  degrees,"  or  upon  the  belief  that  there  was,  and  ever  had 
been,  a  legitimate  and  authoritative  channel  of  transmission. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


657 


Governmental  Evolution,  —  Grand  Councils  and  a  General  Grand  Council. 

—  The  farther  development  of  Cryptic  Masonry  will  be  exhibited  in  a  brief 
review  of  the  several  Grand  Councils  which  have  been  gradually  organized, 
including  eleven  independent  Grand  Councils  in  States,  and  nineteen  which 
have  united  in  a  General  Grand  Council,  the  Constitution  of  which  became 
operative  March  i,  1881. 

It  should  be  noted  that  Texas,  which  organized  a  Grand  Council  in  1856, 
and  which  met  annually  until  1864,  abandoned  the  Council  system  proper  at 
that  period  of  comparative  isolation,  and  has  since  conferred  the  degrees  in  a 
"  Council  appurtenant  to  a  Chapter,"  and  only  upon  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and 
as  if  the  degrees  belonged  strictly  to  the  Royal  Arch  system. 

All  human  organizations  are  subject  to  myriad  and  subtle  influences, 
affecting  their  progress  or  decay,  in  common  with  the  economic  and  social 
condition  of  the  peoples  in  which  they  have  their  existence.  There  have 
been  two  marked  depressions  in  the  onward  progress  of  Cryptic  Masonry  in 
this  country  :  the  first,  at  the  period  of  the  remarkable  agitation  which  gave 
rise  to  what  was  known  as  the  Anti-Masonic  party,  which  it  is  not  the  province 
of  this  paper  to  discuss ;  but  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  during  the  eventful 
decade  from  1830  to  1840,  many  of  the  nearly  seventy  subordinate  councils 
ceased  to  exist,  and,  likewise,  some  of  the  Grand  Councils.  In  some  instances, 
only  the  result  of  Masonic  research,  with  the  recovery  of  long- forgotten 
printed  records,  revived  their  remembrance. 

The  second  period  of  depression  applies,  especially,  to  the  South  and 
South-west,  and  was  due  to  the  exhaustion  incident  to  a  destructive  war.  It 
may  be  that  the  great  multiplication  of  attractive  benevolent  societies,  and 
insurance  organizations,  appealing  to  the  needs  of  men  through  an  army  of 
industrious  agents,  absorbed  much  of  the  means  and  energy  ordinarily 
available  for  Masonic  work. 

Under  the  belief  that  necessity  required  it,  after  a  number  of  councils  in 
Mississippi  had  surrendered  their  charters,  and  others  become  dormant,  the 
Grand  Council,  which  had  still  annually  assembled,  in  1877  adopted  what  has 
been  widely  known  as  the  "  Mississippi  plan,"  under  these  provisions  :  — 

"  Each  Royal  Arch  chapter  shall  hereafter  apen  within  its  bosom,  under  its  charter,  as  a 
chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  a  council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters ;  the  officers  of  the 
chapter  corresponding  in  rank  to  those  of  the  council,  to  be  those  of  the  council. 

"  All  the  Royal  Arch  Masons  who  have  not  received  the  degrees  of  Royal  Master  and  Select 
Master,  shall  be  entitled  to  have  the  same  conferred  or  communicated,  on  their  request,  and 
without  charge;  but  candidates  who  shall  hereafter  receive  the  Royal  Arch  degree  shall, 
immediately  thereafter,  and  in  connection  with  the  Royal  Arch  degree,  receive  the  degrees  of 
Royal  and  Select  Master  without  additional  charge." 

The  Grand  Council  no  longer  met  as  such,  and  this  "  merger,"  as  it  was 
termed,  was  received  with  favor,  and  adopted  in  a  number  of  States,  where  the 
brethren  were  anxiously  endeavoring  to  preserve  both  chapter  and  council  in 
the  stress  of  the  times,  and  judged  themselves  forced  to  that  method  to 


658 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


advance  the  interests  of  Masonry.  This  course  was  also  adopted  in  several 
of  the  more  prosperous  jurisdictions,  under  the  belief  that  all  would  follow ; 
which  in  effect,  however,  would  have  been  the  success  of  a  revolution  in 
Masonry. 

Experience  demonstrated  that  the  combination  secured  no  advantages  to 
either  body.  The  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  the  United  States 
had  already  placed  on  record,  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  September  16,  1853, 
this  resolution  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  General  Grand  Chapter,  and  the  governing  bodies  of  Royal  Arch 
Masonry,  affiliated  with,  and  holding  jurisdiction  under  it,  have  no  rightful  jurisdiction  or  control 
over  the  degrees  of  Royal  and  Select  Master." 

With  one  exception  (Iowa)  all  the  independent  jurisdictions  adopting  the 
"  Mississippi  plan "  have  rescinded  the  same,  and  returned  to  the  Council 
organization.  This  is  also  now  true  of  Mississippi  itself,  the  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  having  adopted  the  following  in  1888  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  hereby  releases  control  of  the  Cryptic 
Degrees,  and  recommends  that  the  Grand  Council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  reassume  its 
former  jurisdiction  of  the  degrees. 

"  That  chapters  are  hereby  prohibited  from  communicating  and  conferring  the  Crj-ptic 
Degrees,  recognizing  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Council  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  said  degrees." 

In  February,  1888,  the  Grand  Council  of  Mississippi  assembled,  six  of  the 
officers  being  of  those  elected  in  1877,  including  the  Grand  Master,  and 
Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  six  councils  are  said  to  have  been  represented. 

The  Grand  Councils  of  the  several  States  have  been  formed  by  the 
voluntary  association  of  councils  within  their  borders,  receiving  their  charters 
from  Grand  Councils  in  one  or  more  States ;  and  from  the  Supreme  Council, 
as  when,  in  i860,  it  had  chartered  four  councils  in  Arkansas,  and  invited  a 
convention  by  which  the  Grand  Council  was  formed.  But  in  1870,  in 
Baltimore,  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Southern  Jurisdiction,  in  a  spirit  of 
enlightened  comity  toward  Masonic  brethren,  resolved  to  relinquish  its  control 
over  the  Cryptic  Degrees  to  the  Grand  Councils,  to  promote  unity  in  the  Rite. 

General  Grand  Council  Formed.  —  In  the  year  187 1  the  Grand  Council 
of  Massachusetts  took  the  initiative,  in  an  effort  to  unify  the  polity  of  the  Rite, 
by  formally  requesting  that  distinguished  and  influential  companion,  Josiah  H. 
Drummond,  of  Maine, ^  to  call  a  convention  of  delegates  of  the  various  Grand 
Councils  for  that  purpose. 

The  call  was  issued,  and  fourteen  Grand  Councils  were  represented  at  a 
meeting  held  in  New  York  City,  June  12,  1872.  It  was  agreed  by  unanimous 
resolution,  as  follows  :  — 

"Whereas,  In  some  jurisdictions  the  question  has  been  mooted  of  surrendering  the  Cryptic 
Degrees  to  the  Chapters ;  and 

1  See  Drummond's  History  of  Grand  Councils  in  the  United  States,  p.  89,  in  The  Cryptic 
Rite.     Robertson.    Toronto,  1888. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


659 


"  Whereas,  there  are  many  companions  who  have  received  the  degrees  in  chapters,  or  from 
Sovereign  Inspectors  of  the  A .".  A  .•.  S .".  Rite,  therefore 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  convention  that  the  Cryptic  Degrees  should  be  under 
the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  Grand  Councils,  and  that  no  one  should  be  recognized  as  a  regular 
Companion  of  the  Rite  who  has  not  received  the  degrees  in  a  lawfully  constituted  council,  or  by 
authority  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  A.-.A.-.S.'.  Rite,  previous  to  this  date,  or  has  been 
lawfully  healed." 

A  uniform  system  of  nomenclature  was  adopted,  which  has  since  been 
generally  accepted  by  Grand  Councils. 

Another  meeting  of  the  convention  was  held,  in  New  York,  in  June,  1873, 
at  which  the  committee,  to  whom  the  subject  was  intrusted  the  previous  year, 
made  reports,  and  the  following  resolution  was  adopted,  nineteen  Grand 
Councils  being  represented  :  — 

"  That  the  order  of  the  succession  of  the  degrees  be :  first.  Royal  Master's ;  second.  Select 
Master's ;  and  that  it  be  left  optional  with  each  Grand  Council  to  confer  the  Super-Excellent 
Master's  degree  as  an  honorary  degree." 

It  was  announced,  as  the  sense  of  the  convention,  that  a  General  Grand 
Council  of  the  United  States  should  be  formed.  Meetings  were  subsequently 
held  in  New  Orleans,  December,  1874,  and  in  Buffalo,  New  York,  in  August, 
1877,  in  furtherance  of  this  object.  At  the  latter,  twenty-two  Grand  Councils 
(with  Ontario),  were  represented.  By  request  of  the  Grand  Council  of 
Minnesota,  the  convention  reassembled  at  Detroit,  August  23,  1880.  A  Con- 
stitution was  adopted,  which,  when  ratified  by  nine  Grand  Councils,  was  to 
become  operative.  On  February  23,  1881,  General  Grand  Recorder  George 
W.  Cooley  announced  that  the  Grand  Councils  of  New  York,  Minnesota,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Maryland,  Tennessee,  Massachusetts,  Alabama,  and  Louisiana  had 
ratified  it,  and  on  March  i,  1881,  the  General  Grand  Master,  Josiah  H. 
Drummond,  of  Maine,  issued  a  circular  to  the  officers-elect,  and,  also, 
announced  that  South  Carolina  had  adopted  the  Constitution. 

In  Denver,  Colorado,  August  14,  1883,  the  first  session  of  the  General 
Grand  Council  was  held.  Of  the  various  Grand  Councils,  eighteen  had  given  in 
their  adhesion.  Connecticut  and  Michigan,  whose  delegates  favored  the  body, 
did  not  ratify  the  Constitution.  Pennsylvania  and  Rhode  Island  declined  on 
account  of  opposition  to  National  bodies,  and  New  Jersey  for  other  reasons. 
North  Carolina  adopted  the  Chapter  system  (since  given  up,  and  the  Council 
government  restored).  Arkansas,  Illinois,  and  Kentucky  reorganized,  but  did 
not  unite  (although  Arkansas  has  since  ratified  the  compact).  Iowa,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Nebraska  retained  the  Chapter  system,  but  Nebraska  has  since 
joined  the  General  Grand  Council,  and  Mississippi  has  given  up  the  Chapter 
system.  Wisconsin  has  an  anomalous  system  ;  Virginia  and  West  Virginia 
confer  the  degrees  in  a  Chapter  series,  and  Texas,  as  heretofore  said,  in  a 
"  Council  appurtenant  to  a  Chapter." 

In  1886,  at  Washington,  fifteen  Grand  Councils  were  represented,  and  the 
organization  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Oregon,  under  jurisdiction  of  the  General 


66o  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Grand  Council,  was  announced,  and  dispensations  provided  for  councils  in  the 
Territories.  Companion  G.  Raymond  Portal  was  appointed  Representative 
near  the  Grand  Council  of  England,  and  Companion  J.  Ross  Robertson  near 
the  Grand  Council  of  Canada. 

The  Late  Triennial  Assembly.  —  In  1889,  at  Atlanta,  Georgia  (Novem- 
ber 19th),  seventeen  Grand  Councils  were  represented,  and  two  subordinates 
holding  charters  from  the  General  Grand  Council.  Companion  Love,  Deputy 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Georgia,  in  his  address  of  welcome, 
said  :  — 

"  While  we  regret  much  that  this  reception  must  be  such  as  pilgrim  travellers  are  wont  to 
meet  in  their  weary  pilgrimage,  no  royal  court,  nor  knightly  power  can  exceed  the  cordial 
grasp  or  heart-warm  greeting  we  would  gladly  grant  you,  in  this  our  Southern  sunny  home. 
Though  within  our  jurisdictional  realm,  the  Royal  and  Select,  into  whose  care  and  keeping  has 
been  intrusted  the  secret  symbols  and  sacred  treasures  of  our  silent  Crypt,  be  few  in  number,  the 
few  have  kept  the  faith.  Our  altars  are  pure  and  undefiled,  our  Sanctum  is  sacred  still,  and  our 
secret  vaults  are  duly  guarded  and  secure." 

The  General  Grand  Master's  address  touchingly  alluded  to  the  death  of 
Rev.  Canon  Portal,  M.  A.,  Grand  Representative  near  England  and  Wales,  who 
departed  this  life  April  5,  1889,  aged  sixty-one,  and,  for  eighteen  years,  Grand 
Master  of  Cryptic  Masons  in  England. 

Information  having  reached  this  body  of  the  intention  of  the  Grand  Council 
of  Mississippi  to  ratify  the  Constitution,  a  resolution  was  adopted,  extending  a 
cordial  welcome  to  such  representatives  as  it  may  send  to  the  next  triennial 
assembly. 

The  most  important  act  of  legislation  was  the  adoption  of  Section  15,  to 
amend  the  ist  Article  of  the  Constitution,  which  now  adds  the  following  :  — 

"Sec.  15.  State  Grand  Councils  shall  determine  the  legal  status  of  the  Royal  and  Select 
Masters  of  their  several  jurisdictions." 

The  adoption  of  this  section  by  a  unanimous  vote  has  already  produced  a 
very  favorable  effect  upon  the  Rite,  many  of  whom  felt  aggrieved  at  the  action 
of  the  first  convention,  especially  in  the  jurisdictions  of  Illinois  and  Kentucky, 
and  some  others,  from  which  earnest  protests  and  severe  criticism  had  been 
received.  George  W.  Cooley,  of  Minnesota,  was  chosen  M.*. P. •.  General 
Grand  Master,  and  Henry  W.  Mordhurst,  of  Indiana,  General  Grand  Recorder. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES.  66 1 

CHAPTER   II. 

The  Rite  by  Gr.\nd  Jurisdictions,  and  its  Three  Degrees. 

The  limits  of  this  work  forbid  more  than  brief  references  to  the  Cryptic 
Rite  in  each  jurisdiction. 

Alabama.  —  The  Cryptic  Degrees,  and  it  is  believed  councils  also,  are 
due  to  the  work  of  John  Barker,  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Rite.  The  Grand  Council  was  formed  in  1838  (December  13th), 
by  twenty-seven  Royal  and  Select  Masters.  In  1 843  the  action  of  Virginia  was 
repudiated.  In  1849  it  objected  to  the  granting  of  the  degrees  in  its  jurisdic- 
tion, by  the  Grand  Consistory  of  Charleston.  Many  of  its  subordinates  were  in 
widely  distant  States.  After  meeting  regularly  for  forty-five  years,  in  1886  its 
constituents  dissolved  it,  all  branches  of  Masonry  in  that  State  being  much 
depressed.  But  with  the  revival  of  the  industrial  interests,  in  a  very  marked 
degree,  hope  exists  for  a  return  of  better  things. 

Arkansas.  —  Grand  Council  was  formed  November  6,  i860,  by  four  councils 
chartered  by  the  Southern  Supreme  Council.  Has  a  provision  of  the  constitu- 
tion making  active  members  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  resident  in  the 
State,  and  members  of  the  Convention,  members  also  of  Grand  Council  as  long 
as  they  are  members  of  councils  in  the  State.  Adopted  Chapter  method  in 
1878,  but  reorganized  in  1881.  Joined  General  Grand  Council  in  1886.  The 
Grand  Council  has  conferred  degrees  upon  candidates  for  the  general  good  of 
the  Rite  there,  but  now  confines  its  practice  to  conferring  the  degrees  upon 
those  previously  elected  in  a  subordinate  council. 

California.  —  Organized  June  26,  i860,  by  two  councils  chartered  by 
Grand  Council  of  Alabama,  one  by  Grand  Council  of  Tennessee,  and  one 
by  Grand  Council  of  Texas. 

Connecticut. — This  jurisdiction  has  been  freely  referred  to  in  the  sketch 
of  general  history.  Cross  founded  ten  councils  in  181 8.  In  May  (20th) 
18 1 9,  the  first  Grand  Council  of  Select  Masters  was  organized  by  that  name, 
it  is  claimed.  Records  to  1830,  lost.  In  1825,  by  revised  constitution,  both 
degrees  are  mentioned,  and  power  over  them  given  to  councils.  Great 
decay  and  depression  ensued  between  1826  and  1846,  but  since  that  date 
rapid  and  steady  progress  has  been  made. 

Delaware.  —  Cross  conferred  degrees  in  Newcastle  and  Wilmington,  but 
Cryptic  IMasonry  has  been  neglected  in  Delaware. 

Florida. — Grand  Council  organized  January  13,  1858,  by  three  councils 
chartered  by  the  Southern  Supreme  Council.  After  a  long  struggle  over  the 
subject  of  Chapter  jurisdiction,  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Florida  declined  to  act, 
and  it  became  a  member  of  the  General  Grand  Council.  No  proceedings 
have  been  printed  since  1882,  or  meetings  held  since  1884  to  1889,  but  a 
meeting  was  announced  for  1890. 


552  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Georgia. — Abram  Jacobs  conferred  the  Select  degree  before  1800,  as 
heretofore  mentioned.  Grand  Council  formed  May  2,  1826,  under  authority 
of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  and  is  mentioned  in  publications  of  that  era. 
Its  records  have  been  lost,  and  it  became  dormant.  A  convention  was  held, 
and  Grand  Council  was  formed  June  22,  1841,  by  three  councils.  The  by-laws 
of  No.  I,  state:  "Established  under  the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Grand 
Council  of  the  33°,  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina."  Adopted,  in  1841,  the 
constitution  of  1826  ;  but,  in  the  revised  constitution  of  1842,  it  claimed  to  be 
"  The  highest  source  of  legitimate  Masonic  authority  in  the  State  of  Georgia, 
and  of  right  ought  to  have  the  government  and  superintendence  of  all 
councils  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  within  its  jurisdiction."  Its  Grand 
Council  meets  annually. 

Illinois.  —  Grand  Council  organized  March  10,  1854,  by  councils  char- 
tered by  Grand  Council  of  Kentucky.  This  is  one  of  the  most  important 
jurisdictions  in  the  United  States.  Its  membership  is  large,  and  Chicago  is 
the  seat  of  much  activity  in  Masonic  work. 

In  1854  it  refused  even  to  "  heal "  Royal  and  Select  Masters  made  in  chap- 
ters. In  1877  it  surrendered  the  degrees  to  the  Grand  Chapter,  but  the 
Grand  Council  continued  to  meet  annually,  its  constituent  councils,  if  they 
can  be  so  regarded,  being  composed  of  chapter-made  Royal  and  Select 
Masters,  in  addition  to  former  membership.  The  arrangement,  however,  was 
not  satisfactory,  and  in  1882  the  Grand  Chapter  and  Grand  Council  mutually 
agreed  to  return  to  the  original  status.  Much  warm  discussion,  pro  and  con, 
has  been  indulged  in  throughout  the  country,  and  Illinois  has  held  a  very 
conspicuous  position,  in  opposition  to  the  views  of  many  who  represented  the 
General  Grand  Council;  but  a  more  harmonious  future  is  probable  since 
the  action  of  that  body,  in  relegating  the  Masonic  status  of  its  membership  to 
each  individual  Grand  Council.  It  has  been  claimed  in  Illinois,  by  some 
of  her  wisest  and  best  Masons,  that  these  uncertainties  have  cost  the  loss  of 
several  thousand  members  heretofore.     The  Grand  Council  is  independent. 

Indiana.  —  In  this  jurisdiction  the  degrees  were  conferred  in  chapters 
until  the  action  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter.  After  this,  chapter-made 
Masters  were  "  healed,"  and  councils  chartered  by  Kentucky  and  Ohio  organ- 
ized the  Grand  Council  December  20,  1855.  Cryptic  Masonry  is  prosperous 
in  this  jurisdiction. 

Iowa.  —  Here  the  Council  Degrees  were  conferred  in  chapters  when 
Royal  Arch  Masonry  was  introduced.  But  after  the  General  Grand  Chapter 
resolutions,  heretofore  mentioned,  companions  were  "  healed  "  on  the  authority 
of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Illinois,  and  councils  chartered 
by  Illinois  organized  the  Grand  Council  of  Iowa  January  2,  1857.  Nineteen 
councils  had  been  organized,  when,  in  1878,  it  merged  itself  into  the  Grand 
Chapter,  and  to  the  present  day  confers  the  degrees  in  chapters.  But  it  has 
been  recently  stated,  on  apparently  good  authority,  that  there  is  a  strong 
disposition  to  reassume  the  Council  organization. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


66l 


Kansas.  —  Organized,  in  Grand  Council  of  R.-.S.-.  and  S.-.E.-. Masons, 
December  12,  1867,  by  three  councils,  chartered  by  the  Grand  Council  of 
Missouri. 

Kentucky.  —  Cross  conferred  the  Select  degree  in  1816-1817,  and  sent 
charters,  but  if  organization  took  place  then,  it  is  not  known.  Delegates  from 
six  councils  organized  the  Grand  Council,  December  10,  1827,  —  a  result  of 
the  labors  of  John  Barker,  representing  the  Southern  Supreme  Council. 
During  the  Anti-Masonic  period,  it  met  once  only  between  1833  and  1845. 
Kentucky  merged  the  degrees,  under  chapter  control,  from  1878  to  1881, 
when  the  Grand  Council  reorganized. 

In  the  recent  Masonic  annals  of  this  Grand  Council,  Most  Illustrious  H.  B. 
Grant,  Grand  Master,  reports  the  case  of  a  Thrice  Illustrious  Master  of  a 
council  who  had  communicated  the  degrees,  out  of  a  council,  and  who  con- 
strued his  obligation  to  mean  that  he  must  not  confer  the  degrees,  except  in  a 
council,  but  might  communicate  the  same,  and  direct  the  Recorder  to  insert 
the  names  as  if  made  in  a  council.  The  Grand  Master  declared  the  work 
irregular,  violating  present  usage,  and  required  recognition  to  be  refused  until 
they  were  "  healed "  in  open  council.  The  Grand  Council  unanimously 
approved.     Kentucky  is  an  independent  jurisdiction. 

Louisiana.  —  When  the  degrees  were  first  introduced  is  unknown,  but 
Holland  Council,  No.  i,  was  organized  by  John  Barker  in  1827,  and  it  is 
referred  to  in  the  "  tableau  "  of  the  Grand  Chapter  in  1828.  There  was  a 
reorganization  of  Capitular  Masonry  about  1850,  and  Cryptic  Masonry  also 
assumed  new  life,  four  councils  having  formed  a  Grand  Council,  February 
10,  1856.  One  of  these  was  Holland,  No.  i,  and  the  others  were  chartered 
by  Kentucky  and  Alabama. 

Maine.  —  Organized  May  3,  1855,  by  three  councils,  chartered  by  the 
Grand  Council  of  Massachusetts  in  1854.  At  an  earlier  period,  a  council  had 
been  working  under  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  before  it  relinquished  charge. 
Peaceful  and  prosperous,  Maine  is  without  a  history,  except  that  of  success. 

Maryland.  —  The  original  leaders,  in  disseminating  the  degrees  in  Mary- 
land, have  been  spoken  of.  It  was  a  "side  degree"  there  before  1800. 
Those  in  charge,  under  the  belief  that  the  Select  degree  was  under  their 
absolute  control,  placed  it  in  charge  of  chapters,  and  it  was  authorized  by  the 
Grand  Chapter  to  be  conferred  in  181 7.  In  1824,  it  was  formally  made  part 
of  the  chapter  system,  to  be  conferred  before  the  M.'.E.*. Master's  degree. 
In  1845  it  vvas  placed  after  that  degree.  The  Cryptic  Degrees  continued 
to  be  conferred  in  chapter-councils  until  1872,  when  the  Grand  Chapter 
forbade  it.  This  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Council,  by  six 
councils.  May  12,  1874. 

Massachusetts.  —  Benjamin  Gleason  and  others  formed  a  voluntary  coun- 
cil of  Royal  Masters  in  181 7,  obtaining  afterwards  the  sanction  of  Columbian 
Council  (New  York).     Cross  organized  a  Select  council  at  Springfield,  May 


664 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


28,  1 81 8.  Representatives  from  six  councils  met  February  8,  1826,  and 
completed  the  organization  of  a  Grand  Council,  June  15,  1826.  Records 
during  the  x-\nti-]\Iasonic  agitation  are  lost  until  the  reorganization  in  1847. 
Since  1853  it  has  met  regularly,  and  has  been  so  prosperous  that  it  is  the 
largest  jurisdiction  in  membership.  Hiram  Council  (Worcester),  with  517 
members,  is  the  largest  council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  in  the  world. 

The  address  of  Most  Illustrious  Grand  Master  Daniel  W.  Jones  (Mass.) 
(December,  1889),  in  alluding  to  the  recent  amendment  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  General  Grand  Council  declares  :  — 

"  This  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  all  felt  that  it  would  make  clear  the  aim  of  the  General 
Grand  body,  and  bring  into  harmonious  union  all  the  Grand  Councils.  Immediately,  delegates 
from  several  outside  Grand  Councils  expressed  the  opinion  that  these  Grand  bodies  would  join 
the  General  Grand  Council  as  soon  as  the  necessary  arrangements  could  be  made. 

"These  triennial  assemblies  conduce  not  only  to  the  performance  of  such  duties  as  will  tend 
to  the  proper  consolidation  and  organization  of  the  Order,  but  also  to  the  cultivation  of  those 
social  feelings  which  can  but  draw  us  nearer  into  the  bonds  of  common  brotherhood,  and  thus 
strengthen  Cryptic  Masonry  throughout  the  world." 

MicMgan.  —  Grand  Council  organized  January  13,  1858,  by  three  coun- 
cils, chartered  by  Grand  Council  of  Connecticut.  The  first  dispensation  was 
granted,  in  1856,  for  Monroe  Council,  at  Detroit.  The  Order  has  made 
remarkable  progress,  Michigan  is  one  of  the  most  important  jurisdictions. 
The  Grand  Council  is  independent,  but  does  not  favor  chapter-made  Royal 
and  Select  Masters.  Companion  G.  B.  Noble,  Chairman  of  the  Convention, 
says  (1890)  :  "We  are  pleased  to  find  the  Cryptic  Rite  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  From  the  statistics  we  have  been  able  to  obtain,  in  all  save  a  few 
jurisdictions  there  has  been  a  steady  growth.  .  .  ," 

The  questions  heretofore  in  controversy,  i.e.,  the  healing  process  and  status 
of  chapter-made  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  we  believe  are  very  satisfactorily 
setded. 

Minnesota.  —  Organized  Grand  Council  December  12,  1870,  by  three 
councils,  chartered  by  Grand  Council  of  Iowa.  A  council  had  been  chartered 
by  New  York  in  1855,  but  it  became  dormant.  Minnesota  has  taken  a  very 
prominent  part  in  the  formation  and  management  of  the  General  Grand 
Council. 

Mississippi.  —  The  early  history  has  been  detailed  in  the  general  history  of 
the  Rite.  Organized  July  19,  1856,  —  adopted,  in  1877,  what  is  known  as  the 
"Mississippi  plan,"  but  reorganized  Grand  Council  in  February,  1888. 

Missouri.  —  The  Royal  degree  was  introduced  in  1828.  In  1842  a 
Grand  Council  was  formed  by  councils  organized  by  a  companion  deriving 
authority  from  Cross.  These  became  e.xtinct,  and  also  subsequent  councils 
chartered  by  Kentucky.  The  Grand  Council  was  organized.  May  21,  1864, 
by  three  councils,  chartered  by  Illinois. 

Nebraska.  —  Grand  Council  organized  November  20,  1872,  by  Omaha 
Council  (organized  July  8,  1867),  under  charter  from  the  Southern  Supreme 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


665 


Council  T^Ty'^ ,  and  two  councils,  chartered  by  Kansas.  Adopted,  in  1878,  a 
form  of  "  iVIississippi  plan,"  but  revived  as  a  Grand  Council,  in  1886,  and 
joined  the  General  Grand  Council. 

New  Hampshire.  —  On  August  5,  1815,  four  companions  formed  a 
voluntary  council  of  Royal  Masters  at  Hopkinton.  A  council  of  Select 
Masters,  under  direction  of  Cross,  was  formed  in  18 19,  and  the  two  united  in 
1822.  A  Grand  Council  was  organized  July  9,  1823.  From  1835  to  1855, 
Cryptic  Masonry  was  dormant,  when  Orphan  and  Columbian  Councils  revived, 
and  with  Adoniram  Council,  chartered  by  Connecticut,  formed  a  Grand 
Council  June  11,  1862.     It  is  now  flourishing. 

New  Jersey.  —  Organized  Grand  Council  November  26,  i860,  two 
councils  having  been  chartered  by  Pennsylvania,  and  one  by  New  York.  It 
is  an  independent  jurisdiction. 

New  York.  —  This  jurisdiction  has  been  discussed  in  the  general  account 
of  the  Rite.  On  September  2,  18 10,  a  number  of  Royal  Masters,  who 
received  the  degree  as  a  "  side  degree,"  voluntarily  organized  "  Columbian 
Grand  Council  of  Royal  Master  Masons."  In  18 18  they  conferred  the  Super- 
Excellent  degree.  In  1821  it  merged  with  a  voluntary  council  of  Select 
Masters.  In  i860,  well-known  troubles  in  symbolic  Masonry  being  adjusted, 
the  old  Grand  Council,  which  had  been  formed  originally  of  officers  and  past 
officers  of  Columbian,  united  with  a  Grand  Council  which  had  been  formed, 
in  New  York,  in  1854,  by  three  councils,  chartered  by  Connecticut,  that  did 
not  at  that  time  recognize  the  existing  Masonic  authority  of  the  old  council. 
New  York  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  General  Grand  Council. 

North  Carolina. — Masonry  was  introduced  into  North  Carolina  at  an 
early  date.  On  August  21,  1767,  a  warrant  was  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England  for  "  Royal  White  Hart  Lodge,"  at  Halifax,  North  Carolina.  The 
first  Grand  Council  was  organized  at  Fayetteville,  June  21,  1822,  five  councils 
that  were  at  work  uniting,  and  the  result  of  the  work  of  the  Southern  Supreme 
Council.  The  question  of  jurisdiction  by  the  Grand  Chapter  was  mooted,  but 
in  1825  it  decUned.  In  1859  the  Grand  Chapter,  which  had  assumed  some 
sort  of  control  over  these  degrees,  in  the  dormant  condition  of  the  Grand 
Council  for  many  years,  adopted  the  following :  "  Resolved,  That  this  Grand 
Chapter,  after  due  consideration,  hereby  disclaims  for  itself  and  subordinates 
any  and  all  control  over  the  Royal  and  Select  Masters'  degrees."  In  i860 
three  councils  were  chartered  by  the  Supreme  Council  (Southern  Jurisdiction), 
Dr.  A.  G.  Mackey  being  the  active  agent,  and  the  Grand  Council  was  formed 
June  6,  i860.  But,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  no  farther  meeting  was  held 
until  1 868.  In  1883  it  dissolved,  and  again  remitted  the  degrees  to  the  Grand 
Chapter,  but  in  1887  it  reorganized.  Its  Grand  Council  is  an  independent 
jurisdiction. 

Ohio. — Grand  Council  organized  January  6,  1830,  by  five  councils,  all 
formed  by  John  Barker,  Agent  for  the  Southern  Supreme  Council.     The  Select 


566  COSMOPOLITA\'  FREEMASOXRY. 

degree  had  been  conferred  by  Cross  in  iSi6,  and  a  council  at  Cleveland  was 
chartered  by  New  York  in  1827,  but  no  record  of  it  exists.  Ohio  has  become 
a  very  large  jurisdiction,  and  its  work  was  revised  in  i  SSo. 

Oregon. — The  General  Grand  Master  of  the  General  Grand  Council 
authorized  A.  H.  Hodson  to  assemble  not  less  than  five  Royal  and  Select 
Masters,  and  confer  the  degrees  upon  not  exceeding  nine  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
and  a  dispensation  was  issued  for  Pioneer  Council,  U.  D.,  at  McMinnville. 
Grand  Council  organized,  by  three  councils,  February  3,  1885. 

Pennsylvania.  — A  Grand  Council  was  formed,  in  1847,  by  two  councils  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  Texas.  Its  records  were  not  kept,  but  papers  of  its 
meetings,  from  1847  to  185 1,  have  been  found.  In  1854  a  proposal  was  made 
to  give  the  control  of  the  degrees  to  the  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  but 
this  was  not  accepted,  and  the  Grand  Council  was  reorganized  December  30, 
1854.  It  is  an  independent  jurisdiction,  but  declines  to  recognize  Royal  and 
Select  Masters  made  in  chapters.  The  admirable  system  of  visitation,  by 
Grand  Officers,  in  Pennsylvania,  has  been  followed  by  a  substantial  growth. 

Rhode  Island.  —  On  March  28,  18 18,  a  meeting  of  Royal  Masters  was 
held  in  Providence,  which  voted,  May  19th,  that  "  The  degree  of  Select  Master 
be  attached  to  this  council."  In  1S19  Cross  presented  them  a  charter.  After 
being  dormant  many  years,  a  meeting  was  held  in  1841.  Other  councils  were 
chartered  by  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  and,  in  1S49,  the  Northern 
Supreme  Council  endorsed  authority,  —  to  confer  the  degrees  of  Royal  and 
Select  Master,  —  upon  a  charter  for  a  Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Newport.  This 
was  revoked  in  1870,  and  a  charter  obtained  from  the  Grand  Council  which 
had  been  formed  October  30,  i860.     This  is  an  independent  jurisdiction. 

South  Carolina.  —  The  early  history  has  been  mentioned.  The  Supreme 
Council  was  held  as  the  lawful  governing  power,  and  chartered  nine  councils 
in  1858-9.  But  in  i860  it  waived  its  rights,  and  a  Grand  Council  was 
organized  February  15,  i860.  It  followed  the  course  of  Mississippi  in  1880, 
but  in  1 88 1  reorganized  and  became  a  member  of  the  General  Grand  Council. 

Tennessee.  —  Organized  its  Grand  Council  October  13,  1847,  by  two 
councils,  chartered  by  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  two  by  Kentucky,  and 
one  U.  D.  from  the  Grand  Council  of  Alabama. 

Texas.  —  Organized  Grand  Council  June  24,  1856,  which,  in  1864,  was 
disbanded,  as  heretofore  related,  and  the  degrees  given  to  the  chapter. 

Vermont.  —  Cross  went  to  this  jurisdiction  after  his  return  from  the  South, 
and  in  person,  or  by  his  deputy,  John  H.  Cotton,  organized  nine  councils, 
beginning  at  Windsor,  July  7,  181 7.  The  warrant  of  the  council  at  Benning- 
ton has  been  preserved,  and  reads  :  — 

"  To  all  whom  these  presents  may  come,  GREETING : 

"  Know  ye,  that  by  the  high  powers  in  me  vested  by  the  Thrice  Illustrious  and  Grand  Puissant 

in  the  Grand  Council  of  Select  Masters,  held  at  the  City  of  Baltimore,  in  the  State  of  Maryland, 

North  America,  I  do  hereby  constitute  and  empower  the  within-named  Companions  to  form 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


667 


fhemselves  into  a  regular  Council  of  Select  Masters,  and  I  do  appoint  my  W'orthy  Companion, 
Samuel  S.  Young,  to  be  first  Thrice  Illustrious  Grand  Master,  Zacheus  Hovey  be  the  first  Illus- 
trious Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  Oliver  Abell  to  be  the  Principal  Conductor,  and  I  do  grant 
them  full  power,  with  their  constitutional  number,  to  assemble,  open,  and  confer  the  Degree  of 
Select  Master,  and  do  all  other  business  appertaining  to  said  degree,  for  which  this  shall  be  their 
warrant,  until  revoked  by  the  Grand  Puissant.  And  I  do  further  direct  said  Council  to  hold  its 
meetings  at  Bennington,  Bennington  County,  and  State  of  Vermont.  Given  under  my  hand  at 
Bennington,  this  twenty-third  day  of  May,  a.d.  1818,  and  of  the  Discovery,  2818. 

"  JOHN  H.  COTTON, 

"Acting  Deputy  Puissant  in  Grand  Council." 

These  councils  existed  until  1826-1828.  In  1849  they  reorganized  and 
worked  under  original  warrants  until  1854.  Four  councils  organized  Grand 
Council  August  10,  1854. 

Virginia. — The  early  history  of  the  Rite  shows  that  Myers  remained 
awhile  in  Virginia,  where  he  probably  conferred  degrees.  In  December,  181 7, 
a  council  of  Select  Masters  was  established  by  Cross  in  Richmond,  and  sub- 
sequently one  at  Portsmouth  and  other  points.  December  20,  1820,  a  Grand 
Council  was  formed,  which  apparently  failed  to  meet  from  1829  to  1839,  ^^^^ 
in  1847  dissolved  itself  and  left  the  degrees  to  the  chapter.  The  mistake  in 
connection  with  this  action  has  been  elsewhere  described.  The  degrees  are 
conferred  before  the  Royal  Arch. 

Wisconsin.  —  Three  councils,  chartered  by  Ohio,  organized  the  Grand 
Council  October  28,  1857.  In  1878,  by  arrangement,  the  Grand  Chapter 
took  charge  of  the  degrees.  But  in  1881  a  Grand  Council  was  organized  by 
representatives  from  forty-nine  councils.  The  record  does  not  state  how 
they  were  organized. 

Subordinate  Councils. — The  following  subordinate  councils  are  under 
charge  of  the  General  Grand  Council :  Washington,  No.  i,  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia;  Oklahoma,  No.  i,  at  Atoka,  Indian  Territory;  Deming,  No.  i, 
Deming,  New  ^Mexico  ;  and  Casselton,  No.  i,  Casselton,  North  Dakota. 

Cryptic  Masonry  in  Canada.  —  The  authority  for  the  facts  stated  in  this 
brief  sketch  is  derived  chiefly  from  the  comprehensive  work  of  the  Rite  in 
Canada,  by  Past  Grand  Master  J.  Ross  Robertson,  of  Toronto,  Grand  Recorder 
of  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Samuel  Kidder,  from  the  United  States,  travelled  through  New  Brunswick 
as  a  lecturer  in  1S26,  and  it  is  supposed  the  degrees  were  conferred  by  him 
at  that  time,  as  a  St.  John  newspaper  of  1828  contains  a  notice  of  a  quarterly 
meeting  of  Ro3'al  and  Select  Masters.  But  there  is  no  record  that  is  authentic. 
In  1866  Companion  Robert  Marshall,  of  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  took  the 
degrees  of  Royal,  Select,  and  Super-Excellent  Master,  in  a  Royal  and  Select 
council  at  Baltimore,  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  the  Rite. 
He  instituted  three  councils,  —  St.  John,  No.  i,  New  Brunswick,  No.  2,  and 
Carleton,  No.  3,  —  under  charters  from  the  Grand  Council  of  Maine,  May  18, 
1867. 

A  convocation  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters  of  New  Brunswick  was  called, 


668  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

August  15,  1867,  to  form  a  Grand  Council.  Gordon  R.  Garden,  t^'^ ,  of  the 
Grand  Council  of  Maine,  was  present,  with  the  representatives,  and  acted  as 
President.  A  constitution  was  adopted,  and  Most  Illustrious  Companion 
Robert  Marshall  was  elected  M.'.P.-.Grand  Master  for  New  Brunswick.  In 
1868  delegates  were  appointed  to  the  convention  of  Cryptic  Masons  held  in 
St.  Louis,  Missouri.  In  1870  "  Chebucto  "  Council  was  constituted  in  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  under  warrant  from  the  Grand  Council  of  New  Brunswick. 

In  1870  councils  were  authorized  to  confer  the  degree  of  the  "Red 
Cross,"  or  "  Babylonish  Pass,"  that  being  a  prerequisite  to  the  Order  of 
Knights  Templar  in  the  United  States,  but  not  acknowledged  by  the  Supreme 
Grand  Conclave,  of  the  Order  in  England  and  Wales,  under  which  Canadian 
Templar  Encampments  held.  The  council  took  jurisdiction  with  the  approval 
of  W.  J.  B.  McLeod  Moore,  S.  G.  I.  G.,  zi""^  and  Grand  Prior,  Order  of  the 
Temple,  etc..  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  also  of  Most  Eminent  Sir  Knight 
William  Blackstone  Hubbard,  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the 
United  States,  and  this  was  recognized  by  Right  Eminent  Sir  William  S. 
Gardner,  afterward  Grand  Master  of  Templars. 

It  was  in  the  village  of  Orillia,  Ontario,  that  a  council,  under  warrant  from 
New  Brunswick,  was  established  as  "  Shekinah  "  Council  in  November,  1S70. 
Other  councils  were  established,  and,  in  July,  1871,  Adoniram  Council, 
Toronto,  called  a  Convention  of  councils  in  Ontario,  which  met  August  8, 
1871,  and  the  Grand  Couitcil  of  Ontario  \v2a  formed;  R.*. P.*. Companion 
R.  D.  Harington,  Inspector  General  of  Cryptic  Masonry  for  Ontario  and 
Quebec,  being  present  as  Chairman,  and,  transferring  his  authority,  the  Grand 
Council  proceeded  to  work  with  success,  meeting  annually,  and  granting 
charters  to  councils.  In  August,  1873,  the  Grand  Master  in  his  address  took 
notice  of  the  formation  of  the  Grand  Council  of  England  and  Wales. 

In  1875,  ^^  ^'^"^^  Annual  Assembly  of  Ontario  resolved  as  follows  :  — 

"  That  this  Grand  Council  approves  of  the  formation  of  a  Grand  Council  of  Rites  for  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  composed  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  the  Grand 
Conclave  of  Rome  and  Constantine,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Royal  Ark  Mariners,  and  hereby 
authorizes  and  instructs  the  Most  Illustrious,  the  Grand  Master,  to  take  all  necessary  steps  in  con- 
nection with  the  other  bodies  interested  to  perfect  the  same." 

This  resolution  went  into  effect,  by  consent  of  all  the  bodies  named,  in  July, 
1880,  under  name  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Canada. 

In  1884,  the  Red  Cross  degree  being  then  given  in  Preceptories  of 
Knights  Templar,  the  Grand  Council  of  Canada  surrendered  all  control  over 
the  Red  Cross,  and  councils  were  directed  to  cease  conferring  it.  Similar 
action  was  taken  in  1885,  in  reference  to  the  other  Rites,  leaving  the  Grand 
Council  in  control  only  of  the  Cryptic  Rite. 

A  period  of  comparative  depression  set  in,  but  it  is  believed  that  energetic 
action  in  visitation,  on  the  part  of  superior  officers,  will  bear  fruit  in  future 
prosperity.     Past  Grand  Master  Robertson  beautifully  says  :  — 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


669 


"The  day-dream  of  our  lives  may  be  realized,  and  a  fresh  interest,  a  new-born  enthusiasm,  an 
inspiration  tor  another  existence,  may  be  awaitins?  those  who  hold  fast  to  the  faith,  and  feel  that  in 
the  degrees  of  Royal  and  Select  Master,  there  is  an  enduring  strength  that  can  withstand  the  giant 
wave  of  success  which  seems  to  attend  those  modern  organizations,  planted  as  they  are,  like  pines 
in  Southern  forests,  all  over  this  great  continent." 

THE  KOYAL  DEGREE.  —  Mackey  describes  this  degree  as  the  eighth  in 
the  American  Rite,  and  the  first  conferred  in  a  council  of  Royal  and  Select 
Masters.  It  has  the  following  officers  :  A  Thrice  Illustrious  Master,  repre- 
senting King  Solomon  ;  a  Right  Illustrious  Deputy  Master,  representing  Hiram 
of  Tyre  ;  an  Illustrious  Principal  Conductor  of  the  Work,  representing  Hiram 
Abif;  a  Treasurer;  Recorder;  Captain  of  the  Guard;  Conductor  of  the 
Council,  and  Steward.  The  Council  Chamber  represents  the  private  retreat 
of  King  Solomon,  for  consultation  with  his  colleagues.  A  candidate  is  said 
to  be  "honored  "  with  the  degree.  The  apron  is  black,  in  token  of  grief  at 
the  loss  of  the  Chief  Builder,  edged  with  red,  typifying  his  blood,  shed  to 
maintain  his  integrity. 

Mackey  says  :  ^  — 

"  Tlie  events  recorded  in  this  degree  must  have  occurred  at  the  building  of  the  First  Temple, 
and  during  that  brief  period  of  time,  after  the  death  of  the  Builder,  which  is  embraced  between  the 
discovery  of  his  body  and  its  '  Masonic  interment."  .  .  .  If  from  the  legendary  history  we  proceed 
to  the  symbolism  of  the  degree,  as  we  shall  find  that  brief  and  simple  as  are  the  ceremonies,  they 
present  the  great  Masonic  idea  of  the  laborer  seeking  for  his  reward." 

SELECT  MASTER.  —  The  officers  of  this  degree  are  a  Thrice  Illustrious 
Master,  Right  Illustrious  Deputy  Master,  Illustrious  Principal  Conductor  of 
the  Work,  Treasurer,  Recorder,  Captain  of  the  Guard,  Conductor  of  the 
Council,  Steward,  and  Sentinel.  The  first  three  represent  the  Grand  Masters 
at  the  building  of  the  Temple.  The  symbolic  colors  are  :  black,  signifying 
secrecy  and  darkness,  and  red,  for  ardent  zeal.  Every  officer  and  member  of 
a  council  wears  a  silver  trowel  within  a  triangle  of  the  same,  suspended  from 
a  black  collar,  edged  and  lined  with  red.  A  council  is  supposed  strictly  to 
have  neither  more  nor  less  than  twenty-seven  members.  The  term  was  for- 
merly used  —  "  Select  Masons  of  Twenty-Seven."  The  candidate  is  said  to 
be  "chosen."  The  historic  object  is^  to  commemorate  the  deposit  of  an 
important  treasure  by  Hiram  Abif.  The  place  of  meeting  i?  a  "Secret  Vault" 
beneath  the  Temple. 

While  the  labors  of  the  Select  Masters  were  performed  before  those  related 
in  the  Royal  degree,  yet  they  were  not  made  known  to  the  Craft  until  long 
afterward  ;  the  very  existence  of  Select  Masters,  and  their  secret,  having  been 
unknown  to  the  great  mass  of  workers,  the  degree  explaining  much  that  had 
taken  place  anterior  to  it. 

The  great  beauty  of  both  degrees  has  long  excited  Masonic  admiration. 

SUPER-EXCELLENT  MASTER.— This  degree  in  some  American  coun- 
cils is  conferred  in  course,  but  the  greater  number  treat  it  as  simply  an  honorary 

1  Mackey's  Encyclopsedia,  p.  674.  ^  Mackey's  Encyclopnsdia,  p.  704. 


670 


COSMOPOLITAN  FKEEMASONR  Y. 


or  "side  degree,"  as  it  was  considered  by  the  A.- .A.- .S.- .Rite.  It  does 
not  properly  pertain  to  the  Cryptic  Degrees,  but  is  rather  an  extension  of  a  part 
of  the  Royal  Arch  degree.  A  council  of  Super-Excellent  Masters  has  fifteen 
officers  :  Most  Excellent  King,  representing  Zedediah,  the  twentieth  and  last 
king  of  Judah  ;  Companion  Gedeliah,  representing  one  of  Zedediah's  princes ; 
the  First  Keeper  of  the  Temple ;  the  Second  Keeper  of  the  Temple  ;  Third 
Keeper  of  the  Temple  ;  First  Herald  ;  Second  Herald  ;  Third  Herald  ;  Captain 
of  the  Guard;  (3)  Royal  Guards;  Recorder;  ISIaster  of  Exchequer,  and 
Sentinel.  It  refers  to  circumstances  occurring  on  the  last  day  of  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem.  "  Its  legend  and  ceremonies  are  intended  to  inculcate  that 
important  Masonic  virtue  —  fidelity  to  vows." 

Conclusion.  —  Cryptic  Masonry  in  America,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  steadily 
gaining  strength.  While  it  is  stationary,  or  even  losing  to  some  extent,  in  a 
few  jurisdictions,  it  is  nevertheless  in  general  advancing  with  satisfactory  prog- 
ress. The  Rite  has  no  adventitious  aid  as  a  prerequisite  to  any  other  body. 
There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  this  jewel  and  crown  of  Ancient  Craft 
Masonry  will  ever  want  votaries  to  seek  it  in  the  "  Secret  Vault." 


Cryptic  Freemasonry, 


England. — Cryptic  Freemasonry  has  been  worked  in  England,  more 
or  less  regularly,  for  over  a  century,  in  fact  from  about  1760,  in  one  form  or 
another,  as  the  degrees  are,  in  part,  nearly  allied  to  some  of  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Rite.  My  "  Origin  of  the  English  Rite  "  is  the  latest  work  on  the 
subject  from  a  British  stand-point,  and  might  be  consulted  with  advantage,  in 
relation  to  the  additions  to  the  Royal  Arch. 

Of  late  years  these  degrees  seem  almost  to  have  been  lost  sight  of,  and  the 
knowledge  of  their  working  nearly,  if  not  wholly,  died  out,  save  in  Scotland, 
under  the  wing  of  the  "  Early  Grand  Encampment." 

The  authority,  now  active,  was  derived  from  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
was  the  outcome  of  a  movement,  originated  in  the  Mark  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  to  enable  Mark  Masons  and  Royal  Arch  Companions,  in  England,  to 
take  the  Most  Excellent  Master,  and  the  Royal,  Select,  and  Super-Excellent 
Masters'  degrees,  as  in  America. 


THE    CRYPTIC  DEGREES. 


67. 


The  first  of  these  was  authorized  by  Most  Eminent  Companion  Rees 
George  Williams,  G.  H.  P.,  in  1S71  ;  an  1  the  others  were  chartered,  in  connec- 
tion with  four  councils,  to  meet  in  London,  in  the  same  year,  by  the  Most 
Puissant  James  McCreedie  G/.M.*.  of  the  R/.S.".  and  S.*.  E.-.  Masters, 
these  uniting  to  form  the  Grand  Council  for  England. 

The  first  Grand  Master  was  the  Most  Worshipful  Brother  the  Rev.  Canon 
Portal,  M.  A.,  who  continued  to" be  reelected  until  his  lamented  decease  in 
1889,  when  the  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of  Euston  was  chosen  in  his  stead, 
Brother  Frank  Richardson,  2)Z°j  being  the  D.  G.  M.  and  Lord  Dungarvan  the 
P.  C.  of  W.  Several  of  the  chief  members  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite 
have  taken  an  especial  interest  in  the  work  and  prosperity  of  these  degrees, 
which  were  so  happily  introduced  into  England,  in  1871,  by  the  111.-.  Brother 
Jackson  H.  Chase,  and  111.'.  Brothers  Martin  and  Thompson.  The  present 
Grand  Recorder  is  the  R.-.W.-.  Brother  C.  F.  Matier,  P.  D.  G.  M.,  who  is 
the  efficient  Grand  Mark  Secretary,  and  one  of  the  best  Ritualists  known. 

Fifteen  councils  in  all  have  been  warranted,  of  which  number  twelve 
continue  on  the  roll ;  but  not  much  support  has  been  granted  to  them  by 
the  "  rank  and  file  "  of  the  Craft,  for  even  some  of  these  are  languishing. 

Representatives  are  exchanged  with  several  Grand  Councils  in  the  United 
States,  Canada,  and  Scotland.  There  are  but  two  active  councils  for  the 
latter  country,  R.-.W.-.  Brother  J.  D.  Duncan  being  the  G.-.  M.-.  These 
degrees  are  not  worked  in  Ireland,  as  only  those  agreed  to  by  that  Grand 
Lodge,  and  those  not  of  recent  date,  or  arrangement,  are  permitted.  This 
regulation  bars  not  a  few  old  Ceremonies  as  well,  such  as  the  Royal  Order 
of  Scotland  ;  but  the  Craft,  Arch,  Knight  Templar,  and  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Rite  mutually  recognize  each  other,  and  thus  effectually  prevent  the  introduc- 
tion of  any  rivals  whatever. 


tCBAND      LODGE.,  ^itoi«rtW 
*£/&/»  1813 


4    GRAND     LODGE.  "ModernA' 
before-  1813. 


GRAND    LODGE    OF     IRELAND 
I80a 


GRAND     LODGE.   'ANCIENTS* 


a      UNIT£0      GRAND      LODGE 
Arur   ISI3 


5    UNITED     GRAND    CHAPTER 

after  leir 


7    GRAND    CHAPTER..;!bK*SSC 
2>e/'ore<  iei7. 


6  6RA.NP    CHAPTER, 3&£feTO«' 


GRAND    LODGE    AND  GRAND    CHAPTER    SEALS. 


(From  Saddler's  "  Masonic  Facts  and   Fictions.") 


DIVISION   XV. 


EULOGIUM  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CRAFT. 


The  Relation  of  the  Syjnbolic,  Capitular,  and  Cryptic  Degrees  to  one 
another  and  to  Ancient  Craft  Masonry ;  comprising  the  Foundation, 
the  Superstructuj-e,  and  the  Ornaments  of  the  Ancient  a?id  Honorable 
Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

By  Charles  T.  McClenachan,  ii°. 
Historian,  Grand  Lodge,  State  of  New  York. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Symbolism  of  the  Foundation,  the  Superstructure,  and  the  Ornaments. 

"  The  Physical,  the  Spiritual,  the  Celestial,  these  three 
Intertwining,  ever-blending  in  perfect  harmony." 

Introductory.  —  How  vain  would  be  our  hope  of  attaining  perfection  at 
once  !  The  Creator,  exercising  his  wisdom,  proceeded  by  degrees  when 
bringing  into  being  the  harmoniously  moving  universe  and  placing  within  it 
this  beautiful  world.  Elohim  first  created  those  things  which  had  being  with- 
out life  ;  then  those  things  which  had  life  and  being ;  finally,  that  which  had 
life  and  being,  with  reason  and  a  soul. 

The  higher  our  attainment  of  intellect  and  purity,  the  nearer  is  our  approach 
to  perfection.  We  are  children  of  the  light  and  of  the  day,  and  not  of  the 
darkness  of  unbeHef ;  but  our  continued  progress  must  be  by  degrees.  "  Men 
erect  comfortable  cottages  ;  kings,  sumptuous  palaces  ;  but  the  King  of  Glory, 
a  heavenly  abode."  We  are  reminded  that  there  are  three  stages  of  heaven  : 
the  lower  atmosphere  for  created  things  that  breathe  ;  that  in  which  the  stars 
float  in  their  grandeur ;  and  that  in  which  the  angels  and  saints  magnify  their 
Creator,  The  first  is  symbolized  by  the  Outer  Court  of  the  Holy  Temple  at 
Jerusalem,  which  was  open  to  all ;  the  second,  by  the  Court  of  the  Ministering 
Priests,  who  are  symbolized  by  the  Candles  of  Heaven ;  and  the  third  is  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  with  the  Cherubim  shadowing  the  Mercy  Seat  and  all  that 
the  Sacred  Ark  contains. 

673 


6/4 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


There  are  things  physical,  things  spiritual,  and  things  celestial ;  and  so, 
likewise,  there  are  grades  of  education,  of  the  head,  of  the  heart,  and  of  the 
soul.  There  are  also  degrees  that  are  essential  to  a  full  understanding  of 
the  symbolism  of  our  Masonic  Brotherhood,  in  the  Symbolic,  the  Capitular, 
and  the  Cryptic  Departments. 

To  pronounce  a  panegyric  on  the  system  of  Masonry  embracing  these 
three,  compels  a  review  of  the  Institution  in  its  entirety.  The  relationship  is 
so  intimate  that  the  life  of  the  one  is  the  existence  of  the  others.  The  foun- 
dation is  inferior  in  value  without  its  superstructure,  and  both  are  cold  and 
ineffective  without  furniture  and  ornamentation. 

"  All  things  with  each  other  blending, 
All  on  each  in  turn  depending; 
Heavenly  Ministers  descending, 
And  again  to  Heaven  uptending; 
Floating,  mingling,  interweaving, 
Rising,  sinking,  and  receiving 
Each  from  each,  while  each  is  giving 
Unto  each,  and  each  relieving 
Each,  the  parts  of  gold,  the  living 
Current  through  the  air  is  heaving 
Breathless  blessings ;  see  them  bending. 
Balanced  worlds  from  change  defending. 
While  everywhere  diffused  is  harmony  unending." 

The  respective  ages  of  the  divisions  of  Masonry  are  immaterial ;  their 
intercommunication  is  essential. 

Doubtless  the  reader  will  find  exhaustive  information  pertaining  to  all 
matters  of  detail  in  the  preceding  pages,  emanating  from  the  pens  of  the  most 
reliable  Masonic  scholars,  and  under  the  latest  examinations ;  nevertheless,  we 
assume  herein  the  liberty  of  review  of  the  relationship  of  the  principles 
involved  in  the  divisions  referred  to,  from  the  earliest  period  to  the  present  day. 

As  the  triune  act  of  Elohim  at  the  creation  is  so  emblematically  alluded 
to  in  the  formulation  of  these  divisions,  we  may  be  pardoned  for  calling  atten- 
tion thereto,  and  commencing  this  chapter  with  such  allusions. 

We  trust  not  to  encroach  upon  the  domain  of  others,  but  a  full  performance 
of  our  assumed  duty  would  appear  to  make  the  following  course  essential.; 
to  wit,  to  trace  society  in  its  organized  forms  from  remote  period  to  the  present 
day  :  The  Dream  of  Dawn  ;  the  Awakening  ;  the  Blessing ;  the  Inspection  of 
the  Temple  ;  its  Destruction  ;  the  Unity  of  Divisions  ;  and  the  Revival. 

The  Dream  of  Dawn.— 

"  'Twas  Time's  first  dawn, 

When  naught  yet  was. 

Nor  sand,  nor  sea. 

Nor  cooling  wave ; 

Earth  was  not  there. 

Nor  heaven  above. 

Naught  save  a  void 

And  yawning  gulf; 

But  verdure  none."  —  RHUS  Veda. 


THE  EULOGIUM.  g-- 

From  the  period  when  the  first  day  of  rest  revealed  the  works  of  the  crea- 
tion to  the  present,  there  has  ever  been  an  innate  craving,  on  the  part  of  man, 
to  congregate  for  mutual  aid,  protection,  and  progression  ;  a  God-given  impul- 
sion for  improvement  among  his  noblest  of  creation,  the  soul-bearers  of  the 
image  of  Elohim,  of  Him  who  was  the  Source  of  all  creative  power.  This 
persistent  desire  of  association  for  mutual  advantage,  physical  and  intellectual, 
is  visible  through  all  the  congregations  of  men,  wherever  spread,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world. 

Elohim  not  only  created  the  substantial  universe,  but  he  gave  it  regulation, 
harmonious  movement,  and  ornamentation,  and  finally  blessed  and  conse- 
crated it.  All  this  was  symbohzed  by  the  construction  of  the  Holy  Temple 
in  Jerusalem,  its  service,  regulations,  and  ornamentation,  and  its  being  blessed 
and  dedicated  by  the  king.  And  in  all  this  the  system  of  Masonry  was  fore- 
shadowed. 

As  the  creation  of  light  was  the  first  and  as  well  the  last  act  in  the  drama, 
it  was  made  manifest  that  it  was  intended  for  use ;  for,  when  the  Lord  said' 
"  Let  there  be  light,  and  it  was  light  !  "  he  "  took  care  of  the  light  that  it 
was  useful,  and  he  divided  the  Hght  from  the  darkness."  When  the  last 
mandate  of  Elohim  was  complete  in  the  creation  of  intellectual  light,  his 
evident  intent  was,  not  that  it  should  be  a  selfish  light,  but  one  that  should  be 
useful  and  beneficial  to  his  fellow-man,  those  yet  to  follow  as  inhabitants  of 
the  earth. 

From  out  the  ocean  of  Chaos,  man  stood  upon  the  shores  of  Creation  for 
a  brief  period  of  survey,  ere  work  began  and  fellowship  was  formed. 

Even  in  the  days  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  Cain,  and  Abel,  and  Seth,  and 
their  progeny,  union  for  a  common  protection  and  mutual  assistance  appears 
to  have  taken  form. 

The  sensuous  race  of  Cain,  wise  in  its  conceit,  fair  in  form,  attractive  to 
the  eye,  in  leafy  bowers  would  meet  for  useful  consult,  and  then  hail  the  sweet, 
soft  music  of  Jubal's  harp.  Thus,  also,  did  the  primal  pair,  with  their  more 
chosen  seed,  in  concert  sit  under  the  aegis  of  the  Omnific  Name,  and,  after 
chant  and  prayer,  would  link  their  thoughts  and  commune  for  the  general 
good.  These  were  but  Elohim's  footprints,  directing  man  toward  his  fellow's 
help. 

"  And  now  cities  and  temples  rise, 
And  castles,  too,  whose  turrets  pierce  the  skies." 

Man  continued  in  this  course  of  mutual  aid  until  the  Shadow  of  the 
Waters  brought  all  things  outward  to  an  end,  and  Noah's  congregation  held 
refuge  in  the  iVrk  of  Safety. 

Ages  pass,  and  in  far  India  the  gathering  swarms  assemble,  not  alone  for 
physical  culture,  but  on  Ganges'  banks  for  mental  aid  and  help,  for  intellectual 
control,  and  for  the  elevation  of  the  soul.  From  time  to  time,  to  the  present 
age,  reformers  came  and  went.     Among  the  first  was  Brahma,  and  then  famed 


^^6 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


Buddha,  who  taught  religious  toleration.  Then  followed  Krishna,  the  teacher, 
claimed  to  have  been  divine.  Shortly  upon  the  mythic  vision  looms  Osiris, 
whose  time  on  earth  was  measured  by  the  age  of  lotus  plants,  some  twenty- 
eight  in  number,  and  who,  when  buried  at  great  Philse,  left  in  devotees  more 
souls  than  else  could  count  the  world.  To  him  in  Egypt  great  temples  were 
erected  at  Abydos,  and  Seti's  "  Hall  of  Columns"  at  Karnak. 

Then  down  the  Tree  of  Life,  during  the  ancient  era,  came  other  mystic 
rites,  some  o'erlapping,  others  following,  until  a  thousand  sects  and  faiths 
have  filled  the  earth  with  reformation, —  the  wondrous  Gymnosophists,  andTao 
with  his  priests,  Confucius,  Zoroaster,  Moses,  and  the  Druids. 

And  so,  through  times  thereafter,  in  the  new  era,  congregations  of  peoples, 
schools,  and  assemblies,  having  a  specific  purpose,  continued  to  gather  and 
admit  to  fellowship  willing  applicants,  with  more  or  less  selectness,  under 
forms  and  ceremonies  peculiar  to  their  day  or  inclination.  These  forms  of 
reception,  followed  by  trial  and  instruction,  were  generally  elaborate  and 
appalling,  tending  to  test  the  physical  and  mental  courage  of  those  whom  they 
bound  to  implicit  secrecy.  These  ceremonies,  opening  with  invocations,  were 
magnificent  and  startling ;  incident  to  sudden  transitions  and  thrilling  con- 
trasts, abounding  in  deep  portrayal  of  affliction,  sorrow,  and  distress,  widening 
into  gloomy  terror,  thus  foreshadowing  the  early  life  and  travails  of  our  fellow- 
man  passing  through  barbarism,  ignorance,  and  uncertainty. 

The  trembling  neophyte  was  forced  to  make  dangerous  advances,  essential 
to  his  progress,  until  in  due  course  he  entered  upon  scenes  of  joy  and  light, 
emblematic  of  life,  glorious  and  eternal.  This  end  was  not  attained  at  once, 
and  at  a  general  ceremony ;  the  processes  and  grades  were  many,  elaborate, 
and  intertwined,  at  times  covering  years  of  anxious  probation.  Man's 
approach  to  perfection  is  generally  the  outgrowth  of  experiences  of  sorrow, 
suffering,  and  affliction,  which  form  the  rugged  paths  of  life,  and  which  are 
necessary  for  the  human  heart  to  attain  the  Golden  Orient,  - —  the  Light  of 
Eternal  Truth.  A  true  union  with  our  fellows,  of  whatever  school  or  class, 
who  sincerely  strive  to  attain  unto  virtue,  must  embrace  the  secret  language 
written  only  on  the  heart,  and  which  is  recognized  as  its  purest,  sweetest  joy. 
It  is  thus,  and  thus  only,  we  are  aUied  unto  the  most  spiritual  part  of  our  own 
nature. 

Thus  it  was  with  the  Cabiric  Mysteries,  at  Samothrace,  which  prevailed 
extensively  among  the  people,  and  were  ruled  by  deified  heroes,  self-claimed 
interpreters  of  faiths,  and  founders  of  civilization,  into  whose  temples  none 
e'er  entered,  save  the  priests.  Solemn  and  most  terrible  were  the  receptions, 
celebrated  in  profoundest  secrecy,  and  only  at  the  dead  of  night,  on  him  who 
had  been  purified  by  crystal  water  and  human  blood.  Were  these  the  pre- 
cursors of  the  Masonic  mysteries  ?  for  the  Cabiric  was  the  type  of  the  Hiramic 
death. 

Prominent  among  the  faiths  and  mysteries  were  those  of  Ceres,  Mithras, 


THE  EULOGIUM. 


677 


Bacchus,  Trophonius,  Rhea,  Adonis,  Eleusis,  Odin,  and  Pythagoras,  of  the 
Essenes,  and  of  the  Scandinavians.  And  so  at  Jerusalem,  the  Nazarene,  who 
was  of  the  School  of  Sopherism,  held  forth  the  doctrine  of  reformation,  and 
that  there  is  no  end  to  the  universal  love  of  God ;  in  truth,  to  it  there  was  no 
beginning. 

Then  turn  we  to  the  Brotherhood  of  Masonry,  next  in  kin  to  the  service 
of  the  Anointed.  Whatever  was  its  origin,  it,  like  the  secret  societies  of 
antiquity,  developed  into  a  vast  college,  where  the  most  useful,  encouraging, 
and  sublime  sciences,  morals,  and  truths  should  be  forever  taught.  Its  great, 
central  symbol  —  the  Temple  —  is  a  vast  labyrinth  of  mysteries,  whereby  we 
learn  our  Grand  Master's  many  attributes  and  virtues,  which  are  interpreted 
and  their  true  import  beautifully  portrayed  by  the  adepts  of  these  depart- 
ments of  Masonry,  who  uphold  its  banners  and  are  entitled  to  wear  its 
crown. 

In  our  loved  legend  it  matters  not  how  much  is  fact  nor  how  much  fiction. 
A  great  philosopher  of  the  day  hath  said  :  — 

"  For  it  is  here  that  Fantasy,  with  her  mystic  wonder-land,  plays  into  the  small  prose  domain  of 
sense,  and  becomes  incorporated  therewith.  In  the  symbol  proper,  what  we  can  call  a  symbol, 
there  is  ever,  more  or  less  distinctly  and  directly,  some  embodiment  and  revelation  of  the  infinite : 
the  infinite  is  made  to  blend  itself  with  the  finite,  to  stand  visible,  and,  as  it  were,  attainable  there. 
By  symbols,  accordingly,  is  man  guided  and  commanded,  made  happy,  made  wretched.  He 
everywhere  finds  himself  encompassed  with  symbols,  recognized  as  such  or  not  recognized :  the 
Universe  is  but  one  vast  symbol  of  God ;  nay,  if  thou  wilt  have  it,  what  is  man  himself  but  a 
symbol  of  God:  is  not  all  that  he  does  symbolic;  a  revelation  to  sense  of  the  Mystic,  God-given 
force  that  is  in  him ;  a  '  gospel  of  freedom,'  which  he  the  '  Messias  of  Nature '  preaches,  as  best  he 
can,  by  act  and  word  ?  " 

Forms,  ceremonies,  images,  and  action  address  themselves  to  the  pro- 
foundest  sentiments  of  the  heart  and  elevate  the  soul.  It  is  the  dream  of 
dawn,  it  is  the  conscience  working  within  the  soul,  which  makes  us  dare 
deeds  the  most  hazardous,  to  strive  to  attain  the  apparently  impossible.  It  is 
this  power  of  the  conscience,  working  through  the  soul,  that  causes  us  to  strain 
our  efforts  for  virtue  and  purity,  and  for  which  we  are  loved.  The  soul  is  an 
abject  subject  to  legends  and  symbols  that  call  forth  deeds  and  works  of 
manliness  and  Godliness,  for  which  we  are  to  be  adjudged,  and  in  due  course 
le  warded. 

The  Awakening.  —  From  gentle  slumber  the  Israelitish  king  awakes 
refreshed.  The  early  morn  comes  not  more  sweetly  to  his  opening  Hds  than 
does  his  day-dream  to  the  awakening  brain,  —  foreshadowing  a  loved  and 
loving  Brotherhood,  whose  universal  symbol,  under  his  direction,  daily  grew 
in  glory  and  in  grandeur,  gradually  forming  the  gold-crowned,  snowy  pile 
assuming  shape  and  majesty. 

And  now  the  lessening  shadows  of  the  early  dawn  betoken  the  coming 
hour  of  prayer.  All  else  in  nature  seems  wrapped  in  restful  repose,  save  him 
who  rules  the  destinies  of  Israel.     As  was  his  wont,  while  others  slept,  his  early 


678  COSMOPOLITA.V  FREEMASONRY. 

thought  of  prayer,  overleaping  every  other  duty,  urges  him  on  until  he  shall 
have  offered  praise  and  thanksgiving  in  the  edifice  of  Him  for  whom  the  Holy 
House  was  being  built. 

The  silver  rays  were  giving  place  to  the  golden  light  of  day,  when  out 
from  the  palace,  which  was  rich  in  kingly  equipment,  temporarily  arranged 
for  the  dwelling  of  the  great,  stepped  with  conscious  tread,  and  unattended, 
the  chosen  one  of  God  to  cross  the  valley.  With  countenance  beaming 
with  gratitude  and  reflecting  the  blessed  rays  of  heaven,  in  thoughtful 
adoration,  he  follows  the  winding  pathway  to  the  House  of  Prayer.  However 
unfinished  was  the  work  on  that  Holy  House,  and  the  apparently  tedious  labor 
still  remaining  to  crown  it  with  final  glory,  yet  the  king  had  sanctified  the 
ground  and  the  work  on  which  the  people  were  engaged.  Ample  and 
reasonable  provision  had  been  made  for  solemn  Matin  and  holy  Benediction 
on  each  day's  progress. 

And  now  the  king  in  self-communion  takes  his  way  adown  the  path.  The 
chirping  birds  and  warbling  songsters  greet  him  with  their  usual  lay,  as  if  they 
knew  his  mission ;  the  very  trees  and  flowers  with  life  and  transport  seem 
to  glow ;  and  yet  the  king  keeps  on  his  winding  way  through  groves  most 
sacred,  and  on  by  Craftsmen's  huts  and  their  protecting  canvas.  And  then 
he  walks  by  fresh  and  gurgling  streams,  where  palm-trees  wave,  warding 
the  storm  or  cooling  the  tropic  heat,  forming  at  times  heaven's  archway. 
Again  he  passes  down  the  glen  near  where  the  waters  of  the  Kedron  glide, 
and  off  beyond  where  is  the  pool  of  Birket- Israel,  now  alive  with  early 
gatherers  at  the  crystal  fountain,  who,  both  young  and  old,  wonderingly  stand 
and  gaze  at  him  who  travels  onward  towards  the  object  of  his  holy  thoughts. 
No  one  disturbs  the  current  of  his  mind,  nor  offers  to  intrude  with  query  or 
petition.  The  perfumed  blossom  and  the  golden  orange  blend  their  stems. 
The  side-ways  are  bedecked  with  tunias  red  and  blue,  with  figs  and  purple 
grapes ;  the  citron  and  pomegranate  side  by  side  in  luscious  beauty  tempt 
the  eye.  The  king  sees  none  of  these,  although  the  atmosphere  about  him 
floats  with  Heaven's  gifts,  and  delicious  odors  breathe  through  every  path,  and 
breezes  fresh  salute  him. 

The  morning  walk  draws  near  its  end.  With  giant  strides  the  sun  looms 
up  from  o'er  the  eastern  hills,  and  breaks  its  rays  in  myriad  numbers  o'er  the 
plain.  The  gray  mists  lighten,  and  "  the  katydids  now  hush  their  trills." 
The  breaking  day  dispels  the  haze  of  night ;  the  working-bee  awakes  to 
gather  sweets  :  and 

"  Trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers  of  every  hue 
Open  their  lips  to  drink  the  gathered  dew." 

The  Morning  Blessing.  —  The  wise  king  and  son  of  a  wise  king,  whose 
characteristics  and  life  were  paralleled  in  those  of  the  father,  save  in  the  matter 
of  warring  with  his  neighbors,  now  beholds,  directly  in  view,  facing  the  East, 
the  object  of  his  glorious  triumph.     With  soul  sweUing  with  emotion  for  the 


THE  EULOGIUM. 


679 


honor  Jehovah  had  awarded  him  in  so  grand  a  work  erected  to  his  glory, 
the  king  stopped,  and  for  a  moment  stood  enraptured.  Then  passing  to  the 
outer  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  up  the  steps  through  the  Beautiful  Gate  in  the 
enclosing  wall  of  that  court,  he  still  advances,  silently  praising  the  Mighty  One. 

Onward  he  moves  to  the  Holy  Place,  between  the  porch  and  the  altar, 
where  he  was  accustomed  daily  to  offer  his  supplication  and  prayer  of  praise. 
Upon  the  king's  approach,  the  forked  flames  and  crackling  fire  give  evidence 
of  priestly  presence,  and  of  fresh  offerings  upon  the  holy  burnished  altar, 
standing  in  the  centre  of  that  sacred  spot,  not  far  removed  from  the  curtained 
Sanctum.  The  sensuous  fumes  burden  the  air  with  thick,  curhng  clouds  of 
spikenard,  frankincense,  and  myrrh,  exhaled  from  the  ornate  altar  of  sweet 
perfumes  on  the  South,  preparatory  to  the  morning  prayer  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving. 

The  king  now  stands  in  the  East,  apart  from  all  the  rest,  with  head  and 
body  bent,  and  soul  all  mindful  of  the  Creator's  loving-kindness  to  him,  and 
to  his  people,  and  to  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  And  as  he  stood, 
his  raiment  became  shining  with  the  glory  that  was  in  him,  and  a  dim  yet 
luminous  cloud  appeared  in  the  East  about  the  great  curtain  which  concealed 
the  Cherubim.  And  turning  to  the  few  who  had  now  gathered  there,  —  amazed 
and  bowed  in  awe,  —  in  tones  most  trustful  and  sincere,  the  king  stretched 
forth  his  hands,  and  spoke  the  mandate  of  Moses  when  he  blessed  the  people, 
saying :  — 

"The  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep  thee:  the  Lord  make  his  face  shiige  upon  thee,  and  be 
gracious  unto  thee :  the  Lord  lift  up  his  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace !  " 

And  when  the  king  had  ceased  speaking,  the  priests  were  filled  with 
reverence,  and  withdrew. 

Preparing  for  Inspection.  —  The  king,  having  concluded  his  devotions, 
retired  to  an  inner  chamber,  there  to  meet  the  king  of  Tyre,  that  they  might 
prepare  for  duties  that  on  given  periods  devolved  upon  them,  in  the  examina- 
tion of  the  progress  of  the  Holy  House.  The  interest  of  the  king  of  Tyre  in 
the  construction  of  the  edifice  seemed  the  more  remarkable  when  we  reflect 
that  Solomon,  known  to  the  prophet  Nathan  as  Yedidiah,  the  beloved  one, 
when  about  to  build  the  Temple  of  his  God,  first  applied  to  the  king  of  Egypt 
for  men  to  aid  him  in  the  work.  Pharaoh,  after  consulting  his  astrologers, 
selected  those  men  who  were  to  die  within  the  year.  When  they  arrived  at 
Jerusalem,  the  wise  king  sent  them  back  without  delay.  With  each  man  he 
sent  a  shroud,  and  directed  them  to  say  to  their  king :  "  If  Egypt  is  too  poor 
to  supply  shrouds  for  her  dead,  and  for  that  purpose  sends  them  to  me, 
behold  here  they  are,  the  men  and  the  shrouds  together ;  take  them  and  bury 
thy  dead." 

Masonry  requires  energetic,  living  men  to  build  the  Temple  to  its  God,  and 
not  the  senile  refuse  of  the  "profane."  How  grandly  in  contrast  to  the  Egyp- 
tian king  was  the  action  of  Hiram  the  T3'rian,  who  willingly  loaned  his  Chief 
Skilled  Architect,  and  rendered  favors  so  essential  to  the  king  of  Israel ! 


5So  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

The  Royal  Inspection.  —  The  busy  workmen  ply  their  tools  in  conformity 
with  the  plans  laid  out,  by  which  they  are  to  finish  and  adorn  the  edifice  to 
be  sanctified  of  God.  The  elder  Masters  teach  and  guide  the  Apprentices. 
The  Fellows  study  and  apply  the  more  intricate  arts  and  sciences,"  and  also 
construct  the  winding-stairs ;  applying,  each  class,  the  tools  allotted  to  its  care 
and  skill.  And  every  timber  and  every  stone  must  needs  be  marked  as  it  is 
finished.  With  wondrous  system  each  plan  and  section  has  been  defined, 
explained.  The  Master-builder,  with  unerring  skill,  has  laid  before  his  engi- 
neers and  draughtsmen  every  line  and  measurement,  that  they  in  turn  may 
spread  the  same,  with  due  instruction  and  essential  detail,  before  each  Over- 
seer and  Master,  and  thus,  in  harmony,  the  House  may  be  complete. 

The  kings  emerge  from  out  their  council-chamber,  and  then  their  work 
begins.  First  the  trestle-board  they  inspect,  which  quickly  is  explained.  With 
interest  intense,  the  king  of  Tyre,  robed  and  turbaned  in  purple,  and  in 
vestments  curious  and  rare,  notes  each  line  and  figure  to  which  his  kingly 
brother  points.  The  king  of  Israel,  turbaned  and  wearing  robes  and  tunic 
of  purest  white,  and  an  ephod  bound  like  unto  a  girdle  about  the  waist, 
examines  all  with  critical  inspection. 

Close  was  the  communion  of  these  kings,  bound  by  the  Mysteries  in 
solemn  compact,  rendering  him  of  Tyre  and  the  ruler  of  the  Jews  most 
earnest  in  the  work,  wherein  the  one  found  glory  to  his  God,  and  the  other 
but  a  symbol  of  a  fliith  in  which  he  worshipped  the  Great  Unknown. 

In  the  forests,  timbers  of  fir  and  timbers  of  cedar  were  being  cut  by  ser- 
vants of  the  king  of  Tyre,  who  convey  them  by  sea  in  floats  to  the  most 
convenient  shore.  Also  for  this  work  did  Solomon  raise  among  the  Jews  a 
body  of  three  thousand  men.  In  the  quarries  and  in  the  mountains  were 
eighty  thousand  men.  Hear  the  swift  blows  of  the  untiring  gavel  smoothing 
the  rough  sides  and  corners  of  the  marbles,  the  better  to  fit  them  for  the 
builders'  use.  Watch  the  Apprentices  apply  the  gauge  and  wield  the  hammer, 
symbolically  preserving  true  harmony  and  equal  division  for  work,  for  rest,  for 
prayer,  and  succor  for  the  needy.  See  that  other  class  most  requisite,  squarers 
of  wood,  and  mortise  and  tenon  workers,  experts  with  the  chisel  and  the  mallet, 
who,  while  they  hew,  and  cut,  and  carve  in  their  laborious  work,  find  it  less 
irksome  as  they  ponder  upon  the  lessons  of  morality  and  virtue  taught  by  dis- 
cipline and  enlightened  reason,  granting  that  contentment 

"  Which  nothing  earthly  gives  or  can  destroy, 
The  soul's  calm  sunshine  and  the  heartfelt  joy," 

And  which  in  time  will  fit  them  not  only  as  timber  worthy  of  the  Temple, 
but  even  as  corner-stones  cut  from  the  quarry,  upon  which  a  glorious  super- 
structure may  be  raised. 

And  now  the  Grand  Masters,  as  they  have  oft  before,  stop,  and,  looking 
over  the  wall,  note  the  deep  foundation ;  how  great  and  firm  each  massive 
stone.     Behold  the  wisdom  of  Solomon;  the  workmen  are  not  all  Israelites 


THE  EULOGIUM.  68 1 

that  build  the  foundation  :  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  deep  and  broad 
and  firm,  —  and  lo,  there  are  builders  from  Israel,  and  builders  from  Tyre,  and 
Giblites  as  well. 

In  the  laying  out  and  the  construction  of  that  foundation  two  secret  pas- 
sages must  be  built,  hewn  from  the  solid  rock,  the  one  connecting  beneath  the 
Altar  of  Sacrifices  to  carry  to  the  valley  the  overflow  of  blood  and  surplus  of 
refuse  from  the  numerous  sacrifices  ;  and  the  other,  knowoi  only  to  the  "Select," 
connecting  the  abode  of  Solomon  with  a  rock-hewn  cavern  beneath  the  Sanc- 
tum, furnishing  an  arched  passage-way,  whereby  secretly  might  be  protected 
the  Ark  and  its  contents,  should  dangers  assail  or  necessity  require  its  use. 
The  Ark  was  the  symbol  of  the  Covenant,  and  furthermore  Moses  said  : 
"  Take  this  Book  of  the  Law,  and  put  it  in  the  side  of  the  Ark  of  the  Cove- 
nant of  the  Lord  your  God,  that  it  may  be  there  for  a  witness  against  thee  "  ; 
and  did  it  not  contain  the  pot  of  Manna  and  Aaron's  rod  ;  and  was  there  not 
also  to  be  preserved  the  Omnific  Name  which  had  been  revealed  in  a  flame 
of  fire  from  the  midst  of  a  burning  bush  ?  How  glorious  was  to  be  this  rock- 
hewn  cave,  its  entrance  most  wonderfully  bedecked  with  curious  crystals 
glittering  in  the  flambeau's  blaze  like  myriad  gems,  and  thus  light  up  the 
path  'neath  beauteous  arches  leading  to  the  sacred  and  most  Holy  Word  :  — 

"  And  by  great  skill  this  subterranean  way 
Was  rendered  smooth  and  brilliant  as  in  day." 

The  kings  inspected  and  pronounced  the  work  "  well  done  ! "  And  now 
again  they  turn  to  the  Apprentices,  and  note  how  free  and  clear  from  soil  the 
open  apron  shields  the  working-dress ;  how  cautiously  from  all  untempered 
mortar,  or  other  blemish,  each  his  presence  keeps ;  how  studiously  and  with 
blunt  grace  each  salutes  his  Master. 

Now,  moving  on,  the  kings  observe  the  Craftsmen  with  apron  curled,  who 
under  canvas  cover,  with  level,  plumb,  and  square,  their  maps  more  closely 
scan,  and  as  each  stone  is  finished  and  received,  is  marked  and  deftly  placed 
in  line,  then  quickly  measured  and  again  inspected,  as  to  whether  square  or  due 
proportioned  ;  and  further,  when  it  is  laid,  whether  it  is  horizontal,  square,  or 
perpendicular,  emblematic  of  their  walk  in  life,  which  should  be  upright  in  their 
several  stations  before  God  and  man,  squaring  their  actions  by  the  square  of 
virtue  as  they  travel  on  the  path  that  leads  to  their  eternal  home. 

To  the  Middle  Chamber  the  kings  now  turn,  and  earnestly  observe  other 
Craftsmen  assembled  at  the  entrance  of  the  Holy  Place,  examining  the  two 
colossal  columns  that  support  the  architrave  of  the  porch,  the  one  upon  the 
right  and  the  one  upon  the  left,  with  bowl-shaped  capitals,  covered  with 
net-work  filled  with  lilies,  and  interplaced  with  four  hundred  pomegranates. 
How  exquisite  is  the  proportion  of  that  winding  staircase  to  the  right,  with 
three,  and  five,  and  seven  steps  leading  to  an  inner  chamber,  abounding  in 
beauteous  columns  of  differing  architecture,  and  with  many  pleasing  and 
useful  ornaments ! 


682  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

But  who  are  these  thirty-three  hundred,  with  aprons  squared,  now  marching 
by,  passing  from  the  Chief  Architect's  chamber  to  the  direction  of  the  many 
bands  of  workmen,  and  with  the  appearance  of  directors  of  the  work  ?  Note 
them  now  separate,  and  ply  one  tool  and  then  another ;  testing  the  cement  by 
the  free  use  of  the  trowel ;  rejecting  unsquared  timber,  or  stone  of  doubtful 
measurement.  How  evenly  they  spread  the  cement  that  unites  the  building 
into  one  common  mass,  and  by  their  urbanity  and  brotherly  course  of  action 
harmonize  all  the  Apprentices  and  Fellow  Crafts  as  well  as  one  another  into 
one  sacred  band  or  society  of  brothers,  among  whom  no  contention  is  ever 
permitted  to  exist,  save  that  of  who  the  best  can  work  and  who  the  best 
agree  !  These  are  they  who,  having  serv^ed  so  well,  have  now  been  honored  as 
Overseers,  the  trusted  ones,  in  whose  bosoms  have  been  confided  the  substi- 
tute for  the  most  holy  of  all  Names.  These  are  they  in  whom  the  kings 
confide  the  doctrine  of  resurrection  and  immortality,  and  point  out  the  duty 
of  man  to  his  fellow,  and  as  well  his  duty  to  his  God.  To  these,  then,  belong 
great  honor,  as,  like  honest  workmen,  they  must  walk  in  all  truth  and  purity, 
that  in  time  they  may  become  God's  anointed,  and  teachers  of  his  children. 
Their  prayerful,  silent  work  is  done  without  confusion ;  nor  do  they  permit 
the  sound  of  hammer,  axe,  or  any  tool  of  iron  to  be  heard  in  the  construction 
of  the  Holy  House. 

And  now  turn  the  royal  pair  to  the  further  progress  of  the  work.  Full  well 
they  know  that  the  usefulness  of  God's  Temple  was  to  be  measured  by  the 
extent  to  which  it  might  be  made  available  in  the  improvement  and  advance- 
ment of  the  chosen  human  race.  As  progress  is  motion  and  motion  is  life,  so 
the  Eternal  Master  demands  progress  of  all.  So  the  kings  returned,  and 
passed  again  to  the  Outer  Court,  where  the  wall  separated  the  Court  of  the 
Gentiles  from  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  and  they  entered  at  the  threshold 
where  is  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple.  On  each  door-post  were  palm- 
shaped  capitals ;  and  within  the  wall  were  thirty  chambers,  all  paved  round 
about ;  and  there  were  gates  on  the  north  and  on  the  south,  on  the  east  and 
on  the  west ;  and  there  were  many  cells,  and  many  doors  and  windows  in  the 
cells  and  in  the  chambers.  And  that  the  light  of  heaven  should  ever  shine 
more  glorious,  the  many  windows  were  wide  without  and  narrow  within  :  so 
should  we  open  the  windows  of  the  soul,  and  let  enter  there  the  heavenly 
light.  For  these  many  chambers  were  for  preparatory  service  to  the  offering 
of  sacrifice,  and  worship  in  the  Holy  Place. 

And  as  the  kings  advanced,  they  saw  that  the  inner  walls  of  all  the  House 
were  inlaid  with  cedar-wood,  but  the  floor  thereof  was  overlaid  with  fir.  And 
the  roof  of  the  Holy  House  was  being  overlaid  with  sheets  of  burnished  gold, 
and  spikes  of  precious  metal. 

And  there  was  much  wainscoting  within,  which  was  ornamented  with  carvings 
of  figures  of  Cherubim,  and  palm-trees,  and  opening  flowers  ;  and  each  Cherub 
had  two  faces,  —  one  that  was  human,  and  one  that  was  the  face  of  a  young 


THE  EULOGIUM. 


683 


lion.  And  the  pillars  that  stood  in  the  corners  were  round.  And  the  table 
that  was  before  the  Lord  in  the  centre  was  three  cubits  high  and  two  cubits 
long,  and  was  made  of  cedar-wood  covered  with  gold,  and  it  was  called  the 
Altar.  And  the  kings  examined  the  rows  of  many  Treasure  Chambers  on 
the  north  and  on  the  south ;  and  as  they  passed  by,  they  beheld  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  fill  the  House  as  with  a  thin  cloud  ;  for  worshippers  were  entering 
by  the  gates  of  the  Inner  Court  between  the  pillars,  clothed  with  white  linen 
coverings,  and  with  linen  on  their  loins,  until  they  again  went  forth  to  the 
Court  of  the  Priests,  when  they  resumed  their  usual  garments ;  for  they  were 
a  band  of  the  Workmen  of  the  Temple,  who  had  entered  for  their  hour  of 
prayer. 

The  kings  inspected  the  castings  and  the  works  of  metal,  made  under 
orders  that  had  been  long  since  given  by  the  Architect  Hiram ;  the  lavers,  the 
shovels,  and  the  basins,  and  the  brazen  sea  supported  by  twelve  oxen.  All 
the  vessels  were  made  of  polished  copper,  cast  in  the  clay-ground  of  Succoth 
and  Zarethan.  And  the  table  whereupon  was  the  shew-bread  was  of  gold,  and 
the  lamps  and  the  tongs,  and  the  bowls  and  the  knives,  and  the  basins  and  the 
spoons,  and  the  ten  graven-candlesticks,  and  the  censers  were  of  pure  gold  ; 
and  all  the  sacred  vessels  wrought  of  gold  were  marvellous  in  design,  and 
transfixed  the  gaze  of  all.  The  precious  things  that  had  been  sanctified  by 
David  his  father,  which  were  of  silver  and  gold,  King  Solomon  placed  in  the 
treasuries  of  the  House  of  the  Lord. 

How  grand,  how  exquisite,  is  that  most  holy  spot  which  now  confronts  the 
kings  !  The  smaller  Tabernacle  of  fine  twined  linen,  of  white  and  of  crimson, 
of  blue  and  of  purple,  shields  the  entrance,  through  which  the  holy  priest, 
wearing  the  mitre  with  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord  "  upon  the  forehead-band, 
passes,  as  he  also  does  the  great  Babylonian  curtain,  in  order  to  enter  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  that  sacred  cubic  Sanctuary,  within  which  is  to  be  preserved 
the  symbol  of  the  covenant  between  God  and  his  chosen  people.  This  symbol 
was  most  fitly  inlaid  with  aromatic  and  imperishable  cedar  in  every  part, 
emblematic  of  the  perpetuity  and  incorruptible  state  of  the  blessed.  The 
entrance  to  the  Sanctuary  was  barred  within  with  chains  of  gold.  And  the 
doors  of  entrance  to  this  holy  Sanctuary  were  made  of  oleaster  wood,  carved 
and  overlaid  with  gold ;  as  were  the  Cherubim,  whose  inner  wings  touched 
one  another,  while  the  outer  ones  touched  the  opposing  walls. 

As  the  House  of  the  Lord  v^as  approaching  completion,  by  order  of  the 
king  of  Israel  there  was  brought  up  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  from  the  City 
of  David  in  Zion,  and  also  the  Tabernacle  and  the  remainder  of  the  holy 
vessels  that  were  in  the  Tabernacle,  in  which  the  congregation  had  temporarily 
worshipped.  And  they  placed  the  Ark  under  the  wings  of  the  Cherubim,  in 
the  centre  of  the  Holy  of  Holies,  resting  upon  an  altar  of  cedar-wood  covered 
with  gold. 

And  when  all  were  in  place,  the  king  approached  with  a  great  retinue,  and 


684 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


in  silence  turned  about  and  blessed  all  the  congregation,  and  the  work  of  the 
Temple,  and  all  that  it  therein  contained,  saying,  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord, 
the  God  of  Israel,  who  spake  with  his  mouth  unto  David,  my  father,  that  his 
son  should  build  the  House,  even  so  have  I  done."  And  when  Solomon  had 
made  an  end  of  praying,  fire  came  down  from  heaven,  and  consumed  the 
burnt-offering  which  had  been  prepared,  and  the  sacrifices.  And  the  priests 
and  the  people  bowed  themselves  with  their  faces  to  the  ground,  and  wor- 
shipped and  praised  the  Lord,  saying,  "  For  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy 
endureth  forever  !"  During  all  this,  the  king  had  stood  calmly  awaiting  the 
manifestation  of  the  Presence,  — 

"  Brightly  the  splendor  of  the  God-head  shone, 
In  awful  glory,  from  his  living  throne  ; 
Then  bowed  was  every  brow;  no  human  sight 
Could  brave  the  splendor  of  that  flood  of  light 
That  veiled  His  presence,  and  His  awful  form, 
Whose  path  the  whirlwind  is,  whose  breath  the  storm." 

The  Destruction.  —  It  is  evident  that  the  magnificent  Temple  of  Solomon, 
in  all  its  parts,  and  as  a  whole,  was  and  is  a  fitting  symbol  for  Workmen  among 
the  Craft,  the  Capitular,  and  the  Cryptic  Degrees.  From  the  commencement 
of  the  foundation  to  the  time  of  the  deposit  of  the  Holy  Name  within  the 
Sancfum  Sanctonnn,  all  was  essential  for  the  great  purpose  of  instruction 
in  the  Brotherhood  of  Man  and  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  That  not  only 
Apprentices,  Craftsmen,  and  Masters  were  necessary  to  build  up  the  House  of 
God,  but  also  Overseers,  Mark  Masters,  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  the  Mas- 
ters of  the  Veils,  Scribes  and  Priests,  Captains  of  the  Host,  Treasure-Counters, 
Stewards,  Guards,  and  Sentinels,  to  build,  protect,  or  carry  on  the  service  within 
the  holy  precincts. 

And  Solomon  became  greater  than  all  the  other  kings  of  the  earth,  for 
riches,  power,  and  wisdom.  And  presents  were  brought  yearly  unto  him,  of 
silver  and  gold,  and  precious  stones,  and  garments,  armor,  spices,  horses,  and 
mules.  And  he  had  a  thousand  and  four  hundred  chariots  and  twelve  thou- 
sand horsemen.  The  king  rendered  silver  in  Jerusalem  like  unto  stones,  and 
cedars  like  unto  sycamore  trees,  for  abundance. 

The  king,  by  example  and  by  precept,  most  aptly  taught  mankind  in  the 
ways  of  happiness  and  peace,  and  the  love  of  God  and  man,  by  every  proc- 
ess that  could  move  the  heart  and  direct  the  feet  to  the  Great  Jehovah.  But 
finally,  this  proud  king,  with  brow  serene,  began  to  love  many  strange  women, 
whom  he  had  brought  from  those  nations  concerning  which  the  Lord  had 
said  :  "  Ye  shall  not  go  in  among  them,  for  they  shall  surely  turn  away  your 
heart  after  their  gods."  Unto  these  Solomon  did  cleave  to  love  them.  And 
when  Solomon  was  old,  his  wives  turned  his  heart  after  other  gods  ;  after 
Ashtoreth  and  Milcom  :  and  he  built  an  altar  to  Kemosh,  on  the  mount  that 
is  before  Jerusalem,  and  another  for  Molech.  And  thus  he  did  for  all  his 
strange  wives,  who  burnt  incense  and  sacrificed  unto  their  gods. 


THE  EULOGIUM.  685 

And  the  Lord  was  angry,  and  stirred  up  an  adversary  unto  Solomon  for  this, 
and  for  much  sin  done  by  his  successors  on  the  throne,  until  the  days  of 
Hezekiah  and  Manassah  his  son,  which  latter  defiled  the  holy  place  with  a 
graven  image,  seduced  God's  people  with  these  abominations,  and  offered  his 
own  son  in  the  fire  of  idol  sacrifice.  Then  came  the  destruction.  Thus  said 
the  Lord  to  Jeremiah  :  — 

"  Go  down  to  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah,  and  speak  there  this  word,  '  Execute  ye  justice 
and  righteousness,  and  dehver  him  that  is  robbed :  and  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow 
shall  ye  not  oppress ;  for  I  will  inflict  punishment  on  you  according  to  the  fruit  of  your  doings. 
For  I  have  set  my  face  against  this  city  for  evil,  and  not  for  good.  For  the  reason  that  they  have 
forsaken  me,  and  have  defiled  this  place,  and  have  burnt  incense  in  it  unto  other  gods;  and  have 
burnt  their  sons  with  fire  as  burnt-offerings  unto  Baal,  and  this  shall  be  the  valley  of  slaughter. 
They  shall  fall  by  the  sword  before  their  enemies,  and  I  will  give  their  carcasses  as  food  unto  the 
fowls  of  the  heaven  and  unto  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  I  will  render  this  city  desolate.' " 

But  the  king  and  his  people  hearkened  not  unto  the  Lord,  and  disobeyed. 

How  terrific  was  the  destruction  that  followed  !  The  king  of  Babylon 
became  the  instrument  of  desolation.  Before  this  king  ordered  the  expedition 
he  endeavored  by  astrological  and  other  signs — in  accordance  with  the  super- 
stition of  the  day — to  ascertain  the  result.  Finally  he  placed  three  arrows  on 
his  bow  in  quick  succession ;  the  first  he  pointed  to  the  West,  the  second  he 
pointed  to  the  East,  and  the  third  directly  into  the  Heavens.  In  each  case  the 
arrow  with  unerring  truthfulness  sped  toward  the  guilty  city  of  Jerusalem. 
And  the  king  marched  his  host  upon  that  city,  and  it  yielded.  The  king  then 
marched  with  his  nobles  into  the  Temple,  and  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and 
mockingly  called  aloud  to  the  God  of  Israel :  "  Art  thou  the  great  God  before 
whom  the  world  trembles,  and  yet  we  are  here  in  this  city  and  in  this 
Temple  ! " 

The  deputed  king,  Zedekiah,  was  caused  to  witness  the  slaying  of  his  sons, 
and  then  were  his  eyes  put  out,  so  that  the  eyes  of  his  mind  should  ever  see 
what  he  last  saw. 

Nebuzaradan,  the  great  marshal  of  Nebuchadnezzar  of  Babylon,  laid  waste 
the  land  of  Israel,  and  broke  down  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  round  about,  plun- 
dered the  Holy  Temple,  robbed  it  of  its  ornaments,  and  burnt  the  House  of 
the  Lord,  and,  as  he  did  so,  from  the  heavenly  gates  shot  forth  at  dim  of  night 
a  weird  flame,  and  above  all,  'twas  said,  upon  the  smoky  cloud  there  rested 
the  Holy  Master's  name. 

O,  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  !  the  wonder  of  all  times  and  peoples,  the  para- 
gon of  nations,  the  glory  of  the  world,  the  chosen  one  of  Heaven,  see  now  how 
thou  hast  become  heaps  of  ashes  and  rubbish,  an  abhorrent  spectacle  of  deso- 
lation, a  monumental  ruin.  To  what  depth  hast  thou  pledged  the  bitter  cup 
of  God's  vengeance  !  How  grave  the  pity  to  see  those  goodly  cedars  of  the 
Temple  flaming  higher  than  they  stood  in  Lebanon  ! 

The  High  Priest  donned  his  robe  and  ephod,  and,  saying,  "  Now  that  the 
Temple  is  destroyed,  no  priest  is  needed  to  officiate,"  threw  himself  into  the 


586  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

flames  and  perished.  And  the  remaining  priests,  witnessing  his  action,  took  theif 
harps  and  instruments  of  music,  and  did  as  had  been  done  by  the  High  Priest. 

How  sorrowful  it  was  to  see  those  costly  marbles,  chiselled  and  wrought  to 
such  perfection,  and  which  in  place  had  never  felt  the  dint  of  pick  or  hammer, 
now  wounded  with  mattocks,  and  by  their  weight  crushing  the  sacred  founda- 
tions in  their  fall !  To  see  the  Holy  of  Hohes,  whereinto  none  might  enter 
but  the  High  Priest  once  a  year,  now  thronged  with  Pagans  and  "profane,"  the 
veils  rudely  rent,  the  sacred  Ark  of  God  violated  and  defaced,  the  tables  over- 
turned, the  altars  broken  down,  the  twin-pillars  demolished,  the  mosaics  and 
tessellated  borders  destroyed,  the  very  ground  upheaved  whereon  the  Temple 
and  the  exquisite  palace  of  the  king  once  stood  ! 

And  the  inhabitants  of  that  great  city,  who  escaped  the  ruin  and  the  sword, 
were  bound  in  iron  chains,  burdened  with  the  spoils  of  the  victor,  and  driven 
to  Babylon  and  captivity.  And  as  they  reached  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  the 
great  king  said  to  them,  "  Sing,  ye  people,  play  for  me,  sing  the  songs  ye  were 
wont  to  sing  before  your  great  Lord  in  Jerusalem."  Then  they  hung  their 
harps  upon  the  willow-trees,  near  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  said,  "  If  we  had 
but  performed  the  will  of  God,  and  sung  his  praises  devoutly,  we  should  not 
have  been  delivered  into  thy  hands."  And  the  king's  officers  shouted : 
"  These  are  men  of  death  ;  they  refuse  to  obey  the  order  of  the  king  ;  let  them 
die."  But  at  the  intercession  of  Pelatya  their  lives  were  spared  and  their  chains 
removed.     And  when  the  smoke  of  doom  rolled  by, 

"  'Midst  darkening  clouds,  the  light  drooped  to  its  rest, 
The  Sun,  the  Moon,  nor  Stars  now  tinged  the  West. 
At  times  from  hill  and  plain  the  lurid  lightnings  gleam, 
And  all  that's  good  like  demons'  forms  do  seem. 
Sin  yields  to  flame ;  and  see,  the  holier  light 
That  shone  all  radiant  o'er  the  Mercy-Seat, 
Has  given  place  to  lurid  gleams,  —  a  just  retreat 
For  vice,  decay,  and  Satan's  rights,  the  home 
Where  truth,  and  hope,  and  joy  can  never  come." 

The  Essential  Unity  of  Three. — The  Brotherhood  of  Masonry  hath  its 
several  divisions,  its  symbolism  abounding  in  them  all.  No  one  division  is 
complete  without  the  others.  A  roofless  structure  is  of  little  use.  The  tem- 
porary covering,  which  is  but  a  substitute  for  what  is  promised  under  a  wiser 
generation,  will  not  be  satisfactory  to  the  true  architect  or  thorough  builder 
who  would  protect  himself,  his  family,  and  his  belongings  from  the  storm ;  nor 
would  he  willingly,  in  such  a  house,  contented  be  to  offer  service  to  his  God. 
The  plea  of  ancient  forms  or  older  customs,  or  the  use  of  an  unfinished 
legend  for  a  deep,  instructive  lesson,  would  not  suffice.  The  foundation-stones 
may  be  most  massive  and  sustaining,  the  walls  and  flooring  of  great  solidity 
and  duly  set  by  the  Plumb,  the  Level,  and  the  Square,  but  the  loose  thatched 
roof  will  only  serve  until  the  proprietor  can  command  the  material  and  obtam 


.«Sr.--..'te 


^"«'"s;.""'*^'-  --•^\  #«  ««i 


THE    "GENIUS   OF    MASONRY,"    BY    BARTOLOZZI,    A.D.    1786. 

(Freemasons'   Hall,    London.     This  exquisite   plate   is  the   Frontispiece  to  the   Book  of  Constitutions,   Grand 
Lodge  of  England,   A.D.    1784.) 


THE  EULOGIUM. 


689 


an  architect  who  can  furnish  the  remaining  necessary  stone  and  timber,  and 
place  the  architraves  and  girders,  and  rest  the  impenetrable  roof  that  will 
brave  all  storms  and  prove  a  bulwark  to  the  ravages  of  time. 

The  ornate  finish  and  the  ornaments,  that  will  make  more  glorious  the 
House  of  God,  must  not  be  set  aside  nor  overlooked ;  for  the  True,  the  Holy, 
and  the  Omnific  Name  will  not  be  deposited  nor  allowed  to  rest  in  that 
house  which  is  not  finished  and  prepared  for  consecration.  All-glorious  is 
symbolism,  but  its  interpretations  to  be  read  aright  must  have  their  physical, 
their  speculative  or  spiritual,  and,  above  all,  their  celestial  sense  thoroughly 
made  manifest. 

The  Symbolic  degrees  are  the  unfinished  Temple,  upon  which  the  great 
Builder  was  at  work,  in  its  most  sacred,  intricate,  and  important  part,  when  he 
was  overtaken  and  slain.  Temporarily,  a  substitute  for  all  other  work  was 
supplied  :  the  Capitular  and  Cryptic  workmen  step  forth,  and,  with  the  material 
essential,  finish  the  Heavenly  Structure. 

To  present  a  picture  which  shall  be  thorough  and  effective,  it  is  necessary 
to  do  more  than  to  draw  an  outline,  leaving  to  the  imagination  the  perspective, 
showing  what  is  the  background,  and  giving  it  color  and  animation.  Light 
and  shadow  are  essentials.  'Tis  true,  to  leave  something  to  the  imagination 
enhances  the  interest  and  gives  play  for  the  action  of  the  brain,  but  no  repre- 
sentation has  yet  been  made  so  perfect  that  the  mind  of  man  will  not  have 
something  to  supply.  The  grandest  portrayal  on  the  stage  has  never  yet  been 
so  perfect  and  complete  that  the  mind  has  naught  else  in  the  setting  and 
production  to  feed  upon.  No  fact  in  descriptive  history,  or  legend  wrought  by 
the  wonder-mind  of  the  most  expert,  but  has  failed  to  fill  the  measure  of 
completeness. 

The  mind  of  man  is  far-reaching,  especially  in  our  willing  labors  for  the 
benefit  of  humanity  and  a  true  understanding  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Man  and 
the  Fatherhood  of  God,  —  the  scope  is  almost  limitless. 

The  object,  then,  of  all  human  institutions  that  are  intended  to  improve 
mankind  should  be  as  conclusive  in  their  symbolism  and  their  legends,  as  is 
within  the  scope  of  the  legends  and  the  symbols  so  employed.  It  is  not 
wise  to  select  a  portion  of  a  symbol  or  a  half-told  tale  whereon  to  build  and 
call  the  institution  finished,  when  brilliant  minds  have  rendered  most  thorough 
and  complete  the  institution,  and  have  exquisitely  brought  into  symbolic  play 
the  remainder  of  the  legend,  and  thus  have  beautifully  finished  the  work,  the 
foundation  of  which  was  so  substantially  constructed. 

It  is  not  wise  with  broad  neglect  to  abandon  the  higher  branches  of  the 
university,  and  claim  for  education  that  naught  is  needed  beyond  the  common 
school.  For  the  masses  this  may  be  well,  but  for  those  whose  intellectual 
leanings  and  desires  call  for  greater  and  more  extended  knowledge,  we  would 
not  say  them  nay. 

Nor  should  the  precious  treasures  contained  within  the  House  of  the  Lord 


690  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

be  secreted  from  the  helpful  knowledge  of  the  world,  —  the  lamps,  the  harps, 
the  comets,  the  trumpets,  the  flutes,  and  other  instruments  of  harmony. 

If  a  man  possesses  beautiful  and  exquisite  works  of  art  and  precious  stones, 
and  keeps  his  treasures  concealed,  no  one  is  benefited  or  aware  of  their  value ; 
but  if  he  allows  them  to  be  seen,  their  worth  becomes  known,  humanity  is 
benefited,  and  the  pleasure  of  ownership  is  enhanced.  And  so  the  orna- 
ments of  the  Temple  were  intended  to  be  seen  and  known  by  the  people,  and 
the  beautiful  lessons  taught  by  their  symbolism  in  the  Chapter  and  the  Coun- 
cil make  their  worth  magnified,  and  the  Temple  is  the  greater  glorified. 

The  Revival.  —  How  beautifully  blended  are  the  essentials  of  the  Temple 
with  the  conveniences,  —  the  holy  furniture,  the  priestly  vesture  and  the  orna- 
ments !  How  necessary  the  numerous  compartments,  the  allegoric  veils,  the 
priestly  implements,  the  emblematic  banners,  the  instruments  of  music,  and 
the  Holy  Ark  —  "  the  Glory  of  Israel  "  —  with  its  sacred  contents  !  How 
grandly  and  how  harmoniously  are  these  all  blended  in  the  Symbolic,  the 
Capitular,  and  the  Cryptic  Departments  of  Freemasonry  !  How  poorly  and 
how  meagrely  would  the  Temple-structure  be  understood  without  the  appliances 
necessary  for  its  uses,  —  a  house  without  significant  furniture,  without  speaking 
ornamentation  ! 

Of  the  myriads  of  the  human  race,  all  may  not  be  priests  in  the  Temple 
of  our  God,  There  are  many  vocations  and  ministrations  in  the  service  of 
the  Holy  One.  Some  are  adapted  for  a  higher  course  of  action,  others  for 
more  congenial  employment. 

Hearken,  now,  to  the  silver  tinkling  of  a  distant  bell ;  note  that  slowly 
moving  procession  in  priestly  habiliments,  passing  by  the  veils  of  blue,  of 
purple,  of  scarlet,  and  of  white,  with  spreading  banners  of  the  various  tribes, 
some  swinging  incense  from  golden  censers,  others  playing  sweet  and  solemn 
music  on  their  several  instruments,  and  again  singing  songs  of  praise  and 
supplication,  as  onward  they  march  to  the  place  of  solemn  service  ;  the  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  the  congregation,  to  be  followed  by  the  final  blessing  of 
the  holy  priest,  which,  like  whispers  from  the  dead,  will  inspire  their  hearts 
with  joy  celestial.  Is  there  no  godly  lesson  in  the  uses  of  the  interior  of  the 
Temple,  or  has  all  instruction  been  exhausted  in  the  symbolism  of  the  con- 
struction of  a  portion  of  that  Holy  House?  The  Temple  was  built  for  the 
service  of  God,  and  its  usefulness  for  instruction  did  not  cease  with  the  symbol- 
ism and  legend  of  the  construction  of  a  part. 

Glorious  was  the  Temple  in  its  unity,  sacred  in  its  completeness,  holy  in  its 
service  to  the  Ever-Living  God. 

And  now  adown  the  path  of  time  the  impressive  symbols  and  legends,  the 
thrilling  lessons  and  loving  pictures  of  that  Holy  House  of  the  past  and  its 
sacred  contents,  intended  to  be  an  exemplification  to  mankind  for  all  periods, 
have  assumed  first  one  goodly  shape  and  then  another,  —  a  guild,  a  brotherhood, 
a  society.     And  as  century  upon  century  has  rolled  onward,  there  has  been 


THE  EULOGIUM. 


691 


left  a  broadening  trail  of  good,  through  nations  and  peoples,  until  the  world  is 
filled  with  its  benefices,  its  eupathies,  and  its  godly  blessings.  From  it,  all 
things  with  beauty  glow  ;  the  earth  breathes  sweetness,  and  the  brightening  sky 
tells  of  crowning  happiness,  —  the  pulse  of  brotherhood  bounds  to  pulse, — 
and  heart  to  heart  its  hidden  treasure  yields  :  — 

"  Through  every  soul  a  love  celestial  flows, 
And  in  God's  likeness  every  spirit  glows." 

Thus  to  the  present  day  have  come  to  us  the  glories  and  renown  of  the  ancient 
institutions,  having  the  burden  of  the  same  sweet  song  of  faith,  and  hope,  and 
love,  founded  on  the  Temple,  its  adornments,  and  its  furniture,  in  their  harmo- 
nious and  beautiful  proportions,  its  exquisite  and  shapely  columns,  its  rare 
tracery  and  devices,  its  elegant  and  choicest  ornaments,  proclaiming  through- 
out the  resounding  aisles,  and  through  the  crypts,  the  naves,  the  arches,  that, 
while  faith  is  the  evidence  of  the  Heavenly  Temple,  the  love-born  confidence 
in  one  another  is  the  crowning  virtue  of  the  Brotherhood.  How  manifest  is 
this  charity,  or  love,  in  all  the  incomings  and  the  outgoings  of  the  blessed  Insti- 
tution of  Masonry,  which  is  not  confined  to  the  giving  or  receiving  of  gifts  of 
this  world's  goods,  but  is  so  munificently  evidenced  in  the  innumerable  acts 
of  the  Society,  and  its  membership  individually  and  collectively  !  "  If  silver  and 
gold  be  wanting,  such  as  I  have  give  I  unto  thee,"  were  the  words  uttered  at 
the  Gate  called  the  Beautiful,  and  then,  to  him  who  had  been  lame  from  birth, 
was  added  ;  "  Rise  up  and  walk  !  "  And  when  the  minister  of  God  and  the 
subject  of  His  power  had  arrived  at  Solomon's  Porch  within  the  Temple,  self- 
abnegation  was  avowed,  by  the  declaration  to  the  people  :  "  Why  look  ye  so 
earnestly  on  us,  as  though  by  our  power  or  holiness  we  had  made  this  man 
to  walk?"  And  so  the  power  of  God  was  evinced  through  charity,  —  the 
ever-echoing  and  universal  song  of  Masonry,  which  is  Love. 


^^^^^^^^^z^Py^z^i"^^ 


692 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 


FREEMASONRY,    THE    CONSERVATOR    OF   LIBERTY   AND 
OF  THE    UNIVERSAL  BROTHERHOOD    OF  MAN. 


By  M  .-.W.-.  John  Hamilton  Graham,  LL.D., 
The  First,  and  for  nine  years,  M.\  IV.'.  Grand  Master  of  the   Grand  Lodge 
of  Quebec;  a?id  the  First,   and  for  four  years,  M .'.E .' .   First    Grand 
Principal  Z.-.   ( G .-.  H :.P:.),  of  the    Grand    Chapter  of  Royal  Arch 
Masofts  of  Quebec,  etc.,  etc. 


CHAPTER   n. 

EuLOGiuM  OF  Symbolic  Freemasonry. 

"  Ytt  dyd  begynne  with  the  ffyrste  menne  in  the  este,  whych  were  before  the  ffyrste  manne  of 
the  weste,  and  comynge  westlye,  ytt  hathe  broughte  herwith  alle  comforts  to  the  wylde  and 
comfortlesse.  —  Locke's  Manuscript,  1696." 

I  speak  of  Light,  and  Truth,  and  Right. 

The  Syllogism  of  "The  Revival." — The  long-converging  lines  of  an 
evident  providential  purpose  were  focussed  in  the  formation  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Freemasons  of  England,  in  the  year  171 7;  thence  to  radiate 
throughout  the  world. 

This  grand  body  of  the  revival  of  the  Ancient  Craft  was  a  more  than  mar- 
vellous aggregation  and  embodiment  of  the  most  precious  inner  wisdom  and 
outer  experiences  of  man,  evolved  during  the  by-gone  ages,  in  almost  every 
land  from  farthest  India  to  Ultima  Thule. 

The  divine  command  :  "  Light,  be  thou  !  "  fraught  with  grander  than  primal 
meaning,  was  heard  anew. 

Mystic  messengers  of  light  and  truth,  of  every  age  and  race  and  tongue, 
sped  to  the  regenerating  sons  of  light,  from  India  and  all  the  Orient;  —  from 
Chaldea  and  the  land  of  the  Nile ;  from  Judea  and  Tyria ;  from  Grecia  and 
Italia;  from  Germania,  Celtica,  and  all  the  Occident; — with  one  accord, 
sped  thither,  laden  with  their  choicest  offerings  ;  and,  with  unmingled  joy  and 
gladness,  placed  them  upon  the  altar  of  Freemasonry. 

The  day  of  revival  had  dawned  in  the  birth-land  of  modern  empire, 
among  a  people  leading  in  the  van,  and  speaking  a  language  destined  to 
spread  to  earth's  remotest  bounds.  The  benign  spirit  of  freedom  and  fra- 
ternity prevailed.  The  era  of  consociation  for  the  common  weal  began ;  and 
universal  brotherhood,  the  seonic  vision  of  sage  and  seer,  gave  promise  of 
speedy  realization. 


THE  EULOGIUM. 


693 


The  scattered  Craftsmen  rejoiced  at  the  great  event  which  marked  the 
beginning  of  the  new  age.  They  saw  therein,  clearly  drawn  upon  the  trestle- 
board,  the  grand  design  and  model  of  future  work  and  promise  ;  and  they 
viewed  with  delight  the  more  glorious  outcome  of  their  perfected  art,  —  of 
the  spirit,  principles,  and  laws  of  their  Guild,  —  of  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  the 
Architect,  and  of  the  labors  of  the  Craftsman,  —  in  their  transference  from 
the  construction  and  adornment  of  temples  of  stone  to  the  erection  and 
beautifying  of  the  grand  symbolic  temple  of  humanity. 

The  "  Free  and  Accepted  "  emblazoned  upon  their  banner  "The  Father- 
hood OF  God,  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Man."  The  world  stood  amazed. 
Tyrants  alone  feared  and  trembled.  They  had  long  kept  the  masses  of  their 
fellow-men  in  the  darkness  and  servility  of  ignorance ;  and,  screening  in 
sinister  secrecy  their  false  assumptions  of  authority,  —  their  seliish  motives, 
means,  and  ends,  —  they  had  long  lorded  it  over  man  and  his  divine  heritage. 

Freemasons,  having  nothing  to  conceal,  except  a  few  archaic  ceremonial 
forms,  and  their  tokens  of  recognidon  and  fellowship,  —  their  universal  lan- 
guage,—  they  cheerfully  and  without  reserve,  openly  declared  their  objects, 
aims,  and  ends  ;  and  spread  all  their  charges,  constitutions,  and  laws  before 
the  world,  so  that  they  might  be  read  and  known  of  all  men. 

And  what  saith  the  Craft  of  Itself  ?  —  What  answer  doth  it  give  to  the  oft- 
repeated  query  :  What  mote  it  be  ?  Freemasonry  proclaims  itself  to  be,  and 
is,  a  Universal  Fellowship.  It  knows  no  distinctions  among  men  but  those  of 
worth  and  merit.  Jt  is  founded  upon  the  equality  of  man  in  his  inherent  and 
inalienable  riglits.  Its  great  aim  is  the  amelioration,  in  all  things,  of  the  indi- 
vidual, the  family,  the  neighborhood,  the  State,  the  Nation,  and  the  race.  All 
are  included  in  its  grand  design.  Reverencing  and  utilizing  the  past,  it  acts 
in  the  living  present,  and  ever  strives  after  a  more  glorious  future.  Envious  of 
none,  it  gladly  welcomes  the  cooperation  of  all  who  love  their  fellow-men. 

Freemasons  are  free  men.  Each  seeks  admission  into  the  Fraternity  of 
his  own  free-will.  If  admitted,  he  receives  instruction  common  to  all.  He 
exercises  and  enjoys,  in  equality,  the  perfect  freedom  of  the  Order ;  and  he 
may  withdraw  therefrom  at  will. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  symbolic  architecture.  The  grand  superstruct- 
ure to  be  erected  is  the  cosmic  temple  of  humanity.  Therein,  labor  is 
nobility  and  all  is  dedicate  to  work  and  worth-ship.  Man,  the  rough  ashlar, 
is  symbolically  taken  from  the  quarry  of  life,  —  is  hewn,  squared,  polished, 
and  made  well-fit  for  his  place  in  the  great  living  temple  whose  chief  founda- 
tion stones  are  truth  and  right ;  whose  main  pillars  are  wisdom,  strength,  and 
beauty;  whose  adornments  are  all  the  virtues;  the  key-stone  of  whose  world- 
o'erspanning  arch  is  brotherhood ;  and  whose  Master  Builder  is  The  Great 
Architect  of  the  Universe. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  human  culture.  It  inspires  a  desire  for, 
inculcates  a  knowledge  and  teaches  the  use  of,  all  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences. 


594  COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONRY. 

Chief  among  these  is  the  science  of  mathematics.  Geometry,  its  most  impor- 
tant branch,  is  the  basis  of  the  Craftsman's  art,  and  in  ancient  times  was  its 
synonym.  It  is  taught  to  be  of  a  divine  or  moral  nature,  enriched  with  the 
most  useful  knowledge,  so  that  while  it  proves  the  wonderful  properties  of 
nature,  it  demonstrates  the  more  important  truths  of  morality.  It  teaches  a 
knowledge  of  the  earth,  and  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  and  of  the  laws  which 
govern  them.  It  is  the  basis  of  astronomy,  the  noblest  of  the  sciences.  Above 
all,  it  teaches  the  Craftsman  to  know  and  love,  to  adore  and  serve,  the  Grand 
Geometrician  of  the  Universe. 

Freemasonry  is  a  peculiar  system  of  morality  veiled  in  allegory,  and  illus- 
trated by  symbols.  It  is  beautiful,  unique,  singular,  and  sui  generis.  It 
instils  and  enforces  the  sacred  duties  of  brotherly  love,  relief,  and  truth ;  of 
prudence,  temperance,  fortitude,  and  justice  ;  of  benevolence,  beneficence,  and 
charity  ;  of  forbearance  and  love  ;  of  gratitude  and  mercy  ;  of  patriotism,  loy- 
alty, peaceableness,  and  tolerance  ;  of  honor,  honesty,  and  fidelity  ;  of  diligence, 
courtesy,  and  regard  for  others'  weal ;  of  self-care  and  self-culture  ;  to  seek 
peace,  and  to  assuage  the  rigors  of  conflict ;  and,  in  all  things,  to  do  not  to 
others  what  one  would  they  should  not  do  to  him. 

It  inculcates  all  the  mutual  duties  and  obligations  of  man  to  man  in  all  the 
relations  of  life  ;  of  the  ruler  and  the  ruled  ;  of  the  master  and  the  servant ;  the 
employer  and  the  employed  ;  the  high  and  the  lowly ;  the  rich  and  the  poor ; 
the  learned  and  the  unlearned  ;  the  teacher  and  the  taught ;  the  strong  and 
the  weak ;  the  parent  and  the  child;  the  old  and  the  young ;  the  hale  and  the 
infirm  ;  of  the  living  to  the  dying  and  the  dead ;  and,  in  short,  it  inculcates 
and  enforces  the  practice  of  every  moral  virtue,  and  every  duty  which  man 
owes  to  himself,  to  his  neighbor,  and  to  the  Most  High. 

Freemasonry  is  a  social  Order.  The  Craft  are  called  from  labor  to  refresh- 
ment. Temperance  presides.  Polite  courtesy,  pleasing  address,  and  social 
intercourse  are  cultivated ;  the  bonds  of  friendship  are  strengthened  ;  and  to 
refreshment  of  the  body,  are  joined  the  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of  soul. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  symbolism,  allegory,  and  hieroglyphics.  Every 
Masonic  mark,  character,  sign,  token,  word,  emblem,  fact,  or  figure  is  sym- 
bolic. The  most  important  truths  conveyed,  the  lessons  taught,  or  duties 
inculcated  are  veiled  in  allegory,  imparted  by  means  of  signs,  or  expressed 
by  hieroglyphics. 

The  facts  and  types  of  nature,  of  sacred  lore,  of  history,  tradition,  science, 
art,  and  literature  ;  the  instincts  of  man,  the  evidences  of  his  senses,  the  per- 
ceptions and  reasonings  of  his  intellect,  the  discernments  and  aspirations  of 
his  moral  and  spiritual  nature,  his  simplest  and  his  loftiest  ideals  are  translated, 
and  given  a  practical  form,  embodiment,  and  application,  by  the  symbolism 
and  allegory  of  Freemasonry,  with  a  beauty  of  diction,  a  wealth  of  ^magery,  a 
fidelity  of  expression,  and  force  of  meaning,  which  conveys  ideas,  makes 
impressions,  and  imparts  instruction,  not  only  best  suited  to  the  capacity  of 


THE  EULOGIUM.  695 

the  humblest  novitiate,  but  sheds  light  and  lustre  upon  the  most  perfect 
adept.  Hence  its  perpetual  charm  ;  its  inestimable  value  ;  its  supreme  excel- 
lence. The  wisest  teachers  in  all  ages  have  employed  its  symbolic  methods 
of  instruction.  The  wondrous  story  of  earth  and  man  is  laden  with  allegory. 
The  symbolism  of  the  Craft  is  the  poetry  and  perfection  of  knowledge,  culture, 
and  enlightenment.  In  this,  as  in  all  things,  Freemasonry  is  its  own  secret, 
revealed  alone  by  "  that  bright  hieroglyphic  which  none  but  Craftsmen  ever 
saw." 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  willing  obedience  and  rightful  rule.  Order  is 
its  first  law.  The  Master  commands  according  to  the  constitution ;  the 
brother  obeys  with  alacrity  and  zeal.  He  who  best  works  and  best  obeys, 
becomes  best  fitted  to  preside  over  and  instruct  his  fellows.  Preferment  is 
founded  upon  real  worth  and  personal  merit.  Cheerful,  lawful  obedience  and 
rightful,  beneficent  rule  have  in  Freemasonry  their  noblest  union  and  fruition. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  jurisprudence  more  noble  than  that  of  Roman 
Law,  or  Grecian  Ethics.  Its  leges  scriptce  et  tioti  sciiptce  are  based  upon 
essential  and  inherent  rights.  Its  administration  seeks  the  individual  and  the 
general  welfare.  Law,  in  Freemasonry,  is  a  moral  science.  Evil  is  deemed 
to  be  incident,  and  good  eternal.  In  the  jurisprudence  of  the  Craft,  law, 
equity,  and  human  weal  are  indissolubly  united.  Its  supreme  end  is  the  well- 
being  of  man.  The  Craftsman  is  taught  not  to  palliate  or  aggravate  offences  ; 
but  in  the  decision  of  every  trespass,  to  judge  with  candor,  admonish  with 
friendship,  and  reprehend  with  mercy.  Happy  is  the  "  commonwealth  " 
whose  laws,  and  the  administration  thereof,  are  founded  upon  the  jurispru- 
dence of  Ancient,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

Freemasonry  is  a  comprehensive  system  of  government  founded  upon  the 
rights  of  man,  and  exercised  and  enjoyed  in  the  perfection  of  loyalty,  union, 
efificiency,  and  harmony.  Its  mission  is  peace,  progress,  and  prosperity.  It 
contains  the  antecedent  ideals,  the  germs  and  model  of  the  best  forms  of  human 
government,  in  corporate  local  and  national  existence  and  rule.  It  demon- 
strates the  unnumbered  mutual  benefits  and  blessings  flowing  from  the  alliance 
of  sovereignties  coequal  in  status,  rights,  privileges,  and  prerogatives ;  and  it 
points  out,  and  leads  the  way  among  free,  enlightened,  and  progressive 
peoples,  to  the  friendly  federation  of  the  world. 

Freemasonry  is  not  a  religion  or  a  system  of  religion.  It  is  the  hand- 
maid of  all  seeking  truth,  and  light,  and  right.  It  is  a  centre  of  union  of 
good  and  true  men  of  every  race  and  tongue,  who  believe  in  God  and  prac- 
tise the  sacred  duties  of  morality.  It  has  no  politics  ;  it  knows  no  sect ;  no 
hierarch  ;  no  Caesar.  Therein  freedom  reigns  ;  therein  the  tyrant  and  the 
oppressor  have  no  place ;  the  intolerant  are  not ;  and  the  pessimist  and  the 
misanthrope  are  unknown.  Without  the  expectation  of  total  exemption  from 
the  errors  and  frailties  incident  to  all  things  human  ;  or  the  entire  absence  of 
unfilial   Noachid^,  Iscariot  betrayers,  or   of  emissaries  seeking  to   destroy; 


696 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  Y. 


and  without  pretensions  to  unattainable  perfection,  it  ever  strives,  by  spreading 
the  hght  of  science  and  moral  truth,  by  increasing  the  power  of  knowledge, 
and  by  the  divine  processes  of  culture  and  enlightenment,  to  make  the  whole 
realm  of  nature  subservient  to  the  headship  and  highest  interests  of  man. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  human  philosophy.  It  is  a  school  of  learning ; 
a  college  of  builders  ;  a  home  among  brethren.  To  the  artist  and  the  artisan  ; 
to  the  poet  and  the  philosopher ;  to  the  theorist  and  the  utilitarian ;  to  the 
speculative  and  the  operative ;  to  the  man  of  business  and  the  savant ;  to 
the  prince  and  the  peasant ;  to  the  ruler  and  the  ruled ;  to  the  resident  and 
the  traveller ;  to  the  old,  the  middle-aged,  and  the  youth.  Freemasonry  is 
alike  congenial,  instructive,  and  beneficent.  Therein  all  meet  upon  the  Level, 
work  by  the  Plumb,  and  part  upon  the  Square.  The  grand  mission  of  Free- 
masonry is  peace,  prosperity,  uprightness,  enlightenment,  and  unhmited 
good-will. 

Freemasonry  is  based  upon  immutable  truth  and  right.  It  knows  not  the 
changes  and  shifts  of  expediency  and  opportunism.  It  is  as  unmoved  as  the 
rock  upon  which  the  tempest-tossed  waves  of  ocean  may  dash  in  vain.  It 
stands  firm  as  the  pyramids.  It  is  benign  and  placid  as  the  Sphinx.  It  sur- 
vives the  commotions  and  downfall  of  empires ;  and  of  it,  in  substance  and 
essence,  the  truth  proclaims,  semper  eadem. 

The  Conservator  of  Liberty.  —  Freemasonry  is  the  conservator  and  main- 
stay of  human  freedom,  and  of  all  the  rights  of  man.  It  inculcates  individual 
and  collective  liberty,  circumscribed  and  bounded  by  the  common  weal.  The 
light  of  liberty  shines  forth  from  the  inner  sanctuaries  of  Freemasonry,  and 
illumines  the  outer  world.  The  principles  and  duties  taught  and  exemplified 
within  are  carried  without,  and  perform  their  leavening,  enlightening,  and 
ameliorating  work;  and  hence  it  is  that  tlie  material,  mental,  moral,  and 
national  progress  of  our  race  has  been  and  is  pari  passu  with  the  progress 
and  prosperity  of  Freemasonry. 

The  Evidence  of  History.  —  Witness  the  history  of  Britain  and  its  now 
world-encircling  empire  from  the  advent  therein  of  the  Ancient  Craft  with  the 
freedom  and  laws  of  their  guild ;  from  the  days  of  Magna  Char/a  ;  and  from 
the  establishment  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Freemasons  of  England,  Ireland, 
and  Scotland. 

Witness  the  history  of  the  founding  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  great  Republic 
of  the  United  States  of  America  prior  to  and  from  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence ;  and  the  least  observant  may  know  that  the  history  and  future 
promise  of  these  free  and  enhghtened  nations,  and  the  history  of  the  estab- 
lishment, progress,  and  beneficent  work  of  Freemasonry  therein,  are  one  and 
inseparable. 

Witness,  also,  like  causation,  correspondence,  and  outcomes  in  every  land 
wherein  Freemasonry  has  had  and  has  a  welcome  home,  a  cherished  abiding  place. 

Witness,  too,  the  thick  darkness  pervading  all  lands  wherein  Freemasonry 


THE  EULOGIUM.  5g~ 

does  not  exist,  wherein  its  light  does  not  shine ;  but,  though  long  therein  has 
been  the  night,  the  dawn  will  soon  appear,  and  the  meridian  sun  of  Freemasonry 
will  shine  forth  in  all  its  splendor. 

A  True,  Universal  Brotherhood.  —  The  writer  must  now  stay  his  pen,  and 
yet  "  the  half  has  not  been  told."  However,  to  this  brief  delineation  of  a  few 
segments  of  the  great  sphere  of  Masonic  truth,  it  is  thought  not  amiss  to  add 
the  following  words,  it  may  be  of  profit  and  admonidon,  to  the  honest 
opponents  of  Freemasonry,  to  the  bearers  of  false  witness  against  the  Craft, 
and  to  those  who  would  persecute  and  seek  its  overthrow. 

The  fact  that  throughout  the  United  States  of  America,  the  British  Empire, 
and  among  other  free  and  enlightened  peoples,  so  many  of  those  in  every 
grade  of  society,  who  are  most  vitally  interested  in  conserving,  amehorating, 
and  perpetuating  what  is  most  valuable  and  beneficial  in  the  present  civil, 
social,  and  political  order  of  things  are  active  and  prominent  members  of  the 
Craft,  proves  that  Freemasonry  is  a  thoroughly  patriotic  and  loyal  institution. 
The  fact  that  so  many  of  the  adherents,  and  leaders  even,  of  so  many  rehgious 
creeds  and  denominations  belong  to  the  Order  shows  beyond  question  that 
Freemasonry  is  a  most  tolerant  insdtution.  The  fact  that  so  many  men  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability  and  culture  are  zealous  Freemasons  is  proof  that 
there  is  much  in  and  pertaining  to  the  Fraternity  which  is  worthy  the  attention 
of  the  best  intellects. 

The  fact  that  so  many  good  and  pious  men  are  devoted  Craftsmen  demon- 
strates that,  in  their  opinion,  and  from  their  experience,  Freemasonry  is  an 
institudon  honoring  to  God  and  beneficial  to  man.  The  fact  of  its  time- 
immemorial  age,  and  its  world-wide  prevalence  shows,  that  as  to  its  moral 
principles;  —  its  social  order  j  its  system  of  jurisprudence  and  government;  its 
stability  and  permanence;  its  educadng  influence;  its  adaptability  to  the 
condition,  needs,  and  aspirations  of  a  free  and  progressive  people;  its 
humanizing  efficacy;  its  non-proselydng  and  non-partisan  character;  its 
practical  and  all-comprehensive  voluntary  charity;  and,  in  short,  its  raison 
d'etre  and  its  modus  vivendi  et  operajtdi ;  —  it  contains  within  itself  the 
essential  and  necessary  elements  of  a  true,  universal  brotherhood,  destined  to 
exist  and  prosper,  world  without  end. 

In  view  of  such,  and  much  more  that  might  truthfully  be  stated,  it  is  one 
of  the  perverse  problems  of  misdirected  humanity,  which  almost  passes  chari- 
table comprehension,  that,  in  this  age  of  the  world,  the  persecudng  spirit  of 
Anti-Masonry  should  exist  in  the  mind  or  heart  of  any  tolerably  enlightened 
individual,  or  be  inculcated  or  practised  by  any  sensible,  prudent  man,  or 
body  of  men.  It  is  clearly  the  offspring  of  a  short-sighted  and  unendurable 
intolerance,  whose  inevitable  reaction,  even,  will  certainly  be  to  the  detriment 
and  discomfiture  of  those  cherishing,  propagating,  and  practising  it.  Free- 
masons, however,  have  no  fears,  and  stand  in  no  awe,  of  the  immediate  or 
final  outcome  of  persecudon  in  any  form,  or  from  any  source. 


698 


COSMOPOLITAN  FREEMASONR  V. 


In  vain  are  the  assaults  of  the  intolerant.  In  vaui  the  hierarch  fulmhiates 
his  bull,  or  the  tyrant  his  command  to  stay  its  progress  or  compass  its  over- 
throw. Freemasonry  is  destined  to  reign.  The  victory  of  right  is  sure. 
Truth  will  prevail.  The  true  light  will  shine.  The  consummation  of  Free- 
masonry will  be  the  reign  of  Universal  Brotherhood. 

The  Laureate's  Prophecy.  —  The  prophetic  words  of  Freemasonry's  im- 
mortal Laureate  Bard  are  ever  reechoed,  in  faith  and  hope  and  triumph,  by  all 
true  brothers  of  the  Mystic-tie  :  — 

"  Then  let  us  pray,  that  come  it  may  — 
As  come  it  will,  for  a'  that  — 

That  man  to  man,  the  world  o'er, 
Shall  brothers  be,  for  a'  that." 

—  So   MOTE  IT  BE. 


4rtg  ^^<. 


Part    III. 

CONCORDANT   ORDERS.  — THE   CHIVALRIC   DEGREES. 


DIVISION     XVI. 


KNIGHTS  TEMPLAR  AND  ALLIED    ORDERS. 


The  Knights  Templar'^  of  the  U^iited  States  of  America,  and  Government  by 
a  Grand  Encampment,  Grand  Commanderies,  and  Commanderies.  The 
Ritual,  and  Ethics  of  American  Templary. 

By  Frederic  Speed,  33°, 
Past  R :.E .'.Grand  Commander,  Mississippi. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Origin  of  American  Templary,  and  Early  Grand  Encampments. 

The  American  Masonic  System.  —  The  American  Masonic  system  is  a 
growth,  the  germ  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  older  Masonry  of  the  Mother- 
land. The  American  scion  differs  in  so  many  particulars  from  the  parent 
stock,  from  which  it  was  propagated,  that  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  reproduc- 
tion of  the  original  plant ;  at  most,  it  is  but  a  species  of  the  same  genus. 
The  several  degrees  came  to  this  country  in  a  greatly  modified  form  from  that 
in  which  they  are  now  to  be  found.  The  work  of  elaboration  and  embellish- 
ment began  at  a  very  early  date,  and  it  is  difficult  to  trace  its  development, 
which  may  be  said  to  have  culminated  when  Thomas  Smith  Webb's  career  as 
a  Masonic  luminary  was  at  its  meridian  height.  To  this  illustrious  brother  we 
owe  the  recasting  of  some  of  the  degrees,  and  the  entire  reconstruction  of 
others.   The  rituals  of  the  "  Blue  "  Lodge,  Chapter,  and  Commandery  were  each 

[1  In  this  work  the  orthography  is  uniformly  intended  to  be  "  Knights  Templars,"  except  where 
the  reference  is  made  to  the  bodies  known  as  "  Grand  Encampment,  U.S.A.,"  and  "  Great  Priory 
of  Canada,"  the  present  legal  titles  of  which  are  "  Knights  Templar."  Vide  Divisions  II.,  XVI., 
XVII.,  etc.  — Eu.] 

699 


700 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


the  subject  of  his  labors,  and  what  is  even  now  known  as  the  ''Webb  work," 
although  it  has  doubtless  undergone  many  alterations,  both  of  addition  and 
subtraction,  is  the  standard  authority  among  American  Masonic  Ritualists  ; 
and,  alas  for  human  credulity,  this  work  of  Webb's  is  sealed  with  the  signet  of 
truth,  and  no  ranker  heresy  could  be  uttered,  in  the  estimation  of  far  too 
many  "Masonic  Lecturers,"  than  to  doubt  that  it  is  the  only  true,  ancient  work 
of  Masonry.  The  task  of  discovering  and  bringing  to  light  the  true  history  of 
the  Fraternity,  which  has  so  long  lain  buried  in  darkness  among  the  rubbish  of 
the  Temple,  which  has  accumulated  with  the  years  of  its  growth,  is  rendered 
exceedingly  difficult,  owing  to  the  extreme  reluctance  with  which  Masons 
formerly  committed  to  writing  even  the  most  trivial  matters  relating  to  the 
Craft.  Even  in  this  age,  when  new  discoveries  are  being  constantly  brought 
to  light,  it  is  far  too  frequently  held  to  be  treason  to  the  cause,  to  expose  to 
the  eyes  of  the  "  profane  "  the  truth  of  history,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  Masonic 
Institution;  but,  regardless  of  the  ignorant  pretensions  of  those  who  still  teach 
that  the  Master  Masons'  degree  originated,  and  was  formerly  conferred  in  the 
Sanction  Sajictorum  of  King  Solomon's  Temple,  and  that  the  Templars  of  this 
year  of  grace  are  the  lineal  descendants  of  those  who  fought  for  the  recovery 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  one  myth  after  another  has  vanished  into  thin  air,  until 
we  no  longer  hesitate  to  commit  to  writing  the  averment,  that,  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  the  ritual  of  every  Masonic  degree  now  produced  in  these 
United  States  originated,  or  was  elaborated,  since  the  American  Revolution, 
and  by  Americans.  The  admission  of  this  fact  does  not  in  the  least  degree 
detract  from  the  dignity,  high  character,  or  claim  to  an  ancient  origin  of  the 
Institution  itself.  In  the  preface  to  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Church 
of  England,  as  it  exists  in  the  United  States,  this  statement  is  to  be  found  :  — 

"  It  is  a  most  invaluable  part  of  that  blessed  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free,  that  in 
his  worship,  different  forms  and  usages  may  without  offence  be  allowed,  provided  the  substance 
of  the  Faith  be  kept  entire ;  and  that,  in  every  Church,  what  cannot  be  clearly  determined  to 
belong  to  Doctrine  must  be  referred  to  Discipline ;  and  therefore,  by  common  consent  and 
authority,  may  be  altered,  abridged,  enlarged,  amended,  or  otherwise  disposed  of,  as  may  seem 
most  convenient  for  the  edification  of  the  people, '  according  to  the  various  exigencies  of  times  and 
occasions.' " 

The  Church  of  England  .  .  .  laid  it  down  as  a  rule,  that 

"  The  particular  forms  of  Divine  Worship,  and  the  Rites  and  Ceremonies  appointed  to  be 
used  therein,  being  things  in  their  own  nature  indifferent  and  alterable,  and  so  acknowledged,  it  is 
but  reasonable  that  upon  weighty  and  important  considerations,  according  to  the  various  exigen- 
cies of  times  and  occasions,  such  changes  and  alterations  should  be  made  therein,  as  to  those  who 
are  in  places  of  authority  should,  from  time  to  time,  seem  either  necessary  or  expedient." 

As  no  one  doubts  but  that  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  is  identical  with  the  same  Church  as  it  exists  in  England  to  this  day, 
notwithstanding  alterations  have  been  made  in  the  canons  and  ritualistic 
observances  of  the  American  daughter,  so  there  can  be  no  question  but  that 
American  Freemasonry  and  English  Freemasonry  are  indentical.    That  there 


ORIGIN  OF  AMERICAN   TEMPLAR  Y.  701 

should  have  sprung  up  here  new  forms  and  ceremonies,  "  most  convenient  for 
the  edification  of  the  people,"  and,  to  some  extent,  a  new  scale  of  degrees, 
some  of  which  are  not  in  use  in  the  Mother  Country,  is  not  altogether  to  be 
regretted ;  for  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  American  system,  with  all  its 
defects,  has  advantages  not  possessed  by  the  English  and  Continental  systems. 
It  is  of  course  unfortunate  that  all  Masonic  instruction  should  not  be  given  in 
chronological  progression.  The  transposition  of  some  of  the  degrees  might 
have  been  made,  at  an  early  day,  with  advantage,  but  it  must  be  apparent  to 
all  who  observed  the  great  struggle  which  took  place  quite  recently  over  the 
proposed  transfer  of  the  Cryptic  degrees  to  the  Capitular  system,  that  the 
order  in  which  the  degrees  are  given  has  become,  notwithstanding  the  grossest 
anachronisms,  so  firmly  fixed  that  no  change  in  the  scale  of  degrees  is  prac- 
ticable, in  this  period  of  Masonic  development.  There  are  other  glaring 
defects  in  the  rituals,  both  as  to  substance  and  the  symbolism  by  which  they 
are  illustrated,  which  have  subjected  them  to  the  criticism  of  scholars  and 
detracted  from  their  usefulness ;  but,  when  contrasted  with  the  barrenness  of 
the  Enghsh  rituals,  despite  the  gaudy  clothing  in  which  they  are  dressed,  and 
absurdly  preposterous  statements  of  fact  and  of  explanation,  with  which  they 
are  embellished,  they  do  not  suffer  by  the  comparison.  Fortunately,  ritualistic 
observances  are  the  least  part  of  Masonry,  important  and  indispensable  as 
they  are,  as  a  means  of  conveying  information,  and  the  induction  of  candi- 
dates for  admission.  The  great  underlying  principles  could  be,  as  they  have 
been,  conveyed  by  another  form  of  words,  and  the  practice  of  other  cere- 
monies. It  would  still  be  the  same  Craft,  and  worthy  of  the  same  degree  of 
exalted  estimation  with  which  it  has  ever  been  held,  among  intelligent  men  of 
every  age,  if  it  made  use  of  no  forms  of  initiation  save  those  which  unite  men 
of  all  creeds  and  conditions  into  a  society  of  friends  and  brothers,  whose 
cardinal  principle  is  to  be  found  in  the  universal  creed,  expressed  by  the 
Masonic  idea,  of  the  "  Fatherhood  of  God  and  Brotherhood  of  Man."  The 
great  fundamental  principles  and  unwritten  laws  have  always  been  the  same, 
and  will  remain,  while  the  Institution  continues  to  exist,  notwithstanding  that 
the  degrees,  with  their  rites  and  ceremonies,  may  not  be  identical  in  different 
countries.  In  the  ever-changing  vicissitudes  to  which  the  Fathers  of  American 
Masonry  were  exposed,  in  common  with  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  new  country, 
covering  an  immense  territory,  between  whom  communication  was  made  with 
difficulties  and  even  dangers,  the  immensity  of  which  we  can  scarcely  realize 
in  this  day  of  steam  and  electricity,  receiving  their  Masonic  instruction  from 
many  different  sources,  and  laboring  tmder  the  disadvantage  of  having  access 
to  few  or  no  printed  standards  of  authority,  it  is  amazing  that  they  managed 
to  retain  and  perpetuate  so  much  of  the  "  true  principles  of  Ancient  Craft 
Masonry."  Whatever  discrepancies  arose  were  mainly  regarding  questions 
of  ritual,  which  is  extraordinary  when  it  is  recollected  that  the  work  of  the 
"Ancients"  and  "Moderns"  in  England,  and  of  the  Continental  Rites,  came 


702  THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 

to  the  country  about  the  same  time  ;  that  they  were  interblended  to  such 
an  extent,  that,  from  a  ritualistic  point  of  view,  a  new  Masonry  may  be 
said  to  have  been  created,  is  not  at  all  surprising;  indeed,  it  was  to  have 
been  expected  as  the  natural  and  inevitable  result,  ^^'ebb  and  his  associates 
made,  out  of  the  conglomeration  of  work,  a  new  work,  which  was  afterward 
embellished  by  Cross  and  others,  and  very  generally  received,  and  is  now  the 
foundation  upon  which  our  rituals  are  built.  These  suggestions,  made  with 
some  diffidence,  lest  they  should  trespass  upon  topics  of  this  work  assigned 
to  other  writers,  seem  to  be  necessary  to  a  proper  understanding  of  what  is 
hereafter  to  follow,  relating  to  the  history  of  American  Templarism,  whose 
rituals,  as  we  have  before  said,  were  subjected  to  the  same  process  of  revivi- 
fication as  those  of  "  Blue  "  and  Royal  Arch  Masonry. 

The  Ante-Revolutionary  Period.  —  Previous  to  the  independence  of  the 
American  States  there  were  existing  no  separate  Templar  bodies.  The  Tem- 
plar ceremony  was  practised,  to  some  extent,  "under  the  sanction  of  the 
warrant "  of  "  Blue  "  lodges,  by  which  statement  this  writer  understands,  as 
the  result  of  his  investigations  and  reflections  upon  the  subject,  that  it  was 
formerly  the  practice  of  those  persons  who  were  in  possession  of  the  degree 
to  assemble  in  some  lodge  room,  whether  the  one  of  which  they  were  members 
or  not  does  not  appear,  and  then  and  there  proceed  with  the  ceremony  of 
Knighting  a  Templar,  and  sometimes  granting  a  diploma.  The  organization  in 
every  instance  seems  to  have  been  self-created  and  temporary  in  its  character.^ 

St.  Andrew's  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
then  St.  Andrew's  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  holding  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Scotland,  held  its  first  recorded  meeting  August  28,  1769,  in  Masons'  Hall, 
Boston,  and  the  record  of  that  meeting  contains  the  first  account  of  the  con- 
ferring of  the  degree  of  Knight  Templar,  that  has  been  discovered,  either  in 
this  country  or  Great  Britain.- 

Whence  the  ceremony  was  obtained,  or  of  what  it  consisted,  is  a  mere 
matter  of  conjecture.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Red  Cross  Order  is  not 
named  in  the  list  of  degrees  conferred.  The  records  of  Kilwinning  Lodge, 
Ireland,  warranted  October  8,  1779,  show  that  its  charter  was  used  as  the 
authority  for  conferring  the  Royal  Arch,  Knight  Templar,  and  Rose  Croix 
degrees,  as  early  as  1782  ;  but  the  Red  Cross  and  the  Rose  Croix  are  two 
different  degrees,  and  should  not  be  confounded.  It  is  thought  possible  that 
the  Irish  lodges,  having  the  High  Knight  Templar  degree,  communicated  it  to 
their  American  brothers  prior  to  the  Revolution,  though  there  is  no  evidence 
of  it;  on  the  contrary,  the  record  shows  that  it  was  confecred  first  (1769)  in 

1  These  higher  degrees  in  those  times  were  governed  by  no  statute  of  Masonry,  but  by  a  custom 
by  which  Master's  lodges  conferred  any  higher  degrees  of  which  they  had  knowledge,  on  worthy 
Master  Masons.  —  Pan'in. 

2  Brother  William  Davis  came  before  the  lodge  begging  to  have  and  receive  the  parts  belong- 
ing to  the  Royal  Arch  Masons,  which,  being  read,  was  received,  and  he  unanimously  voted  in,  and 
was  accordingly  made  by  receiving  the  four  steps,  that  of  Excellent,  Super-Excellent,  Royal  Arch, 
and  Knight  Templar.  —  Extract  from  the  Records  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  Boston. 


OR  I G IX  OF  AMERICAN  TEMPLAR  Y.  -q^ 

America,  and  aftenrard  in  Ireland  (1779),  It  is  somewhat  singular  that, 
although  the  Scottish  Kihrinning  brethren  never  at  any  time  worked  other 
than  "  St.  John's  Masonr)-,"  both  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  of  Boston,  and  Kilwinnincr 
Lodge,  of  Dublin,  in  records  of  which  the  first  recorded  mention  of  the  Tem- 
plar Order  is  to  be  found,  derived  their  charters  from  Scotland.  The  learned 
Brother  Pan-in  inclines  to  die  belief  that  the  military  lodges,  attached  to  Irish 
regiments,  brought  the  degree  with  them  from  the  Mother-land,  and  our 
American  brethren  obtained  it  through  that  source.^ 

It  is  possible  that  the  degree  of  Knight  Templar  was  conferred,  in  numerous 
instances,  in  militan,-,  and  possibly  other  lodges,  prior  to  the  end  of  the 
Revolutionary  period ;  but,  if  so,  there  is,  so  far  as  this  writer  is  aware,  no 
existing  credible  e\-idence  of  that  fact,  and  even  if  it  were  true  that  such  was 
the  case,  the  mode  and  manner  in  which  it  was  done  was  so  irregular,  in  the 
light  of  modem  ]SIasonic  teachings,  that  the  bare  record  would  be  of  but 
little  value  to  the  Masonic  student. 

The  Post-Revolutionary  Period  tuitil  the  Organization  of  the  Grand 
Encampment.  —  From  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  until  about  the  year 
1S16,  when  the  Grand  Encampment  was  formed,  Masonrj-,  like  the  countrj-, 
was  in  a  transitionary  state.  The  so-called  "  higher  degrees,"  which  had  pre\i- 
ously  been  conferred  under  the  sanction  of  lodge  warrants,  now  began  to  be 
worked  by  regularly  constituted  bodies.  Chapters  and  encampments  began 
to  be  organized  upon  a  permanent  basis,  and,  as  they  attracted  more  atten- 
tion, a  ritualistic  development  was  inaugurated.  As  in  the  ante -Revolutionary 
period,  for  most  of  the  time,  there  was  no  governing  power  over  the  Templar 
degree,  and  each  body,  as  it  came  into  existence,  was  self-created  and  inde- 
pendent of  all  others.  Few  of  these  organizations  have  continued  until  the 
present  time,  and  still  fewer  have  left  any  records  of  the  earlier  years  of  their 
existence.  An  occasional  discover}^  of  an  ancient  diploma,  or  other  fragment, 
has  revised  pre\'iously  formed  opinions  as  to  which  is  the  elder  organisation  ; 
but,  for  the  reason  that  bodies  were  self-constituted,  and  consisted  of  indi- 
viduals who,  being  in  possession  of  a  degree,  called  to  their  assistance  the 
requisite  number  of  other  qualified  brethren,  and  gave  the  degrees  to  certain 
chosen  spirits,  and  then  dissolved  never  to  meet  again,  it  is  manifest  that  there 
can  be  no  gathering  together  of  the  facts  ;  and  that,  beyond  an  occasional  hint, 

1  Numerous  military  lodges  were  \varranted  by  boih  the  "  Ancient "  and  "  Modem  "  Grand 
Lodges  of  England,  and  by  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  One  distinguished  regi- 
ment had  a  lodge  connected  with  it,  chartered  in  turn  by  both  of  the  English  GrandLodges,  and 
subsequently  by  those  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  It  also  had  connected  wth  it,  under  the  same 
warrant,  two  chapters  holding  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England  and  Ireland. 
In  1766  there  were  tvvo  fnilitary  lodges  stationed  at  Boston :  Xo.  58  on  tlie  register  of  England, 
connected  with  the  Founeenih  Regiment,  and  Xo.  322  register  of  Ireland,  attached  to  the  Twentv- 
ninth  Regiment.  As  early  as  1762,  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  of  Boston,  apnlied  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Scotland,  from  which  it  had  received  its  \rarrant,  for  leaw  to  confer  the  Roval  Arch  degree ;  and 
subsequently,  under  this  warrant,  it  conferred  both  the  degrees  of  Royal  Arch  and  Knight  Templar. 
Even  prior  to  this,  as  early  as  175S,  Lodge  Nc.  3,  at  Philadelphia,  working  under  warrant  as  Lodge 
No.  339,  granted  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  All  England,  also  worked  as  a  chapter,  and  conferred  the 
Royal  Arch  degree ;  but,  as  previously  stated,  we  do  not  find  that  this  chapter  ever  conferred  the 
degree  of  Knight  Templar. —  Parvin.    [No.  69,  not  369,  granted  by  "Ancients."] 


704  THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 

received  from  the  meagre  record  of  some  old  lodge  book,  as  it  may  be 
unearthed  from  its  hiding-place,  nothing  further  is  to  be  looked  for.  As  time 
passed  on,  and  these  occasional  gatherings  became  more  frequent,  when  the 
number  of  Templars  had  increased  sufficiently,  and  more  permanent  organiza- 
tions began  to  be  made,  out  of  these  emergency  bodies  grew  permanent  ones. 
The  Question  of  the  Oldest  Commandery.  —  The  question  as  to  which  is 
the  oldest  commandery  of  Knights  Templars  in  the  United  States  has  attained 
considerable  importance,  and  various  claims  have  been  advanced.  Grand 
Master  Dean,  in  his  address  to  the  Grand  Encampment  in  1883,  submitted 
what  he  regarded  as 

"  Indisputable  evidence  that  the  degrees  of  Knight  of  the  Red  Cross,  and  Knight  Templar 
were  conferred  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  a  regularly  organized  body  as  far  back  as  the 
year  1783." 

And  this  is  the  earliest  period  at  which  it  is  claimed  that  a  regularly  organized 
body  existed.  The  evidence,  upon  which  this  claim  is  based,  is  an  old  seal 
formerly  in  the  records  of  South  Carolina  Encampment,  No.  i,  Charleston, 
and  now  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Encampment,  and  an  ancient  diploma,  — 

"  Written  in  a  very  neat  chirography  on  parchment,  with  two  seals  in  wax  attached,  one  in 
red,  of  the  Royal  Arch,  and  the  other  in  black,  of  the  Knights  Templars.  The  upper  part  of  the 
diploma  contains  four  devices  within  four  circles,  all  skilfully  executed  with  the  pen.  The  first 
device,  beginning  on  the  left  hand,  is  a  star  of  seven  points,  with  the  Ineffable  Name  in  the  centre, 
and  the  motto,  '  Memento  mori ' ;  the  second  is  an  arch  on  two  pillars,  the  All-seeing  Eye  on  the 
key-stone  and  a  sun  beneath  the  arch,  and  'Holiness  to  the  Lord'  for  the  motto;  the  third  is  the 
cross  and  brazen  serpent,  erected  on  a  bridge,  and  '  jfesu  Salvator  Hominuin'  for  the  motto;  and 
the  fourth  is  the  skull  and  cross-bones,  surmounted  by  a  cross,  with  the  motto, '  In  hoc  signo  vinces.' 
The  reference  of  the  last  three  devices  is,  evidently,  to  the  Royal  Arch,  the  Red  Cross,  and  the 
Templar  degrees.  The  first  is  certainly  a  symbol  of  the  Lodge  of  Perfection ;  and  hence,  con- 
nectedly, they  show  the  dependence  of  the  Order  of  Templarism  in  the  State,  at  that  time,  upon 
the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite." 

The  diploma  is  in  these  words  :  — 

"We,  the  High  Priest,  Captain  Commandant  of  the  Red  Cross,  and  Captain  General  of  the 
most  Holy  and  Invincible  Order  of  Knights  Templars  of  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  i.  Ancient 
Masons,  held  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  under  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Southern 
District  of  North  America,  do  hereby  certify  that  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  brother.  Sir  Henry 
Beaumont,  hath  passed  the  Chair,  been  raised  to  the  sublime  degrees  of  an  Excellent,  Super- 
Excellent,  Royal  Arch  Mason,  Knight  of  the  Red  Cross,  and  a  Knight  of  that  most  Holy,  Invincible, 
and  Magnanimous  Order  of  Knights  Templars,  Knights  Hospitallers,  Knights  of  Rhodes,  and  of 
Malta,  which  several  Orders  are  above  delineated ;  and  he,  having  conducted  himself  like  a  true 
and  faithful  brother,  we  affectionately  recommend  him  to  all  the  Fraternity  of  Ancient  Masons 
around  the  globe  wherever  assembled. 

"  Given  under  our  hands,  and  seal  of  our  Lodge,  this  first  day  of  August,  5783,  and  of  Malta, 

3517- 

"  Geo.  Carter,  Capt.  Gen'l. 
"Thos.  Pashley,  ist  King. 
*'  Wm.  NiStJETT,  2d  King. 
" '  Rd.  Mason  Recorder.' " 

A  careful  examination  of  the  diploma  discovered  on  the  seal  the  words 
"  Lodge  No.  40."      This  lodge  was  formerly  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  i,  of 


ORIGIN  OF  AMERICAN   TEMPLAR Y.  y^c 

Pensacola,  Florida,  established  by  James  Grant,  Provincial  Grand  Master  of 
the  Southern  District  of  North  America,  which  embraced  East  and  West 
Florida  ;  and  its  Registry  number  in  Scotland  was  143.  It  appears  to  have 
worked  at  Pensacola  until  about  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  when,  as  Florida 
became  again  a  Spanish  Province,  Pensacola  was  deserted  by  many  of  its 
inhabitants,  who  had  been  British  subjects,  they  removing  to  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  This  removal  was  mostly  in  1783,  and  the  year  before,  and  with 
them  it  seems  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  was  also  removed ;  and  it  applied  for,  and, 
in  July,  1 783,  received  a  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  as 
No.  40  on  its  Registry.^ 

South  Carolina  Encampment.  —  It  is  probable  that  the  diploma  was 
granted  prior  to  the  reception  of  the  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  while  the  lodge  was  yet  working  under  the  Scottish  charter,  or 
possibly  the  diploma  was  prepared  afterward  and  antedated.  The  seal  being 
that  of  Lodge  No.  40,  and  not  that  of  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  i,  seems  to 
sustain  this  hypothesis.  Theodore  S.  Gourdin,  then  Commander  of  South 
Carolina  Commandery,  No.  i,  on  March  23,  1855,  delivered  a  lecture  in  which 
is  found  the  following  :  — 

"  The  South  CaroHna  Encampment,  No.  i,  of  Knights  Templars  and  the  Appendant  Orders, 
was  established  in  1780,  as  is  evident  from  the  old  seal  in  our  archives.  But  it  does  not  appear 
from  what  source  our  ancestors  derived  their  first  charter,  all  of  our  records,  previous  to  November 
7,  1823,  having  been  lost  or  consumed  by  fire.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  this  encampment  was  in 
active  operation  in  1803,  and  continued  so  until  long  after  the  date  of  our  oldest  record ;  for,  on 
December  29,  1824,  it  was 

"'Resolved,  That,  in  consideration  of  the  long  and  faithful  services  of  our  Most  Eminent 
Past  Grand  Commander  Francis  Sylvester  Curtis,  who  regularly  paid  his  arrears  to  this  encamp- 
ment for  more  than  twenty  years,  he  be  considered  a  life  member  of  this  encampment,  and  that 
his  life  membership  take  date  from  November,  1823.'  "  '^ 

From  which  it  seems  incontrovertible  that  the  encampment  was  in  existence 
at  least  as  early  as  the  year  1804. 

Albert  Mackey,  in  his  history  of  Knight  Templarism  in  South  Carolina, 
says :  — 

"  The  exact  date  of  the  introduction  of  the  Templar  Order  of  Knighthood  into  South  Carolina 
is  involved  in  much  obscurity.  Gourdin,  deducing  his  opinion  from  'an  old  seal  in  the  archives,' 
says  that  '  South  Carolina  Encampment,  No.  i,  of  Knights  Templars  and  the  Appendant  Orders, 
was  established  in  1780.  I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  reference  in  the  contemporary  journals 
of  the  day  to  the  existence  of  South  Carolina  Encampment,  No.  i,  at  that  early  period.  I  have, 
however,  been  more  successful  in  obtaining  indisputable  evidence  that  the  degrees  of  Knight  of 
the  Red  Cross,  and  Knight  Templar  were  conferred  in  Charleston,  in  a  regularly  organized  body, 
as  far  back  as  the  year  1783,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  seal  with  the  date  "  1780,"  to  which 
Gourdin  refers,  belonged  to  that  body,  and  afterward  came  into  possession  of  South  Carolina 
Encampment.'  " 

Summing  up  the  evidence,  this  writer  is  compelled  to  reject  the  conclusions 
of  Fratres  Dean  and  Mackey,  that  there  is 

1  S.  Hayden,  in  letter  to  Grand  Master  Dean,  p.  67,  Grand  Encampment  Proceedings,  1883. 

2  Grand  Encampment  Proceedings,  1883,  p.  58. 


7o6 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


"  Indisputable  evidence  that  the  degrees  of  Knight  of  the  Red  Cross,  and  Knight  Templar 
were  conferred  in  Charleston  in  a  regularly  organized  body  as  far  back  as  the  year  1783." 

St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  No.  i,  was  not  a  Templar  body  at  any  time  in  its 
history.  Like  St.  Andrew's  Lodge  of  Boston,  it  was  a  Master's  lodge,  and 
the  degrees  were  conferred,  as  evidenced  from  the  diploma,  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  its  warrant  as  a  "  Blue"  lodge  ;  but  it  seems  to  be  established  beyond 
a  reasonable  doubt,  by  the  resolution  relating  to  the  membership  of  Francis 
Sylvester  Curtis,  that  South  Carolina  Encampment,  No.  i,  was  a  regularly 
organized  Templar  body  as  far  back  as  the  year  1804,  and  probably  earlier. 
It  was,  like  all  the  older  encampments,  self-created,  and  worked  without  a 
charter  until  the  year  1823,  when  it  was  "reopened  in  conformity  with  the 
Constitution "  of  the  General  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States,  at 
which  time  it  appears  from  the  petition,  —  and  resolution  of  the  encampment 
embraced  therein,  — 

"  That  on  diligent  search  being  made  in  the  archives,  it  clearly  appears  that  this  encampment 
was  in  full  operation  under  the  sanction  of  the  warrant  of  '  Blue '  Lodge,  No.  40,  upwards  of  thirty 
years  ago,  and  continued  in  operation  many  years  subsequent ;  and  has,  time  out  of  mind,  caused 
to  be  made  and  used  a  common  seal.  It  also  further  appears  that  the  said  encampanent  has  lain 
dormant  for  several  years  past.  .  .  . 

"  Resolved,  That  the  M  .*.  E.".  Sir  James  C.  Winter,  together  with  the  Recorder,  be  authorized 
to  forward  the  necessary  documents  to  prove  the  existence  of  this  encampment  prior  to  the  year 
1816,  and  obtain  the  desired  recognition. 

"  Extract  from  the  minutes. 

"  [Signed]  JOSEPH  McCosn, 

"  Recorder  pro  tem"  1 

Maryland  Encampment.  —  In  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  was  organized  in  18 14,  the  following  letter  was  found  :  — 

"  George  A.  Baker,  Esq.,  Dear  Sir,  —  Agreeably  to  a  resolution  entered  into,  at  a  meeting 
of  our  encampment  held  this  evening,  April  20,  1814,  at  St.  John's  lodge-room,  I  have  the  honor 
to  enclose  to  you  ten  dollars,  five  of  which  is  to  satisfy  the  claim  of  the  Grand  Encampment  for 
a  charter  of  recognition,  and  the  balance  to  go  into  a  fund  to  provide  for  the  needful  expenses  of 
said  Grand  Encampment  hereafter. 

"  /  am  induced  to  state  that  this  encampment  insists  in  receiving  its  number  and  rank  according 
to  the  date  of  its  institution,  the  complete  organization  0/ which  took  place  in  the  year  ijgo.  [Italics 
mine.] 

"  You  will  please  fill  out  the  warrant  as  follows  :  Philip  P.  Eckel,  Grand  Master ;  Peter  Gault, 
Generalissimo ;  Adam  Denmead,  Captain  General. 

"  I  also  enclose  you  a  copy  of  our  certificate,  with  list  of  members. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  respect, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

[L.S.]  "Archibald  Dobbin,  Recorder." 

The  earlier  records  of  the  Maryland  Encampment  are  not  existing,  but 
Frater  Edward  T.  Schultz,  of  Baltimore,  has  in  his  possession  three  diplomas, 
issued  by  Baltimore  Encampment,  No.  i,  in  the  years  1802,  181 2,  and  1814, 
respectively,  each  of  which  bears  the  impress  of  the  same  seal  as  that  on  the 
letter  written  above.  A  copper  plate  for  diplomas,  now  in  the  archives, 
was  engraved  prior  to  the  year  1809,  when  the  engraver  died.     In  the  Balti- 

1  Grand  Encampment  Proceedings,  1883,  p.  172. 


ORIGIN  OF  AMERICAN   TEMPLAR  Y. 


707 


more  City  Directory,  for  the  year  1807,  notice  of  the  nights  of  meeting  of 
Maryland  Encampment,  No.  i,  Knights  Templars,  appears,  and  records  and 
documents,  now  in  the  archives  of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  Pennsylvania, 
prove  its  existence  from  18 14  to  1824,  during  which  time  it  was  a  constituent 
of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  that  jurisdiction.  This  Grand  body  became 
extinct  about  1824,  and  the  Encampment  No.  i  remained  in  a  semi-dormant 
condition  until  February  28,  1828,  when  it  was  reorganized  as  an  independent 
organization,  and  so  continued  until  1832,  when  it  became  a  constituent  of 
the  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States. 

Boston  Commandery  was  duly  organized  May  15,  1805,  having  previously 
existed  as  a  council  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  from  the  year  1802.  From 
the  fact  that  it  was  organized  by  Sir  Knights  who  received  the  degree  of 
Knight  Templar  from  those  who  received  it  in  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  in  1769, 
its  organization  is  claimed  to  date  from  that  year,  a  wholly  untenable  position, 
to  offset  which  Maryland  Commandery  sets  up  the  claim  that  there  is  evidence 
showing  that  Brother  Edward  Day,  —  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Baltimore,  — 

"Was  in  possession  of  the  Templar  Order  to  that  of  Malta  as  early  as  the  year  1780,  the  pre- 
sumption being  that  he  received  them  in  some  body,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  whose  members 
subsequently  organized  Encampment  No.  i." 

Both  of  these  claims  may  be  dismissed  with  the  remark  that  the  pre- 
sumption is  too  violent  to  be  entertained. 

Frater  Alfred  Creigh,  in  his  history  of  the  Knights  Templars  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, asserts  that  Commanderies  Nos.  i  and  2  of  Philadelphia,  and  No.  3  of 
Harrisburg,  and  No.  4  of  Carlisle  were  organized  in  the  years  1793  to  1797, 
respectively.  They  derived  their  authority  from  "  Blue "  lodge  warrants, 
which,  according  to  Frater  Creigh,  — 

"  Had  the  authority  and  exercised  the  power  to  confer  any  Masonic  degree;  in  fact,  the  pre- 
ambles to  the  by-laws  of  those  early  encampments  speak  very  significantly  when  they  use  this 
language :  '  The  undersigned  Knights  of  the  Temple,  being  desirous  of  participating  in  those 
glorious  rights  and  privileges  enjoyed  by  our  valiant  ancestors,  from  time  immemorial,  have 
resolved  to  form  an  encampment  for  that  purpose,  being  duly  authorized  and  commanded  to  do 
so  by  the  sublime  warrant  under  which  we  work.'     What  warrant  ?     The  warrant  of  the  lodge."  l 

Nos.  I  and  2  continued  to  exist  until  181 2,  when  No.  2  was  then  merged 
into  No.  I,  and  finally  dissolved  June  13,  1823.  No.  3  existed  from  1795 
to  May  8,  1821.  No.  4,  St.  John's,  of  Philadelphia,  adjourned  in  1835  to 
meet  on  the  call  of  the  Grand  Master  [Commander],  in  consequence  of  the 
wide-spread  and  desolating  curse  of  Anti-Masonry,-  and  assembled  again  in 
1848,  at  the  call  of  the  Eminent  Grand  Master,  every  living  Sir  Knight  who 
was  present  at  the  time  of  the  adjournment,  in  1835,  being  present. 

St.  John's  Commandery,  No.  1,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  organized  in 
the  year  1802,  claims  precedence,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  oldest  chartered 
commandery,  and  has  continuous  records  from  the  date  of  its  organization. 

1  Creigh,  Vol.  II.  p.  517.  2  Creigh,  Vol.  II.  p.  523, 


7o8 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


An  historic  sketcli,  published  by  the  commandery,  is  the  source  from  which 
the  following  information  is  obtained.     It  says  :  — 

"  The  original  records  of  this  venerable  and  flourishing  organization,  which  have  been 
remarkably  well  kept  and  preserved,  commence  as  follows :  — 

" '  Providence,  August  23,  1802. 

" '  The  Knights  of  the  most  noble  and  magnanimous  Orders  of  the  Red  Cross,  and  of  Malta, 
Knights  Templars,  and  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  residing  in  the  town  of  Providence, 
having  at  a  previous  assembly  determined,  "  that  it  is  proper  and  expedient,  for  the  preservation 
and  promotion  of  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  Orders  of  Knighthood,  that  an  encampment  should 
be  formed  and  established  in  said  town,"  assembled  at  Masons'  Hall  for  that  purpose,  at  7  o'clock, 
P.M.  Present :  Sir  Thomas  S.  Webb,  Sir  Jeremiah  F.  Jenkins,  Sir  Samuel  Snow,  Sir  Daniel  Still- 
well,  Sir  John  S.  Warner,  Sir  Nicholas  Hoppin.  The  Sir  Knights,  having  unanimously  placed 
Sir  Thomas  S.  Webb  in  the  chair,  then  proceeded  to  form  and  open  a  regular  encampment  of  the 
several  Orders  before  mentioned,  in  solemn  and  ancient  form,  by  the  name  of  St.  John's  Encamp)- 
ment.  The  encampment  then  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  officers  by  ballot,  when  the  following 
Knights  were  duly  elected  and  qualified  to  the  offices  affixed  to  their  respective  names,  viz.:  Sir 
Thomas  S.Webb,  Grand  Master;  Sir  Jeremiah  F.  Jenkins,  Generalissimo;  Sir  Samuel  Snow, 
Captain  General;  Sir  Daniel  Stillwell,  Standard  Bearer;  Sir  John  S.  Warner,  Sword  Bearer;  Sir 
Nicholas  Hoppin,  Guard." 

"  A  committee  was  appointed  at  this  meeting,  consisting  of  Sir  Thomas  S.  Webb,  Sir  Jeremiah 
F.  Jenkins,  and  Sir  Samuel  Snow,  to  prepare  and  report  a  code  of  by-laws  for  the  new  encamp- 
ment. This  committee  reported  through  their  chairman,  at  the  next  meeting,  held  on  the  13th 
of  September,  when  a  code  was  adopted." 

The  first  assembly  of  the  encampment,  for  work,  was  held  September  27, 
1802  ;  the  record,  which  doubtless  contains  the  earliest  recorded  account  of 
the  election  and  creation  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  in  a  regularly  organ- 
ized encampment,  not  held  under  the  sanction  of  a  lodge  warrant,  possesses 
unusual  interest,  and  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  Companions  Nathan  Fisher  and  William  Wilkinson,  having  been  in  due  form  proposed  as 
candidates  for  the  Order  of  the  Red  Cross,  were  balloted  for  and  accepted,  having  paid  their  fees 
into  the  hands  of  the  Recorder. 

"A  council  of  the  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  being  then  summoned,  and  duly  assembled,  the 
said  companions  were  in  the  ancient  form  introduced  and  dubbed  Knights  of  that  Order,  with 
the  usual  ceremonies. 

"  Sir  John  Carlile,  Sir  Ephraim  Bowen,  Jr.,  Sir  Nathan  Fisher,  and  Sir  William  Wilkinson, 
were  then  severally  proposed  as  candidates  for  the  Orders  of  Knights  Templars  and  of  Malta." 

At  the  next  assembly,  —  held  September  29,  1802, — 

"  Sir  William  Wilkinson  and  Sir  Nathan  Fisher,  who  had  previously  been  propounded,  were 
balloted  for  and  accepted  as  candidates  for  the  Order  of  Knights  Templars,  and  Knights  of  Malta. 
They  were  accordingly  prepared  and  introduced  by  the  Master  of  Ceremonies  (W.*.  Sir  Henry 
Fowle),  and  after  the  usual  solemnities,  were  Knighted  and  admitted  members  of  those  ancient 
Orders." 

A  "First  Grand  Encampment."  —  On  the  2d  of  September,  1805,  it  was 

"Resolved,  That  this  encampment  cordially  acquiesce  in  the  establishment  of  the  Grand 
Encampment  of  Rhode  Island,  and  make  application  '  for  a  charter,  confirming  this  encampment 
in  their  accustomed  rights  and  privileges,  agreeably  to  the  constitution.'  " 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island  was  founded  without  a  single  constituent  body.     St.  John's  Encamp- 


EARLY  GRAND  ENCAMPMENTS.  ^qq 

ment,  itself  the  handiwork  of  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  was  in  existence  at  the 
time,  but  it  was  not  consulted  as  to  the  organization,  and  did  not  come  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Encampment  until  five  months  afterward. 
During  the  twelve  years  that  he  presided  over  St.  John's  Encampment,  Webb 
was  never  absent  from  a  regular  assembly,  and  in  five  instances  only  was  he 
absent  from  a  special  assembly. 

"  Here  he  delighted  to  meet  his  officers  and  brethren,  instructing  them  out  of  his  vast  store 
of  Masonic  knowledge,  inspiring  them  by  his  genius,  and  charming  them  by  his  native  ease  and 
grace.  The  work  which  he  in  part  originated,  and  the  whole  of  which  he  exemplified  and 
arranged  with  a  Master's  skill,  he  imparted  to  his  subordinates,  through  whom  it  has  come  down 
unimpaired,  and,  in  its  main  essentials,  unchanged,  to  the  present  day." 

"  September  28,  1819,  Companion  Jeremy  L.  Cross  was  proposed,  and  seconded,  to  receive 
the  Orders  of  Knighthood  on  the  principle  of  'healing,'  free  from  expense,  he  having  received 
the  Order  in  an  unconstituted  encampment,  and  on  ballot  being  taken  it  was  unanimous  in  his 
favor.  Companion  Cross  was  created  a  Knight  of  the  Red  Cross  in  ample  form.  Encampment 
of  Knights  Templars  opened,  when  Sir  Jeremy  L.  Cross  was  created  and  dubbed  a  Knight 
Templar  with  the  usual  solemnities." 

"  This  celebrated  teacher  of  the  Masonic  ritual,  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  June 
27,  1783.  He  was  admitted  into  the  Masonic  Institution  in  1808,  and  soon  afterward  he  became  a 
pupil  of  Webb,  whose  system  of  work  he  thoroughly  acquired.  In  1819  he  published  '  The  True 
Masonic  Chart  or  Hieroglyphic  Monitor,'  and  the  year  following  '  The  Templars'  Chart,'  both 
of  which  works  passed  through  several  editions.  He  received  the  appointment  of  Grand  Lecturer 
from  many  Grand  Lodges,  and  travelled  very  extensively  through  the  United  States,  teaching  his 
system  of  lectures  to  lodges,  chapters,  councils,  and  encampments.  He  died  at  the  place  of  his 
nativity,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-eight." 

From  1829  to  1S39,  a  period  of  ten  years,  there  were  no  candidates  for 
Orders  in  St.  John's  Commandery,  in  consequence  of  the  Anti-Masonic  and 
political  excitement.  The  records  show,  however,  that  during  this  trying 
ordeal  the  members  met  at  intervals  for  "  improvement  and  discipline,"  and 
the  annual  meeting  in  December  for  the  election  of  officers  was  regularly  held. 
The  first  candidate,  upon  the  resumption  of  work,  was  knighted  January  14, 
1839,  since  which  period  its  labors  have  been  uninterrupted.  Regardless  of 
the  question  of  priority  of  organization,  the  history  of  St.  John's  Encampment 
is  peculiarly  interesting.  It  was  undoubtedly  the  cradle  of  the  American 
Templar  ritual,  and  the  work,  which  was  originated  by  \Vebb  and  his  associates 
within  its  asylum,  is  the  basis  upon  which  the  accepted  modern  rituals  are  con- 
structed. It  was  here  that  the  combination  of  the  rituals  of  older  degrees  was 
first  worked  under  the  name  of  "  Red  Cross,"  and  its  walls  were  the  first  to 
witness  the  redressed  Templar  degree,  with  the  new  incidents  and  ceremonials 
introduced,  which  distinguish  it  from  the  English  work  of  the  same  degree. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  is  asserted  to  have  in  its  archives  the  original 
Webb  MS.,  and  that  either  from  it,  or  from  those  who  received  their  lectures 
from  its  author,  have  all  American  Templar  rituals  been  taken.  R.  E.  Sir 
George  H.  Burnham  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  organization,  —  of  St.  John's, — 

"  Was  doubtless  largely  brought  about  by  a  procession,  which  moved  through  the  streets  ol 
Providence  January  9,  1800,  the  occasion  being  the  obsequies  of  General  George  Washington. 
This  procession  was  composed  of  military,  citizens,  trades,  Masonic,  and  other  societies,  and  in 


710 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


it  Knights  Templars  took  p?rt,  and  a  Knight  Templar  banner  was  displayed,  as  appears  by  the 
newspaper  accounts  of  the  day.  That  was  probably  the  first  Kniglit  Templar  banner  displayed  in 
this  country,  and  it  is  now  in  possession  of  St.  John's  Commandery  (Encampment),  which  was 
soon  afterward  founded." 

Washington  Commandery,  No.  1,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  claims  to  date 
its  organization  from  the  year  1 796.  The  evidence,  reUed  upon  to  establish 
this,  is  said  to  be  contained  in  a  small  pamphlet,  published  at  New  London  in 
1823,  but  one  copy  of  which  is  known  to  be  in  existence,  in  which  the  following 
is  to  be  found  :  — 

"  In  July,  1796,  three  regular  Knights  Templars,  hailing  from  three  different  commanderies.l 
formed  an  encampment  at  Colchester,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  at  which  time  the  following 
R.  A.  M.  had  regularly  conferred  on  them  the  Oi  der  of  Knighthood,  viz. :  John  R.  Watrous,  Asa 
Bigelow,  Roger  Bulkley,  John  Breed,  Joel  Worthington." 

Sir  Lucius  E.  Hunt,  in  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  Order  of  Knights 
Templars,  in  Connecticut,  asserts  that,  "in  June,  1801,  a  charter  was  obtained 
from  London,  and  an  encampment  was  held  at  New  London,"  when  it  elected 
officers  and  adopted  a  code  of  by-laws,  and  "  four  R.  A.  Masons  had  conferred 
on  them  the  degrees  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,-  High  Priest,  and  Sir  Knights 
Templars.     At  the  next  meeting,  November  12,  1801,  three  R.  A.  Masons 

"  Were  severally  advanced  to  the  high  degrees  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  High  Priest,  and 
Sir  Knights  Templars,  and  afterward  received  the  degrees  of  Knights  of  Malta,  and  Mediterranean 
Pass." 

They  held  two  other  meetings  without  a  warrant,  once  in  1 798,  and  again 
in  1 799,  and,  if  the  history  recited  in  the  charter  received  from  the  General 
Grand  Encampment  in  1819,  is  correct,  two  more  in  1801.  There  is  a  con- 
flict between  the  pamphlet  before  mentioned  and  this  charter ;  the  former 
stating  that  a  charter  was  received  from  London  in  June,  1801,  and  the  latter 
making  the  date  September  5,  1803.  No  written  records  of  the  first  three 
meetings  are  in  existence,  to  our  knowledge,  and  the  only  evidence  we  have 
of  them  is  this  pamphlet,  which  contains  this  item  of  history,  and  the  names 
of  the  members  to  that  date.  The  organization  of  the  Institution  is  further 
alluded  to  in  a  small  pamphlet,  entitled  :  "  A  Hint  to  Free  IVIasons,"  pubhshed 
in  Newfield,  in  1 799,  in  which  occurs  the  following  passage  :  — 

"  In  the  year  1796,  at  Colchester,  were  introduced  other  degrees,  viz.:  Knights  Templars,  and 
Knights  of  Malta,  etc.,  of  which  the  author  knows  nothing;  only  that  he  has  been  informed  by  one 
of  the  Order  that  they  exercise  the  power  without  constitution  or  warrant." 

Also,  in  the  Connecticut  Gazette  for  July  2,  1800,  is  an  order  of  procession 
for  the  dedication  of  Freemasons'  Hall  at  New  London,  which  took  place 
June  24,  1800,  in  which  Knights  Templars  were  assigned  a  place  in  the  line. 
The  officers   elected  April  6,  1810,  held  their  offices   until  April  28,  181 9, 

1  This  is  the  first  use  of  the  word  "  commandery  "  we  have  met  with  ;  everywhere  else  the  older 
Templar  bodies  are  spoken  of  as  encampments. 

2  It  would  be  exceedingly  interesting  to  know  where  they  obtained  this  ceremony.  Webb  has 
been  generally  credited  with  having  manufactured  the  degree  several  years  later. 


EARLY  GRAND  ENCAMPMENTS.  71I 

when  the  encampment  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  General   Grand 
Encampment  of  the  United  States. 

From  the  records  it  would  seem  that  their  authority  to  confer  the  degrees 
was  called  in  question ;  for,  at  their  assembly  held  April  6,  18 10,  the  following 
was  passed  :  — 

"  Voted,  That  this  encampment  do  establish  the  charter  by  them  received  from  London,  to 
be  the  authority  by  which  they  hold  and  exercise  their  right  of  making  Knights  Templars." 

There  is  no  record  of  any  meeting  after  this,  until  April  28,  18 19,  when 
Webb  and  Fowle  were  present,  and  it  was  voted,  — 

"  To  relinquish  the  charter  which  this  encampment  has  heretofore  acted  under,  and  make 
application  to  the  General  Grand  fc;ncampment  of  the  United  States  for  a  new  charter;  said 
encampment  to  be  styled  the  Washington  Encampment  of  Knights  Templars,  to  be  holden  at 
New  London  and  Colchester,  and  at  Hartford  if  deemed  expedient." 

Webb,  as  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United 
States,  granted  them  the  charter  as  prayed  for,  reciting  that  they 

"  Did  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1801,  form  and  organize  an  encampment  in  the  State  of 
Connecticut,  and  proceed  to  a  choice  of  officers  and  the  transaction  of  other  business  in  strict 
conformity  with  the  rules  of  the  Order,  so  far  as  they  were  acquainted  therewith :  That,  in  the 
year  1803,  they  applied  to  the  Knights  Templars  of  London,  who,  on  the  5th  day  of  September, 
1803,  granted  a  warrant  recognizing  your  petitioners  as  a  regular  encampment,  since  which 
period,  to  the  present  time,  they  have  continued  to  convene  occasionally." 

The  meetings  were  to  be  held 

"  In  the  city  of  New  London  and  town  of  Colchester,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  with  the 
privilege  of  holding  special  meetings,  at  the  pleasure  and  discretion  of  the  three  first  officers,  at 
the  city  of  Hartford,  in  said  State ;  until  there  shall  be  another  encampment  lawfully  instituted  in 
the  same  State,  or  until  it  shall  be  otherwise  ordered  by  the  authority  of  the  General  Grand 
Encampment." 

The  encampment  continued  its  meetings,  regularly,  until  1829,  when  the 
Anti-Masonic  excitement  caused  it  to  become  dormant.  In  1844  the  Grand 
Encampment  of  Connecticut,  on  petition  of  a  number  of  the  members, 
ordered  the  encampment  to  be  removed  to  Hartford.  The  Grand  Encamp- 
ment of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  granted  a  dispensation,  in  May, 
1844,  to  revive  and  remove  this  encampment  to  Hartford.  The  charter, 
furniture,  etc.,  having  been  obtained,  it  was  reorganized  August  28,  1844. 

Early  Templary  in  New  York.  —  According  to  Sir  Knight  Macoy,  Tem- 
plarism  existed  in  the  city  of  New  York  as  early  as  the  year  1785.  Quoting 
from  newspapers  of  the  day,  and  the  early  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  that 
State,  it  appears  that,  on  December  21,  1785,  the  Grand  Lodge  prescribed 
the  order  of  exercises  in  a  resolution  declaring  that  the  order  of  procession, 
on  St.  John's  day  next,  be  as  follows :  Two  Tylers  with  drawn  swords,  music, 
Knights  Templars  with  swords,  etc.,  and  then  goes  on  to  include  officers  and 
members  of  lodges,  of  Grand  Lodges,  clergyman  invited,  and  closed  with 
Knights  Templars  properly  clothed,  with  drawn  swords.  Sir  Knight  Macoy 
found  in  the  Independent  Journal,  published  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month, 


712 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


an  interesting  account  of  the  observances  of  the  day,  including  the  order  of 
procession  prescribed  by  the  Grand  Lodge,  remarking  that  the  "  Sir  Knights 
as  a  body  seldom  appeared  in  public."  On  St.  John  the  Baptist's  day,  1789, 
the  Grand  Lodge  had  another  procession,  in  which  Knights  Templars  led  the 
column.  The  Daily  Gazette,  in  reporting  the  procession  and  the  proceedings, 
thus  refers  to  the  Knights  Templars  :  — 

"  This  Order,  consecrated  to  benevolence,  has  on  its  rolls  the  most  distinguished  characters 
of  society,  and  on  this  occasion  many  members  of  Congress  and  others  of  highest  distinction 
were  seen  in  this  philanthropic  band." 

Sir  Knight  Macoy  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  general  belief 
is  that  the  body  of  Knights  Templars  that  participated  in  these  processions 
was  what  was  known  as  Old  Encampment,  Grand  Encampment,  and  some- 
times as  Morton's  Encampment.  The  date  and  circumstances  under  which 
the  encampment  was  established  are  not  known.  The  first  pubhshed  list 
appeared  in  1796,  when  General  Jacob  Morton  was  Grand  Master,  as  he  had 
been  for  many  years.  It  disappeared  in  1810.  Referring  to  the  transactions 
of  the  Grand  Lodge,  Sir  Knight  Parvin  found  that  it  held  an  extra  meeting 
December  30,  1 799,  "  for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  solemn  funeral  rites  in 
commemoration  of  our  illustrious  brother  George  Washington,  with  a  pro- 
cession," etc.  The  order  of  procession  is  given  in  full,  filling  two  pages.  We 
find  again :  first.  Knights  Templars  in  the  form  as  directed  by  their  presiding 
officer,  then  the  lodges  of  the  city,  etc.  Although  there  were  existing  within 
the  State,  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  New  York, 
several  encampments,  it  was  not  created  by  them,  the  Grand  Encampment 
having  usurped  that  function.  It  is  natural  that  all  mention  of  them  should 
have  been  omitted  from  their  pubhshed  proceedings,  and  what  little  informa- 
tion we  have  regarding  their  existence  comes  from  outside  sources. 

Sir  Knight  Parvin  says  :  — 

"  Previous  to  1799  a  body  of  Knights  Templars,  known  as  St.  Peter's  Encampment,  flourished 
in  the  city  of  New  York;  the  source  of  its  authority  Sir  Knight  Macoy  was  unable  to  ascertain, 
except  that  it  was  an  offshoot  from  several  of  the  self-constituted  bodies  that  then  existed  in  the 
city.  The  officers  of  St.  Peter's  Encampment,  in  1799,  are  named  in  the  directory  of  that  year, 
when  John  West  was  Grand  Master,  and  in  the  succeeding  years  the  same  Sir  Knights  were 
continued  in  office.  When  this  Commandery  ceased  to  exist  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  Webb, 
in  his  '  Monitor,'  of  1802,  speaks  of  Jerusalem  Encampment  in  New  York  City.  This  encamp- 
ment is  not  mentioned  in  any  of  the  directories  of  that  year,  which  leads  Sir  Knight  Macoy  to 
infer  that  Jerusalem  and  St.  Peter's  Encampment  were  one  and  the  same  body.  The  history  of 
Rising  Sun  Encampment  is  much  more  full  and  complete.  It  will  be  noted  that  this  was  one 
of  the  encampments  which  united  with  those  in  Philadelphia,  Wilmington,  and  Baltimore,  in 
organizing  the  second  Grand  Encampment  of  Pennsylvania,  February  16,  1814,  four  months  prior 
to  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  New  York.  In  Creigh's  history  of  the  Knights 
Templars  of  Pennsylvania,  we  find  a  very  full  report  of  this  encampment,  to  and  including  the 
year  1817,  when,  according  to  this  writer,  it  became  merged  or  transformed  into  Columbia 
Commandery  [Encampment], 

'"  Very  much  of  a  contradictory  character  has  been  written  of  the  origin,  progress,  and  death 
of  this  Commandery,  which  seems,  however,  to  be  living  under  the  name  of  Columbian  Encamp- 
ment of  to-day.'     The  correctness,  however,  of  this  statement  is  denied  by  Sir  Knight  Macoy,  who 


EARLY  GRAND  ENCAMPMENTS. 


713 


states  that  Columbian  Encampment,  No.  i,  on  the  New  York  roster,  was  organized  in  1810,  and 
which,  probably,  a  number  of  the  Knights  of  Rising  Sun  Encampment  constituted,  and  that  for 
several  years  the  two  encampments  had  a  coexistence,  when,  in  1817,  Rising  Sun  Encampment 
passed  away,  never  having  been  recognized  by  the  Grand  Encampment  of  New  York.  It  was, 
however,  as  we  have  stated,  represented  in  the  convention  which  formed  the  Grand  Encampment 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  received  from  it  a  charter  of  recognition  May  18,  1814.  Its  first  officers 
under  this  charter  were  :  James  McDonald,  M.  E.  H.  P. ;  Wm.  B.  Hatfield,  E.  G.  M. ;  Wm.  Cowen, 
Captain  General.  At  the  session  of  May,  1817,  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Pennsylvania,  this 
encampment  was  for  the  last  time  represented  by  Samuel  Maberick,  its  Eminent  Grand  Master. 

"Columbian  Encampment,  No.  i,  also  lost  its  early  records  by  fire;  its  origin,  therefore,  can- 
not be  satisfactorily  traced.  The  first  record  we  have  of  it  is  dated  in  1810,  as  appears  from  its 
old  seal.  February  4,  1816,  it  received  a  warrant  from  the  Grand  Encampment,  in  which  Thomas 
Lowndes  was  named  as  the  first  Grand  Master.  In  1824  this  encampment  united  with  Morton 
Encampment,  No.  4,  and  created  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  who  was  the  Nation's  guest,  a  Knight 
Templar  in  full  form.    This  encampment  continues  still  in  existence. 

"  Temple  Encampment,  No.  2,  was  stationed  at  Albany.  Like  most  other  encampments,  its 
early  records  are  lost.  It  is  known,  however,  that  it  existed  as  early  as  1796,  the  year  Thomas 
Smith  Webb  visited  that  city,  but  whether  he  had  any  part  in  its  organization  is  not  known; 
indeed,  it  is  not  presumed  that  he  did,  as  it  is  a  question  whether  he  was  even  then  a  Knight 
Templar." 

Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island.  —  A  Grand  Convention  of  Knights 
Templars  was  lield  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  on  the  sixth  day  of  May, 
A.D.  1805,  when  the  following  measures  v/ere  proposed  and  adopted  unani- 
mously, viz. :  — 

"Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  Convention,  that  the  formation  and  establishment  of  a  Grand 
Encampment  of  Knights  Templars  in  this  State  would  tend  to  promote  the  honor  and  interests  of 
the  order  of  Knighthood  and  of  Masonry. 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  devise  and  report  a  form  of  Constitution,  explan- 
atory of  the  principles  upon  which  a  Grand  Encampment  shall  be  opened. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Convention  be  adjourned  until  Monday,  the  13th  instant,  then  to  meet 
again  in  Masons'  Hall,  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island." 

The  Convention  met,  agreeably  to  adjournment,  to  take  into  consideration 
the  report  of  the  committee  appointed  on  the  sixth  instant,  which,  being  read 
and  amended,  was  unanimously  approved  and  adopted. 

By  the  first  article  of  the  Constitution  thus  adopted,  the  body  was 

"  Known  and  distinguished  by  the  style  and  title  of  the  '  Grand  Encampment  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  jurisdiction  thereunto  belonging.'  " 

The  record  does  not  disclose  who  were  present,  or  what,  if  any,  bodies 
they  represented  ;  but  the  following  officers  were  elected  :  — 

M.  W.  Sir  Thomas  S.  Webb,  of  Providence Grand  Master. 

W.  Sir  Henry  Fowle,  of  Boston Generalissimo. 

W.  Sir  Jonathan  Gage,  of  Newburyport Captain  General. 

W.  Sir  John  Carlile,  of  Providence Senior  Grand  Warden. 

W.  Sir  Nathan  Fisher,  of  Providence Junior  Grand  Warden. 

W.  Sir  John  Davis,  of  Providence Grand  Sword  Bearer. 

W.  Sir  William  Wilkinson,  of  Providence Grand  Standard  Bearer. 

W.  Sir  William  F.  Magee,  of  Providence Grand  Recorder. 

W.  Sir  Jeremiah  F.  Jenkins,  of  Providence Grand  Treasurer. 

Its  subordinates  were  :  Boston  Encampment,  Boston  ;  St.  John's  Encamp^ 
ment,  Providence ;  St.  Paul's  Encampment,  Newport ;  and  Darius  Council, 


714 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


Portland.  Sir  Hopkins  says,  in  a  report  to  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the 
United  States,  the  formation  was  irregularly  made  by  a  convention  of  Knights 
Templars  representing  no  subordinate  commanderies,  who  resolved  to  form  a 
Grand  Encampment,  and  proceeded  to  grant  charters  of  recognition  to  bodies 
already  formed,  and  warrants  for  the  organization  of  new  encampments.  The 
several  bodies  within  the  jurisdiction  recognized  its  supremacy  over  them,  and 
accepted  authority  from  it.  These  bodies  were  themselves  irregularly  formed. 
In  1802,  Boston  Encampment  was  formed  by  ten  Knights  of  the  Red 
Cross,  without  any  warrant.  In  the  same  year  St.  John's  Encampment,  of 
Providence,  was  formed,  without  any  authority,  by  six  Sir  Knights.  Darius 
Council,  of  Portland,  was  organized  by  three  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  in 
1805,  when,  after  admitting  two  more  members,  they  appUed  to  Massachusetts 
for  recognition.  The  encampment  at  Newburyport  was  organized,  without 
authority,  in  1795.  Certain  Royal  Arch  Masons,  residing  in  Newport,  deputed 
Companion  Shaw  to  visit  New  York,  where  he  received  the  Orders  of 
Knighthood  and  many  other  degrees,  and  returned  with  a  warrant  from  the 
Consistory  presided  over  by  Joseph  Cerneau,  authorizing  him  to  confer  the 
Orders.     And  thus  an  encampment  was  formed  at  Newport. 

Another  meeting  was  held  in  October,  1805,  and  officers  elected.  In  1806, 
by  resolution,  the  "style  or  title"  was  altered  to  that  of  '*The  United  States 
Grand  Encampment" ;  and  that  it  should  consist  of  its  Grand  Officers,  and 

"  The  Grand  Master,  Generalissimo,  and  Captain  General  for  the  time  being,  of  all  subordi- 
nate chartered  encampments  of  Knights  Templars,  and  the  Past  Grand  Masters  of  subordinate 
encampments,  while  members  of  any  encampment  under  this  jurisdiction." 

The  three  Principal  Officers  were  authorized  during  the  recess  of  the  Grand 
Encampment  "  to  grant  charters  of  recognition  to^such  encampments  as  shall 
apply  for  the  same."  A  petition  was  presented  from  "  the  Boston  Encamp- 
ment of  Knights  Templars,  etc.,  holden  in  the  town  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
praying  for  a  charter  of  recognition  from  this  Grand  Encampment,  confirming 
them  in  their  accustomed  rights  and  privileges,  agreeably  to  the  constitution," 
which  was  granted. 

At  the  next  meeting  (1806)  it  was  resolved,  that  "whenever  the  Knights 
at  Newburyport  shall  petition  for  a  charter  of  recognition,"  it  should  be  issued, 
and  the  same  action  was  had  regarding  "The  Encampment  of  Knights  at 
Portland."  The  Constitution  was  revised  ;  the  only  feature  of  interest  therein 
was  the  provision  relative  to  jurisdiction,  which  was  defined  to  "Extend  to  any 
State,  or  Territory,  wherein  there  is  not  a  Grand  Encampment  regularly 
established,  and  it  shall  take  cognizance  of,  and  preside  over,  all  such 
encampments  of  Knights  of  Malta,  Knights  Templars,  and  councils  of  Knights 
of  the  Red  Cross  as  have  hitherto  instituted,  and  that  shall  acknowledge  its 
jurisdiction,"  and  to  grant  charters  for  new  bodies  in  any  State,  or  Territory, 
as  aforesaid. 

At  the  meeting  in  1807,  we  find  the  first  record  of  the  presence  of  a  con- 


EARLY  GRAND  ENCAMPMENTS. 


715 


stituency :  Boston  Encampment,  Boston ;  St.  John's  Encampment,  Provi- 
dence ;  and  King  Darius  Council,  Portland,  being  represented  by  their  ofificers, 
or  their  proxies. 

In  1808  the  encampment  at  Newburyport  was  also  represented.  At  the 
meeting  held  at  Providence,  May  27,  181 1,  at  which  only  the  Providence  and 
Boston  Encampments  were  represented  by  delegates,  it  was 

"  Voted,  That  M.  W.  Sir  Thomas  S.  Webb,  Sirs  John  Carlile  and  Ephraim  Bowen,  Jr.,  be  a 
committee  to  open  a  correspondence  with  the  several  encampments  in  the  United  States  not  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  this  Grand  Encampment,  and  to  inform  them  of  the  principles  on  which  the 
same  is  established,  and  to  solicit  their  cooperation  with  us." 

At  the  meeting  in  181 2,  the  committee  appointed  at  the  last  annual  assem- 
bly to  correspond  with  the  several  encampments  not  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
this  Grand  Encampment,  reported  progress,  and  were  given  leave  to  prosecute 
the  duties  of  their  appointment.     In  the  year  1814, — 

"  A  petition  was  received  from  a  number  of  Knights  Templars  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
praying  for  a  charter,  free  of  expense,  excepting  the  customary  recognition  fees," 

Which  was  granted ;  and  in  the  following  year,  Washington  Encampment, 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  was  represented,  in  addition  to  the  four  bodies  pre- 
viously named.  In  May,  181 6,  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Henry  Fowle,  and  John 
Snow  were  appointed  to  revise  the  Constitution  ;  the  title  was  amended  by 
expunging  the  words  "  United  States,"  and  the  title  of  the  Grand  Master  of 
subordinate  encampments  was  changed  to  that  of  Grand  Commander.  Upon 
motion  made  and  seconded,  it  was 

"Resolved,  That  three  delegates  be  appointed  from  this  Grand  Encampment  to  meet  and  con- 
fer with  any  or  all  other  Grand  Encampinents  that  are  now  established  within  the  United  States, 
or  with  such  delegates  as  may  be  appointed  by  any  or  all  of  the  said  Grand  Encampments,  upon 
the  subject  of  a  general  union  of  all  the  encampments  in  the  United  States  under  one  head,  and 
general  form  of  government,  and  that  the  said  delegates  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  invested  with  full 
power  and  authority  to  enter  into  such  engagements  and  stipulations,  and  make  such  arrange- 
ments upon  the  said  subject,  as  they  may  deem  expedient,  and  proper  to  promote  the  honor  and 
interests  of  the  Orders  of  Knighthood. 

"Resolved,  That  M.  W.  Sir  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  and  W.  Sir  Henry  Fowle  of  Boston,  and  W. 
Sir  John  Snow  of  Providence,  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  delegates  for  the  before-men- 
tioned purposes." 

Past  Grand  Master  Fowle,  in  his  autobiography,  gives  an  account  of  the 
visit  of  Webb,  Snow,  and  himself  to  Philadelphia,  on  June  11,  1816,  where 
they  met  the  Knights  Templars  of  Philadelphia,  in  convention,  to  effect  a 
coaHtion  of  all  Grand  Encampments  of  the  United  States  under  one  General 
Grand  Encampment ;  but  they  found  the  Knights  of  Philadelphia  averse  to 
a  coaHtion  because  they  were  under  the  control  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  "  Find- 
ing them  incorrigible  the  committee  gave  them  up,  and  prepared  for  their 
return." 

Webb,  in  his  report,  on  June  25,  181 7,  says  :  — 

"  They  met  in  convention  with  delegates  from  the  cities  of  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Wilming- 
ton, and  New  York,  at  the  Masonic  Hall ;  that,  after  several  days  spent  in  deliberation,  they  found 


7i6 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


the  mode  of  array  and  system  of  work  differed  in  many  points  so  essentially  from  what  is 
customary  in  the  encampments  hitherto  in  connection  with  this  Grand  Encampment,  that  they 
could  not  feel  justified  in  making  concessions,  such  as  were  required  by  the  delegates  from  Penn- 
sylvania,  particularly. 

"  The  delegates  think  it  unnecessary  to  state  more  than  two  obstacles  which  they  deem  of 
sufficient  weight  to  defeat  the  object  in  view,  (a)  the  first  of  which  is,  that  the  Encampments  in 
Pennsylvania  avow  themselves  as  being  in  subordination  to  and  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Master  Masons.  (^)  The  second  is  their  unwillingness  to  the  arrangement  or  order  of  succession 
in  conferring  the  degrees  as  practised  by  us,  and  especially  they  object  to  the  degrees  of  Mark 
Master  and  Most  Excellent  Master  as  unnecessary  and  not  belonging  to  the  system  of  Masonry. 
Finding  it  impossible  to  come  to  an  agreement  upon  these  points,  a  part  of  the  delegates  agreed 
to  adjourn  to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the  convention  was  dissolved." 

Webb,  Fowle,  and  Snow  accordingly  returned  to  New  York,  where,  joined 
by  Lowndes,  on  June  20,  1816,  they  four  "  Resolved  unanimously  to  form  and 
open  a  General  Grand  Encampment."  Their  further  proceedings  will  be 
found  under  that  title. 

The  report  of  the  delegates  having  been  taken  into  consideration,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Encampment  approve  the  doings  of  their  delegates  and  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention  holden  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  adopt  the  General  Constitution 
for  their  future  government;  and  the  Grand  Master,  Deputy  Grand  Master,  and  Grand  Recorder 
are  authorized  and  empowered  to  revise  the  local  constitution  of  this  Grand  Encampment  and 
render  it  comformable  to  said  General  Grand  Constitution." 

The  proceedings  for  June  8,  18 19,  purport  for  the  first  time  to  be  those  of 
"  The  Grand  Encampment  of  Knights  Templars  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island." 

Pennsylvania  claims  the  honor  of  having  organized  the  first  Gcand 
Encampment.  Frater  Alfred  Creigh,  in  the  history  of  the  Knights  Templars, 
claims  that  the  fire  was  lighted  upon  the  altar  of  Templarism  in  that  State 
as  early  as  February  14,  1794,  which  is  the  oldest  record  in  their  possession, 
and,  — 

"  That  it  has  never  been  extinguished,  even  in  the  persecuting  days  of  Anti-Masonry,  although 
it  is  true,  the  light  shone  dimly,  and  its  rays  were  occasionally  obscured." 

The  first  Grand  Encampment  was  instituted  May  12,  1797,  "in  Phila- 
delphia, although  a  constitution  was  not  adopted  until  the  19th  of  the  same 
month."  This  Grand  body  at  its  organization  had  four  subordinates : 
Nos.  I  and  2  in  Philadelphia,  No.  3  in  Harrisburg,  and  No.  4  in  Carlisle. 

Frater  Creigh  quotes  Colonel  John  Johnson,  then  residing  in  Cincinnati, 
but  lately  deceased,  as  saying  :  — 

"That  in  1797  he  was  admitted  to  the  Knight  Templar  degree  in  Carlisle,  in  No.  4,  and  that 
the  commander's  name  was  Robert  Leyburn,  and  tha'.  in  1799  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  and 
visited  the  encampments  in  that  city." 

Creigh  thinks  this  testimony  "estabhshes  the  existence  of  these  four 
subordinates  prior  to  1797."    He  finds 

"From  the  published  by-laws  of  Nos.  i  and  2  of  Philadelphia,  that  on  the  27th  December, 
1812,  these  two  subordinates  united  as  No.  i ;  and  from  this  encampment,  and  also  No.  2  of  Pitts- 
burgh, was  formed  a  second  Grand  Encampment  on  the  i6th  of  February,  1814,  with  the  addition 


EARLY  GRAND  ENCAMPMENTS. 


717 


of  delegates  from  Rising  Sun  Encampment,  No.  i,  of  New  York  ;  Washington  Encampment, 
No.  I,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware ;  and  Baltimore  Encampment,  No.  i,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
The  style  of  the  second  Grand  Encampment  was  the  '  Pennsylvania  Grand  Encampment  with 
Masonic  jurisdiction  thereunto  belonging.'  " 

This  second  Grand  Encampment  existed  until  June  10,  1824,  or  at  least 
its  Grand  Master,  Sir  Anthony  Fannen,  exercised  his  authority  as  such,  for 
on  that  day  he  issued  a  dispensation  to  the  officers  of  St.  John's  Encampment, 
No.  4,  —  which  was  instituted  June  8,  181 9,  — 

"  To  dub  and  make  John  E.  Schwarz  a  Sir  Knight  of  our  most  illustrious  Order  of  Knights 
Templars.  This  No.  4  is  still  in  existence.  .  ,  .  The  original  No.  i,  of  1794,  kept  up  a  complete 
and  unbroken  organization  until  June  13,  1824,  although  No.  2  ^\•as  merged  into  it  on  December 
27,  1812." 

After  the  parent  body  had  ceased,  in  1824,  St.  John's,  No.  4,  Frater  Creigh 
says  :  "  Continued  to  exist,  recognizing  as  her  superior  the  source  of  all  Masonic 
authority  within  our  State,  the  R.'.W.-. Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania." 

June  II,  1 8 16,  the  Pennsylvania  Grand  Encampment  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, who  gave  it  as  their  unanimous  opinion  that  the  estabhshment  of  a 
General  Grand  Encampment,  for  the  United  States,  would  greatly  tend  to 
promote  union,  and  order,  and  strength  among  Knights  Templars ;  and 
they  appointed  Sir  Knights  McCorkle,  Hamilton,  Edes,  and  Ireland  delegates, 
clothed  with  full  powers  to  carry  the  same  into  effect.  The  Pennsylvania 
delegates  met  in  convention  with  the  delegates  from  the  Grand  Encamp- 
ments of  New  England  and  New  York,  and  in  their  report  they  state  :  — 

"  That  it  was  impossible  to  carry  their  designs  into  execution  without  making  a  sacrifice  upon 
the  part  of  this  Grand  Encampment,  and  its  subordinate  encampments,  which  was  considered 
unwarranted  by  every  principle  of  Masonry,  which  was  made  a  sine  qua  non  by  the  delegates 
from  New  England,  who  having  seceded  from  the  convention,  it  was  of  consequence  dissolved." 

Pennsylvania  would  not  consent  that  the  "  old  work  "  which  she  claimed  to 
have  received  "  from  the  hands  of  her  fathers,  should  become  interpolated 
or  amended,"  and  regarded  the  "Webb  work  "  as  a  New  England  heresy.^ 

The  Pennsylvania  Grand  Encampment  preserved  her  existence  until  1824, 
after  which  those  encampments  in  other  States,  which  acknowledged  her 
authority,  owing  to  the  Anti-Masonic  persecution,  ceased  to  exist,  or  became 
members  of  their  State  Grand  bodies,  among  them  Rising  Sun  Encampment, 
of  New  York,  afterward  Columbia  Encampment,  No.  i. 

After  the  second  Pennsylvania  Grand  Encampment  had  ceased,  in  1824, 
St.  John's  Encampment,  No.  4,  the  only  one  in  existence  in  Pennsylvania, 
continued  to  work  under  the  Grand  Lodge  until  February  12,  1857.  In 
May,  1852,  St.  John's,  No.  4  ;  Philadelphia,  No.  5  ;  Union,  No.  6,  and  DeMolay 
of  Reading,  established  a  Grand  Encampment  under  the  authority  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania;  but  the  Grand  Lodge  on  the  i6th  of  February, 
1857,  resolved  that  they  had  no  authority  over  the  degrees  of  Knight- 
hood, and  its  legitimate  sphere  was  the  primitive  degrees  of  Ancient  Craft 

1  Creigh. 


7i8 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


Masonry.  A  union  therefore  was  effected,  and  both  Grand  Encampments 
of  Pennsylvania,  since  1857,  acknowledge,  as  their  legal  head,  the  "Grand 
Encampment  of  Knights  Templar  of  the  United  States." 

New  York.  —  This  Grand  Encampment  was  organized  January  22,  1814.  ^ 
Its  subordinates  were  :  Ancient  Encampment,  New  York ;  Temple  Encamp- 
ment, Albany;  and  Montgomery  Encampment,  Stillwater.  The  first  official 
proceedings  show  that,  on  the  day  mentioned,  the  Sovereign  Grand  Consistory 
"  Decreed  the  establishment  of  a  Grand  Encampment  of  Sir  Knights  Tem- 
plars and  Appendant  Orders  for  the  State  of  New  York,  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  its  formation  by  choosing  the  Grand  Officers  thereof"  from 
among  the  members  of  the  Consistory.  Not  a  single  commandery  had 
requested  such  action ;  nor  had  a  single  Knight  Templar  as  such.  It  was 
the  volunteer  action  of  an  alien  body,  which,  in  itself,  had  no  such  authority 
as  it  assumed  to  exercise.  A  warrant  of  recognition  was  issued,  in  1816,  to 
Columbian  Commandery  of  New  York,  and  a  warrant  for  a  new  commandery 
at  New  Orleans  was  issued  the  same  day.  These  two  subordinates  were  the 
only  ones  that  recognized  the  Grand  Encampment  of  New  York,  and  that 
recognition  was  of  the  mildest  kind.  Neither  of  them  sent  any  representatives 
to  the  Grand  Conclave  for  six  years.  All  the  other  commanderies  of  the 
States  refused  to  acknowledge  the  Grand  body,  and  maintained  their  inde- 
pendent organization  for  many  years. 

Whether  or  not  the  members  of  the  Consistory  who  formed  the  Grand 
Commandery  of  New  York  had  received  the  Orders  of  Knighthood,  does  not 
appear.  They  were  not  required  to  have  done  so  to  be  eligible  to  admission 
to  the  Scottish  Rite.  The  precise  relationship  between  the  two  organizations 
is  difficult  of  determination.  The  first  constitution  of  the  Grand  Com- 
mandery of  New  York  made  its  membership  consist  of  officers  and  members 
of  the  Grand  Commandery,  and  delegates  from  such  subordinates  under 
its  jurisdiction  as  might  recognize  its  authority.  It  also  provided  that  the 
Grand  Master  should  be  admitted,  as  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Council, 
without  fee  ;  and  that  the  commanders  of  subordinates  should  be  entitled 
to  the  degree  of  Prince  of  the  Royal  Secret,  and  also  the  members  of  the 
Consistory,  free  of  charge.  Thus  the  reciprocity  of  these  two  branches  of 
Masonry  was  made  complete,  which  was  quite  natural  since  they  were  com- 
posed of  the  same  individuals. 

What  authority  Joseph  Cerneau  had  for  conferring  the  Orders  of  Knight- 
hood and  constituting  commanderies,  and  whence  he  derived  this  authority, 
has  not  been  ascertained.  No  authority  to  confer  the  Orders  of  Knighthood 
is  contained  in  his  patent,  at  least  there  is  no  such  authority  in  the  patent  of 
July  15,  1806,  granted  to  Mathieu  Dupotte.  If  he  had  any  other  patent,  or 
if  he  himself  had  ever  received  the  Orders  of  Knighthood,  no  evidence  of  the 
fact  has  been  found  .^ 

1  Hopkins,  G.  E.  Pro.,  1889,  p.  192. 


Cm  •  •"'iirtuicc^  .^t  lii.    — '.V  uiiHTiH' 


■^V^^-! 


(X^vcclxwc 


V   ^;  -»;  ititi .;     %  -  v!V!! 


SCOTTISH    RITE    PATENT,    A.D.    1789. 

Reduced  Fac-simile. 


EARLY  GRAND  ENCAMPMENTS. 


721 


From  the  foregoing  summary  of  the  principal  events  in  the  history  of  the 
three  original  Grand  Encampments,  existing  prior  to  the  organization  of  the 
present  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States,  it  will  be  seen  that  neither 
of  them  can  trace  their  genealogy  with  that  precision  that  would  entitle  them 
to  be  received  as  "  true  descendants  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel,"  —  there  is  a  link  wanting  in  the  history  of  each  of  them,  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  claims  priority  of  date,  was  at  best  an  adjunct  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  and  never  had  an  independent  existence.  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island  had  at  the  beginning  no  constituency,  as  it  was  organized  by  a  "  Grand 
Convention  of  Knights  Templars,"  who,  so  far  as  the  record  or  tradition  shows, 
were  not  delegated  by  any  organized  body.  St.  John's  Encampment  of 
Providence,  which  made  application,  at  the  second  meeting,  October,  1805, 
for  a  charter  of  recognition,  was  its  sole  constituent  until  March,  1806,  when 
Boston  Encampment  was  recognized  and  chartered.  In  May,  1806,  the  Grand 
Officers  were  authorized  and  directed,  whenever  the  encampments  at  Newbury- 
port  and  Portland  should  petition  for  it,  to  grant  them  charters,  which 
the  latter  appears  to  have  done  prior  to  May,  1S07,  when  King  Darius 
Council,  Portland,  was  represented  by  proxy,  and  the  encampment  at  New- 
buryport  prior  to  May,  1808,  when  it  was  also  represented  by  proxy;  but 
the  record  does  not  disclose  the  date  when  the  charters  were  issued  in  either 
case. 

The  Grand  Encampment  of  New  York  sprang  into  being  like  Minerva  from 
the  head  of  Jove,  Joseph  Cerneau's  Grand  Consistory  of  the  Scottish  Rite 
playing  the  part  of  Jove.  It  had  no  constituents,  and  it  is  not  even  known 
where  its  organizers  received  the  Templar  degrees. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  pursue  our  inquiries  into  the  organization  of  the 
other  Grand  Encampments  :  Virginia,  organized  in  1823  ;  Vermont,  organized 
in  1824  ;  New  Hampshire,  organized  in  1826  ;  Connecticut,  organized  in  1827  ; 
Ohio,  organized  in  1843;  Maine,  organized  in  1852;  Indiana,  organized  in 
1854  ;  and  Texas,  organized  in  1855,  —  all  prior  to  1856,  when  the  name  of  the 
State  Grand  bodies  was  changed  from  "  Grand  Encampment  "  to  "  Grand 
Commandery,"  —  but  the  limited  space  allotted  to  this  writer  forbids.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  however,  that  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  reason  why 
the  peculiar  nomenclature  "  encampment "  \*'as  employed,  the  term  certainly 
was  not  in  use  in  ancient  times,  and  has  no  special  appropriateness;  but  the 
word  "  encampment "  reaches  far  back  in  our  history,  and  was  doubtless 
used  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  revival  of  Templary  in  the  lodges,  for  we 
read  that  encampments  were  held  "  under  the  sanction  of  lodge  warrants,"  in 
our  first  recorded  trace  of  the  degrees  as  a  part  of  the  Masonic  system.  The 
change  in  the  designation  of  the  State  bodies  by  the  Grand  Encampment,  to 
say  the  least,  was  ill  advised,  and  is  confusing,  especially  in  writing  history. 
It  would  seem  to  have  been  better  and  easier  for  the  National  body  to  have 
given  itself  an  appropriate  name,  such  as  Great  Priory,  or  Grand  Conclave. 


-22  THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 

However,  the  mischief  has  been  done,  and  is  irreparable.  Those  who  read 
will  have  to  bear  in  mind  these  changes,  as  they  pursue  their  mvestigations  of 
American  Masonic  history. 


CHAPTER   H. 

The  Grand  Encampment  of  Ivnights  Templar,  U.S.A. 

The  Grand  Encampment.  —  When  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  Henry  Fowle, 
and  John  Snow  failed  in  their  mission  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  went  in 
June,  1816,  to  confer,  with  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Pennsylvania,  "  upjn 
the  subject  of  a  general  union  of  all  the  encampments  in  the  United  States 
under  one  head  and  general  form  of  government,"  pursuant  to  the  resolution 
of  the  "  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States,"  by  which  name  Massachu- 
setts and  Rhode  Island  was  then  known,  they  repaired  to  New  York,  where, 
joined  by  Thomas  Lowndes,  who  was  also  a  delegate,  appointed  by  the  Grand 
Consistory  of  New  York  to  represent  '*  that  body  at  a  convention  of  Knights 
Templars  from  different  States  of  the  Union,  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia on  Tuesday,  the  nth  inst.  [June],"  and  at  Masons'  Hall,  on  the  20th 
and  2 1  St  days  of  June,  held  "a  convention"  at  which  one  of  them  might  have 
appropriately  said  the  old  colored  man's  grace  :  "  God  bless  me  and  my  wife, 
my  son  John  and  his  wife,  us  four  and  no  more.  Amen."  The  record  -of 
this  immortal  quartette's  proceedings  describes  themselves  as  "  delegates  from 
eight  councils  and  encampments,"  by  enumerating  all  the  encampments  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  and  New  York,  and  is  as 
follows :  — 

"  At  a  convention  holden  at  Masons'  Hall,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  20th  and  21st  June, 
1816,  consisting  of  Delegates  or  Knights  Companions  from  eight  councils  and  encampments  ol 
Knights  Templars  and  Appendant  Orders,  viz :  — 

Boston  Encampment Boston. 

St.  John's  Encampment Providence. 

Ancient  Encampment New  York. 

Temple  Encampment Albany. 

Montgomery  Encampment „ Stillwater. 

St.  Paul's  Encampment Newburyport. 

Newport  Encampment Newport. 

Darius  Council  , Portland." 

This  remarkable  record  was  first  printed  in  1859,  and  was  the  occasion  of 
much  controversy,  which  only  came  to  an  end  when  it  was  discovered  to  be 
wholly  imaginative.  In  addition  to  the  encampments  named  there  were,  at 
that  time,  five  others  existing  under  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Pennsylvania, 
viz. :  No.  I  of  Philadelphia  ;  No.  2  of  Pittsburgh  ;  Rising  Sun  of  New  York  ; 
Washington,  No.  i,  of  ^Vilmington  ;  Baltimore,  No.  i,  of  Baltimore,  and  South 
Carolina  Encampment  of  Charleston,  which  ones  did  not  participate. 


THE    GRAND  ENCAMPMENT. 


72Z 


These  four  ancient  worthies  ordained  a  Constitution,  which  being  ratified 
by  the  United  States  Grand  Encampment  (Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island), 
and  New  York,  became  the  supreme  law  of  American  Teraplarism.  Its  im- 
portance is  such  as  to  demand  the  full  abstract,  which  we  present  as  follows  :  — 

The  First  Constitution.  —  There  shall  be  a  General  Grand  Encampment  of  Knights  Tem- 
plars and  the  Appendant  Orders  for  the  United  States  of  America,  consisting  of  the  officers  thereof, 
and  the  four  principal  officers  of  all  such  State  Grand  Encampments  as  may  be  instituted  or 
holden  by  virtue  of  this  Constitution;  and  the  said  enumerated  officers,  or  their  proxies,  shall  be 
the  only  members  and  voters  in  the  said  General  Grand  Encampment.  Meetings  to  be  held  on 
the  third  Thursday  in  September,  and  septennially  thereafter  at  such  place  as  may  be  from  time 
to  time  appointed.  Special  meetings  to  be  held  on  the  call  of  any  two  of  the  first  four  officers,  or 
whenever  they  may  be  required  by  a  majority  of  the  Grand  Encampments  of  the  States.  First 
four  officers  empowered  to  visit  and  preside  in  any  assembly  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  etc.,  and 
to  give  such  instructions  and  directions  as  the  good  of  the  Institution  may  require,  always  adher- 
ing to  the  "Ancient  Landmarks."  In  the  absence  of  any  officer  from  any  assembly  "  holden  by 
virtue  of  this  Constitution,"  the  officer  next  in  rank  shall  succeed  his  superior,  unless  such 
officer  shall  decline  in  favor  of  a  Past  Superior  Officer,  and  in  case  of  the  absence  of  all  officers, 
the  members  present,  according  to  seniority  and  abilities  shall  fill  the  several  offices.  The  first 
four  officers,  severally,  have  power  to  establish  new  Councils  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  and 
Encampments  of  Knights  Templars  and  Malta  in  any  State  or  Territory  where  there  is  no  Grand 
Encampment.  The  Grand,  and  Deputy  Grand  Masters  are  authorized  to  appoint  a  Grand  Vis- 
itor, or  more  than  one  if  necessary,  to  superintend  and  perform  such  distant  business  and  to 
communicate  such  instructions  as  may  come  within  the  cognizance  of  such  Grand  Officers 
respectively,  conformable  to  the  duties  and  prerogatives  of  their  respective  offices.  A  Grand 
Encampment  may  be  formed  in  any  State  when  there  are  three  encampments  instituted  under  this 
Constitution,  with  the  consent  of  the  Grand  Master,  Deputy  Grand  Master,  or  Grand  Encamp- 
ment. Grand  Encampments  consist  of  their  officers,  the  Past  Grand,  and  Deputy  Grand  Masters, 
Grand  Generalissimos,  and  Grand  Captains  General,  wheresoever  they  may  reside,  and  the  Grand 
Commander,  Generalissimo,  Captain  General,  and  Past  Commanders  of  Encampments.  Grand 
Encampments  to  be  held  once  each  year  and  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution  to  have 
the  whole  government  of  subordinates,  to  assign  their  limits  and  settle  controversies  between 
them,  to  constitute  new  Councils  and  Encampments.  The  Grand  and  Deputy  Grand  Masters  had 
power  to  grant  dispensations,  to  "form  a  new  Council  and  Encampment,"  to  expire  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Grand  Encampment.  Fees  for  dispensations  and  annual  contributions  from 
encampments  to  be  fixed  by  Grand  Encampments.  No  charter  to  be  given  to  less  than  seven 
Knights  for  a  Council  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross,  or  nine  Knights  Templars  for  an  encamp- 
ment, petitions  to  be  recommended  by  body  in  the  same  State,  with  the  new  body.  Grand 
Encampments  to  communicate  with  each  other,  and  exchange  lists  of  officers.  Jurisdiction  not 
to  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State  in  which  they  are  holden,  except  in  case  of  existing 
Grand  Encampments.  Assemblies  of  Knights  of  the  Red  Cross  called  Councils,  and  those  of 
Knights  Templars  and  Knights  of  Malta,  Encampments.  Orders  not  to  be  conferred  upon  any  one 
who  had  not  regularly  received  the  several  degrees  from  E.  A.  to  R.  A.  M.,  inclusive,  as  at  present. 
Orders  not  to  be  conferred  upon  any  sojourner  whose  fixed  place  of  abode  is  in  any  State  where 
there  is  an  encampment  established.     All  officers  to  take  an  oath  of  fealty. 

In  1826  encampments  holding  from  the  General  Grand  Encampment  were  admitted  to  repre- 
sentation therein  by  their  officers  appearing  in  person,  but  not  by  proxy.  Itinerant  lecturers  were 
prohibited.  The  first  four  officers  were  given  power  to  establish  encampments  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  United  States.  No  person  to  appear  in  General  Grand  Encampment  unless  he  is  a  present 
or  past  officer  of  a  grade  that  would  entitle  him  to  a  vote,  and  no  officer  to  have  in  his  own  right 
but  one  vote.  Meetings  were  changed  from  septennial'.y  to  triennially.  Grand  Visitors  abolished. 
Encampments  not  to  be  formed  in  States  where  there  is  an  existing  body,  without  its  consent,  and 
that  Orders  may  be  conferred  on  clergymen  without  a  fee. 

In  1841  Past  Commanders  of  encampments  were  restricted  in  their  membership  in  Grand 
Encampments  to  the  period  during  which  their  encampments  continue  in  existence. 


7-4 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


In  1844  the  Constitution  was  revised,  but  the  only  addition  was  a  provision  requiring  all  officers 
of  the  General  and  State  Grand  Encampments  to  be  members  of  some  subordinate  encamp- 
ment. In  1856  the  Constitution  was  again  revised,  the  word  "  General "  was  omitted  from  the 
name  of  the  Grand  Encampment  and  the  titles  of  officers.  The  State  Grand  Encampments  were 
called  Grand  Commanderies,  and  tiie  title  of  the  Grand  and  Deputy  Grand  Masters  changed  to 
Grand  and  Deputy  Grand  Commander  respectively.  Encampments  were  called  Commanderies, 
and  the  principal  officer  called  Eminent  Commander.    Its  powers  were  defined  to  be  as  follows :  — 

At  the  stated  meetings  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States  there  shall  be  reviewed 
and  considered  by  all  the  official  reports  of  its  officers,  and  the  State  Grand  and  Subordinate 
Commanderies,  for  the  preceding  three  years.  They  may  adopt  such  rules  and  edicts  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  Good  of  the  Order;  grant  or  withhold  Warrants,  Dispensations,  and  Charters 
for  all  new  State  or  Subordinate  Commanderies ;  for  good  cause  to  revoke  preexisting  Warrants, 
Charters,  or  Dispensations;  assign  the  limits  of  the  State  Grand  Commanderies,  and  settle  all 
controversies  that  may  arise  between  them ;  and  finally,  to  consider  and  do  all  matters  appertain- 
ing to  the  good,  well-being,  and  perpetuation  of  the  principles  of  Templar  Masonry.  It  is  the 
prerogative  and  duty  of  the  Grand  Master  generally  to  exercise,  as  occasion  may  require,  all  the 
rights  appertaining  to  his  high  office,  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  Templar  Masonry ;  and  as 
part  thereof  he  shall  have  a  watchful  supervision  over  all  the  Commanderies,  State  and  Subordi- 
nate, in  the  United  States,  and  see  that  all  the  Constitutional  enactments,  rules,  and  edicts  of  the 
Grand  Encampment  are  duly  and  properly  observed,  and  that  the  dress,  work,  and  discipline  of 
Templar  Masonry  everjrvvhere  are  uniform.  To  visit  and  preside  at  any  Commandery,  Grand  or 
Subordinate,  in  the  United  States,  and  give  such  instructions  and  directions  as  the  good  of  the 
institution  may  require,  always  adhering  to  the  Ancient  Landmarks.  To  approve  and  grant 
Warrants  during  the  recess  of  the  Grand  Encampment,  for  the  institution  of  State  Grand  Com- 
manderies in  States,  Districts,  or  Territories  where  the  same  have  not  been  heretofore  established. 
The  duties  of  the  remaining  officers  of  the  Grand  Encampment  are  such  as  are  traditionally 
appropriate  to  their  respective  stations,  or  such  as  may  be  assigned  them  by  the  Grand  Encamp- 
ment. The  Grand  Master,  the  Deputy  Grand  Master,  the  Grand  Generalissimo,  and  the  Grand 
Captain  General,  are  severally  authorized  to  visit  and  preside  in  any  Commandery  of  Knights 
Templar  throughout  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Encampment,  and  to  give  such  instructions  and 
directions  as  the  good  of  the  institution  may  require,  always  adhering  to  the  Ancient  Landmarks. 
The  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States  shall  have  exclusive  power  to  constitute  new  Com- 
manderies within  any  State,  District,  or  Territory,  wherein  there  is  no  State  Commandery 
regularly  formed,  under  the  authority  of  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the  United  States.  During 
the  recess  of  the  Grand  Encampment  the  Grand  Master  shall  have  the  power  to  grant  letters  of 
Dispensation  to  a  competent  number  of  petitioners,  nine  or  more,  possessing  the  Constitutional 
qualifications  and  residing  within  said  unappropriated  State,  District,  or  Territory,  empowering  them 
to  form  and  open  a  Commandery  for  a  term  of  time  not  extending  beyond  the  next  stated  meeting 
of  the  Grand  Encampment.  Whenever  there  shall  be  three  or  more  Subordinate  Chartered 
Commanderies  instituted  or  holden  under  this  Constitution  in  any  one  State,  District,  or  Territory, 
in  which  a  Grand  Encampment  has  not  been  heretofore  formed,  a  Grand  Commandery  may  be 
formed  after  obtaining  the  approval  of  the  Grand  Master  or  Grand  Encampment.  Its  jurisdiction 
shall  be  the  territorial  limits  in  which  it  is  holden.  State  Grand  Commanderies  consist  of  the  fol- 
lowing members:  Grand  Commander,  Deputy  Grand  Commander,  Grand  Generalissimo,  Grand 
Captain  General,  Grand  Prelate,  Grand  Senior  Warden,  Grand  Junior  Warden,  Grand  Treasurer, 
Grand  Recorder,  Grand  Standard  Bearer,  Grand  Sword  Bearer,  Grand  Warder,  and  Grand  Cap- 
tain of  the  Guard,  likewise  all  Past  Grand  Commanders  (and  Grand  Masters),  all  Past  Deputy 
Grand  Commanders  (and  Deputy  Grand  Masters),  all  Past  Grand  Generalissimos,  and  all 
Past  Grand  Captains  General,  of  the  same  Grand  Commandery,  so  long  as  they  remain  members 
ot  the  Subordinate  Commanderies  under  the  same  territorial  jurisdiction.  Also  the  Commander, 
the  Generalissimo,  and  the  Captain  General  of  each  Subordinate  Commandery  working  under 
the  same  Grand  Commandery.  Also  all  Past  Commanders  of  the  Subordinate  Commanderies, 
working  under  the  same  Grand  Commanderies,  so  long  as  they  remain  members  of  Subordinate 
Commanderies  under  the  same  territorial  jurisdiction.  Each  of  the  individuals  enumerated  shall 
be  entitled,  when  present,  to  one  vote  in  all  the  proceedings  of  the  State  Grand  Commandery. 
No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  in  a  State  Grand  Commandery,  unless  he  shall  be  at  the 


THE    GRAND  ENCAMPMENT. 


725 


time  a  member  of  some  Subordinate  Commandery  working  under  the  same  Grand  Commandery. 
Any  officer,  save  and  except  Past  Commanders,  may  appear  and  vote  by  proxy,  said  proxy  being 
at  the  time  of  service  a  member  of  the  same  Subordinate  Commandery  as  his  principal,  and 
producing  a  properly  authenticated  certificate  of  his  appointment.  Grand  Com  manderies  were 
required  to  meet  annually,  and  their  powers  were  defined  to  be  as  follows  :  There  shall  be  reviewed 
and  considered  all  the  official  reports  of  its  Officers,  and  of  the  Subordinate  Commanderies  within 
its  jurisdiction  for  the  preceding  year.  They  shall  proceed  to  elect  by  ballot  the  several  officers  ol 
the  Grand  Commandery.  To  adopt  such  rules  and  edicts,  subordmate  to  the  Grand  Encampment 
of  the  United  States,  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  Good  of  the  Order.  To  examine  the  accounts 
of  the  Grand  Treasurer  and  Grand  Recorder.  To  supervise  and  state  the  condition  of  the 
finances,  and  adopt  such  measures  in  relation  thereto  as  may  be  necessary  to  increase,  secure, 
and  preserve  the  same,  and  also  to  insure  the  utmost  punctuality,  on  the  part  of  every  accounting 
officer,  in  the  safe -keeping  and  paying-over  the  funds,  and  property  of  the  Grand  Con*nandery. 
To  grant  and  withhold  Dispensations  and  Charters  for  all  new  Commanderies.  For  good  cause 
to  revoke  any  preexisting  Charter  or  Dispensation ;  to  assign  the  limits  of  Subordinate  Com- 
manderies within  its  own  jurisdiction,  and  settle  all  controversies  that  may  arise  between  them ; 
and  finally,  to  consider  and  do  all  matters  and  things  appertaining  to  the  good,  well-being,  and 
perpetuation  of  Templar  Masonry,  but  always  subordinate  to  the  Grand  Encampment  of  the 
United  States.  No  business  shall  be  transacted  at  the  "  called  "  meetings,  save  that  which  was  speci- 
fied in  the  original  summons.  At  every  meeting  all  questions  shall  be  determined  by  a  majority 
of  votes,  the  presiding  officer,  for  the  time,  being  entitled  to  one  vote.  In  case  the  votes  are  equally 
divided,  he  shall  also  give  the  casting  vote.  No  appeal  shall  lie  to  the  Grand  Commandery  from 
the  decision  of  the  Grand  Commander.  The  Grand  Commander  was  required  to  have  a 
watchful  supervision  over  all  the  Subordinate  Commanderies  under  his  jurisdiction,  and  see  that 
all  the  Constitutional  enactments,  rules,  and  edicts  of  the  Grand  Encampment,  and  of  his  own 
Grand  Commandery,  are  duly  and  promptly  observed.  He  shall  have  the  power  and  authority, 
during  the  recess  of  the  Grand  Commandery,  to  grant  letters  of  Dispensation  to  a  competent 
number  of  petitioners,  nine  or  more,  residing  within  his  jurisdiction,  and  possessing  the  Constitu- 
tional qualifications,  empowering  them  to  form  and  open  a  Commandery;  sucli  Dispensations  to 
be  in  force  no  longer  than  the  next  annual  meeting  of  his  Grand  Commandery.  But  no  letters  of 
Dispensation  for  constituting  a  new  Commandery  shall  be  issued,  save  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  Commandery,  in  the  same  territorial  jurisdiction,  nearest  the  place  of  the  new  Commandery 
prayed  for.  He  may  call  special  meetings  of  his  Grand  Commandery  at  his  discretion.  He  may 
visit  and  preside  at  any  Commandery,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  his  Grand  Commandery,  and  give 
such  instructions  and  directions  as  the  good  of  the  Institution  may  require,  but  always  adhering 
to  the  Ancient  Landmarks.  It  is  his  duty,  either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  to  attend  all  meetings  of 
the  Grand  Encampment. 

Under  the  title  "General  Regulations,"  it  was  prescribed:  that  no  Commandery,  Grand  or 
Subordinate,  shall  confer  the  Orders  of  Knighthood  upon  any  one  who  was  not  a  regular  Royal 
Arch  Mason,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  of  the  United  States. 
The  rule  of  succession,  in  conferring  the  Orders  of  Knighthood,  shall  be  as  follows :  I.  Knight  of 
the  Red  Cross.    2.    Knight  Templar. 

Every  Commandery  working  in  a  State,  District,  or  Territory,  where  there  is  a  Grand  Com- 
mandery, shall  have  a  Dispensation  or  Charter  from  said  Grand  Commandery.  And  no 
Commandery  hereafter  to  be  formed  or  opened  in  such  State,  District,  or  Territory,  shall  be 
deemed  legal  without  such  Charter  or  Dispensation.  All  Masonic  communication,  as  a  Templar, 
is  interdicted  between  any  Commandery  working  under  the  general  or  special  jurisdiction  of  the 
Grand  Encampment,  or  any  member  thereof,  and  any  Commandery  or  member  of  such,  that  may 
be  formed,  opened,  or  holden  in  such  State,  District,  or  Territory,  without  such  Charter  or  Dis- 
pensation. The  officers  of  every  Commandery,  Grand  and  Subordinate,  before  entering  upon  the 
exercise  of  their  respective  offices,  shall  take  the  following  obligation,  viz. :  — 

"I,  (A.  B.),  do  promise  and  vow  that  I  will  support  and  maintain  the  Constitution  of  the 
Grand  Encampment  of  Knights  Templar  of  the  United  States  of  America." 

Amendments  have  been  made  from  time  to  time,  but  none  of  which  change 
or  affect  the  principles  upon  which  the  relations  between  the  Grand  Encamp- 


^26 


THE    CONCORDANT    ORDERS. 


ment  and  the  Grand  Commanderies  are  based.  Two  diverse  theories  regard- 
ing these  relations  have  been  advanced  and  contended  for :  — 

(i)  The  Grand  Encampment  is  a  supreme,  uncontrollable,  "legislative 
body,  acknowledging  no  superior,"  and, 

(2)  That  it  exists  by  virtue  of  a  written  Constitution,  and  possesses  no 
powers  not  therein  enumerated,  and  all  powers  not  expressly  delegated  are 
reserved  to  the  several  Grand  Commanderies.  Its  officers  are  the  creatures 
of  that  Constitution,  and  have  no  traditional  functions,  prerogatives,  or 
privileges. 

In  support  of  the  former  theory,  Grand  Master  Hubbard,  who  in  his  time 
was  regarded  as  one  of  our  most  distinguished  Masonic  scholars  and  jurists,  is 
cited  to  the  effect  that :  — 

"All  authority  necessary  for  the  government  and  well-being  of  Templar  Masonry  in  the 
United  States,  was  vested  in  it  [the  Grand  Encampment] ,  and  flowed  from  it,  and  the  supervising 
power  over  all  was  full  and  complete." 

Also  the  late  Past  Grand  Master  William  S.  Gardner,  who,  in  an  address  to 
the  Grand  Commandery  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  said  :  — 

"  You  were  possessed  of  absolute  sovereign  powers,  but  you  yielded  up  to  the  Grand 
Encampment  many.  You  accepted  a  subordinate  position;  the  Grand  Encampment  officers 
might  preside  over  your  subordinates,  instruct  and  supervise  them." 

To  which  is  to  be  added  the  declaration  of  the  late  Past  Grand  Master 
Benj.  B.  French,  who  asserted  :  — 

"  In  form  ours  is  a  military  organization,  a  form  of  government  which  recognizes  no  rule  of 
action  but  the  disciplined  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  superior." 

Past  Grand  Master  James  H.  Hopkins  contends  :  — 

"  Inasmuch  as  all  of  the  Grand  Commanderies,  except  three,  derived  their  warrants,  all  the 
powers  they  exercise,  from  the  Grand  Encampment;  and  the  three  which  existed  before  the 
formation  of  the  Grand  Encampment,  voluntarily  came  under  its  banner  and  vowed  loyalty  to  it, 
why  is  it  not  the  supreme  and  sovereign  organization?  With  what  reason  or  justice  can  its  creat- 
ures deny  its  complete  authority,  and  undertake  to  hedge  in  and  circumscribe  the  limits  of  its 
powers  ?  " 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  contended  that  the  analogy  between  the  Grand 
Encampment,  in  its  relations  to  the  Grand  Commanderies,  and  those  of  the 
Federal  Government,  in  its  relations  to  the  several  States,  is  complete.  A 
view  in  which  this  writer  most  heartily  concurs,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
no  other  four  Masons  could  be  named,  whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  the 
same  weight  as  those  of  Hubbard,  Gardner,  French,  and  Hopkins.  Ordina- 
rily they  would  be  accepted  without  a  doubt  as  to  their  correctness,  but  having 
been  uttered  before  it  was  known  that  the  record  of  the  Grand  Encampment 
was  wrong  in  respect  to  its  organization,  and  that  instead  of  having  been  con- 
stituted by  encampments,  it  was  the  work  of  the  four  men,  Webb,  Fowle,  and 
Snow,  representing  the  Grand  Encampment  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island,  and  Lowndes,  representing  the  Grand  Encampment  of  New  York,  I 


THE    GRAND  ENCAMPMENT. 


727 


question  whether  they  would  not  now  revise  their  opinions,  in  the  light  of  this 
discovery,  if  they  were  all  living,  and  an  opportunity  were  given  to  do  so. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  in  what  respect  the  analogy  between  the  National  and 
Templar  government,  in  these  United  States,  fails.  Both  are  the  creatures  of 
a  written  compact,  denominated  a  Constitution,  which  was  made  by  delegates 
from  the  then  existing  highest  authority,  the  States  and  the  State  Grand 
Encampments.  The  work  of  both  was  subject  to  ratification  by  their  prin- 
cipals, and  was  so  ratified,  as  is  shown  by  the  records  of  the  respective  Grand 
Encampments.  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  then  known  as  "The  United 
States  Grand  Encampment,"  at  a  meeting  held  June  25,  1817,  at  which  the 
delegates  reported  in  full  their  acts  and  the  action  of  the  convention,  — 

"  Voted,  Its  approval  of  the  doings  of  the  delegates  and  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention 
and  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution." 

Sir  Thomas  Lowndes,  the  delegate  from  the  Grand  Encampment  of  New 
York,  does  not  appear,  from  the  records,  to  have  made  a  report,  but  the 
records  show  that,  at  the  succeeding  conclave,  181 7,  a  committee  was  appointed, 
who  in  due  time  reported,  to  revise  the  constitution  so  as  to  conform  to 
that  of  the  General  Grand  Encampment,  and  but  for  this  ratification  the 
instrument  would  have  been  utterly  void.  Nor  does  it  militate  against  this 
proposition  that  it  was  given,  as  suggested  by  Frater  Hubbard  :  "  All  authority 
necessary  for  the  government  and  well-being"  of  Templar  Masonry.  The 
National  Government  has  this  authority,  and  yet  no  one  has  ever  contended 
that  it  was  unlimited.  It  was  given  just  so  much  authority  as  was  needed  to 
carry  out  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  created,  and  here  its  authority  ceases. 
Whatever  else  remains  to  be  done  was  reserved  to  the  several  Grand  Com- 
manderies.  It  is  not  true  that  this  authority  flowed  from  the  Grand 
Encampment ;  for,  on  the  contrary,  we  have  seen  that  it  flowed  from  the  two 
Grand  Encampments  which  created  it,  and  in  which  it  had  previously  existed. 
As  Grand  Master  Gardner  said,  they  were  the  "  original  sovereigns,  and  while 
they  yielded  up  many  of  their  powers,"  it  is  manifest  that  if  there  were  existing 
any  other  rights  and  powers,  not  therein  enumerated,  they  were  retained. 
Quoting  the  words  of  Chancellor  Kent :  ^  "  The  Constitution  is  the  act  of  the 
people,  speaking  in  their  original  character,  and  defining  the  conditions  of 
the  social  alliance."  The  "  people  "  in  Masonry  are  not  the  Grand  bodies, 
nor  yet  the  Grand  Officials  with  their  pompous  titles,  but  the  individual  Masons, 
and  they  are  the  only  true  source  from  which  all  Masonic  powers  flow.  That 
which  they  individually  yielded  up  for  the  general  welfare  of  the  whole  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  expressed,  and  that  which  is  not  ?o  expressed  is  retained.  This 
writer  denies  that  Templarism  is  a  military  organization.  It  merely  makes 
use  of  a  military  drill :  that  is  to  say,  when  it  moves  as  a  body,  it  employs 
tactical  movements,  as  the  most  convenient  and  orderly  method  of  proceed- 

1  ist  Kent's  Com.  495. 


728 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


ing,  but  there  is  no  "  disciplined  obedience  to  the  will  of  a  superior,"  as  it 
is  practised  in  an  army.  So  far  as  that  superior  confines  his  "  will  "  to  such 
matters  and  things  as  are  the  result  of  common  consent,  he  is  obeyed,  but  in 
no  sense  of  the  word  has  he  a  "  military  "  command.  To  the  suggestion 
that  bodies  created  by  the  Grand  Encampment  cannot,  with  reason  or  justice, 
"  deny  its  complete  authority,  and  undertake  to  hedge  in,  and  circumscribe 
the  limits  of  its  power,"  it  is  only  necessary  to  reply  that  those  bodies  came 
into  existence  by  virtue  of  its  Constitution,  and  the  limits  of  its  power  therein 
contained ;  and  it  follows,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  that  any  attempt  to 
add  to  those  powers  must  be  with  the  consent  of  those  in  whom  power  was 
originally  vested ;  i.e.,  the  true  sovereigns,  —  the  people,  speaking  through 
their  lawful  representatives. 

The  Constitution  contains  a  provision  wherein  it  is  said  :  — 

"  It  is  the  prerogative  and  duty  of  the  Grand  Master  generally  to  exercise,  as  occasion  may 
require,  all  the  rights  appertaining  to  his  high  office,  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  Templar 
Masonry." 

This  has  occasioned  much  controversy.  Past  Grand  Master  Hopkins,  in 
a  report  to  the  Triennial  Conclave  of  1889,  said  :  — 

"  It  is  fair  to  infer  that  the  usages  of  Templar  Masonry  are  to  be  understood  as  limited  to  the 
existence  of  the  Order  in  the  United  States." 

A  Statement  to  be  heartily  endorsed ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  this 
able  exponent  of  Templar  jurisprudence  did  not  stop  right  there,  but  unfortu- 
nately he  added :  — 

"Originally,  the  Grand  Master  was  vested  with  absolute  and  autocratic  power.  And  under 
the  present  Constitution  of  the  Order  in  England,  the  Grand  Master,  with  the  approval  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  Committee,  —  more  than  two-thirds  of  whom  were  selected  by  him,  —  may  dismiss  a 
member  from  any  office  or  impose  such  other  sentence  as  he  may  see  fit.  And  while  it  is  true 
that  in  this  country  the  Order  retains  much  of  its  military  character,  it  is  also  greatly  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  our  freer  institutions.  And  yet  there  has  always  been  felt  a  glow  of  pride  in  the  antiq- 
uity and  history  of  the  Order,  and  a  strong  desire  to  retain  the  original  usages  as  far  as  possible." 

In  1853  the  Grand  Encampment  appointed  a  committee  to  revise  the  con- 
stitution, and  authorized  them 

"To  report  such  changes  in  the  organization  as  will  make  the  Order  in  this  country  conform 
more  completely  to  the  system  of  ancient  Knights  Templars." 

In  many  respects  this  was  found  impracticable  by  reason  of  the  changed 
conditions  and  advanced  civilization.  But,  while  we  have  a  deliberative  and 
legislative  governing  body,  and  an  elective  Grand  Master,  the  head  of  the 
Order  has  a  larger  inherent  and  prescriptive  power  than  ordinarily  belongs  to 
the  executive  of  a  pure  democracy.  The  Master  of  a  lodge  may  be  far  more 
dictatorial  than  the  chairman  of  a  popular  assemblage.  And  so,  through  all 
the  degrees  of  Masonry,  the  presiding  officer  has  much  unquestioned  and 
absolute  authority.  This  Grand  Encampment  has  conceded  the  right  of 
appeal  to  the  governing  body,  from  any  decision  of  the  Grand  Master  upon 


THE    GRAND  ENCAMPMENT.  72Q 

questions  under  discussion ;  and  this,  very  manifestly,  because  of  the  deUbera- 
tive  and  legislative  character  of  the  Grand  Encampment.  But  the  mandate 
of  the  Grand  Master  must  always  be  obeyed.  His  powers  are  delegated  by 
and  subject  only  to  the  restraint  imposed  by  law.  The  Constitution  and 
statutes,  —  and  where  they  are  silent,  "  the  usages  of  Templar  Masonry,"  which 
is  our  common  law,  —  prescribe  the  only  boundaries  to  the  Grand  Master's 
power. 

Without  now  considering  the  extent  of  the  Grand  Master's  powers  by  virtue 
ot  the  unwritten  law  of  usage,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  is  clothed  with  the 
full  authority  requisite  to  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  imposed  upon  him. 
When  the  Constitution  demands  that  "  he  shall  have  a  watchful  supervision 
over  all  Commanderies,  Grand  and  Subordinate,"  and  see  that  all  the  statutes 
and  regulations  "  are  duly  and  promptly  obeyed,  and  that  the  *  work  '  [Rituals], 
etc.,  everywhere  are  uniform,"  it  was  properly  assumed  that  he  possessed 
"adequate  power  to  effect  these  objects." 

It  is  a  mere  waste  of  time  and  effort  to  attempt  to  connect  American 
Templarism  with  the  "  system  of  ancient  Knights  Templars."  Whatever 
"  absolute  and  autocratic  powers "  may  have  been  wielded  by  the  Grand 
Masters  of  the  Crusading  Templars,  —  in  the  rude  and  semi-barbarous  times 
in  which  they  existed,  —  they  are  wholly  inapplicable  to  the  changed  condi- 
tions under  which  the  modern  society,  which  bears  their  name,  exists.  The 
Grand  Master  of  American  Templars  is  Grand  Master  only  in  name  ;  like  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  he  is  the  head  of  the  Republic  and  subject  to 
its  laws,  the  same  as  every  other  citizen.  The  Master  of  a  lodge  has  some 
traditions  behind  his  back,  and  there  is  some  ground  upon  which  to  base  the 
claim  of  "  prerogative  "  residing  in  the  Grand  Master  of  Masons,  but  there  is 
absolutely  nothing  behind  the  principal  officer  of  the  modern  imitators  of  the 
valiant  Knights  of  old,  upon  which  to  reflect  even  a  shadow  of  absolute  and 
autocratic  power.  The  year  1797,  which  gave  birth  to  the  first  governing 
body  of  American  Templars,  witnessed  the  creation  of  the  first  Grand  Master, 
that  of  Pennsylvania,^  and  there  and  then  Templar  usage  began.  It  requires 
that  degree  of  charity  which  suffereth  long  and  is  kind,  to  enable  one  to  con- 
template with  patience  the  extravagant  appeals  to  "usage,"  "prerogative," 
and  ^'  Anciefif  Landmarks,"  with  which  Templar  literature  in  these  United 
States  is  cumbered, — just  as  if  it  were  possible  for  a  society  not  yet  a  century 
old  to  have  created  a  "usage,"  "prerogative,"  or  "Ancient  Landmark."  Sir 
Hopkins  did  well  when  he  limited  the  "usage  of  Templar  Masonry"  to  the 
period  in  which  the  Order  has  existed  in  this  country.  Who  will  have  the 
temerity  to  knock  out  of  our  Constitution  the  "  Ancient  Landmark  "  absurdity? 
Let  it  be  known  that  we  exist  alone  to-day  as  emulators  of  the  chivalric 
virtues,  the  charitable  deeds,  the  unexampled  bravery.  Christian  heroism,  and 
ennobling  self-sacrifice  of  the  ancient  Templars ;  and  that,  so  far  as  we  follow 

iCreigh,  Vol.  II.  p.  516. 


7^0  THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 

the  examples  they  set  for  us  in  this  direction,  we  are  indeed  true  Knights 
Templars.  But  let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  or  the  world  with  the  vain  pretence 
that  anything  further  than  good  examples,  to  be  followed  in  our  daily  life  and 
conduct,  has  come  down  to  us  from  our  ancient  exemplars. 

Grand  Commanderies.  —  The  space  allotted  to  this  writer  prohibits  him 
from  entering  upon  the  interesting  field  presented  by  the  history  of  the  several 
Grand  Commanderies,  and  he  is  reluctandy  compelled  to  content  himself 
with  a  statement  of  the  dates  of  organization  and  total  membership,  as  given 
officially  by  the  Grand  Recorder  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Grand  Encamp- 
ment, for  the  year  1889.  For  convenience  of  reference,  those  which  prior  to 
1856  were  designated  as  Grand  Encampments  are  included,  and  the  whole 
are  given  in  the  order  of  their  rank,  which  follows  the  military  rule  of 
seniority  :  — 

NAME.  DATE  OF  ORGANIZATION.  MEMBERSHIP. 

Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  .  .May     6,  1805 7.563 

New  York June  18,  1814 8,117 

Virginia Nov.  27,  1823 906 

Vermont   June     i,  1824 1,040 

New  Hampshire May   27,  1826 i,379 

Connecticut Sept.  13,  1827 1,594 

Ohio Oct.    24,  1843 5,944 

Maine May     5,  1852 2,178 

Indiana   May   16,  1854 2,696 

Texas Jan.    18,  1855 1.254 

Pennsylvania   Jan.    12,  1857 8,380 

Mississippi   Jiin.    21,  1857 198 

Michigan Feb.    12,  1857 4,058 

Kentucky Oct.      5,  1857 1,514 

Illinois Oct.    27,  1857 7,080 

California    Aug.  10,  1858 2,307 

Tennessee Oct.    12,  1859 881 

Wisconsin Oct.    20,  1859 2,062 

New  Jersey Feb.    14,  i860 1,298 

Georgia April  25,  i860 423 

Missouri May   22,  i860 3.035 

Alabama Nov.  29,  i860 209 

Louisiana   Feb.    12,  1864 203 

Iowa June    6,  1864 3,720 

Minnesota Oct.    23,  1865 1,720 

Kansas Oct.    21,  1868 2,014 

Maryland Jan.    23,  1871 849 

Nebraska Dec.  27,  1871 1,132 

Arkansas May   23,  1872 336 

West  Virginia Feb.   25,  1874 434 

Colorado Mar.  14,  1876 776 

North  Carolina   May    15,  1881 208 

Dakota May    14,  1884 621 

Oregon April  13,  1887 193 

Washington   June     2,  1887 201 

Montana May   14,  1888 202 

Wyoming   May   14,  1888 161 

76,886 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  thirty  commanderies,  under  the  immediate 
jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Encampment,  with  a  total  membership  of  1,932, 
thus  swelling  the  grand  total  of  Knights  Templar,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Grand  Encampment,  to  78,818.     The  total  number  of  commanderies  is  843. 


THE   ETHICS  AND   RITUAL.  731 

CHAPTER   III. 

The  Ethics  and  Ritual  of  American  Templary. 

The  Ceremonies  of  Templary.  —  The  degrees  embraced  in  the  American 
schedule  are  those  of  Knight  of  the  Red  Cross,  Knight  Templar,  and  Knight 
of  Malta.  That  of  Red  Cross  is  not  embraced  in  that  of  the  English,  Euro- 
pean,^ or  Canadian  preceptories,  except  that  it  is  permitted  in  Canada  to 
communicate  it,  in  order  to  quahfy  our  Canadian  Fratres  to  visit  American 
bodies.  This  degree  has  a  curious  and  unsatisfactory  way  of  appearing  r.nd 
disappearing  in  the  earlier  records  of  Templar  bodies.  It  is  mentioned  in 
the  diploma  which  is  relied  upon  to  establish  the  conferring  of  the  Templar 
degrees  by  St.  Andrew's  Lodge,  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1 783,  pre- 
viously given  ;  prior  to  the  discovery  of  which  it  was  regarded  as  having  been 
manufactured  by  Webb  and  his  associates,  from  the  degrees  of  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Rite.^  The  degree  is  not  enumerated  among  those  conferred  upon 
Brother  Wm.  Davis,  in  St.  Andrew's  Royal  Arch  Lodge,  now  Chapter,  at 
Boston,  in  1769.  In  1797,  however,  that  body  "voted  that  the  Knights  of 
the  Red  Cross,  by  Brother  Benjamin  Hurd,  Jr.,  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  per- 
mitted to  make  their  records  in  the  Book  of  the  Chapter,"  ^  —  a  privilege  which 
was  not  availed  of.  Boston  Council  was  established  in  the  year  1802,  and  King 
Darius  Council,  of  Portland,  in  1805,  and  thereafter  the  degree  seems  to  have 
been  regularly  worked.    The  late  Wm.  J.  B,  MacLeod  Moore  referred  to  it  as  the 

"  American  Red  Cross  degree,  called  in  Great  Britain  the  Babylonish  Pass,  a  fabrication  with 
other  side  degrees  of  the  last  century,  taken  from  a  Persian  legend,  consequently  Pagan,  which 
may  be  looked  upon  as  having  some  reference  to  the  Royal  Arch,  but  in  no  sense  to  Christian 
degrees." 

Grand  Master  Gardner  asserted  that  "  the  Ritual  was  made  by  Fowle  and 
Gleason,  while  Webb  devoted  his  attention  mostly  to  the  Chapter  degrees." 

1  In  1869  Grand  Master  Gardner  commissioned  Grand  Commander  James  H.  Hopkins  of 
Pennsylvania,  as  his  representative,  to  visit  the  several  European  Templar  bodies,  to  inspect  and 
report  upon  the  condition,  array,  mode  of  conferring  the  Orders,  and  other  matters  of  interest 
therein,  to  the  Grand  Encampment.  He  was  received  with  that  Knightly  courtesy  and  hospitality 
which  demonstrates  the  imiversality  and  catholicity  of  Masonic  fellowsliip  in  Scotland,  England, 
Prussia,  and  Mrtlta.    The  following  interesting  extract  forms  a  portion  of  his  report :  — 

"  Comparing  the  internal  organization  and  ceremonial  of  our  American  conimanderies_with 
the  encampments  of  England,  we  find  a  difference  in  the  titles  of  all  the  officers  except  Eminent 
Commander  and  Prelate,  and  there  are  some  discrepancies  in  the  forms.  The  rituals  for  the 
Order  of  the  Temple  are  substantially  the  same ;  but  there  is  scarcely  a  trace  of  resemblance 
between  our  Order  of  Malta  and  that  of  England,  the  latter  being  full,  attractive,  and  imposing. 
The  Grand  Vice-Chancellor  of  England  presented  me  with  a  certified  copy  of  their  rituals,  which 
I  will,  with  much  pleasure,  submit  to  your  inspection  and  care. 

"  The  mongrel  anachronism  which  we  call  the  Order  of  the  Red  Cross,  is  unknown  in 
Europe.  It  is  worthy  of  consideration,  whether  its  lessons  could  not  be  more  appropriately 
taught  in  the  chapter,  and  whether  the  commandery  would  not  thereby  be  made  more  symmetri- 
cal and  effective  by  giving  them  more  time  and  exclusive  attention  to  the  Orders  of  Christian 
Knighthood." 

2  It  was  manufactured  by  Webb  and  his  associates  from  the  Knight  of  the  East  or  Sword, 
Knight  of  the  East  and  West,  and  other  degrees  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite. —  Creigh, 

8  A,  F.  Chapman,  in  Sketches  from  the  Records  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  Boston. 


732 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


The  late  Albert  G.  Mackey  was  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  this  degree,  as  well 
as  the  Templar  degrees,  was  introduced  into  the  country  by  the  possessors  of 
the  degrees  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite,  who  received  them  from  the 
founders  of  that  Rite  in  Europe. 

If  the  ceremony  called  "  Red  Cross,"  mentioned  in  the  South  Carolina 
diploma,^  and  vote  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapter,  before  referred  to,  was  identical 
with  that  practised  in  Boston  and  King  Darius  Councils,  and  enumerated  in 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting  at  which  St.  John's  Commandery  of  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  was  organized,  then  it  is  clear  that  the  degree  is  not  the  work  of 
Webb,  who  was  not  a  Knight  Templar  at  the  time  the  permission  to  record 
their  proceedings  in  the  minute-book  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapter  was  given.^  It  is 
possible  that  changes  were  introduced  by  Webb,  but  the  tradition  that  he  was 
the  originator  must  yield,  as  other  myths  of  Masonry  have  done,  before  the 
researches  of  the  historians  of  Masonry  ;  but,  before  Webb's  claims  to  paternity 
are  set  aside,  it  must  be  considered  that  an  entirely  dissimilar  degree  of  the 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite,  that  of  the  Rose  Croix,  has,  through  ignorance, 
frequently  been  spoken  of  as  the  Red  Cross,  and  it  is  barely  possible  that  the 
Red  Cross  referred  to  in  the  Charleston  diploma  and  Massachusetts  record 
was  not  identical  with  the  ceremony  founded  upon  the  Persian  legend.  This 
much  at  least  is  to  be  said  :  before  the  era  of  Webb  the  degree  was  little  known 
and  rarely  practised,  and  it  is  to  him  that  we  are  indebted  for  its  preservation 
and  propagation,  as  a  part  of  the  American  Templar  system.  The  misalliance 
of  a  degree  distinctively  Jewish  in  its  teachings  and  character,  with  others 
founded  upon  the  Christian  religion,  and  teaching  distinctively  Christian  doc- 
trine, "  purged,"  to  use  the  words  of  Brother  Parvin,  "  of  all  the  leaven  of 
heathen  rites  and  traditions,"  from  a  rituahstic  point  of  view,  was  unfortunate, 
and  is  to  be  regretted,  more  especially  as  it,  like  the  Mark  degree  in  the 
Chapter,  renders  special  preparations  necessary  in  order  to  enable  our  English 
and  Canadian  Fratres  eligible  to  visit  our  bodies.  As  far  as  possible.  Masonry 
everywhere  ought  to  be  uniform,  and  it  is  a  blunder,  of  no  mean  proportions, 
to  set  up  a  scale  of  degrees  in  one  country  which  does  not  prevail  in  another, 
speaking  the  same  language,  and  deriving  their  Masonry  from  the  same 
primitive  source.  The  teachings  of  the  degree  cannot  be  too  highly  com- 
mended, despite  the  incongruities  and  absurdities  which  characterize  it. 

It  is  not  this  writer's  purpose  to  attempt  to  trace  the  development  of  the 
Templar  degrees ;  indeed,  the  paucity  of  facts  obtainable  at  this  day  does 
not  permit  of  its  being  done  ;  but,  in  a  work  of  this  character,  it  seems  to 
be  necessary  that  something  should  be  said  by  way  of  explanation  of  the  fact 
that  a  degree,  so  utterly  foreign  to  genuine  Templarism,  should  be  found  in  the 
American  scale  of  degrees  and  in  no  other  Masonic  system. 

1 "  The  authenticity  of  this  diploma  once  established,  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts  are 
both  antedated,  and  the  received  tradition  that  Webb  was  the  founder  of  our  Red  Cross  grade 
vanishes  before  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun  of  truth."  —  Extract  from  Letter,  Carson,  1883. 

2  Parvia 


THE  ETHICS  AND  RITUAL.  733 

It  has  been  before  noted  that  the  Templar  ceremony  was  practised  in  an 
irregular,  sporadic  manner  "  under  the  sanction  of  the  warrant "  of  "  Blue  " 
lodges.  It  is  probably  impossible  to  fix  the  date  or  place  of  its  introduction 
into  the  United  States,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  did  not  come  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  a  warrant  or  dispensation  from  any  Masonic  power,  for  none  such 
existed  anywhere  at  that  time,  having  control  of  the  degree.  Doubtless  it 
came  as  the  so-called  side  degrees  of  the  present  day  come.  One  being  in 
possession  of  a  degree  called  to  his  assistance  the  requisite  number  of  others 
having  the  degree,  who,  meeting  in  a  lodge  room,  and  having  present  its 
warrant,  proceeded  to  make  a  Templar  or  Templars,  as  the  case  might  be ; 
and,  the  ceremony  ended,  dissolved,  never  to  meet  again.  In  the  course  of 
time,  when  Templars  became  more  numerous,  an  occasional  attempt  was 
made  to  make  a  record  of  these  irregular,  as  we  now  view  them,  proceedings ; 
and,  occasionally,  diplomas  were  issued,  some  of  which,  having  come  down  to 
the  present  time,  are  exhibited  as  testimony  of  the  assumed  fact  that  there 
were  "  regularly  "  existing  Templar  bodies  in  those  days.  The  ritual  of  the 
degree  does  not  appear  to  have  undergone  the  rehabilitating  process  to  which 
other  degrees  of  Masonry  were  subjected,  and,  while  changes  were  undoubt- 
edly made,  either  by  accident  or  design,  it  is  said  to  be  substantially  in  accord 
with  that  of  our  English  Fratres. 

The  Malta  Ritual,  as  it  was  practised  for  many  years,  originated  with 
Boston  Encampment.  Subsequently  one,  said  to  have  been  prepared  by 
Grand  Master  French,  was  adopted  by  the  Grand  Encampment,  which  was 
superseded  by  a  revision  adopted  in  1883,  of  which  there  are  two  forms,  a 
long  and  elaborate  one,  and  a  shorter  one.     The  use  of  either  is  optional. 

In  1889  the  Grand  Encampment,  after  a  long  and  acrimonious  controversy 
over  a  ritual  reported  to  it  in  1886,  adopted  the  "  essentials  "  of  a  new  ritual 
for  the  Red  Cross  and  Templar  degrees,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  report, 
in  1892,  the  "ceremonials,"  and  it  was  resolved  to  leave  it  optional  with  the 
several  Grand  Commanderies  to  order  what  ritualistic  ceremonies  should  be 
practised  in  their  jurisdictions,  until  the  further  order  of  the  Grand  Encamp- 
ment in  the  premises. 

In  1859  the  Grand  Encampment  adopted  "Ceremonies  and  Charges  upon 
Constituting  and  Dedicating  a  Commandery  and  Installing  its  Officers,"  and  a 
"  Burial  Service  of  the  Orders  of  Masonic  Knighthood,"  both  of  which  are 
beautiful,  appropriate  and  elaborate,  partaking,  however,  principally  of  the 
latter  quality. 

The  Ethics  of  Templary.  —  There  must  be  a  standard  of  morals  around 
which  society  can  rally,  and  upon  which  men  holding  diverse  and  even  con- 
trary opinions  can  plant  themselves,  without  yielding  those  things  which 
appertain  to  religion.  Until  a  common  ground  of  union  and  agreement  is 
found,  every  system  of  morals  must  be  regarded  as  so  many  abstract  theories, 
binding  only  as  its  precepts  reach  the  heart  and  conscience  of  each  individual 


734 


THE    CONCORDANT  ORDERS. 


member  of  society  who  accepts  them  as  his  law.  Freemasonry  teaches  the 
theory  and  practice  of  all  that  is  good  in  relation  to  God  and  to  man,  to  the 
State  and  to  the  individual,  and  the  great  object  for  which  it  exists,  indeed, 
the  only  sufficient  apology  for  its  existing  at  all,  is  the  endeavor  to  find  this 
common  ground  upon  which  all  good  men,  regardless  of  creed  or  country,  can 
stand.  It  is  greatly  to  its  praise  that  it  can  be  truthfully  said,  in  this  respect, 
it  has  excelled  all  other  human  agencies.  In  every  age,  its  device  has  been 
liberty,  equality,  fraternity,  law,  order,  government,  and  not  anarchy.  It 
recognizes  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  and  man's  right  to  as  much  freedom 
as  he  is  fitted  for ;  and  it  knows  nothing  that  should  place  one  man  below 
another,  except  ignorance,  debasement,  and  crime,  and  necessity  of  subordi- 
nation to  lawful  will  and  authority.  Its  mode  of  government,  when  Caesars 
and  tyrants  were  usurping  the  rights  of  the  people,  was  that  of  a  pure  democ- 
racy ;  in  recesses  into  which  no  Caesar  could  penetrate,  it  taught  the  freedom 
and  dignity  of  man.  Amid  all  the  brutality  and  oppression  around  them  the 
secret  lodges,  with  their  scheme  of  truth,  wrought  out  with  the  compass  and 
the  square,  the  level  and  the  plumb,  were  proving  the  wrong.  Whatever  might 
be  the  insolence  of  wealth  and  power  outside,  within  the  mystic  fold  all  were 
brethren,  pledged  to  each  other's  defence  and  support ;  overlooking  national 
disputes,  they  enjoined  the  duty  of  man  helping  his  brother  man,  of  standing 
by  him  when  persecuted,  giving  him  decent  burial  after  death,  and  shielding 
his  widow  and  orphans  from  wrong  and  privation.  Freemasonry,  then,  is  a 
Brotherhood.  How  to  be  brothers,  indeed,  in  the  midst  of  diversities  of 
interest,  diversities  of  condition,  diversities  of  opinion  and  belief,  diversities 
of  race  and  nation,  to  be  brothers  still,  loving  brothers  in  a  world  rent  by 
violence,  sundered  by  partition  walls,  full  of  intolerance  and  party  feeling, 
sectarian  strife  and  exclusiveness  of  caste, — to  be  brothers  amid  the  distinc- 
tions of  common  life,  where  wealth  and  poverty,  obscurity  and  eminence, 
jostle  each  other,  where  religious  and  political  differences,  social  distinc- 
tions and  the  exclusiveness  of  wealth,  all  conspire  to  set  men  at  a  greater 
distance,  and  to  water  and  cultivate  the  obnoxious  weed  of  selfishness,  —  is 
a  problem  which  Freemasonry  undertakes  to  solve.  It  has  combined  the 
scattered  elements  of  society,  recalled  men  to  a  sense  of  their  fraternal  rela- 
tions, revived  the  sometimes  almost  extinguished  faith  in  friendship  and 
virtue,  opened  a  new  temple,  and  set  up  a  new  altar  above  all  prejudice  and 
dissension  and  selfishness,  above  all  distinctions  except  moral  goodness, — 
a  temple  dedicated  to  universal  friendship,  an  altar  at  which  all  humanity 
may  kneel,  where  brethren  may  seek  refuge  together  from  the  strife  and 
storms  of  human  passion,  defence  and  shelter  within  an  inviolable  sanctuary 
of  peace  and  love.  While  holding  itself  aloof  from  the  separate  creeds,  the 
symbohsm  of  all  Masonry,  which  is  its  peculiar  mode  of  instruction,  incul- 
cates all  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  God  as  being  his  children,  and  to  men 
as  being  their  brethren. 


THE  ETHICS  AND  RITUAL.  -r^- 

Dr.  Oliver,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  learned  of  English  Masons, 
says  :  — 

"  There  is  scarcely  a  point  of  duty  or  morality,  which  man  has  been  presumed  tO  owe  to  God, 
his  neighbor,  or  himself,  under  the  Patriarchal,  the  Mosiac,  or  the  Christian  dispensations,  which 
in  the  construction  of  our  Symbolic  system,  has  been  left  untouched." 

But  above  all  and  before  all  it  has  taught  a  principle  which  has  permeated 
its  every  nerve,  coursed  through  its  every  vein,  and  responded  to  every  throb- 
bing of  its  heart,  that  man  is  sovereign  over  his  mind,  and  must  deal  in  charity 
with  the  opinions  and  judgment  of  his  fellows.  If,  then,  anywhere  the  door 
of  any  degree  is  closed  against  him  who  believes  in  one  God  and  the  soul's 
immortality,  on  account  of  the  other  tenets  of  his  faith,  that  degree  is  not 
Freemasonry.  That  the  Templar  degrees  form  no  part  of  Masonry,  we  have 
the  declaration  of  the  reputed  author  of  the  American  Rituals,  Thomas  Smith 
Webb,  who,  in  1812,  and  several  subsequent  editions  of  his  "Freemason's 
Monitor,"  says:  "Although  the  several  Orders  of  Knighthood  are  conferred 
both  in  Europe  and  America,  reputedly  under  the  sanction  of  Masonic  assem- 
blies," they  "  compose  no  part  of  the  system  of  Freemasonry.  They  are," 
says  he,  "  in  comparison  to  it,  societies  of  but  yesterday ;  and  all  of  them  fall 
short  of  the  excellence,  harmony,  universality,  and  utility  of  that  noble  Insti- 
tution." He  asserts  that  in  America  they  are  only  conferred  as  "  Honorary 
degrees." 

These  declarations  are  peculiarly  refreshing,  coming,  as  they  do,  from  the 
man  who  of  all  others  is  regarded  as  the  lineal  descendant  and  sole  heir  to  all 
the  wisdom  of  Solomon  himself,  in  the  estimation  of  that  far  too  numerous 
class  of  so-called  Masonic  teachers,  who  inculcate  the  idea  that  "  true  and 
Ancient  Masonry  "  is  alone  to  be  found  in  the  "  Webb  work  "  of  the  several 
degrees.  It  is  time  for  intelligent  Masons  to  divest  themselves  of  the  superla- 
tively ridiculous  and  often  exploded  idea,  that  there  is  any  connection  between 
what  we  now  know  as  Templarism  and  the  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  except  that  which  is  found  in  the  restriction  of  its  membership  to 
those  who  have  first  received  the  several  degrees  of  Masonry.  As  there  is  no 
conflict  between  the  Church  in  any  of  its  branches,  save  and  except  such  as 
narrow-minded  bigots  themselves  have  created  in  their  own  narrow  imaginings, 
so  there  is  none  between  Masonry  and  Templarism.  It  is  entirely  compatible 
with  all  the  obligations  of  Masonry  that  a  Mason  should  be  a  Templar,  and 
we  do  not  derogate  from  our  standing  as  Masons  when  we  take  upon  our- 
selves the  additional  vows  of  the  Knights  Templars  ;  but  this  does  not  make 
Templarism  Masonry,  nor  do  we  add  anything  to  the  dignity  and  high  charac- 
ter of  the  Order  by  making  the  assertion  that  it  is. 

The  moral  code  of  Templarism  is  so  interblended  with  religious  teachings 
that  what  appertains  strictly  to  the  domain  of  the  science  of  ethics  cannot 
readily  be  separated  from  the  dogmas  of  theology.  The  assertion  of  Aristotle, 
who  says  the  custom  of  doing  good  acts  arises  from  the  habit  of  moral  virtue 


736 


THE    CONCORDANT   ORDERS. 


is  only  true  so  far  as  it  extends ;  for  unless  religious  principle  is  combined 
with  good  morals,  there  cannot  be  a  perfect  character.  The  Masonic  Code 
requires  that  to  be  done  which  ought  to  be  done,  simply  because  it  is  right 
that  it  should  be  done,  and  not  from  any  hope  of  reward  or  expectancy  q{\ 
gratitude  from  the  recipient  of  the  act ;  while  Templarism  teaches  that  we  are 
to  await  the  rewards  of  the  valiant  Templar,  all  good  deeds  having  their 
reward,  because  they  are  well-pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  He  rewards. 
"  Do  good  unto  all  men,  but  especially  unto  them  who  are  of  the  household 
of  faith,"  says  St,  Paul ;  therefore  the  Knight  Templar  draws  his  sword  in 
defence  of  the  Christian  religion,  which  is  the  household  of  faith,  stimulated 
to  the  discharge  of  every  duty  by  the  assurance  that  the  memory  of  him  who 
falls  in  a  just  and  virtuous  cause  is  forever  blessed,  and,  like  the  green  bay 
tree,  shall  flourish  in  immortal  green.  As  a  Red  Cross  Knight  he  is  tried  by 
the  test  of  truth,  which  is  a  divine  attribute  and  the  foundation  of  every 
virtue,  and  taught  that  his  engagements  are  sacred  and  inviolable,  and  no 
sacrifice  is  too  great  to  insure  their  maintenance.  No  human  law  insists  with 
so  much  force  as  that  of  chivalry  upon  an  inviolable  attachment  to  truth. 
Adherence  to  his  word  is  esteemed  the  most  honorable  part  of  a  Knight's 
character ;  and  hence  the  giving  of  the  lie  involved  a  mortal  and  irreparable 
affront,  and  formerly  was  to  be  expiated  only  by  blood.  An  oath  or  promise 
of  a  Knight,  is  of  all  oaths  and  promises  the  most  inviolable  and  binding.  In 
the  days  of  chivalry.  Knights  are  said  to  have  been  sworn  "to  speak  the  truths 
Knights  taken  in  battle  engaged  to  come  of  their  own  accord  to  prison,  when- 
ever it  was  required  by  their  captors,  and  on  their  word  of  honor  they  were 
allowed  liberty  for  the  time,  and  no  one  ever  doubted  that  they  would  fulfil 
their  engagements.  The  loyalty  of  the  Knights  of  old  to  the  vows  of  chivalry 
is  illustrated  by  the  fidelity  of  Zerubbabel  to  his  companions  at  Jerusalem  ;  and 
hence,  in  the  impressive  ceremonies  of  the  Red  Cross  degree,  we  find  the 
great  lesson  taught,  that  to  attain  the  truth,  and  to  serve  our  fellows,  our  coun- 
try and  mankind,  is  the  noblest  destiny  of  man. 

The  solemn  ceremonies  which  anciently  accompanied  the  creation  of  a 
Knight,  —  austere  fasts,  whole  nights  passed  in  prayer,  the  Sacraments  of 
confession,  penance,  and  the  Eucharist,  bathings  which  prefigured  purity  of 
manners  and  life,  a  white  habit  as  a  symbol  of  the  same  purity,  and  a  serious 
attention  to  sermons,  were  all  duties  of  preparation,  devoutly  performed  by 
the  neophyte  for  the  sword  of  chivalry,  —  whose  sword  was  girded  on  accom- 
panied by  these  or  similar  words  :  — 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  of  St.  Michael,  and  of  St.  George,  I  make  thee  a  Knight ;  be  brave, 
be  hardy,  be  loyal," 

Affords  the  groundwork  of  the  American  Templar  dogma.  We  now  pledge 
ourselves  to  the  pursuit  of  a  warfare  which  requires  no  swords,  demands  the 
shedding  of  no  blood,  and  exhibits  no  beauseant  save  the  cross  of  Him  who 


THE  ETHICS  AND  RITUAL. 


7Z7 


went  about  doing  good.  It  is  the  "  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God 
and  the  Father,"  which  St.  James  declares  to  be  :  "  To  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world."  The 
sword  of  Knighthood  is  no  longer  drawn,  save  as  a  symbol ;  but  the  great  princi- 
ples which  moved  and  inspired  the  chivalric  Soldier  of  the  Temple  to  press 
forward  to  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  profanation  of  infidel 
hordes,  and  to  protect  and  afford  hospitality  to  weary  pilgrims  travelling  from 
afar,  to  respect  and  shield  the  virtue  of  woman,  and  protect  the  helpless,  yet 
lives  and  finds  expression  in  the  lives  of  the  modern  Templars,  whose  swords, 
endowed  with  justice  impartial,  fortitude  undaunted,  and  mercy  unrestrained, 
are  never  drawn  in  the  cause  of  oppression,  injustice,  or  falsehood.  Let  us 
then  close  up  the  ranks,  and,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  as  becomes  brave  men  and 
true,  manfully  fight  the  great  battle  of  life,  discharging  its  duties  as  becomes 
''  heroes  in  the  strife,"  and  pressing  forward  to  the  goal  with  certain  confidence 
in  the  Great  Captain  and  Leader  of  our  salvation,  even  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord. 


IN   MEMORL\M.  —  MacLeod   MOORE. 

Bom  January  4,  1810.    Died  September  i,  1890. 

In  1888  a  well-known  Masonic  Editor  wrote  :  "The  name  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  William  James  Bury  MacLeod  Moore,  G.  C.  T.,  Supreme  Grand  Master, 
of  the  Sovereign  Great  Priory  of  Knights  Templar  of  Canada,  is  one  that  will 
live  when  its  possessor  shall  have  passed  to  the  '  Great  Beyond.'  "  This  is  a 
sentiment  which  will  strike  a  responsive  chord  in  the  breast  of  every  reader  as 
he  peruses  the  pages  following,  the  preparation  of  which  closed  the  long  life- 
work  of  the  eminent  brother,  who  has  now  passed  to  his  reward,  the  summons 
coming  even  amidst  his  closing  labors  thereon.  Of  his  presence  and  character, 
General  Albert  Pike,  a  life-long  friend,  says  :  — 

"  He  had  the  air  and  manner  of  a  soldier  ahvays,  free  from  arrogance  or  self-sufficiency,  being 
invariably  a  dignified,  courteous,  and  affable  gentleman,  verd.  siviplicitate  bonus,  candid,  frank,  and 
sincere,  altogether  a  man  after  the  old  pattern,  and  withal  a  most  kindly,  lovable  man.  Not  smiled 
upon  by  fortune  in  the  later  years  of  life,  nor  free  from  vexatious  annoyances  and  heavy  crosses: 
but  he  accepted  these  and  all  the  ills  of  life,  and  the  deprivations  and  disabilities  of  old  age,  with 
equanimity,  as  a  wise  man  should  :  and  to  the  last  stoutly  resisted  any  innovations  in  the  Knights 
Templary  of  Canada,  these  seeming  to  him  depravations  that  would  vulgarize  it." 


738  THE   CONCORDANT  ORDERS. 

He  received  the  three  degrees  of  Craft  Masonry  in  a  single  evening,  on  the 
17th  of  August,  1827,  when  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  at  a  special  meeting 
of  Glenkindie  Lodge  held  in  the  house  of  the  Master,  Major  General  Sir 
Alexander  Leith.  In  1831  he  was  exalted  to  the  Royal  Arch  Degree,  and 
made  Mark  Master:  and  October  29,  1844,  was  installed  High  Knight 
Templar  and  Knight  of  Malta,  in  the  Encampment  attached  to  Lodge  242,  in 
the  old  town  of  Boyle,  County  Roscommon,  in  Ireland.  He  received  the 
degrees  of  the  A.*. A.\S.\  Rite  in  New  York  City,  in  the  year  1863,  and 
his  subsequent  record  is  mentioned  in  his  monograph  in  this  work.  Grand 
Master  Henderson  (his  successor),  —  who  has  also  since  passed  to  a  better 
life,  — in  a  memorial  circular,  says  :  — 

"  In  1849-50,  when,  as  an  officer  in  H  .*.  M .".  69th  Regiment,  he  was  stationed  at  Malta,  he 
was  mainly  instrumental  in  reviving  the  Masonic  Order  of  the  Temple  in  that  Island,  and  on 
his  arrival  in  Canada,  in  1852,  he  at  once  identified  himself  with  Freemasonry,  being  most  zealous 
in  its  advancement.  Having  ascertained  that  there  were  historic  records  extant  of  an  old, encamp- 
ment at  the  city  of  Kingston,  with  a  zeal  and  ardor  truly  his  own  he  set  about  reviving  it,  and 
through  his  well-known  influence  with  the  Supreme  Grand  Conclave  he  obtained  in  the  year  1854 
a  warrant  for  its  revival  under  the  name  of  the  Hugh  de  Payens  Encampment,  and  was  gazetted 
the  first  Eminent  Commander.  To  his  exertions  the  revival  of  the  Order  in  Canada  is  wholly 
due,  and  the  twenty-seven  preceptories  now  under  the  banner  of  the  Sovereign  Great  Priory  bear 
witness  to  the  success  of  his  efforts  in  the  cause  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple.  Such  whole-souled 
devotion  of  his  time  and  talents  won  prompt  and  deserved  recognition  at  the  hands  of  the  pre- 
ceptories, and  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  Fratres  was  bestowed  on  him.  He  was 
unanimously  elected  Supreme  Grand  Master  '  Ad  Vitam,'  which  office  he  worthily  filled  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  was  honorary  member  of  several  preceptories,  not  only  in  his  own,  but 
also  in  foreign  jurisdictions;  and  in  the  year  1873,  H  .*.  R.".  H .'.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  as  Grand 
Master  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple,  conferred  on  him  the  distinguished  honor  of  the  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Temple,  —  one  of  twenty-one,  six  of  whom  were  royal  personages." 

The  Order  of  the  Temple  became  the  work  of  his  life,  and  the  Allocutions 
that  form  the  basis  of  his  contribution  to  this  work,  and  which  for  so  many 
years  he  sent  forth,  are  mines  of  historic  research  and  valuable  information. 
He  was  a  recognized  authority  in  Masonic  lore  and  especially  in  that  of 
Templary.  The  Editor-in-Chief. 

PUBLISHERS'    NOTE. 

When  M  .*.  E  .*.  Grand  Master  Moore  was  solicited  to  prepare  Division  XVII. 
of  this  work,  it  was  with  extreme  reluctance  that  he  consented  to  write  the 
monograph,  which  follows  next  in  order  in  this  volume.  We  felt  from  the 
beginning  that  it  was  his  last  effort,  and  so  it  proved.  However,  he  lived  to 
see  his  "  History  of  British  Templary"  in  type,  and  to  partially  read  the  first 
few  pages.  It  is  only  just,  then,  to  the  memory  of  the  Grand  Master  to  state 
that,  had  he  been  permitted  to  correct  the  proofs  of  his  invaluable  monograph, 
the  language  and  style  in  several  places  would,  undoubtedly,  have  been  changed. 
The  Editor-in-Chief,  in  these  cases,  has  made  such  corrections  of  the  original 
MS.  as  precision  and  perspicuity  demanded,  and  such  as  he  feels  the  author 
himself  would  have  sanctioned. 


L 


-V^ 


DIVISION   XVII. 


BRITISH  TEMPI ARY. 


A  History  of  the  Modern  or  Masonic  Templar  Systems,  with  a  Concise 
Account  of  the  Origin  of  Speculative  Freemason?y,  and  its  EvolutioJi  since 
The  Revival,  a.d.  I'ji'j. 

By  Lieut.-Col.  W.  J.  B.  MacLeod  Moore, 

Formerly  of  H .'.  B .'.  M .' ,  bqth  Regt.,  and  Staff  Officer  of  Military  Out-Pensions  in  Canada. 

Supreme  Grand  Alas ter  ''Ad  Vitam  "  of  the  Sovereign  Great  Priory  of  Can- 
ada, United  Orders  of  the  Temple  and  Malta  ;  One  of  the  Original  Grand 
Crosses  of  the  Order,  instituted  by  H  :.R  :.  H :.  the  Prince  of  Wales ;  Grand 
Inspector  General  Jj'^  A:.  A.\  S.\  Rite  of  Preemasonry,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 


INTRODUCTION. 
Dedication. 

To  Thomas  Bowman  Whytehead,  Esq.,  Registrar  of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  York, 

York  Cathedral,  England. 
My  Dear  Frater  Whytehead  :  —  I  do  not  consider  there  is  any  one  to  whom  I  can  more 
fitly  or  properly  dedicate  this  sketch  of  the  modern  Knights  Templar  system,  in  connection  with 
Freemasonry,  than  to  yourself,  with  whom,  for  so  many  years  past,  I  have  had  the  most  instructive 
and  interesting  correspondence  on  Templar  matters ;  whose  matured  views  on  the  subject  so 
entirely  coincide  with  my  own,  and  who  first  suggested  to  me,  some  time  back,  to  re-write, 
correct,  and  re-arrange  the  historical  portions  of  my  annual  Templar  addresses  to  the  Great 
Priory  of  Canada,  but  which  I  have  been  unable  to  accomplish  until  the  present  time. 

The  general  approval  of  my  efforts  to  place  the  Templar  degrees  upon  a  rational  and 
common-sense  footing,  and  more  particularly  the  flattering  encomiums  passed  upon  them  by 
our  esteemed  friend  and  brother  William  James  Hughan  of  Torquay  —  the  well-known  and 
acknowledged  accurate  historian  of  Freemasonry  —  were  most  gratifying,  and  induced  me  to  carry 
out  your  kindly  meant  suggestions  by  the  present  pubhcation. 

I  am  always,  my  dear  Brother  Whytehead, 
Sincerely  Your  Frater  in  Christo, 

Fra.  Wm.  Jas.  Bury  MacLeod  Moore,  G.  C.  T., 
Prescott,  Ontario,  Canada.  Sup.  G.  Master,  The  Templars  of  Canada. 

March,  1890. 

Preface.  —  The  following  compilation  of  the  history  of  the  modern 
Templar  degrees  is  a  reiteration  of  the  historical  portions  of  my  various 
annual  addresses  and  fugitive  papers  which  I  have  for  thirty-six  years  past 
delivered,  from  my  own  stand-point,  to  the  Templar  body  of  Canada,  as  an 
explanatory  history.  In  these  I  now  contend  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  connect 
Templary  with  Freemasonry,  although  at  one  time  I  believed  a  union  had 
existed  between  the  ancient  builders,  "Stone-masons,"  and  the  chivalric  orders, 

741 


742 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


After  the  most  careful  researches,  exhausting  every  source  of  information,  I 
have  discovered  this  to  be  a  mere  dekision,  devoid  of  all  truth. 

The  Freemasonry  of  the  "revival"  inculcates  the  doctrine  of  Theism;  that 
of  Templary  is,  and  has  always  been,  Trinitarian  Christian  :  how,  then,  can 
two  such  contradictory  and  antagonistic  elements  be  transformed  into  degrees 
of  the  universal  system  of  Freemasonry,  without  destroying  the  vital  charac- 
teristics of  both? 

This  has  been  a  subject  of  careful  investigation  by  me  for  a  lifetime,  having 
been  a  Mason  (some)  sixty  years,  and  a  Templar  (nearly)  half  a  century,  in 
possession  of  almost  all  the  rites  and  degrees  professing  to  be  Masonic,, 
and  having  witnessed  the  various  ceremonials  and  the  effects  of  their  working 
in  different  places  and  situations,  forming  a  fair  estimate  of  their  usefulness 
and  authenticity.  The  results  of  my  researches  and  experience  were  from 
time  to  time  laid  before  my  confreres  of  the  Templar  body  in  Canada,  and 
have  been  printed  with  the  Annual  Proceedings  of  the  Great  Priory. 

I  may  appear  to  have  frequently  indulged  in  fault-finding  with  the  system 
of  purely  Maso?iic  Templary  practised  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
am  fully  alive  to  the  fact  that  the  popularity  of  the  degrees  there  among  its 
most  enlightened  members,  is  an  argument  stronger  than  all  the  criticism 
that  can  be  brought  against  it ;  but,  in  order  to  explain  my  objections,  it 
was  necessary  to  refer  to  the  glaring  discrepancies  and  inconsistencies  existing, 
which  prove  the  system  to  be  not  only  false,  but  a  perversion  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  true  Templar  Order,  from  which  it  derives  its  name,  —  merely 
an  imitation  military  Masonic  degree,  —  a  parody  upon  the  pure  doctrines  of 
the  ancient  Templars. 

True  modern  Templary  is  a  Christian  society  of  the  most  orthodox  kind, 
in  no  way  forming  a  part  of  the  universal  system  of  Speculative  Freemasonry. 

Although  it  does  not  claim  a  direct  descent  from  the  ancient  Order  after 
its  suppression  and  dispersion  in  the  fourteenth  century,  still  a  continuous 
connection  exists,  and  the  perpetuation  of  its  doctrinal  principles  and  usages 
is  accounted  for  and  traced  from  many  of  the  dispersed  members  retiring 
into  secular  life  throughout  Europe,  taking  refuge  in  the  monasteries  and  the 
contemporary  Order  of  "  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,"  afterward  known  as  Knights 
of  Malta.  If  the  old  Templar  Order  is  dead,  its  teachings  have  survived. 
Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  the  rules,  constitutions,  and  even  the  general 
features  of  its  ritual  and  ceremonies  have  been  preserved,  appropriated,  and 
practised  in  the  modern  reformed  system ;  that,  with  such  modifications  as 
the  changes  of  opinion  and  state  of  society  demand,  it  is  a  revival,  in  the 
British  Empire,  of  the  same  objects  which  it  correctly  represents.  This  view 
of  the  subject  has  the  weight  of  evidence,  legendary  as  well  as  historical, 
over  the  visionary  assumption  of  Masonic  Templary  and  its  ceremonial. 
Unfortunately,  riiany  members  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  who  have  taken  the 
Templar  degrees,  endeavor  to  pervert  its  Christian  character  by  advocating 


INTRODUCTION.  743 

theories  under  the  cover  of  science  or  criticism,  to  undermine  truth.  They 
eagerly  seize  upon  any  new  discovery,  physical  or  moral,  to  use  against 
Christianity,  and  insist  that,  in  the  course  of  evolution,  the  old  Templar 
doctrines  were  merged  into  Speculative  Freemasonry  of  a  universal  creed. 
Although  they  profess  not  to  doubt  the  substantial  correctness  of  the  origin 
of  Templary  and  its  principles,  yet  they  will  not  admit  the  advisability,  in 
its  modern  form,  of  perpetuating  its  Trinitarian  Christian  character.  They 
consider  that  Knights  Templary  and  Freemasonry  must  eventually  yield  to 
evolutionary  progress,  and  believe  that  man's  conception  of  the  Deity  corre- 
sponds with  his  knowledge  of  Nature  and  with  advanced  intellectual  studies. 

Such  is  the  language  of  the  present  day,  replacing  the  tenets  of  the  Catho- 
lic or  Universal  faith  by  a  ^'go-as-you-please''''  Christianity,  exposed  to  the 
insidious  attack  of  the  freethinker  and  the  sceptic,  with  whom  philosophy 
takes  the  place  of  religious  truths,  —  who  substitute  satire  for  reverence,  —  and 
who  professing  to  be  wise,  reject  Revelation,  and  are  thus  opposed  to  those 
who  desire  to  perpetuate,  as  followers  of  the  old  Templar  principles,  the 
doctrines  of  the  Catholic  faith,  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God. 

The  formula  of  reception  into  the  Christian  degrees  of  Knights  Templary 
is  totally  distinct  and  different  in  structure,  creed,  and  usages,  from  that  of  the 
Templar  degrees  based  upon  Freemasonry.  The  admission  of  members  of 
the  Hebrew  persuasion  and  Unitarians,  on  this  continent,  is  directly  opposed 
to  the  teachings  and  constitutions  of  the  Order  strictly  enforced  in  the  British 
Empire,  which  require  a  test  of  belief  in  the  Holy  and  undivided  Trinity, 
witJiouf  which  no  Templary  can  exist,  all  special  pleading  to  the  contrary, 
notwithstanding. 

The  extraordinary  inconsistency  in  the  Masonic  Templar  degrees  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  many  commanderies  in  the  United  States  of  America  introduce 
the  Easter  services  of  the  Episcopal  Church  into  their  ceremonials.  Is  not 
this  a  direct  contradiction  of  their  assertion  that  Templary  is  an  integral  portion 
of  Freemasonry,  whose  universal  creed  ignores  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  and  Incarnation  of  the  Messiah?  for  there  are  not,  and  never  were,  and 
never  can  be,  two  kinds  of  Christianity.  But  many  of  the  members  of  Masonic 
Templary  seem  to  have  no  convictions  at  all  upon  the  subject,  appearing  to 
consider  the  Templar  degrees  merely  an  imitation  military  appendage  to  Free 
and  Accepted  Masonry,  imposing  in  appearance  on  the  careless  crowd,  with 
whom  military  pomp  and  public  display  too  often  usurp  the  place  of  truth, 
contrary  to  the  well-known  principles,  usages,  and  occurrences  of  daily  Ufe. 

Even  if  there  had  been  a  connection  between  the  ancient  builders  and 
the  old  military  Templars,  which  has  been  distinctly  disproved,  how  could  there 
be  any  with  the  present  symbolic  system,  when  this  was  only  first  heard  of 
in  the  last  century,  nearly  five  hundred  years  after  the  suppression  of  the 
military  Order?  Much  of  the  history  of  Masonry  written  in  former  times  has 
been  proved  by  modern  investigation  to  be  unreliable,  and  it  is  only  within 


744  BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 

the  last  thirty  years  that  any  attempt  has  been  made  to  clear  up  the  contra- 
dictory opinions  and  fables  that  surround  Masonic  Templary,  respecting  its 
origin  and  meaning,  with  its  assumed  Masonic  connection.  Previously  no 
trouble  had  been  taken  to  investigate  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  assertions 
made,  —  every  idle  story  and  legend  being  taken  for  granted  as  strictly  true. 
Various  theories  have  been  advanced,  at  different  times,  to  prove  that  the 
Templar  system  was  a  component  part  of  Freemasonry ;  but  all  have  failed 
to  convince,  in  the  face  of  historic  facts  and  modern  criticism,  however  care- 
fully perversive  of  truth  these  inferences  may  have  been  arranged. 

The  argument  brought  forward  that  the  Templar  degrees  formed  a  part  of 
the  original  system  of  the  Masonic  Craft  revival  is  evidently  incorrect,  being 
based  on  anachronisms,  as  they  refer  to  periods  long  after  the  invention  and 
adoption  of  Masonic  Templary.  Therefore  the  assertion  of  the  United  States 
of  America  Templars,  that  Masonic  Templary  was  always  a  part  of  the  Sym- 
bolic Masonry  of  the  revival,  from  its  being  conferred  in  Masonic  bodies  there 
since  1785,  has  no  force.  Although  the  Templar  degrees  have  been  in  con- 
nection with  Freemasonry  for  about  a  century  past,  it  does  not  follow  that 
they  previously  had  any  such  connection.  It  was  only  about  that  time,  or  a 
few  years  earlier,  that  the  error  was  made  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  of 
adding  the  chivalric  Templar  Order  to  the  Masonic  system ;  the  mistake 
originating  in  the  false  legend  that,  at  the  suppression  and  dispersion  of  the 
old  military  Order,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  many  of  the  members  joined 
the  Masonic  Craft  of  builders,  introducing  into  Freemasonry  the  usages  of 
their  old  religious  military  Order.  This  has  been  amply  proved  to  be  an  idle 
tale  without  foundation.  Why,  then,  continue  to  perpetuate  so  glaring  a  mis- 
statement ?  If  the  United  States  of  America  Templars  chose  to  form  a  system 
of  Templary  out  of  Freemasonry,  it  does  not  follow  that  Freemasonry  and 
Templary  are  synonymous.  They  also  claim  that  the  Templar  degrees  were 
always  conferred  only  under  Masonic  Craft  charters ;  but  this  latter  really 
means  having  the  Craft  warrant  in  the  room  during  the  Templar  ceremonies, 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  give  them  sufficient  authority  as  adopted  Masonic 
degrees.  In  these  remarks  I  have  followed  the  maxim  of  speaking  positively 
of  what  I  know  and  am  convinced  is  true,  being  well  aware  that  the  public 
mind  is  never  drawn  or  held  by  doubtful  suppositions  or  speculations,  the 
majority  seldom  taking  the  trouble  to  investigate  the  truth. 

The  term  "Allocution,"  "a  speaking  to,"  and  that  of  military,  added  to  the 
title  religious  Templars,  merely  follows  the  ancient  Order,  to  show  whence 
they  are  derived.  "  Allocution  "  refers  to  the  "  Mandates  "  of  the  ancient 
Grand  Masters,  but  is  not,  with  the  title  ??iilita?y,  strictly  applicable  to  our 
modern  system,  which  does  not  pretend  to  establish  a  new  knightly  military 
Order,  but  to  represent  and  perpetuate,  in  a  Masonic  Christian  society,  the 
principles  and  usages  of  the  old  obsolete  religious  and  military  fraternities  of 
the  Middle  Ages.     To  address  the  members  by  the  title  of  "  Sir,"  prefixed  to 


INTRODUCTION. 


74S 


the  name,  is  manifestly  incorrect,  as  it  implies  a  civil  rank  in  the  prerogative 
of  the  Crown  alone,  and  is  but  a  caricature  of  national  dignities.  "  Sir 
Knight "  is  equally  wrong,  being  but  a  quaint  poetical  license  of  "  ye  olden 
time,"  to  denote  the  occupation,  as  "  Sir  Page,"  '*  Sir  Monk,"  "  Sir  Priest," 
etc.,  etc.  It  may  also  have  been  adopted  from  the  French  Monsieur  le 
Chevallei',  referring  to  the  title  in  allusion  to  the  obsolete  '^Ordre  du  Temple'' 
of  France ;  but  it  can  only  be  proper  to  use  it  occasionally  in  preceptories,  for 
the  distinct  purpose  of  not  appearing  to  ape  the  civil  orders  of  knighthood. 
Correctly  speaking.  Sir  is  never  used  as  a  prefix  to  the  surname  itself  unless 
the  Christian  name  is  added ;  this  mistake  frequently  occurs  on  this  continent. 
The  proper  term  of  address  is  brother  or  f rater,  plural  fratres,  not  the  false 
Latin, //v?/(?rj-.  This  word  has  no  reference  to  the  Roman  CathoHc  Priest- 
hood ;  it  is  merely  the  Latin  for  brother,  in  common  use  by  the  religious 
military  fraternities  of  the  Middle  Ages.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  Masonic 
knighthood  !  Any  such  claim  or  usage  is  but  a  childish  fable.  The  honors 
of  knighthood  can  only  be  conferred  by  the  Sovereign  of  the  realm,  or  the 
representative  of  the  Sovereign,  duly  authorized. 

Acknowledgment.  —  I  feel  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  acknowledge  the  valuable  information 
I  have  oblaiutd,  at  different  times,  by  the  perusal  of  the  most  reliable  publications,  and  personal 
correspondence,  from  all  of  which  I  have  derived  instruction  and  profit,  adopting  in  many 
instances  the  information  recorded,  and  largely  drawing  from  them  in  the  course  of  my  remarks; 
viz. :  "  Addison's  History  of  the  Knights  Templars."  published  in  England,  1842,  with  later  editions  ; 
Major-General  Porter's  (Royal  Engmeers)  "History  of  the  Knights  of  Malta,"  who  is  now  a 
Knight  of  Justice  of  the  English  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  ;  "  Burnes'  Sketch  of  the  History 
of  the  Knights  Templars,"  Edinburgh  Edition,  1837;  also  "Secret  Societies"  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
article  "Templary,"  in  the  Library  of  Useful  Knowledge,  1837;  "The  History  and  Persecution  of 
the  Templars,"  by  O'Neil  Haye;  "A  Concise  History  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple,"  by  Sir  Pat'k 
Colquhoun,  LL.D. ;  "Sketch  of  the  Knights  Templars  and  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,"  with  notes  on 
"The  Masonic  Templars,"  by  Richard  Woof,  F.R.S.,  of  Worcester,  England,  1865;  "Origin  of 
the  Early  History  of  Freemasonry,"  by  W.  G.  Steinbrennar,  New  York,  1864,  Macoy  &  Sicilies,  a 
very  instructive  work;  "  History  of  Freemasonry  in  the  District  of  Malta,"  by  A.  M.  Broadly  of 
Lincoln  Inn,  London,  Barrister;  besides  numerous  other  works  and  Masonic  pamphlets,  etc., 
together  with  that  most  exhaustive  Masonic  history  of  modern  times,  by  R.  F.  Gould,  Barrister  at 
law,  London,  England,  —  the  fullest  ever  published,  —  a  perfect  mine  of  information  in  itself,  not  to 
be  found  in  any  other  publication.  These  works,  added  to  my  personal  correspondence  with  Sir 
Pat'k  Colquhoun,  LL.D.,  the  Arch  Registrar  of  Convent  General,  and  the  Hon.  J.  Fitz-Henry 
Townsend,  Judge  of  the  Admiralty  Courts,  Dublin,  the  Arch  Chancellor  of  Convent  General,  and 
Grand  Commander  of  the  A.'.  A  .".S.'.R.".  33°  for  Ireland;  General  Albert  Pike,  the  charming 
Masonic  author  and  Nestor  of  the  Symbolism  of  Freemasonry,  Grand  Commander  A  .".A  .•.  S  .*.  R  .•. 
for  the  Southern  yurisdiction.  United  States  of  America,  with  many  other  Masonic  authorities.  To 
Hughan  of  Torquay,  the  erudite  English  Masonic  historian,  Whytehead  of  York,  the  zealous 
supporter  of  the  theory  of  a  continuation  of  the  true  history  of  the  Templars  to  the  present  time, 
as  shown  in  the  reformed  Templar  system  of  the  Empire,  I  am  greatly  indebted;  also  to  Dr.  John 
H.  Graham,  of  Richmond,  Quebec,  the  Ex-Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec,  whose 
learned  and  scholarly  addresses  on  Freemasonry  have  done  so  much  to  advance  the  prosperity  of 
the  Order  in  that  Province  and  of  his  own  Grand  Lodge ;  but  more  particularly  to  a  Masonic 
friend  and  able  writer,  whose  acquaintance  I  formed  some  few  years  back  (but  who  does  not  wish 
his  name  made  public),  from  whom  I  derived  most  interesting  and  rarely  valuable  information  on 
the  early  Christian  character  of  Freemasonry,  and  from  whoiu  also  I  received  the  tratislation  of  a 
ritual  belonging  to  the  late  Dr.  Hans  B.  Gram,  a  Danish  physician,  who  had  been  chief  surgeon  to 
his  late  Majesty  Christian  VII.  of  Denmark,  subsequently  settling  in  New  York,  1825,  where  he  died 
in  1840,  a  man  of  acknowledged  ability  and  culture,  a  member  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusa- 
lem, the  principles  of  which  noble  Order  he  promulgated,  fully  realizing  the  Christian  teachings  of 
the  old  religious  and  military  fraternities  as  the  true  source  of  Christian  Masonry  without  any 
reservation. 

The  Danish  Christianized  Masonic  Ritual  is  unique,  and  believed  to  have 
been  obtained  from  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  John,  at  the  Great  Masonic  Con- 


746 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


gress  of  Wilhelmsbad,  Hesse  Cassel,  in  1 7S2,  as  a  true  explanation  of  the  three 
degrees  of  Symbolic  Christian  Freemasonry. 

It  would  appear  that  the  Danish  Sovereign  is  a  hereditary  Grand  Master  of 
the  Fraternity  of  St.  John  in  that  kingdom,  carried  there  by  quondam  Prot- 
estant Knights  after  the  dispersion  of  the  combined  Scottish  chivalric  Order 
of  the  Temple  and  St.  John,  at  the  Reformation.  From  the  sacred  character 
of  its  ceremonies,  it  is  not  generally  or  publicly  made  known,  being  only 
communicated  with  the  greatest  circumspection,  to  prevent  the  sacred  truths, 
revealed  in  the  privacy  of  its  chapters,  being  made  the  sport  of  the  unbeliever 
and  the  "profane,"  and  which  could  be  of  no  interest  to  those  who  profess  the 
sceptical  and  rationalistic  views  of  the  present  day.  The  Ritual  was  delivered 
to  me  under  the  same  restrictions  ;  it  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  Danish 
one  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masonry  of  the  English  revival,  a.d.  171 7,  and  is  in 
no  respect  a  part  of  Baron  Hund's  Templar  system  of  the  "Strict  Observance," 
both  of  which  it  altogether  ignores. 

A  certain  analogy  seems  to  exist  between  the  degrees  of  Cosmopolitan 
Freemasonry  and  Christianity,  which  is  better  explained  by  a  synopsis  of  the 
teachings  of  the  ancient  Christian  mysteries. 

The  secrets  of  the  Mystery  of  Christianity  were  only  communicated  to 
the  initiates^  and  these  initiates  were  first  made  Christians,  then  advanced 
in  Christianity,  and  finally  raised  to  a  knowledge  of  all  its  Aporrheta.  There 
were  three  degrees  or  steps  in  Christianity,  and  its  religious  system  was  known 
as  the  "Discipluia  ArcanV^  —  the  discipline  of  the  secret.  There  was  an  eso- 
teric and  exoteric  doctrine.  The  three  classes  who  received  the  three  degrees 
of  the  primitive  Church  were  the  "  Catechumens,"  the  "  Competentes,"  and 
the  "  lUuminati."  In  the  first  degree  of  Christianity  the  candidate  was 
baptized.  Baptism  introduced  the  believer  to  the  Christian  Mystery.  The 
sacred  doctrines  taught  in  the  several  degrees  were  those  of  the  "  Trinity  in 
Unity,"  "  the  Incarnation  of  the  Logos  or  Son  of  God,"  "  the  Crucifixion," 
"the  Resurrection,"  and  the  "Secret  of  the  Liturgy." 

Baptism  initiated  the  candidate,  while  a  participation  in  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, or  Eucharist,  marked  the  raising  of  the  candidate  to  the  highest  degree 
of  Christian  light  and  doctrine.  All  through  the  writings  of  the  Early  Fathers 
of  the  Church  reference  is  made  to  the  Christian  mysteries  and  their  secret 
doctrines.  Initiates  were  strictly  forbidden  to  paint,  cut,  or  carve  any  refer- 
ence to  them. 


ORIGIN  OF  SYMBOLIC  FREEMASONRY.  y^y 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  Origin  of  Speculative  or  Symbolic  Freemasonry. 

The  Templar  System's  Connection  with  Freemasonry.  —  The  modem 
Templar  system  having  been  so  long  intimately  associated  with  Freemasonry, 
it  becomes  necessary,  for  a  better  understanding  of  the  subject,  to  give  some 
account  of  the  radical  changes  made,  and  of  the  reorganization  of  the  Fraternity 
in  England,  commenced  in  a.d.  171 7,  by  the  revivalists.  This  is  done  to  show 
that  the  old  orders  of  chivalry  could  never  have  had  any  connection  with 
Freemasonry,  except  in  the  imagination  of  the  last  century  Masons ;  and  to 
state  my  view,  conviction,  deductions,  and  stand-point,  so  materially  different 
from  that  usually  adopted,  and  arrived  at  after  many  years  of  careful  investiga- 
tion and  research  from  all  available  sources  and  written  authorities.  Many  of 
the  discrepancies  in  Masonic  history  arise  from  not  knowing  or  not  distin- 
guishing the  wide  difference  between  "  Ancient  Christian  Freemasonry  "  and 
the  Free  and  Accepted  IMasonry  of  the  present  day.  This  will  help  to  explain 
and  account  for  the  supposed  connection  with  the  old  religious  and  military 
orders  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  would  be  useless  to  refer  to  the  antiquity  of  all  the  Masonic  traditions, 
only  interesting  to  the  antiquarian,  and  giving  but  little  insight  into  Masonic 
rites  and  degrees.  Our  knowledge  commences  with  the  Christian  era,  passing 
over  reference  to  the  building  of  the  Solomonian  Temple  and  the  usages  of 
the  workmen  employed  at  that  period,  —  a  mere  matter  of  conjecture,  of  no 
account  in  the  present  investigation. 

The  Sacred  Mysteries.  —  Ancient  Symbolic  Speculative  Masonry  arose 
from  the  teachings  of  the  sacred  mysteries  ^  ritualistically  practised  in  Ireland 
and  Scotland  a.d.  600  to  800,  and  at  a  later  period  in  many  parts  of  Ger- 
many, France,  and  other  countries  of  Europe.  The  revelation  of  them  was 
constandy  made  to  the  Prophets ;  and  these  mysteries  were  taught  in  their 
schools  and  colleges,  extending  to  the  time  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  pure 
and  untainted,  although  surrounded,  throughout  their  course,  by  all  sorts  of 
heathen  superstition.  They  were  violently  opposed  by  the  Jews,  and  were 
derided  by  the  members  of  the  ancient  Pagan  mysteries  that  flourished  in  the 
fifth  century,  and  which  continued  until  a.d.  800,  when  they  ceased. 

The  Ancient  Mysteries. — There  were  many  religious  mysteries  of  the 
ancient  world,  that  history  explains,  which,  with  the  spirit  and  spread  of  the 
Christian  religion,  became  extinct.  The  whole  course  of  history  flatly  con- 
tradicts the  possibility  of  a  perpetuation  of  their  doctrines. 

1  The  truths  contained  in  the  sacred  mysteries  were  the  counterpart  of  Divine  revelation, — 
the  forerunner  of  the  Christian  fauh,  —  preserved  from  the  "  Beginning,"  having  been  known  and 
transmitted  to  succeeding  generations  by  the  Patriarchs. 


748 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


The  idea  of  a  direct  connection  between  them  and  Freemasonry  is  nothing 
more  than  an  idle  fancy,  for  the  resemblance  of  certam  isolated  Masonic  sym- 
bols and  customs  is  no  evidence,  as  all  such  societies  are  similar  in  many 
respects.  Scripture  defines  the  sacred  mysteries  simply  as  revealed  truth,  that 
none  could  discover,  but  which  God  himself  has  made  known.  The  religious 
Mysteries  taught  in  the  cloisters  of  the  early  Church  were  anterior  to  the 
Christian  religion,  being  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy  :  they  saw  Christ  by  faith,  and 
represented  Him  and  His  doctrines  by  symbols ;  they  are  in  existence  to-day, 
as  they  were  then,  the  advent  of  Christ  confirming  their  glory.  They  teach 
that  none  can  claim  the  right  to  eternal  life  beyond  the  grave,  save  those  who 
believe  in  Him  that  liveth  and  was  dead  and  is  now  alive  forevermore,  and 
who  follow  Him,  in  the  narrow  path  marked  out  for  pilgrims  in  their  sojourn 
here  upon  earth. 

Fraternity  of  Operative  Stone-Masons.  —  In  the  tenth  century  a  pecul- 
iar fraternity  of  "Operative  Stone-builders," — well  known  over  Europe, — 
claimed  the  right,  under  Papal  privileges,  of  exercising  the  building-craft 
throughout  all  Christendom,  and  to  be  exclusively  employed  on  all  sacred 
edifices.  They  were  established  in  England  about  the  time  of  the  Conquest, 
or  a  few  years  earlier,  under  a  local  superior,  having  communication  with  the 
head  of  the  whole  body  in  Europe  ;  and  it  is  well  authenticated  that  the  first 
association  of  "  Stone-masons  "  in  the  Christian  world  were  employed  in  the 
services  of  the  Church.  They  kept  the  rules  of  their  craft  secret,  to  preserve 
its  monopoly.  They  were  always  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  great 
Ecclesiastical  edifices  of  the  time,  and  were  protected  by  Papal  charters  and 
supported  by  the  most  talented  and  influential  men,  throughout  the  whole  of 
their  history. 

Ancient  Speculative  Lodges.  —  It  is  well  authenticated  that  lodges  of 
Speculative  Masonry  for  instruction  were  anciently  held,  presided  over  by 
Master  builders.  Many  of  these  builders  were  of  high  Ecclesiastical  rank, 
great  learning,  and  renown,  who  taught  the  rude  workmen  the  religious  and 
moral  principles  for  which  the  Fraternity  was  noted,  as  well  as  the  laws  of  the 
Craft.  They  also  instructed  them  in  the  then  mystery  of  architecture,  which 
was  carefully  concealed  from  all  who  were  not  initiated  into  the  brotherhood. 

Mesouraneo  Waiters,  or  Seekers  in  the  Temple.  — These  lodges  were,  it  is 
said  by  some  authors,  known  by  the  compound  Greek  word  "Mesoitrajieo,''^ — 
in  which  the  sound  has  been  corrupted  into  Masonr}^,  the  meaning  of  which 
is  "Waiters  or  seekers  in  the  Temple,"  or  those  who  waited  to  have  Divine 
truth  proclaimed.  This  meaning  applies  the  term  strictly,  7iot  to  Solomon's 
Temple,  or  to  any  other  material  building,  but  to  the  spiritual  temple,  Man, 
who  is  constantly  progressing  and  being  prepared  as  a  living  stone  for  the 
building  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  Heavens.  Another  interpreta- 
tion has  been  given,  viz. :  "  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  Heaven."  This,  when 
connected  with  the  other,  makes  it  more  pointed  and  impressive,  —  one  being 


ORIGIN  OF  SYMBOLIC  FREEMASONRY.  y.g 

"  Waiters  "  or  "  Seekers,"  the  other,  the  resu//  of  that  waiting  or  seeking ; 
viz.:  "Heavenly  vision  or  enjoyment,  the  reward  of  good  works." 

This  word  Mesouraneo  appears  to  suit  admirably  Symbolic  Masonry, 
although  much  fault  has  been  found  with  it  by  hyper-critical  Masonic 
reviewers. 

In  order  to  understand  more  clearly  the  object  and  meaning  of  Free- 
masonry, it  will  be  proper  to  give  concisely  some  particulars  of  its  origin 
and  evolution. 

The  Millennial  Delusion.  —  At  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century  the 
Christians,  reheved  from  their  mistaken  apprehension  that  the  "  one  thousand 
years  "  of  the  Apocalypse  would  be  completed  at  the  termination  of  the  tenth 
century,  and  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  at  hand,  hastened  to  build  new 
and  to  repair  the  old  Ecclesiastical  structures.  Succeeding  the  ruin  of  Impe- 
rial Rome  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Western  Roman  Empire,  in  the  year 
476,  the  great  historic  period  between  classic  antiquity  and  modern  times  is 
called  the  Dark  or  Middle  Ages,  when  the  world  was  sunk  in  the  deepest 
ignorance  and  crime  —  its  days  and  nights  passed  in  violence,  wrong,  and 
oppression  —  until  the  Reformation  brought  it  to  a  close.  During  its 
transition,  new  nationalities  and  institutions  had  struggled  into  existence. 

The  Dark  Ages.  —  Human  learning  was  confined  to  the  monasteries  dur- 
ing this  era  in  the  world's  dark  history,  there  being  few  outside  the  religious 
houses  who  could  read  or  write ;  but,  in  its  place,  the  old  "  stone-builders  " 
have  left  much  of  its  history  in  chronicles  of  stone,  that  exist  to  the  present 
day,  and  all  the  documents  that  remain  of  the  "  ancient  builders  "  attest  their 
practical  piety,  morality,  and  honesty. 

The  Benedictine  Order  of  Monks.  —  In  the  early  days  of  Christianity  the 
Benedictine  Order  of  Monks  was  the  repository  of  every  branch  of  science 
and  education.  To  them  it  is  conceded,  and  it  is  well  known  to  all  who 
nave  examined  the  subject,  that  the  Order  was  pure,  as  far  as  the  leading  doc- 
trines of  Christianity  were  concerned.  We  are  indebted  to  them  for  the 
preservation  of  the  sacred  or  divine  mysteries  which  existed  and  flourished 
centuries  before  the  chivalric  era,  and  whose  symbols  and  ceremonies  taught 
the  doctrines  of  Time,  Death,  Immortality,  and  Redemption,  with  a  knowledge 
of  the  undivided  personality  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  the  manifestation  of  the 
Redeemer  God-Man,  the  Atonement,  the  Resurrection  of  the  Body,  and  Man's 
responsibilty. 

It  was  exclusively  the  "Benedictines,"  and  later  along  the  "Cistercian" 
Order  of  Monks,  who  employed  themselves  in  architecture.  Many  extensive 
buildings  were  erected  by  the  monks,  assisted  by  the  lay-brothers  and  ser- 
vants of  the  monasteries.  The  Abbots  or  Superiors  designed  the  plans  for 
the  buildings.  The  lay-brothers,  who  dwelt  within  the  circle  of  the  monastic 
establishments,  and  had  assisted  the  monks  in  the  erection  of  the  religious 
houses,  in  the  course  of  time  formed  similar  associations  among  themselves 


750 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


outside  of  the  monasteries.  From  the  latter  sprang  the  independent  lodges 
of  German  Stone-masons  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  which  still 
preserve  their  Christian  character,  as  is  shown  by  their  primitive  lodges  being 
called  after  this  or  that  Saint. 

The  ancient  building  society  of  Strasburg,  in  Germany,  was  known  as  "  The 
Brothers  of  St.  John." 

The  Independent  Lodges  of  Operative  Stone-masons  abolished. — At  the 
commencement  of  the  great  Christian  reformation,  the  taste  for  extensive  relig- 
ious buildings  began  to  pass  away,  and  the  Ecclesiastical  Orders  to  abandon 
their  zeal  for  architecture  ;  and,  at  the  dissolution  of  the  religious  houses,  the 
lay-brothers,  architects,  from  the  cloisters,  affiliating  with  the  guilds  of  ordi- 
nary stone-masons,  by  degrees  lost  the  main  character  of  the  old  Order, 
Their  technology  had  become  obsolete  ;  and,  in  place  of  the  holy  and  sacred 
truths  which  had  built  them  up,  their  whole  attention  was  turned  to  ordinary 
architecture. 

After  the  Reformation,  when  great  ecclesiastical  building  ceased  almost 
entirely,  the  Stone-masons'  society  degenerated  to  the  level  of  mere  Opera- 
tive Craftsmen ;  also,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  ceremonial  forms  and  usages 
that  distinguished  them,  now  no  longer  understood,  lost  by  degrees  their  pecul- 
iar significance  ;  yet  some  of  the  ancient  ceremonies  were  always  retained 
and  preserved,  so  that,  at  the  establishment  of  the  modern  present  Symbolic 
system,  many  of  their  customs  and  usages  were  still  in  existence,  requiring 
only  a  different  and  new  explanation. 

At  the  present  day  we  have  no  authentic  documents  which  refer  to  the 
organization  of  the  Operative  Fraternity  during  the  most  flourishing  period  of 
its  existence.  The  fall  of  the  monasteries  entailed  the  fall  of  the  Operative 
Craft  lodges  attached  to  them,  and  in  France  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  about  1539,  the  independent  Operative  Craft  lodges  were  abolished, 
as  ^fraternity,  by  Francis  I.,  the  last  assembly  being  held  in  a.d.  1563. 

The  Origin  of  the  Name  Freemason.  — The  name  "  Freemason  "  appear 
for  the  first  time  in  Statute  25  of  Edward  I.,  of  England,  a.d.  1350.  "Zt 
statutes  d' artificer  et  servants^''  and  from  the  original  French  text  of  the  stat- 
ute the  word  signifies  a  "  Free-stone  Mason,"  one  who  works  in  free-stone, 
as  distinguished  from  the  rough  mason  who  merely  built  wall  of  rough  stones. 
The  modern  acceptation  of  the  word  gives  it  as  "  Free  of  the  Guilds  of  the 
Craft."  In  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  persons  who  were  not 
Operative  Masons  began  to  unite  with  the  Freemasons,  and  were  distinguished 
from  the  regular  working  Masons  by  the  denomination  of  "  Accepted." 

It  is  certain  that  many  noblemen,  gentlemen,  military  officers,  clergymen, 
and  others,  attracted  by  the  moral  principles  of  the  Fraternity,  joined  the 
existing  lodges,  and  to  them  may  be  ascribed  the  radical  changes  that  after- 
ward took  place,  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  Order.  It  is  well  known 
that  some  of  those  earlier  and  most  prominent  Masons  were  men  of  learning, 


ORIGIN  OF  SYMBOLIC  FREEMASONRY.  7 e  i 

and  prone  to  push  forward  abstract  theories,  as  well  as  to  mix  themselves  up 
with  matters  philosophical.  It  is,  therefore,  easy  to  suppose  that  to  such 
minds  the  dogmas  of  the  Church  would  be  distasteful ;  their  imitators  of  the 
present  day,  of  the  heterodox  doctrines  of  the  "  Unitarian  school,"  it  is  grati- 
fying to  know,  are  in  a  small,  though  active  minority  in  British  Templar  circles. 

The  Decay  of  Speculative  Lodges.  —  By  the  year  1702,  the  Speculative 
lodges  in  England  began  to  decay  and  fall  into  oblivion,  becoming  so  degen- 
erated as  to  be  applied  to  purposes  of  gain  and  self-interest ;  appearing  to 
the  minds  of  the  credulous  and  superstitious  merely  as  a  mysterious  secret 
society,  useful  to  mariners  and  travellers  visiting  different  parts  of  the  world, 
as  a  safe  introduction  among  strangers. 

It  is  recorded  in  the  publications  of  that  day,  as  a  common  thing,  when 
passing  along  the  streets  of  London  and  Liverpool,  particularly  by  the  river- 
side, to  observe  large  painted  signs  over  the  doors  of  ale  houses  and  sailors' 
lodgings  :  '■^Masons  made  here  for  i2i"." 

It  was  when  the  ancient  forms  had  commenced  to  decay  and  the  true 
comprehension  of  the  meaning  of  ceremonials,  usages,  and  discipline  was 
dying  out,  that  the  Fraternity  felt  the  necessity  of  preventing  its  total  extinc- 
tion by  reestablishing  the  Ancient  Landmarks  and  reinstating  the  Order. 

The  RevivaL — a.d.  171 7  saw  a  complete  change,  at  the  hands  of  James 
Anderson,  D.D.,  born  in  Edinburgh  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  a 
minister  of  the  Scottish  Presbyterian  Church  in  Piccadilly,  London,  and  John 
Theophilus  Desaguliers,  LL.D.,  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  the  son  of  a 
French  Protestant  clergyman,  who  came  to  England  after  the  revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes,  assisted  by  other  old  members  chosen  for  their  ability 
and  knowledge  of  the  Fraternity.  They  were  desired,  by  the  rulers  of  the 
Order,  to  peruse  and  digest  into  a  new  and  better  method  "The  History, 
Charges,  and  Regulations  of  the  Ancient  Fraternity."  This  was  accordingly 
done,  pointing  distinctly  to  the  fact  that  the  true  character  of  Freemasonry 
is  only  the  history  of  the  operative  sodalities  and  successive  ages  of  architects. 
They  were  no  doubt  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  toleration,  and,  desirous  of 
introducing  a  code  of  morals  without  the  aid  of  theology,  therefore  eradicated 
the  sectarian  element  of  Christianity,  substituting  the  apocryphal  legend  of 
"Hiram"  and  "Symbolism  of  Solomon's  Temple,"  transforming  it  into  what 
we  now  find  "  Free  and  Accepted  Masonry,"  by  converting  the  old  Stone- 
masons' allegory,  upon  which  the  legend  of  the  Third  degree  and  death  of 
Hiram  Abiff  is  founded,  into  what  anciently  was  the  exposition  of  the  story 
of  the  fall  of  mankind,  the  sacrificial  redemption  of  the  human  race,  and  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection. 

The  Reorganizatioii  of  Freemasonry.  —  It  would  seem  that  Dr.  Anderson 
and  his  colleagues,  in  fulfilling  the  duty  confided  to  them,  may  have  exceeded 
their  authority  and  made  radical  changes  quite  unknown  before,  reorganizing 
the  Institution,  which,  after  some  amendments,  was  formally  approved  and 


752 


BRITISH    TEMPLAR  Y. 


accepted  a.d.  1723,  becoming  kno\vn  as  the  "New  Constitutions,"  and  is  the 
Freemasonry  of  the  present  day.  They  adopted  a  universal  creed  to  suit  the 
ideas  of  such  members  as  preferred  a  philosophical  interpretation  of  Christi- 
anity to  others  that  inculcated  the  tenets  of  a  particular  form  of  religious 
belief,  inconsistent  with  toleration  and  universality.  The  adoption  of  a  uni- 
versal creed,  on  the  plan  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of 
Mankind,  was  to  admit  men  of  all  rehgions,  nationalities,  and  stations  in  life, — 
not  to  lay  the  foundation  of  an  Enghsh,  Scottish,  Irish,  or  Protestant  philoso- 
phy, but  a  philosophy  of  the  world. 

There  does  not  seem  to  exist  a  doubt  that  Dr.  Anderson,  as  a  Christian 
Minister  of  the  Gospel,  was  faithful  to  his  trust.  He  was  actuated  only  by  a 
desire  to  correct  existing  abuses,  by  changing  the  system  of  Freemasonry,  as 
he  found  it,  into  a  cosmopolitan,  philosophical  society,  relying  on  the  Chris- 
tian religion  being  left  to  exist  in  its  purity,  and  thus  avoiding  the  semblance 
of  contaminating  the  sound  doctrines  of  our  Most  Holy  faith  with  worldly  and 
material  affairs. 

Although  the  teachings  of  Ancient  Freemasonry,  formerly  distinctly  Chris- 
tian, are  now  cosmopolitan,  it  does  not  prevent  or  interfere  with  the  right 
of  private  judgment  and  conviction,  there  being  room  for  the  admission  of 
the  Christian  as  well  as  the  universal  exposition  of  the  symbols  and  ritual, 
which,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  liberal  and  broad  principles  of  the  Craft,  should 
never  be  made  the  subject  of  strife,  but  held  in  fraternal  peace  and  good  will 
by  all. 

Freemasonry  is  not  a  Religion.  —  The  remark  so  frequently  indulged  in, 
that  Masonry  is  a  religion  and  substitute  for  the  Church,  should  at  once  be 
discouraged ;  this  foolish  talk  about  its  being  a  religion,  coequal  with  the 
Church  as  a  means  of  grace  and  salvation,  has  done  very  great  harm.  Masonry 
does  not  profess  to  be  anything  of  the  kind  ;  it  only  professes  to  inculcate 
morality,  —  not  the  ethical  abstraction  of  the  philosopher,  but  evangelical 
morality,  religious  morality,  which  will  prepare  mankind  for  the  transforming 
and  sanctifying  powers  of  the  world  to  come.  Masonry  does  the  work  of 
preparation,  by  bringing  men  to  that  state  in  which  they  will  see  more  readily 
the  motives  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord. 

A  Beautiful  System  of  Morality.  — Undoubtedly  there  can  be  no  more 
beautiful  code,  in  its  original  simple  proper  sense,  when  divested  of  the 
numerous  parasitical  additions  of  fungous  growth,  since  it  is  "A  system  of 
morality  developed  and  inculcated  by  symbols."  The  idea  intended  to  be 
conveyed  is  to  draw  men  together  in  one  great  brotherhood  ;  but  it  has  m  the 
course  of  evolution,  since  it  left  its  birthplace,  the  British  Isles,  been  so  altered, 
and  so  many  degrees  and  rites  have  been  added,  as  to  obliterate  almost  entirely 
the  original  plan,  which  stands  alone.  As  first  conceived  it  stood  above  all 
others,  unaided,  unassisted.  Its  life-work  was  employed  in  the  promulgation 
and  performance  of  those  beneficent  duties  which  its  precepts  enjoin,  speaking 


EVOLUTION  IN  FREEMASONRY. 


753 


in  plain  words  the  language  of  truth,  so  different  from  its  interpolators  of  the 
present  day,  who  enlighten  only  to  bewilder,  and  allure  to  destroy. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Speculative  Freemasonry  is  not  more  studied  and 
its  teachings,  as  emblematized  by  its  symbols,  better  explained  and  more 
largely  ventilated  throughout  the  Fraternity.  If  its  tenets  and  principles  were 
more  fully  known,  a  better  spirit  of  brotherly  union  would  exist ;  but,  of  late 
years,  a  race  of  Masonic  writers  has  sprung  up,  of  the  "  sheep  walk  "  school, 
who  "follow  the  beaten  track  and  seldom  turn  aside  to  the  by-paths  "  ;  and,  m 
their  anxiety  to  prove  the  antiquity  of  Freemasonry,  they  have  indulged  m  a 
mere  repetition  of  unreliable  legends,  perpetuating  what  is  vague  and  childish, 
creating  scepticism,  casting  doubt  upon  the  source  of  all.  It  should  be  clearly 
understood  that  the  frequent  allusion  to  the  great  antiquity  of  Freemasonry  refers 
to  the  ancient  architects,  —  stone-builders,  —  not  to  the  Free  and  Accepted 
Masonry  of  modern  times,  which  is  an  entirely  new  departure.  This  will  be 
better  exempUfiied  by  an  account  of  the  different  epochs  in  the  modern  and 
new  system  of  the  "  revival "  to  the  present  time. 


CHAPTER   II. 


Evolution  in  the  Original  Plan  of  Speculative  Freemasonry  since 
THE  Revival,  a.d.  1717-23. 

Degrees  Unknown.  —  Historical  investigation  clearly  demonstrates  that 
in  1 71 7  the  present  system  of  degrees  was  entirely  unknown.  Originally 
there  was  but  one  degree  of  initiation,  containing  all  the  elements  of  the 
degrees  now  practised,  —  the  names  of  "  Entered  Apprentice,"  "  Fellow 
Craft,"  and  "  Master  Mason  "  being  merely  the  designation  of  the  classes  of 
workmen,  not  of  degrees  or  steps,  —  the  actual  Society  or  Fraternity  being 
composed  of  "  Fellows  "  ;  for  in  the  oldest  records,  constitutions,  and  charges 
there  is  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  these  separate  degrees,  nor  any  to  the 
legend  of  "Hiram  Abiff."  The  four  old  lodges  remaining  in  London  in  171 7 
were  composed  entirely  of  "  Fellows." 

The  First  Grand  Lodge  and  Grand  Master.  —  The  records  show  that 
at  the  "  revival,"  the  inauguration  of  the  first  Grand  Lodge  in  the  Craft  of 
•  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  of  the  world,  and  installation  of  a  Grand  Master, 
took  place  in  London  on  the  24th  June,  171 7,  without  reference  to  the  old 
Masonic  body  at  York,  thus  repealing  the  previous  custom^  of  the  Fraternity, 
to  meet  once  or  twice  a  year  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  matters  among 
themselves,  and  of  appointing  a  "  District  Master." 

1  Referred  to  at  length  in  the  Old  Charges  of  British  Freemasons.  Vide  "  Documentary 
History  "  in  this  work. 


754 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


In  1 72 1  Dr.  Anderson  and  his  colleagues  revised  the  entire  work,  by 
changing  its  Christian  character  to  that  of  Theism,  and  by  the  introduction 
of  the  "  Hiram  legend,"  into  what  they  called,  and  is  now  known,  as  the 
"Third  or  Master's  degree,"  which  came  into  use  a.d.  1723-25.  Up  to  that 
period  Freemasonry  was  purely  and  pointedly  CJwistian. 

The  next  epoch  occurred  in  1730,  when  Pritchard's  elaborate  work, 
printed  in  London,  called  "  Masonry  Dissected,"  made  its  appearance,  pur- 
porting to  be  a  revelation  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masonry.  The  result  was 
that  many  persons  who  had  not  been  regularly  received  into  Freemasonry 
passed  themselves  off  as  Masons,  and  a  number  of  spurious  "  book  "  lodges 
were  formed,  causing  much  disturbance  among  the  Fraternity.  This  deter- 
mined the  Grand  Lodge  to  alter  the  modes  of  private  recognition  by  revising 
the  existing  and  introducing  additional  pass  tokens.  These  trifling  alterations 
caused  many  dissatisfied  members  to  separate  themselves  from  the  regular 
lodges,  and  hold  meetings  by  themselves  in  different  places,  initiating  persons 
without  any  regular  authority ;  but  the  real  cause  of  the  dissatisfaction  arose 
from  the  additions  made  to  established  usages,  when  the  Grand  Lodge, 
improperly  interfering  with  the  authority  of  the  separate  and  distinct  Masonic 
body  of  the  Ancient  York  Masons,  granted  a  charter  to  some  seceders  from 
them,  the  York  Masons  in  1725  having  formed  a  new  Grand  Lodge  of  their 
own,  called  "  The  Grand  Lodge  of  all  England." 

The  Ancients.  —  In  1 75 1  the  irregularities  continued,  and  many  worthy 
members  withdrew  altogether  from  the  Society.  Complaints  became  more 
numerous,  and  votes  of  censure  from  Grand  Lodge  were  passed  on  the 
refractory,  causing  the  seceders  to  declare  themselves  an  independent  body, 
and,  without  any  authority,  they  assumed  the  term  of  "Ancient  York  Masons." 
The  latter  propagated  the  assertion  that  the  old  tenets  and  established  Land- 
marks were  alone  preserved  by  them,  and  that  the  regular  Grand  Lodge 
and  its  adherents  had  adopted  new  forms,  to  whom  they  gave  the  name 
of  "  Moderns."  They  instituted  among  themselves  another  Grand  Lodge, 
known  as  the  "Ancients,"  usually  called  the  "Athol  Grand  Lodge,"  from 
the  Third  Duke  of  Athol,  who  had  been  elected  Grand  Master.  They 
created  numerous  subordinate  lodges,  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  Scottish 
and  Irish  Masons,  who,  placing  implicit  reliance  on  the  representations  made 
to  them,  heartily  joined  in  condemning  the  regular  lodges  of  the  "Moderns" 
in  London,  as  tending  to  introduce  novelties  into  the  Craft,  and  in  their 
opinion  to  subvert  the  original  plan  of  the  revivalists. 

The  Advent  of  the  Royal  Arch. — The  next  change  appears  in  1752. 
Previous  to  this  there  were  but  three  degrees,  when,  about  1 740,  a  new  degree 
appeared,  known  as  the  "  Royal  Arch,"  generally  supposed  to  be  concocted 
from  \h&  first  part  of  the  second  section  of  the  "Third  or  Master's  degree." 
This  has  been  disputed,  and  it  has  been  asserted  that  the  Third  degree  was 
never  mutilated,  being  originally  brought  from  Palestine  by  the  Crusaders; 


EVOLUTION  IN  FREEMASONRY. 


755 


but,  for  the  most  part,  these  traditions  are  but  visionary  surmises  of  Masonic 
enthusiasts,  to  enhance  the  mystery  surrounding  Masonry  and  its  history. 
We  learn  that  a  word  was  introduced  into  it,  formerly  given  to  the  "  seekers  " 
in  the  Third  degree,  known  as  the  M.  M.  word.  By  whom  the  Royal  Arch  was 
fabricated  has  never  been  ascertained,  but  that  the  ceremony  was  worked  in 
a  systematic  manner  at  York,  London,  and  DubHn,  about  1740,  is  well 
authenticated.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  well-known  secretary  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  Ancients,  Laurence  Dermott,  invented  it,  to  mark  the 
difference  between  the  ceremonies  of  the  "  Ancients  "  and  "  Moderns,"  as  it 
was  known  six  years  before  his  existence  and  ten  before  his  Grand  Lodge 
was  instituted. 

It  is  clearly  of  English  origin,  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  other  foreign 
degrees  of  the  same  name,  although  the  "  ChevaUer  Ramsay,"  a  Scotchman 
residing  in  France,  the  accomplished  author  of  "  Cyrus,"  who  had  devoted 
much  of  his  time  to  Masonic  subjects,  has  been  credited  with  it,  of  which  there 
is  no  proof  whatever.  Ramsay  died  several  years  prior  to  the  formation  of 
the  Athol  Grand  Lodge,  and  his  famous  address  in  1740  gives  a  Knightly 
origin  to  Freemasonry,  discarding  the  Operative  descent. 

First  Working-  of  the  Royal  Arch  and  Templar  Degrees.  —  The  degree 
of  the  Royal  Arch  does  not  appear  upon  the  records  as  being  regularly  worked 
in  chapters  before  1762,  when  a  chapter,  or  Royal  Arch  lodge,  as  it  was 
then  called,  was  opened  in  York.  At  this  time  there  were  also  other  degrees 
incorporated  into  the  Masonic  system,  but  not  officially  acknowledged,  and 
the  Royal  Arch  was  known  in  the  "  Grand  Lodge  of  all  England  "  at  York,  as 
the  fourth  degree  in  Masonry. 

Up  to  this  epoch  there  were  no  intermediate  degrees.  The  degree  of 
'Virtual  Past  Master,  or  passing  the  chair  of  a  lodge,  as  a  qualification  for  the 
Royal  Arch,  without  having  been  the  Actual  Master  of  a  Craft  lodge,  was  not 
introduced  until  1769,  at  which  time  we  first  hear  of  the  old  chivalric  Order 
of  Knights  Templars  being  associated  with  Masonry  :  this  was  communicated 
as  an  honorary  degree,  and  recognized  by  this  Grand  Lodge  as  the  fifth 
degree  in  Masonry,  —  recorded  as  such  in  1780,  —  being  the  only  Grand 
Lodge  that  ever  recognized  Templary  as  Masonic.  All  these  degrees  were 
conferred  under  Craft  charters,  the  Masonic  lodge  being  then  considered 
the  onlv  source  of  genuine  Freemasonry. 

The  American  Rite. — The  "Grand  Lodge  of  all  England"  died  out 
about  1790,  leaving  no  representatives,  and  it  never  chartered  lodges  out  of 
England.  It  is,  therefore,  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  the  "York  Rite  "  of 
the  United  States  of  America  emanated  from  it.  This  Rite  was  the  fabrication 
of  a  prominent  American  Freemason,  Thomas  Smith  Webb,  who,  at  the  termi- 
nation of  the  last  century,  added  degrees  and  other  strange  peculiarities  to  the 
American  Masonic  system,  —  revolutionizing  not  only  the  first  three  degrees, 
but  the  Royal  Arch   and    Knight  Templar,  and  endeavored  to  show  that  he 


756 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


had  adopted  the  true  work  of  the  "Ancient  York  Masons";  but,  it  is  well 
ascertained,  no  such  working  was  known  among  them,  as  they  were  absorbed 
in  the  speculative  teaching  and  exclusive  system  of  the  existing  lodges  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

Union  of  the  English  Grand  Lodges.  — The  next  great  change  was  made 
in  1812-13.  Up  to  that  time,  from  1751, —  the  period  of  the  establishment  of 
the  "Ancients,"  —  bitter  recriminations  and  contentions  prevailed  between  the 
Grand  bodies.  Both  Grand  Lodges  had  been  successful,  and  their  subordi- 
nate lodges  flourished  side  by  side  all  over  the  world. 

On  the  27th  December,  18 13,  the  union  of  the  Grand  Lodges  of  England, 

—  the  "Ancients"  and  "Moderns,"  —  was  concluded.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  disputes  and  separation  existed  over  a  half-century,  during 
which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Ancients  (Athol)  and  the  regular  Grand  Lodge 
of  England  worked  altogether  a  different  ritual,  and  did  not  recognize  each 
other  as  Masons,  during  the  whole  period.  To  reconcile  the  members  and 
institute  a  regular  mode  of  work,  the  United  Grand  Lodge  introduced  a  new 
degree,  called  the  "Union  Degree,"  to  be  used  in  subordinate  lodges,  by 
which  all  members  became  acquainted  with  both  modes  of  work,  and  this 
new  work  of  the  "  Moderns,"  adopted  by  the  United  Grand  Lodge,  became 
the  standard  of  English  Freemasonry. 

The  Royal  Arch  was  authorized,  not  as  a  separate  degree,  but  as  the  "  com- 
plevie7it  to  that  of  the  Third  or  the  Master  Mason,"  including  the  ceremony  of 
installing  into  the  chair  Masters  of  lodges  and  Principles  of  chapters.  All 
additional  degrees,  which  had  heretofore  been  practised  with  "  Modern  " 
rituals  since  the  revival,  were  omitted  at  the  Union  as  forming  no  part  of 
the  system  of  Freemasonry,  but  were  tolerated  as  separate  Societies,  allied 
to  the  three  Craft  degrees,  —  although  not  under  control  of,  or  acknowledged 
by,  the  United  Grand  Lodge.  These  included  the  Chivalric  degrees  of  the 
Temple  and  Malta,  with  that  of  the  "  Red  Cross  of  Palestine  "  (afterward 
revised  as  "  Rome  and  Constantine  ") ,  provision  for  them  being  made  in  the 
last  section  of  the  Second  Article  of  Union,  which  states  :  "  That  it  is  not 
intended  to  prevent  any  lodge  or  chapter  from  holding  meetings  in  any  of 
the  degrees  of  Chivalry,  according  to  the  Constitutions  of  the  said  Orders," 

—  implying  that  they  were  only  considered  as  allied  degrees,  representing  the 
old  obsolete  Orders  of  Mediaeval  knighthood,  but  in  no  sense  Masonic. 

The  Mark  Degree.  —  The  Mark  Degree  was  so  called  from  an  ancient  cus- 
tom of  Operative  Stone-masons  marking  the  stones  cut  and  prepared  by  them 
for  important  buildings,  to  assist  in  adjusting  the  stones  in  their  places  and 
to  distinguish  the  class  of  workmen  employed.  These  marks  were  recorded 
by  the  Master  builders  to  determine  the  wages  each  workman  was  entitled  to 
receive  for  his  particular  work. 

In  Symbolic  Masonry,  this  degree  is  of  modern  history  and  legend,  one  of 
the  additional  degrees  formerly  conferred  in  England  under  Royal  Arch  war- 


MASONIC  HIGH  DEGREES.  ycy 

rants;  but,  of  late  years,  governed  by  an  independent  Grand  Lodge  of  its 
own.     Ireland  and  Scotland  give  it  before  the  Royal  Arch. 

Tlie  Irish  Royal  Arch.  — The  system  of  the  Irish  Royal  Arch  is  quite  dif- 
ferent from  all  others,  the  legend  referring  to  the  discovery  of  the  Book  of  the 
Law  by  Hezekiah,  b.c.  624.  That  of  Scotland  is  a  separate  degree,  practising 
the  work  of  the  Athol  Masons,  but  was  revised  early  in  the  present  century, 
and  is  now  7nore  in  accordance  with  the  English  ceremony ;  but  all  these  sys- 
tems have  been  considerably  changed  in  ceremonial,  with  many  imposing 
additions,  referring  to  incidents  in  Jewish  history  and  the  Temple  of  Solo- 
mon. Both  Scotland  and  Ireland  adopt  and  confer  the  preliminary  degrees  of 
the  Excellent  and  Super-Excellent  Master;  at  least  they  used  to  do  so. 

The  English  and  American  Systems.  — The  system  of  the  United  Grand 
Lodge  of  England  is  altogether  unknown  in  France  and  Germany.  All  the 
lodges  there  retain  the  Craft  system  of  the  "  Ancients,"  and  do  not  confer 
the  Royal  Arch,  as,  after  the  Third  or  Master  Mason's  degree,  they  enter  into 
what  is  called  the  "  High  Grades  of  the  Templar  Order." 

It  is  only  in  the  United  States  of  America  system  that  the  Craft  or  Blue 
degrees  (this  latter  name  being  peculiar  to  them  from  the  color  of  the  rib- 
bon), the  Royal  Arch  Chapters  and  Mark  Lodges,  the  Councils  of  Royal  and 
Select  Masters,  and  Encampments  of  Knights  Templar,  are  called  the  "  York 
Rite,"  and  constitute  the  "  standard  Masonic  work." 

The  name  Blue  lodges  is  not  known  in  Scotland ;  there  every  lodge  has  a 
color  of  its  own  adoption.  My  mother  lodge  of  Glenkindie  in  Aberdeenshire, 
formerly  No.  333,  was  bright  yellow,  but  afterward  changed  to  the  "  Leith  " 
tartan  in  comphment  to  the  W.-.  Master  and  founder  of  the  lodge,  Major- 
General  Sir  Alex.  Leith,  K.C.B. 

The  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  of  2)2>  degrees,  with  other  denomi- 
nations of  Rites,  known  as  Masonic,  are  in  a  separate  system  altogether  from 
the  Craft. 

A  short  account  of  the  High  Grades  will  help  to  explain  how  the  Templar 
degrees,  derived  from  the  ancient  chivalric  Order  of  the  Crusades,  became 
mixed  up  with  and  added  to  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masonry  of  modern  times. 


CHAPTER   III. 

The  Masonic  High  Degrees. 

High  Degrees  and  their  Bases. — The  so-called  high  degrees  mean  a 
variety  of  degrees  conferred  in  different  rites  professing  to  be  Masonic,  but 
which  cannot  in  strictness  be  considered  as  properly  so,  they  being  only  quasi- 
Masonic  additions  made  to  the  original  Craft  degrees  of  Speculative  Free- 


758  BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 

masonry,  to  all  above  that  of  Master  Mason.  Many  of  these  high  degrees, 
being  founded  upon  false  premises,  were  opposed  by  the  English  Craft  lodges 
as  glaring  innovations  on  the  true  object  and  meaning  of  Speculative  Free- 
masonry. The  Craft  Grand  Lodge,  the  ruling  power  of  purely  Speculative 
Masonry,  entirely  ignores  them;  it  simply  professes  to  know  them  not! 
The  numerous  degrees  and  rites  outside  the  legitimate  and  Cosmopolitan 
three  Craft  degrees  and  their  completion  in  the  Royal  Arch,  as  practised 
in  England,  having  been  added  since  the  "  revival,"  can  only  be  considered 
as  extraneous  matter,  unconnected  with  the  original  plan.  ]\Iany  of  them 
bear  evidence  of  being  "  picked  up  "  here  and  there  from  vestiges  of  a 
former  long-forgotten  system  and  purer  faith.  The  entire  Bible  teems 
with  evidence  to  the  initiated  reader  of  the  existence  of  esoteric  schools 
of  knowledge,  and  the  very  prophecies  themselves,  in  very  many  cases, 
read  like  the  teachings  of  a  secret  religious  guild,  where  knowledge  was 
preserved  that  was  hidden  from  the  general  populace,  but  which  oozed  out 
in  mystic  language  and  allegory,  when  the  fervor  of  enthusiasm  loosed  the 
tongues  of  those  gigantic  poets  of  the  olden  time.  All  the  ancient  Jewish 
traditions  point  to  this,  from  the  days  of  Enoch  downwards ;  but  the  greater 
number  of  these  modern  rites  and  degrees  have  been  arranged  to  suit  the 
views  and  preconceived  ideas  of  clever,  visionary  ritualists,  and  are  but  the 
mere  conceit  of  their  concocters,  nearly  equally  meaningless  and  historically 
untrue.  In  this  age  of  Christian  enlightenment,  what  have  we  to  do  with 
the  dogmas  of  the  Platonic  school,  or  with  any  vain  endeavor  to  reconcile 
revealed  truths  of  Scripture,  and  to  offer  vague  and  unsatisfactory  statements  ? 
What  is  the  object  of  bringing  forward  the  philosophy  of  the  Pagan  sages, 
long  since  expelled  by  the  light  of  revelation,  as  an  example  for  us  to  follow? 

First  Introduction  of  High  Degrees.  —  The  desire  for  a  return  to  the 
exclusive  basis  of  ancient  Christian  Freemasonry,  no  doubt,  in  the  first 
instance,  was  the  chief  cause  which  led  to  the  fabrication  of  additional 
degrees,  the  highest  of  them  being  sectarian.  They  were  first  introduced 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe  early  in  the  last  century,  after  the  system  of 
"  Free  and  Accepted  Masonry "  had  been  promulgated  there,  where  it  was 
2ii  first  almost  exclusively  confined  to  men  of  letters  and  leisure,  who  had 
eagerly  adopted  it;  but,  not  content  with  its  Operative  origin,  they  were 
ambitious  that  it  should  be  considered  as  derived  from  the  famous  religious 
and  military  fraternities  of  the  Crusades,  and  endeavored  to  prove  a  parentage 
more  in  accordance  with  their  own  class  ideas,  based  upon  the  supposed 
connection  that  had  traditionally  existed  between  the  society  of  Christian 
builders  —  architects  in  the  cloister  —  and  the  military  Templars  of  old. 

Finding  the  Book  of  the  Law.  —  The  principal  idea  originated  from  the 
improbable  legend  of  the  discovery  by  Scottish  Crusaders  of  a  vault  in  Pales- 
tine, in  which  was  found  the  lost  Book  of  the  Law,  with  the  Ineffable  Name ; 
also  that,  in  the  search,  they  had  to  work  with  the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the 


MASONIC  HIGH  DEGREES.  >jc^ 

trowel  in  the  other.  But  this  is  only  another  version  of  the  history  of  the  Jews 
in  Nehemiah's  time,  when  repairing  the  wall  of  Jerusalem,  recorded  in  the 
lourth  chapter,  sixteenth  verse,  of  that  Prophet.  These  legends  enabled  the 
fertile  imagination  of  visionary  ritual  compilers  to  invent  new  degrees,  not 
always  having  the  merit  of  historical  truth,  as  an  amplification  and  develop- 
ment of  the  history  of  Speculative  Masonry.  Some  of  these  rites  would 
appear  to  be  derived  from  the  Hermetic  philosophy  of  the  German  school, 
of  which  no  proof  exists ;  but  when  Philosophers,  with  others,  joined  the  Craft 
lodges  in  the  seventeenth  century,  they  may  have  introduced  some  of  their 
Hermetic  Rosicrucian  symbols  into  Masonry. 

The  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite.  — In  the  British  Empire  and  the 
.United  States  of  America,  the  term  high  degrees  is  now  generally  applied  to  the 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  2,'^.  The  Egyptian  Rite  of  Mizraim  and 
Memphis,  etc.,  exist,  all  of  which  have  their  own  admirers  and  followers ;  but 
the  Supreme  Councils  of  the  Scottish  Rite  appear  to  be  the  only  universally 
acknowledged  and  legally  constituted  systems  in  their  several  jurisdictions. 
In  a  sketch  like  this,  it  is  impossible  to  enter  fully  into  the  history  of  the 
x'ites ;  let  it  suffice  to  say,  that  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  or 
Scottish  Masonry,  is  derived  from  a  body  formerly  known  in  France,  called 
"The  Emperors  of  the  East  and  West,"  who  had  organized  a  rite  known  as 
that  of  "  Perfection,"  —  established  in  Paris,  1758,  —  consisting  of  twenty- 
five  degrees,  to  which  eight  final  ones  were  added  gradually,  from  time  to 
time,  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century,  although  conflicting  statements 
have  been  made  as  to  their  French  parentage. 

The  Thirty-Third  Degree.  —  The  Rite  has  been  called  by  its  present 
name  since  1 801-2.  It  is  divided  into  seven  distinct  sections,  each  section 
being  under  a  separate  and  special  authority.  On  being  brought  to  Amer- 
ica, it  appeared  first  as  the  Rite  of  Perfection,  a  Hebrew  Mason,  Stephen 
Morin,  having  received,  in  1761,  from  the  Councils  of  the  Emperors  of  the 
East  and  West,  a  patent  to  confer  the  degrees  of  the  Rite.  A  Grand  Lodge 
was  formed  at  Charleston,  1783,  and  a  Supreme  Council  33°  opened  there 
in  1801. 

It  was  introduced  into  England  from  the  United  States  of  America  in 
1845,  but  only  the  iSth  and  30th  degrees  were  conferred,  all  the  inter- 
mediate degrees  between  the  Master  Mason  and  30th  being  communicated 
by  name  only.  These  two  degrees,  the  i8th  and  30th,  had  been  known  and 
practised  in  the  English  Templar  system,  as  the  ''Rose  Croix  and  Kadosh," 
for  many  years  before  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  was  instituted. 
By  the  surrender  of  these  two  degrees,  the  Rite  was  intended  to  supersede 
the  Masonic  Templar  system  in  England ;  for,  in  the  first  statutes  of  the  Rite 
there,  it  will  be  seen  that  so  averse  was  the  Supreme  Council  to  the  Masonic 
Templar  system  that  candidates  for  the  Rite,  at  the  time  of  being  admitted, 
were  allowed  to  wear  the  jewels  of  any  other  Masonic  rank  they  had  obtained 


76o 


BRITISH  TEMPLAR  Y. 


excepting  that  of  the  Masonic  Templars,  the  idea  being  to  absorb  Templarj, 
as  then  practised  in  England,  into  the  Rite. 

The  Thirty-Third  Degree  in  Canada. — The  Supreme  Council  of  Canada 
branched  off  from  England  in  1874,  and  confers  many  of  the  intermediate 
degrees  not  practised  by  the  Mother  Council.  It  was  duly  constituted  by 
Illustrious  Brother  Albert  Pike,  Grand  Commander  of  the  Southern  Jurisdic- 
tion, United  States  of  America,  who  visited  the  city  of  Ottawa  for  that 
purpose,  as  well  as  to  install  the  first  Grand  Commander,  the  late  Brother 
T.  D.  Harington,  in  whose  favor  I  had  resigned,  having  originally  brought 
the  Rite  into  Canada  from  the  United  States  of  America  in  1863,  where  I 
had  received  all  the  degrees  in  New  York,  with  authority  to  confer  them ;  but, 
having  subsequently  affiliated  with  the  Supreme  Council  of  England,  all  action 
looking  to  the  establishment  of  a  Supreme  Council  was  delayed  until  authority 
was  received  from  England. 

Objectionable  Titles.  —  I  cannot  help  commenting  upon  the  very  objec- 
tionable titles  of  the  degrees  in  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite. 
What  can  be  more  absurd  than  the  terms  used  in  the  "  Rose  Croix  "  for  the 
Master,  who  is  named  "The  Most  Wise  and  Perfect  Master"?  A  Consistory 
is  called  that  of  "  Sublime  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret,"  presided  over  by  a 
"  Puissant  Sovereign  Grand  Commander,  Sovereign  of  Sovereigns."  The 
Lodges  of  Perfection  are  governed  by  a  "  Thrice  Potent  Grand  Commander," 
and  a  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem  by  a  "  Most  Equitable  Sovereign  Prince 
Grand  Master,"  with  "  Most  Enlightened "  Grand  Wardens  and  various 
"  Valorous  "  Grand  Officers.  The  abolition  of  these  ridiculous  and  empty 
titles,  a  caricature  and  burlesque,  would  not  take  away  from  the  beauty  and 
teaching  of  the  degrees,  and  is  loudly  called  for. 

The  Scottish  Rite  Name. — The  name  Scottish  Rite  has  nothing  to  do 
with  Scottish  Masonry  proper.  It  is  supposed  to  have  got  the  name 
"  Ecossai "  from  the  number  of  Scotch  Masons  who  were  in  France  at  the 
time,  and  bent  on  giving  Freemasonry  a  more  distinguished  history  and 
denominational  character.  The  legends  in  some  of  the  degrees  of  the  Rite 
appear  to  be  an  adaptation  to  the  dynasty  of  the  unfortunate  Royal  Scottish 
House  of  Stuart,  whose  adherents  were  devoted  to  its  interests. 

Side  Degrees.  —  The  greater  number  of  side  degrees  now  practised,  with 
those  that  come  under  the  category  of  the  high  grade  system,  are  superflu- 
ous, and  should  be  struck  out  altogether  from  pure  Masonry;  only  such 
degrees  being  retained  as  are  considered  advisable  to  exemplify  the  legitimate 
system  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite. 

The  principal  objection  to  the  number  of  useless  additional  or  side  degrees 
lies  in  the  stringent  and  unnecessary  O.  B.'s  of  secrecy  to  perpetuate  them, 
when  in  fact  no  secrecy  is  required  ;  as,  for  the  most  part,  they  are  ic^/e 
fictions  of  no  utility,  and  but  parasites  upon  legitimate  Craft  degrees,  only 
to  be  preserved  as  curious  examples  of  the  credulity  of  our  Masonic  brethren 


MASONIC  HIGH  DEGREES. 


761 


in  the  last  century.  They  should  be  abolished  altogether  in  connection  with 
pure  Symbolic  Masonry.  These  rites  are  for  the  most  part  simply  separate 
societies,  all  of  whose  members  are  Freemasons.  This  is  more  distinctly  seen 
in  the  imitation  military  Masonic  degrees,  an  attempt  to  revive  the  old  obso- 
lete Orders  of  Knighthood,  by  tacking  them  upon  the  Speculative  system. 

High  Degree  Rituals  and  Schisms. —The  rituals  in  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite  under  different  jurisdictions  are  the  same  in  all, 
"  Ringing  the  changes  one  upon  the  other." 

Unfortunately  a  schism  has  been  engendered  among  members  of  the  Rite 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  by  the  rivalry  of  contending  bodies  asserting 
a  claim  to  greater  antiquity  and  authenticity;  notably  that  of  the  Cerneau 
Supreme  Council  for  the  whole  of  America,  opposed  to  the  claims  of  the 
established  Supreme  Councils  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  Jurisdictions. 
This  rivalry  has  given  rise  to  much  controversy,  eradicating  the  feelings  of 
brotherly  consideration.  The  Supreme  Councils  of  the  Empire  have  avoided 
interference  in  the  unhappy  dispute,  and  continue  in  amicable  correspondence 
with  the  two  Supreme  Councils. 

General  Albert  Pike  and  the  Thirty-Third  Degree. — We  are  principally 
indebted  for  the  history  and  symbolism  of  this  Rite  to  the  deep  research  of 
the  learned  and  scholarly  Sovereign  Grand  Commander  of  the  Southern  Juris- 
diction of  the  United  States  of  America,  111.-.  Bro .-.  General  Albert  Pike,  whose 
exposition  and  interpretation  of  Masonic  symbolism  has  clearly  shown  that 
the  universality  and  universal  language  of  Freemasonry  exist  in  the  A.-.  &  A.-. 
Scottish  Rite.  Ancient  symbolism  in  Craft  Masonry  has  been  nearly  for- 
gotten ;  for  it  has  been  satisfactorily  proved  that  many  of  the  present  symbols 
and  ceremonies  were  introduced  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  There 
appears  to  have  been  little  ceremonial  practised  at  Masonic  meetings,  prior  to 
1 71 7.  In  fact  it  then  consisted  of  little  more  than  the  O.  B.,  the  communi- 
cation of  the  modes  of  recognition,  and  reading  the  Ancient  Charges. 

To  the  indefatigable  literary  labors  of  our  111 .-.  Brother  are  due  the  remod- 
elling and  placing  the  Rite  above  all  other  high  degrees.  To  the  same  111.-. 
Bro .-.  we  also  owe  the  new  and  beautiful  rituals  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Scotland, 
of  late  years  introduced  into  the  United  States  of  America  and  Canada,  another 
of  the  additional  degrees  peculiar  to  Scotland,  of  an  exceptionally  quaint  and 
interesting  character,  first  heard  of  about  1 740. 

Interference  of  Craft  Grand  Lodges  with  Other  Masonic  Bodies. — The 
Craft  Grand  Lodges  of  the  Empire  have  no  power,  nor  have  they  ever  asserted 
any  desire,  to  interfere  with  the  constitutions  of  any  other  rite  considered 
Masonic.  This  has  also  been  the  case  until  late  years  in  the  United  States 
of  America,  where  a  desire  has  arisen  to  extend  jurisdiction  over  all  other 
degrees,  distinct  from  the  Craft.  This  is  clearly  in  opposition  to  the  principles 
adopted  when  the  Revolutionary  War  of  1776  terminated,  which  denounced 
all  foreign  interference,  repudiating,  rejecting,  and  abrogating  the  doctrine  of 


762 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


supremacy,  or  one-man  power  and  succession.  The  interference  thus  of  a  Craft 
Grand  Lodge  with  other  independent  bodies  is  assumed  and  self-constituted, 
and  cannot  be  justified  by  any  Masonic  law.  Neither  can  they  dictate  to  their 
own  members  as  to  what  degrees  they  may  or  may  not  belong.  All  acknowl- 
edged Masonic  degrees  outside  the  system  of  Craft  Masonry  are  equally  legal 
or  equally  spurious,  as  far  as  the  original  degrees  are  concerned.  The  system 
of  denouncing  all  who  do  not  join  in  the  opinions  of  the  ruling  powers  that 
be,  has  in  it  more  the  appearance  of  the  "  Inquisition  "  than  of  the  charitable 
doctrines  of  Cosmopolitan  Freemasonry.  It  is  very  evident  that  the  preten- 
tious attempt  at  exclusive  jurisdiction  has  been  the  main  cause  of  so  many 
new  degrees  and  rites  being  formed,  the  close  borough  system  being  generally 
repugnant  to  the  feelings  of  the  Masonic  brotherhood,  who  would  wish  to 
see  it  open  to  every  good  brother  desirous  of  obtaining  the  degrees.  Every 
Master  Mason  has  a  perfect  right  to  judge  for  himself  as  to  what  degrees  or 
rites  he  may  choose  to  join  or  reject,  and  an  equal  right  to  sever  all  connec- 
tion with  them.  The  "  Mali  Origo  "  lies  in  the  fancied  superiority,  interference, 
and  infringement  with  established  Masonic  privileges,  —  a  false  and  narrow 
policy,  the  more  absurd  when  we  consider  that,  as  a  rule  in  secular  life,  little 
or  no  honor  is  accorded  to  Masonic  dignities,  and  the  less  conspicuous  they  are 
made  the  more  will  they  be  appreciated,  no  rank  whatever  being  attached  to 
them  outside  the  Masonic  world. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


An  Account  of  the  Religious  and  Military  Order  of  the  Knights 
Templars  of  the  Crusades,  and  that  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  and 
Knights  of  Malta. 

Foundation  of  the  Templar  Order. — The  origin  and  object  of  the  old 
religious  and  military  Orders  of  the  Crusaders  being  a  matter  of  history, 
it  is  almost  unnecessary  to  refer  to  them  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  further  than 
to  show  how  the  modern  or  Masonic  Templar  system,  when  properly  rep- 
resented, is  a  continuation  of  the  principles  and  usages  of  the  ancient  Order. 

The  Order  of  the  Temple  was  founded  in  the  twelfth  century,  a.d. 
1 1 18-19,  the  object  being  the  defence  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem, 
and  the  protection  of  the  Christian  pilgrims  from  Europe  visiting  the  Holy 
City  to  worship  at  the  sacred  shrine,  where  the  divine  mysteries  were  fulfilled, 
which  had  been  profaned  and  derided  by  the  Saracens  and  Turks. 

The  opinion  then  prevailed  in  Europe  that  the  one  thousand  }ears  of  the 
Apocalypse,  mentioned  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Revelation,  were  about 
to  be  fulfilled,  when  Christ  should  make  his  second  appearance  in  Palestine, 


RELIGIOUS  MILITARY  ORDERS.  y^T^ 

to  judge  the  world.  This  increased  the  pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  City,  which 
were  considered  in  the  highest  degree  meritorious  and  even  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  man's  salvation. 

The  foundation  of  the  Order  grew  out  of  these  circumstances,  beginning 
in  the  first  instance  with  a  small  number  of  Benedictine  monks  who  resided 
in  monasteries  which  had  been  established  at  Jerusalem,  and  were  principally 
employed  as  nurses  in  the  hospitals,  attached  to  the  religious  houses,  for  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  worn-out  pilgrims  visiting  the  Holy  Land. 

These  Friars  partook  largely  of  the  military  spirit  of  the  age,  and  became 
"  monk "  soldiers,  receiving  from  time  to  time  money  and  great  accessions 
to  their  ranks  from  the  religious  fraternities  in  Europe,  who  forsook  their 
monasteries  to  join  their  brethren  in  Palestine,  and,  with  the  numerous  hordes 
of  pilgrims,  were  organized  by  skilful  military  leaders. 

Why  called  "Soldiers  of  the  Temple." — The  Order  was  first  composed 
of  a  few  French  Knights  of  noble  lineage,  afterward  largely  increased  as  they 
became  known  and  grew  in  usefulness  and  military  renown.  Their  following 
was  swelled  by  all  ranks  and  classes  of  society,  who  flocked  to  the  famous 
standard  of  the  "Beauseant,"  and  were  called  '^  The  poor  fellow-soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ"  —  "Poor  soldiers  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon,"  subsequently 
abbreviated  into  "  Knights  Templars";  the  latter  appellation  from  the  fact  that 
their  house  was  built  near  the  Temple  church,  close  to  the  foundation  of  the 
ancient  Temple  of  Solomon. 

Throughout  their  course,  the  military  Templars  were  strictly  a  religious  body, 
founded  from  the  monastic  Order  of  the  Benedictine  monks,  who  professed 
the  doctrines  of  a  living  Christ. 

At  this  period  it  is  proper  to  remember  that  there  were  two  distinct  bodies 
of  the  Benedictines,  who  left  their  cloisters  on  being  relieved  from  the  mis- 
taken apprehension  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  at  hand,  —  the  one,  the 
lay  brothers,  —  architects, —  referred  to  in  the  Origin  of  Speculative  Masonry ; 
the  other,  those  who  assisted  at  the  formation  of  the  miUtary  Order  in 
Palestine ;  both  leaving  the  cloisters  in  Europe  at  the  same  time,  carrying 
with  them  the  knowledge  of  the  sacred  mysteries,  and  moved  by  the  same 
motives  gloriously  to  accomplish  the  object  desired,  of  recovering  the  Holy 
Land  from  the  Infidels. 

History  tells  us  that  the  Benedictines  were  admitted  to  be  the  first  in 
order  of  time,  as  well  as  of  importance,  of  all  the  monastic  fraternities  of  the 
West. 

St.  John,  the  Almoner. — The  first  cloister  built  to  shelter  the  pilgrims 
journeying  to  Jerusalem  was  near  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  filled  by  Bene- 
dictine monks,  to  which  were  added  two  hospitals,  —  one  for  men,  dedicated 
to  St.  John,  the  Almoner,  —  a  Greek  who  had  been  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem 
in  the  seventh  century  and  who  had  succored  Christians  of  the  Holy  City, 
when  they  became  the  victims  of  the  Saracens ;  the  other,  for  women,  —  to 


764 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


Mary  Magdalene,  —  who  fed,  clothed,  and  nursed  the  sick,  worn-out  devotees, 
money  being  collected  and  sent  to  them  from  England. 

Templar  Regulations,  Classes,  and  Ritual.  —  The  ancient  regulations  of 
the  Templar  Order  show  that,  whether  within  the  walls  of  their  preceptory 
houses,  or  on  their  journeys,  or  when  engaged  in  war,  the  rules  for  their  gov- 
ernment were  excellent.  They  were  enjoined  to  be  examples  of  wisdom,  alike 
faithful  in  every  good  work  and  word,  with  honest.  Godly  fear,  charity,  and 
morality.  These  were  the  guiding  principles  enacted  by  the  originators  for 
the  lives  and  actions  of  the  members. 

The  Order  being  spiritual,  the  candidates  for  admission  were  subsequently, 
when  the  Order  was  fully  established,  required  to  have  been  already  knighted 
by  a  secular  Knight,  when  they  were  received  into  the  Order  in  a  chapter 
assembled  in  the  chapel  of  their  preceptories ;  for  as  members  they  could  not 
deign  to  accept  honor  from  a  layman  :  the  only  exception  was  in  the  case  of 
an  Ecclesiastic,  —  a  Bishop,  —  who  was  permitted  to  join  the  Order  without 
beiiag  a  secular  Knight. 

But  there  were  no  Bishops,  that  is  Prelates,  of  the  Order,  which  consisted 
of  three  distinct  classes,  not  degrees,  viz. :  "  Knights,"  "  Chaplains,"  and 
"Serving  Brothers";  this  included  the  "men  at  arms,"  besides  the  numer- 
ous retinue  attached.  The  number  of  chaplains  was  small,  and  they  were 
not  admitted  at  first  as  a  part  of  the  body,  until  the  Order  had  arrived  at 
maturity. 

They  had  no  secret  ritual  except  that  which  they  brought  with  them  from 
the  cloisters,  and  which  pertained  to  the  divine  doctrines  taught  therein ;  but 
they  undoubtedly  adopted  a  peculiar  ceremony  of  reception  as  regards  the 
military  novitiate,  applicable  to  the  rules  of  chivalry,  which  was  nothing  more 
than  one  of  ordinary  discipline  suited  to  the  age,  —  connected  with  vows,  pro- 
bations and  precepts  as  far  as  concerned  the  object  of  the  organization. 
The  ritual  was  the  basis  of  the  ceremony  and  that  adopted  as  a  military  body 
consequent  thereon.  The  doctrinal  portions  were  confined  to  a  select  few 
who  were  full  believers  of  Revelation,  and  were  communicated  in  their  secret 
conclaves  where  they  were  preserved  as  the  foundation  of  their  principles 
and  system,  corresponding  with  the  Word  of  God,  which  bore  them  up  and 
animated  them  throughout  all  their  trials  and  conflicts. 

Spread  of  the  Order,  and  Relation  of  the  Templars  to  Europe.  —  In  the 
course  of  time's  changes,  the  Order  had  spread  throughout  Britain,  France, 
Germany,  and  other  countries  of  Europe,  to  which  they  were  invited  by  the 
liberality  of  the  Christians ;  and,  in  every  land,  they  had  preceptories  and 
priories  exclusively  appropriated  to  themselves,  —  the  names  and  ruins  of  many 
of  them  still  existing  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

When  the  Crusades  terminated,  and  the  Holy  Land  was  lost,  after  the 
capture  of  Acre,  a.d.  i  291,  the  Templars  retired  to  their  numerous  preceptories 
in  Europe,  and  seemed  to  have  given  up  all  further  thought  of  fighting  for  the 


RELIGIOUS  MILITARY  ORDERS. 


765 


Holy  Sepulchre  and  recovering  the  Holy  Land.  The  Order  was  no  longer  of 
use  as  a  military  power,  and  it  was  felt  that  their  day  of  usefulness  was  passed. 
Between  them  and  Philip  IV.,  King  of  France,  surnamed  Le  Bel,  a  bitter  and 
undying  hatred  had  been  engendered  by  many  acts  of  arrogance  and  insub- 
ordination against  his  authority.  Their  enormous  wealth  and  great  military 
power  inflamed  his  avarice  and  raised  his  jealousy,  as  leading  them  to  aspire  to 
a  foundation  of  authority  independent  of  kings  and  other  potentates  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  their  Rulers  arrogated  to  themselves  a  higher  degree  of  knowledge 
in  all  things,  and  taught  in  their  secret  conclaves,  where  none  but  the  most 
trusted  members  were  admitted,  that  the  Papal  power  was  a  false  and  danger- 
ous assumption  of  authority  over  the  minds  and  consciences  of  men,  and  that 
very  many  of  the  dogmas  of  Rome  were  gross  and  childish  superstitions. 
They  also  cultivated  and  asserted  more  liberal  views  of  faith  and  religion  than 
were  current  at  the  time,  being  well  versed  in  the  mysteries,  legends,  learning, 
and  traditions  of  the  peoples  they  had  come  in  contact  with  in  the  East. 

Their  exclusive  privileges,  from  those  enjoyed  by  other  institutions,  inten- 
sified the  feelings  of  jealousy  and  aversion  towards  the  Order,  which  led  to 
their  final  annihilation  by  the  King,  and  Pope  Clement  V.,  who  had  enticed 
the  Grand  Master,  Jacques  de  Molai,  and  his  principal  officers  to  Paris, 
actuated  by  the  base  motives  of  possessing  themselves  of  the  treasures  of  the 
Templars,  and  who  had  entered  into  an  unholy  league  to  destroy  the  Illustrious 
Order. 

Destruction  of  the  Templars.  —  On  the  night  of  the  loth  of  October,  1307, 
when  the  Grand  Master  and  his  principal  officers  were  reposing  in  confidence 
in  the  Christian  Capital  of  France,  they  were  surprised  and  seized  in  the 
House  of  the  Temple  in  Paris  at  break  of  day,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  a 
preconcerted  plan,  all  of  the  Knights  in  France  were  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison.  Many  were  put  to  the  torture  to  force  them  to  confess  crimes  of 
which  they  were  ignorant,  and  those  who  survived  the  rack  were  condemned 
to  pine  in  prison  without  aid  in  their  cause,  and  with  scarcely  sustenance 
enough  to  support  existence.  At  length  they  were  led  out  in  bands,  at  one 
time  some  fifty  together,  and  burned  to  death  upon  fagots. 

Martyrdom  of  De  Molai,  and  Dissolution  of  the  Order.  —  The  Grand 
Master,  Jacques  de  Molai,  renowned  in  many  a  hard-fought  field  of  Palestine, 
in  defence  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  four  of  his  priors,  were  the  last  victims 
of  this  relentless  persecution.  After  remaining  nearly  seven  years  in  cap- 
tivity, they  were,  on  the  nth  March,  13 14,  led  out  for  execution  and  burnt 
before  the  cathedral  of  Paris  in  presence  of  the  assembled  citizens,  —  the 
glorious  martyrs  of  a  glorious  Order.  Thus  perished,  after  an  existence  of 
nearly  two  hundred  years,  the  "  Order  of  the  Temple,"  which  was  dissolved 
and  stripped  of  its  possessions  and  privileges ;  but  its  final  overthrow  by  the 
Pope  and  King,  with  confiscation  of  its  preceptories,  could  not  and  did  not 
destroy  all  the  true  and  noble  spirits  that  remained,  said  to  have  numbered, 


'j^Q  BRITISH   TEMPIARY. 

at  the  period  of  the  dissokition,  about  eight  thousand,  dispersed  in  their 
different  preceptories  throughout  Europe. 

The  Order  of  Christ.  —  Some  fled  into  Spain  and  Portugal  and  united 
with  a  new  Order  they  assisted  to  create,  on  the  same  principles  as  their  old 
one,  and  which  Pope  John  XXII.,  in  a.d.  1319,  gave  permission  to  be  estabhshed 
in  Portugal,  called  the  '' Order  of  Christ."  It  was  secularized,  and  in  1789 
divided  into  Grand  Crosses,  Commanders,  and  Knights,  the  office  of  Grand 
Master  being  vested  in  the  reigning  King  of  Portugal.  It  was  finally  dissolved 
as  a  Pontifical  Order  of  the  State  in  a.d.  1S54. 

The  Templars  dispersed  in  Great  Britain  and  Other  Countries.  —  Num- 
bers joined  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  upon  which  the  confiscated 
lands  and  lordships  of  the  Templars  had  been  conferred,  taking,  in  Scotland, 
the  name  of  the  combined  Orders  of  St.  John  and  the  Temple, —  where  the 
individuality  of  the  Templars  was  forgotten,  while  that  of  St.  John  remained. 
Others  entered  into  religious  houses.  This  was  the  case  in  England,  where 
the  Order  was  also  dissolved,  but  not  extinguished,  ;although  Pope  Clement  V. 
sent  his  Bulls  to  the  wise  and  good  Archbishop  Glenfield  of  York  to  excom- 
municate the  Order  and  institute  an  inquiry,  in  concert  with  other  lead- 
ing Ecclesiastics,  into  the  conduct  of  the  Knights.  The  King  of  France 
also  united,  urging  the  Archbishop  to  action,  who  dechned,  but  afterward 
considered  it  expecHent  to  take  steps  in  the  matter,  and  called  a  Council 
to  examine  the  Templars  confined  in  York  Castle. 

When  the  Knights  were  ordered  to  be  sent  to  religious  houses  to  perform 
penance  and  prayer  for  their  alleged  crimes,  they  conducted  themselves  with 
such  propriety  that  they  were  all  released,  —  but  some  of  them  preferred  to 
remain  and  live  in  the  monasteries. 

Many  married  and,  retiring  into  private  life,  dispersed  over  Europe,  in  most 
instances  retaining  the  symbolic  religious  training  of  their  old  Order,  which 
they  made  no  secret  of,  thus  proving  the  falsehood  of  the  accusations  made 
against  them,  and  assisting  to  preserve  and  perpetuate  the  precepts  and 
principles  of  the  Order  to  the  present  time.  This  is  also  asserted  by  Froude, 
the  English  historian. 

The  Hospitallers  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  —  To  the  Order  of  Knights 
Hospitallers,  founded  in  1096,  at  the  time  of  the  first  Crusade,  we  are  mainly 
indebted  for  the  transmission  of  the  Templar  precepts  and  usages.  This 
Order  sprang  from  a  secular  body  instituted  in  Palestine  in  1058,  including 
both  sexes,  and  was  devoted  to  the  succor  of  the  poor  and  sick  at  Jerusalem. 
Their  dress  was  a  plain  black  robe  having  a  white  cross  on  the  left  breast. 
After  the  conquest  of  Palestine  by  the  Crusaders  it  was  organized  into  a 
regular  religious  body,  and  to  their  vows  was  added  that  of  bearing  arms  in 
defence  of  religion,  when  they  became  a  military  fraternity  like  their  great 
rival,  the  Templars.  The  military  branch  wore  a  red  tunic  or  surcoat,  with 
a  plain  (Greek)  white  cross  on  the  breast,  back  and  upper  part  o^  the  sleeves, 


RELIGIOUS  MILITARY   ORDERS. 


767 


over  their  armor,  —  the  civil  branch  retaining  the  black  habit  and  white 
eight-pointed  cross.  When  the  Holy  Land  was  evacuated,  they  established 
themselves  at  Limasol,  in  Cyprus,  the  female  branch  having  retired  to 
Europe. 

The  Knights  of  Rhodes.  —  In  1309  they  seized  the  Island  of  Rhodes, 
which  they  held  for  more  than  two  centuries,  until  driven  out  by  Solomon  the 
Magnificent,  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  when  they  proceeded  to  Candia,  Messina, 
and  Italy.  They  ultimately  occupied  the  Island  of  Malta,  ceded  to  them  by 
Philip  V.  of  Spain  in  1530,  he  stipulating  that  they  should  defend  it  from  the 
Turks  and  Corsairs  of  Barbary,  and  restore  it  to  Naples  if  they  ever  recov- 
ered Rhodes.  In  this  their  new  abode  they  assumed  the  name  of  Knights  of 
Malta,  remaining  in  possession  of  the  Island  until  it  was  surrendered  to  the 
French  under  Napoleon  in  1796,  when  the  Order  as  a  political  power  was 
abolished  and  the  members  dispersed,  —  the  Island  becoming,  in  1801,  one 
of  the  possessions  of  the  British  Crown.  The  Order  of  the  Hospitallers 
of  St.  John  gave  the  first  idea  of  hospitals  in  England,  where  they  were 
called  "Stranger  houses,"  affording  shelter  to  the  weary  traveller,  as  well 
as  to  the  sick. 

The  English  '*  Langue "  of  Malta.  —  Legitimate  branches  of  the  old 
political  Order  of  Malta  are  still  in  existence,  but  a  few  scattered  fragments 
are  all  that  is  left  of  the  continental  '' Langnes,'"  into  which  it  was  divided. 
The  only  one,  with  that  of  Brandenburg  in  Prussia,  retaining  the  elements 
of  its  original  vitality,  the  noble  and  praisworthy  object  of  administering  to 
the  wants  of  the  destitute,  for  which  the  Order  of  St.  John  was  founded,  — 
although  afterward  it  became  a  military  and  canonical  organization  like  the 
Templars,  —  is  the  old  "  EngUsh  Sixth  Langue  of  Malta."  It  was  revived  in 
England  about  sixty  years  ago,  and  incontestably  proved  to  be  the  lineal 
descendant  of  the  ancient  Order,  which  was  devoted  to  the  original  pro- 
fession of  the  Hospitallers,  —  the  alleviation  of  the  sick  and  suffering  of  the 
human  race.  The  Langue  holds  its  chancery  at  St.  John's  Gate  House, 
Clerkenwell,  London,  —  all  that  remains  of  the  ancient  priory  of  that  name, 
—  the  chief  house  of  the  Order  in  England,  which  has  well  earned  its  appro- 
priate motto,  "F?'o  Fide  "  and  "Fro  Utilitate  Hominu7ti.^^ 

During  the  year  18S8  it  was  reconstructed  under  Royal  charter  of  incor- 
poration, with  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  as  Sovereign  Head  and  Patron,  and 
under  said  charter  H.*.  R.*.  H.*.  the  Prince  of  Wales  has  become  the  "Grand 
Prior."  It  numbers  in  its  ranks  many  scions  of  the  proudest  houses  of  our 
British  nobility,  both  male  and  female. 

The  Festivals  of  the  Order  of  Malta. — When  the  headquarters,  or,  as 
it  was  called,  the  '^Chef-lieu  "  of  the  Order,  was  held  in  Malta,  there  were 
two  great  festivals  observed,  —  one  on  the  24th  of  June,  —  St.  John's  Day,  — 
being  that  of  its  Patron  Saint ;  and  the  other  on  the  8th  of  September,  —  St. 
Mary's  Day,  —  that  date  being  also  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  the 


768 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


Turks  raised  the  siege  of  Malta,  a.d.  1565.  At  these  festivals  the  Grand 
Master,  with  his  household  and  Knights,  held  a  public  procession  of  the 
most  imposing  and  magnificent  appearance,  from  the  palace  in  the  city  of 
La  Valetta  to  the  Conventual  Church  of  St.  John,  to  hear  Mass.  On  their 
arrival,  and  as  soon  as  the  portion  of  Scripture  from  the  Gospels  was 
announced,  every  Knight  drew  his  sword,  and  held  it  aloft  while  it  was  read, 
to  signify  the  obligation  of  the  Order  to  shed  their  hearts'  blood  in  defence 
of  the  Faith.  On  the  elevation  of  the  Host,  each  kissed  the  cross-hilt  of  his 
sword  and  then  returned  it  to  the  scabbard. 

The  Mistaken  Connection  of  the  Templar  Order  with  Freemasonry.  — 
Having  thus  shown  the  origin  and  object  of  those  two  famous  religious  and 
military  Orders,  their  representatives  in  the  modern  Masonic  system  require 
explanation.  It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  ancient  Templars  were 
Priests,  and  that  to  strike  or  injure  a  Knight  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  was 
sacrilege. 

Many  conflicting  opinions  and  surmises  have  been  advanced  as  to  how, 
why,  and  when  the  Templar  system  was  introduced  into  Freemasonry.  The 
origin  of  all  Masonic  degrees  is  not  always  easy  to  ascertain,  the  Fraternity 
being  averse  to  publicity,  handing  down  to  posterity  their  peculiar  secrets, 
vive  voce,  with  the  same  caution  that  the  philosophers  of  old  displayed  in 
perpetuating  their  symbols  and  mysteries  ;  and  the  ancient  Templars,  like  the 
Jesuits,  never  communicated  their  proceedings  to  strangers.  Some  of  them, 
in  their  secret  conclaves,  were  even  concealed  from  the  greater  part  of  their 
own  members.  It  is  therefore  not  unlikely  that  small  organizations  were  kept 
up  in  many  places,  and  the  hope  cherished  that  it  would  be  possible  to  revive 
the  Order.  A  great  and  extensive  organization  could  not  wholly  have  lost  its 
vitality  and  died  out  without  a  struggle  ;  but  it  is  equally  unreasonable  to  believe 
that  the  fragments  entered  into  any  association  of  working  men,  such  as  that 
of  the  corporations  of  builders  or  Freemasons,  who  could  not  have  been 
expected  to  devote  themselves  to  the  restoration  of  the  old  military  Templar 
Order,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  ban  of  the  Church ;  even  personal  safety 
would  not  have  been  secured  to  the  Knights,  and  there  is  no  proof  that  they 
ever  joined  the  German  building  sodalities  to  restore  the  Order. 

There  would  have  been  no  difficulty  in  doing  so  aftei-  the  Reformation  ; 
therefore  no  valid  reason  exists  why  they  should  have  concealed  their  organ- 
ization under  the  mask  of  Freemasonry.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how 
Freemasonry  and  the  Order  of  the  Temple  could  ever  have  become  amalga- 
mated. Symbolic  Masonry  is  of  its  very  existence,  cosmopolitan ;  Templary 
sprang  from  an  origin  chivalric  and  knightly.  The  trowel  of  the  one  levelled 
distinctions  and  spread  the  cement  of  universal  fraternity ;  the  sword  and 
spurs  of  the  other  could  only  be  obtained  and  worn  by  men  of  noble  birth, 
or  those  famed  for  heroic  deeds  in  defence  of  the  Christian  faith. 


MASONIC   TEMPLAR  Y.  -gg 

CHAPTER   V. 

Commencement  of  Modern  or  Masonic  Templary. 

Templar  Freemasonry.  —  Toward  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and  com- 
mencement of  the  eighteenth  century  numerous  works  were  written  by  the 
learned  to  make  manifest  the  practices  of  occult  philosophy,  and  it  is  claimed, 
that,  from  the  dispersed  members  of  the  combined  Orders  of  St.  John  and  the 
Templars,  in  Scotland,  the  secret  ceremonies,  principles  and  customs  of  those 
Orders  were  attained  and  privately  promulgated.  This  led  to  the  revival,  in 
the  last  century,  of  the  obsolete  chivalric  orders,  but  under  the  mistaken  sup- 
position that  they  were  of  Masonic  origin. 

"Order  of  Malta"  as  a  Modern  Protestant  Degree.  —  Long  after  the 
Reformation,  when  the  Hospital  and  Templar  lands  in  Scotland  were  ceded  to 
the  British  Crown,  independent  bodies  sprang  up  under  the  name  of  "  Knights 
Templars  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,"  attached  to  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  and 
who,  toward  the  end  of  the  last  century,  elected  Grand  Masters  or  Grand 
Commanders  of  their  own. 

There  were  also  separate  bodies,  calling  themselves  "  Knights  of  Malta," 
which  still  exist  in  the  United  States.  These  latter  assert  a  very  doubtful 
parentage  historically,  as  representing  the  old  Order  of  Malta,  from  the  Prot- 
estant dispersed  members  of  the  combined  Orders  in  Scotland.  They  are 
unconnected  with  any  of  the  branches  of  the  existing  chivalric  body,  being  but 
benefit  societies  founded  upon  the  same  principles  as  the  "  Orange  Order,"  to 
uphold  and  protect  the  Protestant  faith.  It  is  impossible  that  they  could  be 
the  representatives  of  the  chivalric  Order  of  Malta,  which  continued  there 
until  the  surrender  of  the  Island  in  1796,  and  had  issued  edicts  of  expulsion 
against  the  members  of  the  Scottish  branch  of  St.  John  as  unfaithful  to 
their  vows. 

These  separate  associations,  called  Knights  of  Malta,  existed  before  the 
expulsion  of  the  Sovereign  Order  from  the  Island ;  and  if  there  had  been  any 
connection  between  them,  copies  of  correspondence,  with  allusion  to,  or 
observance  of  statutes,  would  be  forthcoming ;  but,  as  nothing  of  the  kind 
has  ever  been  produced,  and  no  reference  was  made  at  the  time  to  such 
connection,  it  is  quite  evident  that  it  never  existed. 

Origin  of  Masonic  Templary  from  the  "High  Grades."  —  It  has  been 
already  shown  that  the  military  Templars  and  the  ancient  builders,  —  Stone- 
masons of  the  cloisters,  —  took  their  rise  from  the  same  source,  promulgating 
the  same  doctrines  of  the  sacred  mysteries.  This  may  have  helped  to  originate 
the  error  of  a  subsequent  connection  with  Freemasonry. 

Modern  Templary  of  the  Empire  can  only  be  considered  an  imitation  of 
the  ancient  Order,  rather  as  appropriated  than  inherited,  being  a  Christian 


770 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


association  of  Freemasons,  who  represent  the  traditions  of  the  religious  and 
miUtary  Orders  of  the  Crusades,  following  as  nearly  as  practicable  their 
principles  and  customs,  and  strictly  adhering  to  their  teachings  and  Trinita- 
rian doctrine. 

It  is  clearly  ascertained  that  the  Masonic  Templar  degree  originated 
from  the  "  High  Grade  System  of  Freemasonry,"  introduced  on  the  Conti- 
nent of  Europe  about  1740,  as  shown  in  the  obsolete  Templar  rite  of  the 
"Strict  Observance  "  (meaning  implicit  obedience),  widely  practised  through- 
out Europe,  in  the  last  century,  as  an  exemplification  of  modern  Templar 
history.  This  system  was  grafted  on  Freemasonry  in  1754  by  Baron  Hund, 
who  had  been  admitted  to  the  Templar  degrees  in  France  some  ten  years 
previously ;  based  upon  the  fable,  that,  at  the  dissolution  of  the  ancient  mili- 
tary Templars,  certain  Knights  took  refuge  in  Scotland  and  prevented  the 
extinction  of  the  ancient  Order  by  joining  the  Guilds  of  Stone-masons,  and 
thus  giving  rise  to  the  Fraternity  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  The  time 
having  arrived  when  the  Templars  should  boldly  proclaim  the  continuance 
of  the  Order,  they  instituted  the  rite  of  "  Strict  Observance,"  the  members 
to  be  received  from  the  ranks  of  Freemasonry,  in  gratitude  for  the  protection 
and  support  it  was  alleged  they  had  received  from  Masonry. 

The  Succession  to  Freemasonry  a  Fable.  —  There  is  not  the  slightest 
foundation  for  the  fable  that  members  of  the  dispersed  Templars,  after  the 
political  suppression  in  13 14,  became  Freemasons;  it  is  but  one  of  the 
fabrications  of  modern  Masonic  tradition,  to  account  for  the  amalgamation  of 
Templary  with  Masonry,  totally  opposed  to  historic  facts ;  for  it  is  not  even 
probable  that  the  proud  and  haughty  nobles  of  that  age,  from  which  class  the 
Templar  Order  was  selected,  would  engraft  themselves  upon  a  society  of 
mej-e  mechanics,  when  all  the  great  military  orders  in  Europe  were  open  to 
them,  and  only  too  glad  to  receive  into  their  ranks  so  renowned  a  military 
body  as  the  chivalry  of  the  Templars. 

The  Great  Masonic  Congress  of  1782  and  Rite  of  Strict  Observance.  — 
In  July,  1782,  Prince  Frederic,  Duke  of  Brunswick,  Grand  Master  of  the  rite 
of  "  Strict  Observance,"  held  a  congress  at  Wilhelmsbad,  in  Hesse  Cassel,  — 
a  great  representative  assembly  of  Masonic  delegates  from  throughout  the 
world.  The  result  of  this  conference  was  a  refutation  of  the  high  grade 
Templar  system,  when  it  was  resolved  and  declared,  that  " '  Freemasonry ' 
was  not  the  successor  of  the  '  MiUtary  Templars,'  although  connected  with 
their  organization,"  —  that  the  rituals  should  be  amended,  and  the  Masonic 
lodges  should  not  be  obliged  to  work  the  high  degrees. 

Black  Masonry.  —  This  convocation  opened  the  modern  period  of  Masonic 
Templary,  or  "  Black  Masonr}%"  so  named,  it  is  said,  from  the  members 
adopting  a  black  costume  as  mourning  for  the  martyred  De  Molai,  the  last 
chivalric  Grand  Master ;  but  in  reality  from  the  deposed  military  Templars 
having  joined  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  whose  habit  is  black. 


MASONIC    TEMPLAR  Y. 


771 


After  the  conference  at  Wilhelmsbad,  the  rite  of  ''  Strict  Observance  " 
gradually  declined,  and  ultimately  died  out  altogether,  although  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe  a  reformed  system  of  the  rite  is  still  the  basis  of  their 
Templar  degrees. 

First  Introduction  of  Masonic  Templary.  —  Templarism  was  first  intro- 
duced into  the  British  Empire  in  the  Masonic  lodges  known  as  the  "Ancients," 
under  the  Duke  of  Athol,  who  was  also  Grand  Master  of  Scotland  in  the  last 
century.  This,  then,  was  carried  to  the  North  American  Colonies,  where  it 
has  always  found  favor.  In  Ireland,  also,  the  Grand  Lodge  derived  the  addi- 
tional degree  from  the  same  source  ;  but  it  was  not  until  1 780  that  the  Templar 
degrees  were  merged  into  the  Masonic  system,  following  the  Royal  Arch  in 
the  sequence  of  additional  degrees. 

English  Templary  Distinct  from  the  Craft.  —  Since  the  latter  part  of 
the  past  century  inquiring  brethren,  for  the  want  of  something  more  tangible 
and  visible,  have  never  ceased  to  grope  in  the  dark,  culling  information  from 
every  part  of  the  globe,  until  the  Craft  Grand  Lodges  have  given  way,  in  so 
far  as  they  think  they  may  assent  to  different  systems  of  degrees  being  intro- 
duced as  Masonic,  although  they  know  not  why.  This,  then,  would  seem  to 
be  the  true  reason  why  Templary  has  been  so  closely  associated  with  Free- 
masonry ;  but  our  English  Templar  system  has  always  been  kept  separate  and 
distinct  from  the  Craft  degrees,  forming  no  part  of  them  and  conferred  after, 
the  Royal  Arch  being  considered  the  climax  of  Freemasonry. 

Masonry  does  not  teach  anything  inconsistent  with  the  Christian  faith ;  at 
the  same  time  it  does  not  teach  the  "Trinity  in  Unity,"  as  Christians  under- 
stand it;  furthermore,  it  does  not  teach  that  T.'.G.". A.'.O.'.T.'.U.*.  is 
Immanuel, — God  with  us,  —  Christ.  Templary  is  called  the  Masonic  Christian 
Order,  but  modern  Masonry  is  not  Christian  :  it  has  but  one  creed,  —  belief  in 
God,  —  and  teaches  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection;  hence  the  wide  differ- 
ence from  that  of  Templary.  Why,  then,  interfere  with  the  fundamental 
principles  and  very  basis  of  Templary,  by  endeavoring  to  amalgamate  its 
doctrines  with  that  of  the  universal  creed  of  Freemasonry,  a  method  which 
certainly  destroys  its  meaning,  intentions,  and  usefulness? 

Masonic  Templary  a  Misnomer.  —  Templary  founded  upon  modern  Free- 
masonry is  a  misnomer,  and  does  not  represent  the  Templar  Order,  ancient  or 
modern.  It  is  only  an  imitation  Masonic  degree,  on  Christian  principles, 
imposing  on  the  careless  crowd,  with  whom  ceremonial  and  show  too  often 
usurp  the  place  of  truth,  which  they  thus  sacrifice  to  the  love  of  popularity 
and  display. 

Templar  Ritual  and  Costume.  —  A  Grand  Conclave,  or  governing  body  of 
the  Templar  system,  was  held  in  London  on  the  4th  of  June,  1 791,  by  influential 
Masons,  when  the  statutes  of  the  existing  degrees  of  Masonic  Templary  were 
revised,  adopting  a  short  combined  ritual  for  that  of  St.  John  of  Jemsalem,  to 
commemorate  and  account  for  the  union  with  their  old  enemies  the  Templars, 


,jj2  BRITISH   TEMPLARY. 

Before  this  time  the  records  of  the  Jerusalem  Conclave  at  Manchester, 
England,  in  1786,  distinguished  this  knightly  grade  of  Malta  from  that  of  the 
Templar,  in  costume,  by  a  red  tunic  with  slashed  sleeves,  black  cloak,  and 
slouched  Spanish  hat,  all  having  the  white  eight-pointed  cross  of  Malta,  in  imi- 
tation of  the  red  uniform  and  white  cross  worn  by  the  military  class  of  the 
Knights  of  Malta. 

These  Templar  degrees  continued  combined  with  that  of  Malta  until  a.d. 
1853,  in  the  encampments  of  the  old  system,  when  a  revision  of  the  statutes 
was  made,  and  the  degrees  of  Malta  were  excluded  altogether.  Several 
encampments,  however,  continued  to  perpetuate  them,  although  not  in  the 
same  form,  they  being  much  curtailed,  to  evade  a  defiance  of  the  Grand 
Conclave. 

Changes  in  Ritual  of  Malta.  —  In  1863  the  Grand  Conclave  formally 
revised  the  degrees,  and  provided  a  suitable  ritual.  Another  revision,  under 
the  name  of  the  "  United  Orders  of  the  Temple  and  Malta,"  took  place  in 
1873,  when  new  statutes,  adopting  and  consolidating  the  Orders,  were  drawn 
up.  This  union  cannot  but  prove  beneficial,  as  approximating  to  the  ancient 
Knights,  and  discarding  all  Masonic  connection  which  had  led  to  errors 
historically  untrue. 

The  Templar  Order  of  the  A.-.  A.-.S.-.  Rite.  —  The  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite  of  thirty-three  degrees  would  appear  to  throw  additional  light  on 
the  Masonic  connection  of  some  of  the  degrees,  being  an  attempt  to  connect 
the  Freemasonry  of  modern  times  with  the  obsolete  Christian  chivalric  orders  ; 
but  it  must  be  recollected  that  all  Masonic  degrees  outside  of  Craft  Masonry 
are  but  fabrications  of  the  last  century.  When  the  "Kadosh"  degree  of  the 
Rite  was  first  invented,  which  refers  to  the  persecution  of  the  Templar  Order, 
there  had  been  for  a  century  and  more  no  reason  for  resorting  to  any  organiza- 
tion under  the  mask  of  such  a  degree  to  maintain  a  secret  Templar  system, 
into  which  it  is  pretended  the  members  of  the  Order  had  entered,  the  time 
having  passed  when  Templary  would  have  been  dangerous  for  its  members  to 
reorganize  openly  under  its  old  name. 

The  term  " Elus''  in  the  degrees  of  the  Rite  may  be  intended  to  represent 
the  nine  famous  founders  of  the  Templar  Order,  and  in  one  of  the  degrees 
are  the  initial  letters  L.  D.  P.,  meaning  " Liberie  de  Pefisee"  and  the  words 
"Abba''  (literally,  the  Pope,  Father,  Papa),  "shall  restore  the  spoil." 

The  Knights  of  the  East  and  West  may  mean  the  Order  of  the  Temple 
created  in  the  East  and  afterward  having  preceptories  in  Europe  :  the  word 
"  Kadosh  "  — holy  —  meant  the  Holy  House  of  the  Temple. 

The  15th,  1 6th,  and  17th  degrees  are  entitled  in  succession  "  Knights  of 
the  East  or  Sword"  —  the  creation,  and  first  period  of  the  Templar  Order  in 
Palestine;  the  "Prince  of  Jerusalem" — Knights  of  the  "Hakee  Kadosh"  at 
Jerusalem;  and  the  Knights  of  the  East  and  West  —  relating  to  the  rebuild- 
ing of  the  Temple.      They  may  have  meant  the  hoped-for  reestablishment 


MASONIC    TEMPLAR  Y. 


77Z 


of  the  ancient  Templar  Order.  Other  examples  might  be  quoted,  intelligible 
to  the  initiated  alone  ;  in  one  of  which,  the  highest  degree  of  the  rite,  cor- 
roborative evidence  implies  a  common  origin  with  the  Templar  Order. 

Revival  of  Templary  in  Britain.  —  In  1791  the  Templar  body  in  England 
was  styled  the  "  Grand  Elect-Knights  Templar  Kadosh  and  Holy  Sepulchre 
of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  Palestine,  Rhodes,  and  Malta,"  connecting  the 
modern  and  ancient  dtles.  This  confusion  of  names  is  a  curious  anomaly, — 
the  Templars  and  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  were  always  separate  and 
distinct  bodies.  In  this  year  a  Grand  Conclave  was  held  in  London,  over 
which  Thomas  Dunckerley  of  Hampton  Court  presided,  and  the  old  statutes 
with  a  warrant  of  confirmation  were  issued.  It  does  not  appear  that  before 
this  time  there  was  any  National  Templar  Organization  in  England,  until 
Dunckerley  gathered  the  different  bodies  together  under  his  own  presidency, 
with  no  other  right  than  that  he  had  been  elected  chief  of  the  encampments  of 
Knights  Templar  by  the  members.  After  his  death  in  1795,  ^"^^1  owing  to  the 
dispersion  and  death  of  many  of  the  old  members  in  England  and  Wales,  the 
degrees  fell  into  abeyance  ;  but  in  1804  some  of  the  surviving  members  peti- 
tioned H.'.R.'.H.-.  the  Duke  of  Kent,  Grand  Patron,  to  revive  them,  who 
granted  a  new  charter  of  confirmation.  H.'.R.'.H.'.  had  formerly,  as  Prince 
Edward  of  England,  appointed  Dunckerley  Grand  Master  of  the  Knights  of 
the  "Rosy  Cross,"  "Knights  Kadosh,"  and  "Knights  Templar."  Again,  in 
1807,  another  patent  or  charter  was  issued  for  the  revival  of  the  Order, 
constituting  PI.'.  R  .'.H.-.  the  Duke  of  Kent,  Grand  Patron  for  life,  and 
appointing  Judge  Waller  Rodwell  Wright,  the  accomplished  scholar,  Grand 
Master.  This  charter  was  dated  loth  April,  1807.  On  his  resignation,  to 
accept  a  judicial  appointment  in  the  Mediterranean,  H.".R.*.H.*.  the  Duke 
of  Sussex  was  installed  in  August,  181 2,  and  at  his  demise  in  1846,  his  intimate 
friend  and  executor,  the  venerable  Colonel  Charles  Kemeys  Kenieys  Tynte  of 
Haswell,  in  the  county  of  Somersetshire,  was  elected  Grand  Master,  in  virtue 
of  the  warrant  by  the  Duke  of  Kent,  1807,  confirming  the  original  one  of 
Dunckerley,  1791.  On  his  installation,  a  revival  took  place,  H.".R.*.H.\  the 
Duke  of  Sussex  having  in  later  years  allowed  the  Templar  degrees  to  fall  into 
desuetude. 

The  "Rose  Croix"  and  "Kadosh"  originally  Templar  Degrees.  —  The 
name  Masonic  Knights  Templar  was  now  first  heard  of  in  England ;  and  up 
to  this  time,  all  the  Templar  encampments  were  qualified  to  give  the  degrees 
of  the  "  Rose  Croix  "  and  the  "  Kadosh,"  which  had  existed  in  England  as 
Templar  degrees  years  before  the  establishment  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite.  In  the  original  form  of  the  Templar  ceremonies,  the  "  Rose 
Croix  de  Herodom  "  was  the  one  step  above  the  Templar  installation,  followed 
by  the  "Kadosh"  —  and  the  emblems  were  engraved  on  the  certificates  issued 
prior  to  185 1 — all  these  degrees  possessing  similar  characteristics,  their  object 
being  the  same.    The  Templar  ceremony  proper,  perhaps,  confined  itself  more 


nj.  BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 

to  facts  of  history ;  the  "  Rose  Croix  "  taught  the  truths  of  Christianity,  dis- 
playing more  of  the  allegory  in  its  symbolic  teaching  of  the  Christian  faith ; 
the  "  Kadosh  "  was  instituted  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  persecution 
of  the  ancient  Order,  the  constancy  and  suffering  of  the  Knights  on  their 
dissolution,  with  the  martyrdom  of  De  Molai  at  Paris  in  13 14. 

At  the  revival  of  Templars,  new  statutes  as  well  as  changes  in  the  costumes 
and  ritual  were  adopted ;  the  former  costume  being  black,  the  colors  of  the 
civil  branch  of  the  Malta  Order  substituted  the  white  mantle,  the  true  badge 
of  the  Templar,  as  now  worn  in  preceptories. 

The  Degree  of  Templar  Priest  or  Holy  Wisdom.  —  After  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite  had  been  established  in  England,  the  Templar  body 
resigned  control  over  the  degrees  of  the  "  Rose  Croix  "  and  "  Kadosh,"  which 
then  became  incorporated  with  the  rite,  as  the  1 8°  and  30° ;  it  was  therefore 
necessary  to  suppress  the  old  ceremonies  and  relegate  them  to  Templar 
history,  but  they  were  still  retained  in  some  of  the  older  Enghsh  encampments. 

A  revised  ritual  was  issued  in  185 1,  consequent  on  the  omission  of  the 
"  Rose  Croix  "  and  "  Kadosh." 

In  the  old  encampments  the  degree  called  "  Knight  Templar  Priest  or 
Holy  Wisdom "  was  also  conferred.  The  degree  claimed  to  have  been 
instituted  at  the  so-called  revival  of  the  Christian  Order  in  1786.  It  created 
chaplains,  or,  as  they  were  erroneously  called.  Prelates,  which  means  Bishops ; 
but  there  was  no  such  title  in  the  ancient  canons  of  the  Order. 

It  is  said  that  these  changes  were  made  to  please  the  chiefs  of  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  in  England,  and,  when  first  imparted,  caused  much 
dissatisfaction.  These  degrees  should  never  have  been  separated  from  that  of 
the  Templars,  as  the  "  Rose  Croix,"  by  itself,  has  but  little  significance. 

On  the  death  of  the  Grand  Master,  Colonel  Tynte,  the  2 2d  of  November, 
i860,  Colonel  William  Stuart,  then  Deputy  Grand  Master,  son  of  the  Hon- 
orable and  Most  Reverend  William  Stuart,  D.D.,  Archbishop  of  Armagh  and 
Primate  of  Ireland,  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  Grand  Master,  and  installed  in 
1 86 1.  From  that  time,  the  progress  of  the  Order  in  England  was  rapid  : 
many  Masons  of  high  social  position  joined  the  Order,  and  it  continued  to 
develop  and  increase. 

Election  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  as  Grand  Master.  —  In  1867-68,  a  pro- 
posal was  promulgated  to  unite  the  branches  of  the  Order  in  England, 
Ireland,  and  Scotland,  under  one  head  ;  and  H.-.  R.'.H.'.  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
who  had  been  initiated  into  Masonry  and  the  Templar  degree  in  Sweden,  con- 
sented, in  1869,  to  assume  the  Grand  Mastership  of  the  Templars  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  On  the  7th  April,  1873,  H.-.R.'.H.-.  was  installed  Grand 
Master ;  Colonel  Stuart  resigning  in  England,  and  the  Duke  of  Leinster,  the 
popular  and  beloved  Grand  Master  of  Ireland,  accepting  the  position  of 
Great  Prior  of  Ireland,  and  the  Earl  of  Limerick,  that  of  Great  Prior  of  Eng- 
land and  Wales.     This  assumption  by  H .-.  R.-.  H .-.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  use 


THE    CONVENT   GENERAL.  yy^ 

the  words  of  the  Arch-Chancellor  of  the  Order,  Sir  Patrick  Colquhoun, 
"  effected  a  perfect  reformation  of  the  Order,  and  procured  for  it  a  status  it 
had  hitherto  not  enjoyed,  even  under  the  Duke  of  Kent,  who  must  be  prac- 
tically regarded  as  its  founder,  with  the  additional  advantage  of  H.\R.-.H.*. 
being  at  once  head  of  the  Craft  and  Temple ;  indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  as 
the  Order  was  refounded  in  1804-7  ^7  ^^  Duke  of  Kent,  so  it  was  again  re- 
founded  under  his  grandson,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  in  1873." 

The  Convent  General. — The  reorganization  of  the  Templar  degrees  in 
England,  long  contemplated,  gave  rise  to  much  controversy,  and  even  censure, 
regarding  the  motives  and  intention  of  the  originators  who  devised  and  ulti- 
mately carried  out  the  scheme  of  revision,  happily  accomplished  under  the 
patronage  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  and  presided  over  by  H.'.R/.H/.  the 
Prince  of  Wales. 

The  fact  cannot  be  disputed  that  however  correct  and  praiseworthy  may 
be  the  motives  of  Reformers,  yet  all  who  undertake  the  difficult  and  unthank- 
ful office  must  make  up  their  minds  to  opposition  and  censure  from  the 
prejudice  and  ignorance  of  those  who,  wedded  to  their  own  preconceived 
ideas,  can  not  and  will  not  allow  themselves  to  be  convinced  to  the  contrary, 
no  matter  how  clearly  the  eligibility  of  the  contemplated  reform  may  be 
pointed  out.  In  the  present  instance,  to  reform  meant  to  restore  the  Order 
of  the  Temple,  as  far  as  the  customs  of  the  age  would  allow,  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  its  former  position  and  character :  for  this  purpose  a  body  was 
formed  from  the  National  Templar  Encampments  of  the  Empire,  under  the 
name  of  "Convent  General."  The  revised  statutes  and  regulations,  emanating 
from  and  dependent  upon  them,  were  the  result  of  their  deliberations. 

The  Rejection  of  the  Union  by  the  Scottish  Templars.  —  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  Scotland,  although  originally  agreeing  to  the  Convention,  should 
at  the  last  moment,  when  all  preliminaries  were  arranged,  have  failed  to  take 
part  in  the  result  of  these  negotiations.  This  was  mainly  caused  by  a  miscon- 
ception of  their  Commissioner,  who,  little  understanding  the  subject  on  which 
he  was  appointed  to  legislate,  allowed  his  prejudices  to  ignore,  from  the  com- 
mencement, the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  proposed  union ;  as  it  would 
appear,  from  a  morbid  dread  that  the  independent  position  of  Scotland  would 
be  absorbed  by  England  under  the  name  of  Union.  This  attitude  never  could 
have  been  contemplated  ;  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  amalgamation  giving  equal 
powers  to  Scotland  with  those  of  England  and  Ireland.  Unity  would  have 
created  uniformity  of  laws  and  ritual,  thus  giving  the  Order  greater  dignity 
and  standing. 

Careful  investigation  has  shown  that  the  Scottish  branch  cannot  establish  a 
claim  to  the  title  of  Templar  which  does  not  exist  from  the  same  source  as 
that  of  England  and  Ireland.  The  long-established  loyalty  of  these  Knights 
will  not  admit  for  a  moment  of  the  supposition  that  they  intended  to  offer 
even  the  semblance  of  a  slight  to  the  prerogatives  of  the  Royal  Grand  Master, 


7/6 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


or  to  throw  any  obstruction  in  the  way  of  restoring  the  prestige  of  the  Order 
by  amalgamating  the  three  nationalities  under  one  governing  head. 

The  Object  of  the  Convent  General.  —  The  object  of  forming  a  Convent 
General  was  to  raise  the  status  of  the  Order,  so  pure  and  noble  in  its  attri- 
butes, and  redeem  it  from  the  mistaken  low  ideal  into  which  it  had  fallen 
for  so  many  years,  under  its  Masonic  connection. 

The  idea  of  uniting  the  two  great  Orders  of  the  Crusades,  —  the  Templars 
and  Hospitallers,  Knights  of  St.  John,  —  under  one  body,  is  strictly  correct, 
and  had  been  attempted  before  the  Order  left  the  Holy  Land,  the  hostility 
between  them  in  Palestine  being  a  great  hindrance  to  the  success  of  the 
Christian  arms.  Pope  Gregory  and  St.  Louis  had  proposed  it  at  the  Council 
of  Lyons,  but  it  was  rejected  by  both  Orders. 

Revision  of  Nomenclature  and  Statutes.  —  The  changes  made  in  nomen- 
clature and  costume,  and  the  careful  revision  of  the  statutes,  on  the  installation 
of  H.'.R.'.H.*.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  as  Grand  Master,  are  strictly  in  accordance 
with  ancient  usage.  The  object  of  a  Convent  General  was  to  incorporate 
the  members  of  the  Order  in  the  whole  Empire,  under  one  head,  by  the 
reciprocation  of  pri/ileges  and  disabilities,  as  correctly  speaking  there  should 
be  no  independent  separate  bodies  —  only  one  ruling  power  indissoluble  for 
the  whole  Order ;  although  ignorance  of  the  correct  principles  of  the  ancient 
Order  in  some  instances,  and  poUtical  exigencies  in  others,  have  divided  it 
into  several  branches  entirely  separate  from  one  another.  The  Convent 
General  was  intended  to  unite,  at  all  events  in  the  British  Empire,  the 
scattered  elements  of  its  ancient  chivalry  into  one  harmonious  whole,  as  a 
National  British  chivalric  fraternity  under  the  Grand  Mastership  of  the  heir  to 
the  British  Crown,  with  H.'.M.*.  the  Queen  as  the  patron  and  sovereign  head  ; 
the  countenance  of  Her  Majesty  being  a  guarantee  of  its  purity.  Christian 
doctrines,  and  thoroughly  conservative  principles. 

The  proper  designation  of  the  presiding  officer  over  the  Order  for  each 
nationality  is  that  of  "  Great "  or  "  Grand  Prior  "  ;  and,  by  natural  sequence, 
the  body  so  presided  over,  is  a  Great  or  Grand  Priory,  with  the  subordinate 
bodies  named  Preceptories  or  Priories.  The  ancient  preceptories  in  England, 
Ireland,  and  Scotland  were  dependent  upon  the  Temple  House  in  London. 

The  Name  and  Title  of  the  Orders.  — The  term  "  Encampment "  is  quite 
modern  and  a  very  inappropriate  innovation,  not  known  in  the  early  Order, 
which  was  a  military  monastic  body,  dwelling  in  fixed  places  of  abode, 
excepting  when  they  took  the  field,  having  their  "receptions"  in  their  chapter 
houses,  never  in  the  field  ;  and  the  term  cannot  with  any  propriety  be  applied 
to  meetings  in  rooms  of  houses  in  cities  and  towns.  The  name  "  Com- 
manderies  "  and  the  title  "  Commander  "  were  never  used  by  the  Templars. 
Singularly  enough,  the  Order  of  St.  John  used  both  Commander  and  Preceptor 
indifferently  for  the  same  office,  which  can  be  seen  by  reference  to  old 
documents,  a.d.   1500,  or  thereabouts.     As  they  succeeded  to  the  Templar 


TEMPLARS    IN    NAVAL    ENGAGEMENT. 


THE    CONVENT   GENERAL. 


779 


possessions  in  England,  the  Order  there  probably  adopted  the  old  name  of  the 
religious  houses  and  used  it  in  common  with  their  own  term  "  Commandery  " 
—  therefore  the  title  "  Commander"  has  no  Templar  meaning,  in  connection 
with  a  preceptory.  The  preceptory  houses  were  always  called  after  places, 
never  from  the  names  of  individuals. 

Cavilling  objections  to  the  formation  of  a  Convent  General,  and  the  radical 
changes  therein,  gave  rise  to  the  uncalled-for  and  ignorant  remark,  that  there 
was  no  historical  or  legendary  authority  to  support  the  numerous  changes,  and 
that  the  newly  created  honors,  by  H.-.R.-.H.*.  the  Grand  Master,  of  Grand 
Crosses,  and  the  Lesser  Cross  of  the  Order,  "  Knights  Commanders  of  the 
Temple,"  being  only  attainable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  rulers,  would  be  an 
excuse  for  favoritism  and  exclusiveness.  Here  the  old  adage  holds  good  : 
"  We  are  apt  to  despise  in  others  what  we  do  not  possess  ourselves." 

This  was  scarcely  the  return  to  be  expected  for  the  praiseworthy  efforts 
of  the  founders  of  the  new  constitutions,  intended  to  raise  the  status  and  dig- 
nity of  the  Order.  H.'.R.'.H.*.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  next  to  the  crowned 
head,  is  the  fountain  of  honor,  and  did  he  think  it  advisable  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  "  Swedish  Body,"  he  could  obtain  permission  from  the  Crown 
to  reorganize  and  incorporate,  under  an  order  of  the  State,  the  Templar 
degrees  as  lately  granted  to  that  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  in  England,  which 
there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  would  have  been  the  case  but  for  the  great 
and  persistent  opposition  evinced  to  the  reconstruction  of  Templary.  Such 
recognition  would  have  been  most  gratifying,  hailing  as  we  do  from  that 
grandly  romantic  period  of  English  history,  the  times  of  the  Crusades. 

It  seems  strange  that  it  has  never  occurred  to  those  who  are  so  anxious 
to  impart  to  Masonic  Templary  a  dramatic  military  appearance,  what  an 
extraordinary  phase  the  Order  has  assumed  by  the  adoption  of  a  system  of 
military  drills,  etc.,  as  practised  in  the  American  system.  Have  they  for- 
gotten that  the  ancient  Templars  were  men  of  rank  and  position,  and  not  the 
equivalent  of  a  volunteer  militia  battalion?  No  doubt  in  the  early  days  of 
the  Order,  the  Knights  fought  as  a  body  of  fighting  men,  without  regard  to 
the  details  of  military  organization  ;  but  when  the  Order  became  more  numer- 
ous and  powerful,  and  when  military  formations  prevailed,  the  Templars 
retained  a  body  of  "  men  at  arms,"  and  the  Knights  occupied  all  superior 
positions  as  leaders.  We  have  an  actual  experience  of  this  in  the  Order  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  —  Malta,  —  where  the  Knights  not  only  maintained  an 
army  of  land  forces,  but  also  a  navy. 


78o 


BRITISH   TEMPI ARY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Changes  made  Consequent  upon  the  Reforimed  Ritual  of  Convent 

General. 

Ritual  Revision.  —  Convent  General  has  been  for  some  years  in  abey- 
ance, meeting  the  fate  of  many  well-devised  plans  and  theories  from  distrust, 
mistaken  jealousy,  and  want  of  cohesion,  —  the  Templar  degrees  being  now 
represented  in  England  by  the  National  Great  Priory,  with  the  Earl  of 
Lathom  as  Great  Prior,  —  H.'.R.'.H.*.  the  Prince  of  Wales  continuing  as 
Grand  Master  of  the  Order.  Convent  General  may  at  any  time  be  revived 
if  thought  expedient,  and  thus  the  Ritual  Commission  and  its  conclusions 
become  of  paramount  interest. 

The  Ritual  Commission  and  its  Work.  —  Among  the  members  of  the 
Ritual  Commission  of  Convent  General,  to  investigate  the  history  of  the  Tem- 
plar degrees  under  H.*.R.\H.*.  the  Prince  of  Wales,  were  the  Honorable 
Judge  J.  Fitz-Henry  Townshend,  of  the  Admiralty  Courts,  Dublin,  and  Sir 
Patrick  MacC.  de  Colquhoun,  the  learned  English  lawyer,  author  of  a  con- 
cise history  of  the  Templars,  that  so  materially  assisted  to  dispel  the  myths 
that  surround  the  modern  Templar  system. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  and  historical  record,  Templary  founded  upon  Free- 
masonry is  pure  fiction,  —  one  of  the  fables  of  the  past.  Craft  Masonry 
ignores  and  repudiates  the  claim  and  does  not  wish  it  to  be  understood  that 
such  exists ;  merely  tolerating  it  as  a  body  of  Masons,  in  a  military  garb,  and 
professing  Christian  principles. 

It  must  be  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer  that  the  peculiar  dogmas 
of  Christianity  could  never  have  had  any  connection  with  the  universal  creed 
of  modern  Freemasonry ;  therefore  a  Masonic  Christian  Order  of  Knights 
Templars  is  an  anomaly. 

The  early  Masonic  Templar  rituals  would  appear  to  have  been  concocted 
on  a  tradition  that  Knights  Templary  and  Masonry  had  a  common  origin ; 
without  any  research  into  historical  facts,  plainly  showing  that  it  was  the  fabri- 
cation of  enthusiastic  Masons  in  the  last  century,  who  had  given  but  little 
thought  to  the  assertions  they  made  and  deductions  arrived  at. 

The  idea  promulgated,  and  one  of  the  leading  points  insisted  upon,  was 
that  Templary  was  a  component  part  of  ancient  Freemasonry,  preserved  in  the 
"  Herodom  Kadosh  "  of  the  high  degrees,  never  taking  into  account  that  this 
and  all  Masonic  degrees  and  rites,  outside  of  Craft  or  Symbolic  Masonry, 
were  unknown  before  the  last  century,  and  any  reference  to  them  as  forming 
a  part  of  the  Templar  system  is  a  purely  historical  anachronism. 

True  Templary  stands  alone  on  its  own  merits  and  principles  as  a  Christian 
Trinitarian  society,  whose  mission  is  to  advance  the  interests  of  our  Ascended 


THE  REFORMED  RITUAL. 


781 


Redeemer,  —  whom  we  are  bound  to  follow  in  His  life  and  precepts,  and 
thus  far,  at  least,  pay  homage  to  the  Great  Captain  of  our  salvation,  whose 
sworn  soldiers  we  have  constituted  ourselves,  and  this  by  our  own  volun- 
tary act. 

The  last  Grand  Master  of  the  old  chivalric  Templars  was  the  martyred 
Jacques  de  Molai,  who,  when  examined  before  the  Papal  Commission  at  Paris, 
A.D.  1309,  did  avow:  "In  faith  the  Order  has  never  been  found  wanting.  I 
attest  that  I  believe  in  God,  in  the  person  of  the  Trinity,  and  in  all  the  other 
articles  of  the  Cathohc  faith.  I  believe  there  is  but  one  God,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  Church,  and  when  the  soul  is  separated  from  the  body,  there  is 
but  one  Judge  of  the  good  and  evil.  This  is  my  belief.  This  is  the  belief 
of  the  Order  of  the  Temple." 

The  Derivation  of  the  Ritual  of  Convent  General.  —  The  changes  made 
in  the  reformed  Ritual,  now  practised,  are  consequent  upon  the  report  of  the 
Ritual  Commission  of  Convent  General  in  1873,  which  shows  that  they  had 
examined  the  rituals  of  the  ancient  Templars  founded  upon  the  Benedictine 
Canons,  the  Scottish  Ritual,  very  closely  copied  from  it,  and  the  English 
Ritual  of  185 1,  adopted  in  place  of  that  of  Dunckerley  previously  existing, 
which  was  full  of  Masonic  inaccuracies  and  anachronisms,  and  also  the  Irish 
Ritual.  When  at  a  general  meeting  held  in  April,  1873,  under  the  presidency 
of  the  Great  Prior  of  England  and  Wales,  it  was  determined  to  reject  all 
novelties  or  innovations  by  Masonic  Templars  of  a  recent  date,  and  every 
paraphrase  of  ritual  other  than  those  already  mentioned,  certain  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted  as  a  basis,  on  which  the  new  Ritual  should  be 
drawn  up,  in  accordance  with  these  conditions  and  suited  to  the  three  king- 
doms, consistent  with  the  nature  and  traditions  of  the  Order.  No  novelty  has 
been  introduced,  and  every  clause  of  it  is  to  be  found  either  in  actual  words  or 
in  substance  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  Templar  Rituals  examined.  Both  the 
English  and  Scottish  Rituals  recognize  the  class  of  "  Novice "  :  this  is  in 
accordance  with  ancient  rule  and  practice. 

Ritualistic  Details.  —  The  conclave  or  meeting  is  supposed  to  be  a  chap- 
ter of  the  preceptory,  and  not  an  encampment  of  Knights  Templar,  and  to 
take  place  in  the  chapel  of  the  Preceptory  House  ;  hence  the  place  of  meeting 
is  fitted  up  as  a  chapel,  the  altar  being  in  the  usual  place,  but  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  ceremony  a  second  altar,  or  "  sepulchre,"  is  retained,  with  the  cross,  or 
crucifix,  and  the  Bible.  The  Preceptor  is  seated  on  the  left  of  the  first  altar. 
The  installation  of  the  ancient  Knights  Templars,  as  also  of  the  Knights  of 
Malta,  took  place  in  their  chapels.  The  Knights,  on  being  consulted  in  the 
Chapter  House,  elected  the  candidate  :  who,  after  certain  communications 
had  been  made  to  him  and  questions  asked  in  an  adjoining  room,  was  led 
into  the  chapel,  where  the  reception  and  consequently  the  consecration  took 
place.  The  ancient  Knights  were  never  received  in  the  field,  but  in  the 
"Church  of  Jerusalem,"  or  its  representative,  the  Preceptory  Chapel,  which 


-32  BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 

by  a  fiction  was  supposed  to  be  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  "  at 
Home  "  —  the  home  of  the  Order  being  Jerusalem.  For  this  reason,  the 
modern  term  "  Encampment "  is  rejected  as  incorrect  and  unwarranted  by 
any  authority. 

The  opening  and  closing  forms  of  the  English  Ritual  of  1851  are  changed. 
These  were  mere  servile  adaptations  of  the  Craft  Ritual,  quite  at  variance 
with  chivalric  or  religious  ceremony.  The  part  of  "  Pilgrim  "  is  retained,  as 
the  "Aspirant"  might  be  so  termed,  though  it  was  never  so  described  in  the 
Ancient  Canons. 

The  vow  of  profession  is  according  to  the  Ancient  Canon  in  a  modified 
form. 

'Y\it  Ribbon  and  Star — to  represent  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  —  with  the  ring 
of  profession,  are  introduced  in  accordance  with  the  general  statutes.  The 
Imprecations  may  be  considered  as  another  name  for  vows,  being  in  the 
old  Scottish  and  English  Rituals,  and  formej-ly  in  that  of  Ireland.  Perambu- 
lation, in  a  modified  and  more  consistent  form,  is  retained,  although  there  is 
no  reference  to  it  in  the  Ancient  Canons,  and  it  is  not  in  the  Irish  Ritual. 

Order  of  Chaplains.  —  Chaplains  were  a  special  class  of  the  old  Order, 
and  were  ehgible  for  various  offices,  including  that  of  Preceptor,  which  was 
not  necessarily  a  military  one.  Following  this  precedent,  every  clergyman, 
on  inception,  should  become,  ipso  facto,  a  chaplain  of  the  Order  in  gen- 
eral, and  of  his  preceptory  in  particular,  and  also  eligible  for  the  other  offices 
not  inconsistent  with  his  sacred  profession.  The  rank  of  "  Honorary  Pre- 
ceptor "  may  be  conferred  upon  them,  by  having  the  legend  communicated 
and  by  their  taking  the  vows  of  a  Preceptor,  to  enable  them  to  take  part 
in  the  discussions  of  a  Board  of  Preceptors,  and  to  assist  in  conferring  the 
degrees ;  but  this  honorary  rank  does  not  permit  them  to  rule  in  the 
preceptory,  unless  duly  elected  by  the  members. 

The  prayers  and  those  portions  of  Scripture  usually  read  are  in  accordance 
with  ancient  practice,  —  the  recitation  of  the  Pater  Noster,  and  a  prayer  for 
the  reigning  Sovereign,  the  Grand  Master,  and  the  Brethren  being  formerly 
inseparable  from  Templar  meetings. 

The  mode  of  "  Standitig  in  Order, ''^  formerly  used,  was  a  mere  copy  of  a 
modern  military  regulation ;  it  is  replaced  by  that  assumed  in  the  time  of  the 
Crusades,  by  the  knightly  Companions  of  the  Cross  at  certain  portions  of 
their  religious  sennces :  the  position  is  simple  and  assumed  only  at  the  most 
solemn  portions  of  the  ceremony. 

The  mode  of  "  Salute,"  the  pass  words,  etc.,  in  use,  are  recommended  to 
be  adopted  generally  throughout  the  Order,  althpugh  not  known  to  the  ancient 
military  body. 

A  short  ritual  for  the  installation  of  a  Preceptor  and  Prior  has  been  drawn 
up,  and  one  recommended  for  a  "  serving  brother,"  who  is  not  eligible  to  vote 
or  hold  any  other  office  in  the  preceptory  while  acting  as  Guard. 


RITUAL   HERALDRY.  prg^ 

The  Crosses  of  the  United  Orders. — A  cross  is  always  prefixed  to  the  word 
"f rater''  or  brother,  when  denoting  a  brother  of  the  Temple,  as  distinguishing 
the  Templar  from  that  of  other  orders  or  societies.  Such  was  formerly  the 
practice,  and  should  not  be  abandoned.  A  cross  should  also  be  prefixed  to 
the  signatures  of  all  "  professed  "  brethren  when  signing  as  Templars,  the 
double-barred  or  Patriarchal  Cross  being  used  by  Preceptors  and  Priors. 

Ecclesiastical  Crosses  are  a  medium  of  hierarchal  distinction.  The  triple- 
barred  or  "Cross  of  Salem  "  denotes  the  Sovereign  Prince  and  sole  Legislator, 
and  is  adopted  by  the  Grand  Masters. 

The  two- barred  or  Patriarchal  Cross  signifies  "  Salvation  to  both  Jew  and 
Gentile,"  and  the  Passion  or  single-barred  Cross  represents  the  one  on  v/hich 
the  Saviour  suffered.  These  two  latter  crosses  were  ancient  badges  of  the 
Templars,  and  in  common  use  as  a  mark  for  their  signatures.  The  true  Tem- 
plar Cross,  or  "  Cross  of  the  Order,"  is  the  cross  heraldically  called  "  Patt^e," 
open  or  spread  at  the  extremities,  —  symbolizing  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  —  but  by  no  means  formed  of  four  equilateral 
triangles,  into  which  form  it  has  been  corrupted. 

The  Cross  of  Malta,  the  device  of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  has 
frequently  been  confounded  with  the  Cross  Pattee  of  the  Templars,  although 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  them.  This  cross  is  white,  of  eight  points, 
having  the  four  arms  joined  in  a  small  centre  point,  and  its  extremities 
notched  or  indented  to  resemble  fishes'  tails,  —  an  allegorical  allusion  to  the 
Saviour,  "  the  fish  being  one  of  the  Christian  symbols  emblematical  of  Christ 
generally."     Vide  Matt.  iv.  19. 

The  United  Orders  Cross  of  the  Temple  and  Malta  is  a  very  beautiful 
and  appropriate  badge,  being  the  red  Templar  Cross,  surmounted  by  the  tvhite 
eight-pointed  Cross  of  Malta,  adopted  by  Convent  General.  The  idea  would 
seem  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  obsolete  French  "Z' C'r^/r  du  Temple" 
but  reversed,  that  of  the  latter  having  the  eight- pointed  Cross  of  Malta,  sur- 
mounted by  the  Red  Cross  of  the  Temple,  as  seen  on  an  old  jewel  in  my 
possession,  at  first  used  by  Preceptors  of  the  Great  Priory  of  England,  under 
the  Convent  General. 

The  jewel  of  a  Grand  Cross  instituted  by  H  .•.  R  .*.  H  .*.  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
on  assuming  the  Grand  Mastership  in  1873,  is  the  seven-pointed  star,  sur- 
mounted by  the  United  Orders  Cross  of  the  Temple  and  Malta,  having  the 
^^ Agnus  Dei'^  in  the  centre  within  a  circle,  surrounded  by  the  legend  "Non 
nobis,  Domine"  etc.,  the  motto  of  the  ancient  Templars.  This  jewel  is  sus- 
pended from  the  neck  by  a  gold  chain  composed  of  four  capital  letters, 
I.  N.  R.  I.  (used  by  mystics  since  "Anno  Domini"),  and  the  Patriarchal 
Cross  of  a  Preceptor,  joined  together  and  repeated  to  form  a  length  to  go 
around  the  neck. 

The  sash  or  ribbon  of  a  Grand  Cross  is  a  broad  crimson  watered  silk  with 
a  narrow  white  edge,  —  the  Templar  colors  worn  over  the  right  shoulder  to 


784 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


the  left  side,  and  to  which  the  insignia  may  be  attached  on  the  left  hip,  when 
the  collar  is  not  worn.  The  "  Lesser  Cross,"  — "  Knights  Commanders  of  the 
Temple,"  —  is  the  United  Orders  Cross  having  a  crown  on  the  top,  worn  on 
the  left  breast  with  a  Templar  ribbon. 

The  ancient  Knight  bore  a  "  Pennon  "  forked  at  the  end,  being  extended 
into  two  or  three  points,  and  when  powerful  enough  to  furnish  to  the  state  or 
their  sovereign  a  certain  number  of  armed  retainers,  they  were  accorded  the 
tide  of  "  Bannerets,"  little  banners,  which  gave  them  the  right  to  carry  at  the 
top  of  the  lance  a  square  banner,  on  which  their  armorial  ensigns  were  depicted. 

The  Beauseant. — The  Order  had  two  banners, —  the  "Beauseant"  and 
the  "Red  Cross,"  —  the  Beauseant  meaning  "piebald."  The  original  armo- 
rial device  of  the  Templars  was  half  black  and  half  white,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  direction  of  the  partition  lines.  Sometimes  it  was  represented 
per-pale,  or  divided  perpendicularly,  in  alternate  narrow  stripes,  but  more  fre- 
quently per-"/d'-s-i-<?,"  or  horizontally.  The  upper  half  black  and  the  lower 
white,  a  red  passion  cross  appears  occasionally  on  the  white  ground  only ;  for 
to  place  it  on  the  black,  color  upon  color,  would  be  false  heraldry.  This  ban- 
ner was  supposed  to  denote  "Death,  Innocence,  and  Martyrdom";  it  also 
had  the  inscription,  ^^  Non  Jiobis,  sed  Nofnini  Tuo  da  gloriam,'^  the  opening 
sentence  in  the  CXV.  Psalm.  The  word  "  Beauseant "  was  used  as  the  baftle- 
cry  oi  the  ancient  Order ;  "  Ati  Beausea?it,'"  for  the  Temple.  The  banners, 
being  black  and  white,  signified,  "Black  and  terrible  to  the  Infidel,"  but,  "  Fair 
and  favorable  to  the  Christian." 

The  Red  Cross  Battle-Flag.  — A  second  standard  was  subsequently  adopted, 
called  the  "  Vexillum  belli,''  or  Red  Cross  battle-flag ;  viz.  :  a  white  banner 
charged  with  the  "  Red  Cross  of  the  Order,"  —  Pattee ;  and  the  same  cross 
ornamented  their  shields  and  garments.  The  Holy  Lamb  or  "Agnus  Dei,'' 
placed  upon  the  centre  of  a  Greek  cross,  was  another  of  their  old  armorial 
devices,  signifying  the  union  of  the  qualities  of  greatness  and  courage ;  the 
lamb  being  the  emblem  of  "the  Saviour,"  and  the  Cross-banner  of  victory 
symbolizing  the  Resurrection,  The  standard  and  armorial  bearing  of  the 
Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  —  Malta  —  was  a  wliite  equal-limbed  (Greek) 
Cross  upon  a  red  field.  Banners  and  standards,  when  made  to  hang  perpen- 
dicularly from  the  poles,  are  called  "Gonfanons,"  used  in  processions  and 
hung  up  in  cathedrals  and  halls.  They  should  be  made  tripartite,  or  triple 
cloven,  at  the  bottom. 

The  Cross-Hilted  Sword. — The  Sword  was  made  in  the  form  of  a  Latin 
cross,  an  emblem  of  the  cause  in  which  it  was  to  be  used ;  the  blade  straight 
and  cutting  on  both  sides,  typical  of  its  being  always  employed  in  the  defence 
of  justice.  The  Crusaders  on  the  march  to  the  Holy  City,  when  halted,  were 
in  the  daily  custom  of  placing  their  long  two-handed  swords  upright  before 
them,  the  hilt  forming  a  cross,  and  on  all  occasions  of  military  salute  they 
kissed  the  cross-hilt  in  token  of  devotion  to  the  Saviour  of  mankind. 


HIS  TORIC  S  YMB  OLISM. 


785 


The  Golden  Spurs  of  Knighthood. — The  Golden  Spurs  of  Knighthood 
were  an  indispensable  adjunct,  —  signifying  diligence  in  every  honorable 
undertaking. 

The  "  Serving  Brethren  "  were  of  two  classes,  the  one  acting  as  "  men  at 
arms,"  light-armed  cavalry ;  the  other,  employed  as  artisans  and  retainers 
of  the  Knights,  with  a  superior  rank  as  Esquires,  who  were  distinguished  by  a 
triangular  pennoncel  at  the  end  of  their  lances. 

The  Order  was  governed  by  a  Master,  so  termed  according  to  the  "langue'" 
employed.  "Maistre,"  "  Magister,"  or  Great  Master,  was  used  from  an 
early  period.  Provinces  in  general  were  governed  by  "Grand  Priors,"  and  the 
different  houses  or  preceptories  by  Preceptors. 

The  Eight  "  Langues  "  of  Malta.  —  In  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem 
the  subordinate  bodies  under  a  Grand  Master  were  called  priories  or  com- 
manderies,  divided,  when  they  become  Knights  of  Malta,  into  eight  "  langues,'' 
tongues,  or  countries,  and  ruled  by  "  Bailies,"  who  were  Grand  Crosses  of 
the  Order,  and  each  house  or  priory  was  governed  by  a  Commander. 

Templar  Costume  and  Processions.  —  In  the  Templar  costume  of  the 
Empire  we  follow  that  of  the  ancient  Knights,  intended  to  symbohze  the 
character  of  the  Order,  but  never  meant  to  be  paraded  before  the  eyes  of  the 
public.  Such  exhibitions  are  not  the  custom  of  the  British  Empire,  all  public 
displays  being  looked  upon  as  most  objectionable,  and  a  Templar  procession 
with  us  would  appear  as  ridiculous  to  the  common  observer  as  if  the  Knightj 
of  the  "Garter"  and  the  "Bath"  in  their  state  robes,  or  gentlemen  in  court 
dresses,  were  to  parade  the  streets  for  the  admiration  of  the  multitude.  Show 
and  parade  are  sometimes  necessary ;  but  in  matters  connected  with  Free- 
masonry, "  the  less,  the  better  "  :  like  Christianity,  it  is  more  appreciated  in  its 
unobtrusive  character  than  in  public  demonstrations,  and  the  unnecessary 
expense  incurred  by  such  exhibitions,  would  be  better  applied  in  promoting 
the  object  and  aim  of  all  Masonic  and  aUied  bodies. 

Imitation  military  public  displays  and  processions  of  the  Knights  Templar 
body,  so  much  indulged  in  on  this  Continent,  quite  ynknown  in  the  British 
Empire,  are  out  of  place,  although  harmless  in  themselves.  They  are  entirely 
opposed  to  the  true  meaning  and  object  of  Christian  Templary,  entailing  a 
great  and  unnecessary  expenditure,  and  serving  no  other  purpose  but  to  pan- 
der to  the  vainglory  and  self-gratification  of  the  members  who  take  part  in 
them.  Are  all  the  poor  and  needy  in  the  land  provided  for?  Are  there 
no  more  hospitals  and  schools  required,  to  which  the  great  outlay  at  those 
gatherings  might  and  could  be  legitimately  applied,  instead  of  wasting  the 
means  in  idle  shows  ? 

When,  for  His  own  wise  purposes,  God  permitted  the  hordes  of  banditti 
that  infested  the  land  at  the  commencement  of  the  Crusades  and  the  vast 
multitude  of  fanatics  to  accompany  the  pilgrims  to  Palestine,  actuated  by  a 
wild  religious  enthusiasm  to  recover  the  Holy  Land  from  the  Infidel  Saracens, 


2S6  BRITISH   TEMPLARY. 

they  swept  like  a  torrent  over  Europe,  and  were  nearly  all  anniliilated  before 
reaching  their  destination.  They  were  replaced  by  noble  Christian  Knights 
with  their  following,  and  mail-clad  ascetic  pious  warrior-monks,  —  in  whom  the 
latent  fire  of  religious  fervor  burnt,  with  the  light  of  battle  in  their  eyes,  to 
serve  the  Divine  Master,  —  and  who  established  the  religious  and  military  Order 
of  Knights  Templar.  But  they  are  certainly  7iot  represented  by  modern  Masonic 
Templars  at  mock  military  processions,  with  bands  of  music,  flaunting  of  flags 
and  banners,  decorated  with  emblems,  —  not  always  consistent  with  the  laws  of 
heraldry  and  Christian  symbolism,  —  banging  of  drums,  braying  of  horns  and 
fanfaronade  of  trumpets  in  self-laudation,  only  tending  to  vulgarize  and  change 
the  representation  of  the  once  famous  military  Templars  into  a  mere  "  circus 
exhibition  to  attract  attention  for  the  amusement  of  the  idle  and  gaping 
multitude." 

The  Landmarks  of  the  Order.  —  Much  has  been  said  about  the  Land- 
marks of  the  Order.  The  word  itself  appears  to  be  a  77iisno77ier,  as  it  is 
Craft,  7iot  Chivalric  bodies,  that  properly  speaking  have  "  Landmarks." 

Templary  being  in  the  strictest  sense  Trinitarian  Christian,  it  may  be  said 
that  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith  are  its  landmarks.  The  new 
and  reformed  Ritual  retains  and  explains  the  Christian  symbolism  of  the 
Sacred  Name,  with  reference  to  the  S7nall  white  sto7ie  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  the  Greek  letter  X,  chi  {ky)  (from  early  times  the  mark  or  sign  of 
"  Christos"),  with  the  Uri77i  and  Thu7fi77ii7n  on  the  breastplate  of  the  High 
Priest,  —  the  meaning  of  these  words  being  "  light  and  perfection." 

The  "  Saltire,"  or  "  St.  Andrew's  "  Cross,  so  named  from  the  tradition  that 
the  Apostle  suffered  martyrdom  on  a  cross  of  this  form,  is  always  represented 
in  the  shape  of  the  letter  X  ;  but  this  is  said  by  some  Ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties to  be  an  error,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  cross  itself,  upon 
which  he  died,  given  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Victor,  near  Marseilles,  by  St. 
Stephen  of  Burgundy,  which,  like  the  common  cross,  is  recfafiguiar.  The 
cause  of  the  mistake  is  thus  explained  :  When  the  Apostle  suffered,  the  cross, 
instead  of  being  fixtd. upright,  rested  on  the  foot  and  cross-bar.  In  this  posi- 
tion-he was  fastened  to  it,  his  hands  to  one  arm  and  head  of  the  cross,  his 
feet  to  the  other  arm  and  foot,  with  his  head  in  the  air.  This  may  have 
given  rise  to  the  legend  that  the  Apostle  was  crucified  with  his  head  down- 
ward, and  this  cross  became  the  Christian  emblem  of  suffering  humility. 
We  find  this  thought  in  the  history  of  the  Ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church,  in 
Justin's  "Apologia,"  "  That  which  was  spoken  physiologically  concerning  the 
Son  of  God  in  the  Timseus  of  Plato,  where  he  says :  '  He  placed  Him  in  the 
Universe  after  the  manner  (in  the  form)  of  the  letter  X,'  he  borrowed  from 
Moses."  Plato,  not  accurately  knowing  or  perceiving  that  it  was  the  figure  of 
the  cross,  but  seeing  only  the  form  of  the  letter  X,  said,  "  That  the  power 
next  the  first  God  was  in  the  shape  of  an  X." 

The  Temple  Church,   London.  —  This   will   account   for  the   Cnisaders' 


o 


MODERN  SYSTEMS. 


789 


silent  effigies  in  stone,  of  the  Temple  Church,  London,  having  their  hands 
closed  and  raised  in  supplication,  with  their  legs  crossed,  to  represent  this 
letter  and  to  denote  their  faith  in  Christ. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Modern  System  of  Templary  in  Different  Countries. 

The  English  Templars.  — The  Templars  of  England,  it  has  been  asserted, 
are  derived  from  the  "  Baldwin  "  encampment  of  Bristol,  now  preceptory,  — 
which  with  two  others, — the  "Observance"  of  London  and  "Antiquity "  of 
Bath, — appear,  on  the  Enghsh  calendar,  as  from  time  immemorial,  claiming  to 
have  been  established  in  the  early  days  of  the  genuine  Order ;  but  this  claim 
really  means  that  they  had  a  separate  warrant  of  existence  before  the  reorgan- 
ization of  H.'.R.'.H.-,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  as  Grand  Patron,  in  1804-7.  The 
very  name  Encampment  contradicts  the  assertion.  All  the  old  Templar 
houses  were  called  Preceptories  and  sometimes  Priories,  after  places,  never 
from  persons.  Although  these  encampments  appear  to  be  the  oldest  in 
England,  they  cannot  show  a  greater  antiquity  than  the  last  century,  and 
the  high  grade  Masonic  system  of  Continental  Europe.  They  conferred 
"seven"  degrees,  viz.:  ist.  Masonic  Knights  Templar;  2d,  Knights  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem  ;  3d,  Knights  of  Rhodes;  4th,  Knights  of  Malta  — 
these  three  latter  are  the  same  Order  at  different  periods  of  its  history ; 
5th,  Knights  of  Palestine  or  the  "Red  Cross"  of  the  "  Constantine  Order  of 
St.  George  "  —  not  the  Pagan  "  Red  Cross  of  Babylon  " ;  6th,  Knights  of 
the  "  Rosy  Crucis  "  ;  and  7th,  the  "  Kadosh." 

The  Scottish  Templars.  —  The  Scottish  Templars  are  said  to  spring  from 
the  ancient  Priory  of  Torphichen  in  Midlothian,  where,  at  the  era  of  the 
Reformation,  the  possessions  of  the  combined  Orders  of  the  Hospitallers  of 
St.  John  and  the  Templars  were  declared  forfeited  to  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland ;  on  the  ground  that  the  services  required,  by  oath  of  the 
Prior  or  Preceptor,  were  to  defend  and  maintain  the  "  Foman  Catholic 
religion."  The  last  Grand  Prior,  Sir  John  Sandilonds,  embracing  the  Protes- 
tant faith,  surrendered  the  possessions  of  the  priory  to  the  Government, 
receiving  a  grant  of  them  to  himself  with  the  title  of  Lord  Torphichen  in  1564, 
which  founded  the  existing  family  of  that  name. 

After  the  dispersion  of  the  members,  an  unsupported  tradition  relates 
that  many  of  them  joined  a  Masonic  lodge  in  the  town  "  Sterling,"  which 
gave  rise  to  the  Knightly  Order  becoming  incorporated  with  Masonry. 

The  present  Scottish  Ritual  is  very  similar  to  that  of  Canada,  being 
derived  from  the  ancient  Templars  founded  upon  the  Benedictine  canons. 


790 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


The  Irish  Templars.  —  In  Ireland,  the  Templar  degrees  have  been  more 
or  less  connected  with  those  of  Great  Britain,  and  are  now  presided  over  by 
H  .•.  R .".  H  .•.  the  Duke  of  Connaught.  They  have  always  followed  the  Masonic 
element  of  Black  Masonry,  which  they  still  adhere  to  in  preference  to  the 
reformed  modern  ritual.  The  term  Encampment  appears  to  have  been 
first  used  about  1783  in  the  "High  Knights  Templar"  degrees.  These 
degrees,  derived  from  the  Athol  system,  were  conferred  in  the  Kilwinning 
Knights  Templar  Lodge  of  Dublin,  a  warrant  having  been  obtained  from 
Mother  Kilwinning  Lodge  of  Scotland,  on  application  of  Irish  Templars,  who 
were  under  the  impression  that  this  lodge  gave  authority  to  confer  all  so-called 
Masonic  degrees  beyond  the  three  first  or  Craft. 

The  earliest  record  of  the  term  Encampment  appears  in  the  old  minute- 
book  of  the  "  High  Knights  Templar  Lodge  of  Kilwinning,"  Dublin,  which  is 
now,  since  it  became  obsolete,  in  the  possession  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Scotland. 

On  the  8th  October,  1779,  Mother  Kilwinning  Lodge  of  Scotland  granted 
a  charter  to  Hugh  Cunningham  and  others,  for  Craft  working  in  Ireland  —  all 
the  Mother  lodge  herself  sanctioned  ;  but,  about  17S3,  a  brother  Zimmerman, 
a  Frenchman,  joined  the  lodge.  He  shortly  afterward  started  the  ''Templar 
and  Rose  Croix  Prince  INIasons,"  with  other  high  degrees,  beyond  that  of 
Craft,  as  deriving  authority  from  the  Mother  Kilwinning  Lodge  of  Scotland. 
Finally,  a  body  calling  itself  the  "  Grand  Kilwinning  Chapter  of  High  Knights 
Templar  for  Ireland"  was  formed,  and  printed  a  constitution  in  1803.  In 
1806  an  opposition  was  started,  abusing  and  condemning  all  who  were  opposed 
to  them,  and  warrants  were  issued —  one,  No.  43,  to  the  Aberdeenshire  Mihtia 
Regiment,  called  a  travelling  warrant,  dated  a.l.  5807,  a.d.  1807,  bearing  the 
old  Encampment  Templar  seal.  This  Encampment  is  supposed  to  have 
ceased  to  exist  in  1836-37,  when  a  change  took  place,  and  the  old  charters 
were  called  in,  and  new  ones  issued  in  Scotland. 

French  Templary.  —  On  the  Continent  of  Europe,  Templary  is  clearly 
traced  to  the  High  Grade  System  of  Thory,  and  there  is  no  evidence  in  any 
country  of  its  being  a  direct  continuation  of  the  ancient  Order.  The  claims 
of  France  rest  upon  a  charter  given  to  Larmenius  by  De  Molai,  which  has 
been  proved  a  forgery. 

Templars  of  Sweden.  —  The  Swedish  Templars  assert  that  Templary  was 
introduced  there  by  a  nephew  of  De  Molai,  who  was  a  member  of  the  new 
Order  of  Christ  in  Portugal,  and  they  now,  with  Denmark  and  other  national- 
ities of  Germany,  practise  the  reformed  system  of  the  obsolete  Templar  rite 
of  the  "  Strict  Observance." 

Templary  of  the  United  States  of  America.  —  With  respect  to  the  Tem- 
plar system  of  our  f rat  res  of  the  United  States,  after  the  purely  chivalric 
degrees  which  were  first  introduced  into  the  St.  Andrew's  Royal  Arch  chapter 
at  Boston  in  1769,  had  died  out,  I  may  briefly  say  that  they  chose  to  adopt 


MODERN  SYSTEMS.  yg^ 

a  ritual  which  resembles  no  other  in  any  country.  It  therefore  seems  doubtful 
if  the  Masons  who  introduced  the  degree,  and  "  set  up  "  what  is  called 
Templar  Masonry,  in  the  New  England  States,  ever  had  the  degrees  conferred 
upon  them.  If  so,  how  came  they  to  make  a  ritual  for  themselves,  unhke 
anything  else  in  the  world?  From  this  it  would  seem  that  they  could  not  have 
been  in  the  possession  of  any  authorized  ritual  of  the  degrees  in  the  Mother- 
land, or  had  after  that  forgotten  the  O.  B.  by  which  they  received  them  ;  for 
if  they  had  regularly  received  them,  how  came  they  to  abandon  or  even 
tamper  with  the  ceremonies  and  their  fundamental  principles,  communicated 
only  under  solemn  obligations  ?  But  it  is  more  than  probable  that,  not  having 
any  authorized  ritual,  they  concocted  one  to  suit  their  own  ideas  of  the 
Masonic  Templar  alliance,  totally  changing  the  meaning  and  object,  and 
imparting  to  it  the  element  of  equality  that  prevailed  at  that  time  in  Europe, 
with  latitudinarian  views  of  the  Christian  religion  \  for  if  anything  in  the 
world  resembles  one  thing  less  than  another,  here  is  a  striking  illustration, 
since  American  Templary  is  as  far  removed  from  the  real  Templary  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  as  that  of  the  modern  Masonic  revival  in  England.  This  has 
been  acknowledged  by  some  of  their  most  prominent  and  best  informed 
authorities,  stating  that  it  was  not  the  intention  to  adopt  the  peculiar  religious 
opinions  or  follow  the  usages  of  the  old  religious  military  fraternities,  but  to 
create  and  adopt  a  Masonic  military  degree  of  their  own,  to  be  known  as 
Knights  Templar.  The  advances  made  by  English  Templars  a  few  years  ago 
toward  an  alliance  proved  unsatisflictory,  as  the  views  adopted  by  our  United 
States  fratres  did  not  in  essentials  assimilate  with  those  of  the  Empire.  The 
originators  of  their  system  chose  to  found  it  altogether  on  Craft  Freemasonry, 
and  they  are  now  so  connected  that  they  cannot  be  separated  to  amalgamate 
with  a  system  in  which  the  Orders  are  not  equally  so  connected.  The 
formulas  of  a  reception  into  the  degrees  based  upon  the  ancient  Templar 
ceremonies  and  Trinitarian  Christian  belief  are  totally  different  in  structure, 
usages,  and  creed  from  that  of  Templary  based  upon  Craft  Masonry. 

Mistaken  Ideas  of  Masonic  Templary.  —  The  purely  Masonic  Templar 
system  can  be  compared  to  little  else  than  what  may  be  called  a  "  Frantic 
effort  after  the  real  thing,  with  a  sort  of  photograph  to  begin  upon,"  enjoyable 
no  doubt  as  a  public  dramatic  military  display,  but  it  is  not  Templary.  To 
speak  of  Templary  as  an  Order  of  Freemasonry,  is  simply  absurd  from  the 
British  Templar  stand-point.  The  instant  the  Order  of  the  Temple  ceases  to 
be  Trinitarian  Christian,  it  also  ceases  to  be  a  true  branch  of  the  Templar 
Knightly  Order. 

Difficulties  of  Affiliation.  — "  How  then"  (as  one  of  their  own  Masonic 
writers  says),  "can  the  Templars  of  the  United  States  system  expect  affiliation 
with  those  of  the  British  Empire,  the  organizations  being  altogether  different, 
—  as  widely  different  as  'Masonry'  and  'Odd  Fellowship'?"  And  another 
well-known  authority  remarks  :  "  If  an  Odd  Fellow  was  first  to  be  a  Mason, 


792 


BRITISH   TEMPLAR  Y. 


and  the  name  Odd  Fellow  Avere  changed  to  'Knights  Templar,'  the  Odd 
Fellowship  of  the  United  States  might  with  as  much  propriety  be  accepted  in 
Canada  and  other  portions  of  the  British  Empire  as  the  same  Order  as  that  of 
the  Temple,  so  completely  have  the  Templars  of  the  United  States  departed 
from  the  original  purport  and  meaning  of  Templary,  having  made  it  wholly 
and  emphatically  a  degree  of  Speculative  Masonry ;  and  however  consistently 
it  may  be  arranged  as  such,  it  can  lay  no  claim  whatever  to  the  name  of 
Templar  Knights,  as  representing  that  Order,  in  history,  doctrine,  or  ritual." 

The  Order  of  the  Temple  existed  for  centuries  apart  from  Freemasonry, 
without  any  known  connection  further  than  that  the  old  Knights  employed  the 
Ancient  Craft  as  workmen.  Our  modern  Grand  Lodges  consider  the  Templar 
dogmas  as  glaring  innovations  upon  Symbolic  Masonry.  Templary,  therefore, 
in  the  Empire  is  only  recognized  as  ^//aj-/- Masonic,  from  being  allied  to  it, 
as  an  additional  degree,  for  about  a  century  past,  but  which  never  obtained 
recognition  as  being  Masonic,  save  at  York  with  the  Royal  Arch  in  1 780. 

The  Present  Agitation  in  Canada.  —  I  remark,  however,  in  passing,  that 
in  Canada  some  of  the  fratres  are  much  exercised  about  the  oft-discussed 
question  of  out-door  Templar  costume  and  military  display  of  the  American 
Templars,  and  seem  to  feel  the  power  of  these  latter-day  offshoots,  the 
outcome  of  the  vigorous  growth,  in  the  Uniteii  States  of  America,  of  an 
organization  in  which,  as  adapted  to  the  popular  taste,  historical  accuracy  is 
not  aimed  at,  and  tradition  is  made  of  non-effect,  thus  leaving  their  com- 
manderies  free  to  gratify  the  National  love  of  military  pomp  and  to  indulge  in 
demonstrativeness ;  that  if  these  could  be  grafted  upon  the  widely  different 
British  system,  a  new  era,  they  think,  would  begin,  and  what  is  called  pro- 
gressiveness  ensue.  But  change  and  progress  are  not  identical,  nor  will 
mistaken  ideas  as  to  cause  and  effect  form  a  sound  basis  upon  which  to  found 
a  revolution  in  the  old  order  of  things.  The  military  drill  and  uniform  of  our 
American  fratres  is  a  very  modern  feature  of  their  Knights  Templary,  and 
is  not  the  foundation  of  their  strength  or  power ;  for  we  must  look  below  the 
surface  show  of  plumed  Knights  and  fantastic  drills  to  find  the  source  of  their 
progress.  What  has  been  said  of  the  American  Church  may  be  applied  to 
American  Templary  as  well.  They  have  the  power,  born  of  Unity,  not  in  the 
shallow  sense  of  seeming  uniformity,  but  the  unity  which  covers  diversity  and 
protects  individuality :  it  is  here  we  shall  discover  the  spring  of  their  active 
progress. 

Every  individual  connecting  himself  by  obligation  with  any  organization, 
by  that  act  alone  pledges  himself  to  abide  by  and  sustain  the  rules,  by  what- 
ever name  they  may  be  designated,  governing  the  body  with  which  he  has 
allied  himself,  presumably  knowing  the  meaning  and  purport  of  his  vow. 

Those  in  Canada  who  are  anxious  to  adopt  the  American  Templar  work,  and 
indulge  in  disparaging  and  satirical  remarks  about  the  British  system  of  Tem- 
plary, should  remember  that  abuse  is  no  argument,  and  ridicule  does  not  prove 


MODERN  SYSTEMS. 


793 


anything.  It  is  a  mere  wilful  blindness  to  the  truth  to  say  that  the  Canadian 
Templar  system  is  meant  to  revert  to  the  primitive  forms  of  the  ancient  Order. 
It  is  nothing  of  the  kind,  as  every  one  conversant  with  the  Ritual  knows. 
Only  the  precepts,  doctrine,  and  general  features  have  been  preserved,  without 
any  attempt  to  follow  or  adopt  any  Order  of  Knighthood,  ancient  or  modern, 
the  system  strictly  confining  itself  to  the  common-sense  view  of  the  Christian 
teaching  and  historic  antecedents  of  the  religious  military  fraternities. 

Templars  in  British  Colonies.  —  The  defenders  of  the  British  Crown  in 
India,  China,  the  Cape  Colony,  New  Zealand,  and  the  Mediterranean  hold 
preceptories  under  the  Great  Priory  of  England,  where  formerly  concurrent 
jurisdiction  with  Scotland  and  Ireland  existed,  but  which  was  disputed  by  the 
English  Grand  body  claiming  to  be  the  ruling  power,  no  other  governing  body 
in  the  Empire  having  authority  in  any  British  colony. 

The  Great  Priory  of  Canada,  and  Precepts  of  the  Ancient  Templars. 
—  In  the  Colony  of  Victoria,  an  independent  Great  Priory,  founded  by  the 
Great  Priory  of  Canada,  exists,  which  has  caused  the  old  kindly  relations 
between  the  Mother  Grand  body  and  Canada  to  be  severed  from  a  misappre- 
hension, in  the  first  instance,  that  concurrent  jurisdiction  still  existed  there. 
This  is  not  as  it  should  be,  if  for  a  moment  we  consider  the  ancient  precepts 
and  principles  of  the  Order,  which  the  old  chronicle  of  early  times  so  pointedly 
and  quaintly  defines  :  "  The  defence  of  religion  became  the  office  and  pride 
of  the  old  Nobihty  and  the  Order  of  Knighthood.  The  duty  of  a  Knight 
was  to  maintain  the  Catholic  faith.  The  cross  of  Christ  was  no  sooner  lifted 
up  as  a  standard,  than  all  Europe  was  united  in  a  bond  of  brotherhood,  to 
testify  their  love  for  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  and  to  protect  from  insult  and 
injury  the  persecuted  servants  of  their  Saviour." 

The  Catholic  or  Universal  faith  of  Christendom  being  the  very  basis  of  the 
character  which  belonged  to  a  Knight,  every  one  conversant  with  the  chivalric 
usages  must  recollect  that  the  highest  glory  was  to  be  called  "  a  veray  Knyghte 
and  servauni  of  Jhesu  Cryste^ 

True  Templary. — The  teachings,  then,  of  true  Knight  Templary,  are  a 
transcript  of  God's  Word,  as  rendered  in  the  sacred  volume,  expressed  in 
symbolic  language,  and  carried  out  in  life.  Its  very  name  is  religious  ;  and  the 
duties  which  its  striking  Ritual  imposes  by  O.  B.  ai-e  too  solemn  and  binding  to 
be  trifled  with,  and  make  it  an  Order  not  to  be  conferred  as  a  mere  source 
of  amusement  and  social  enjoyment.  They  who  indulge  in  the  latter  forget  that 
all  vows  and  protestations  before  the  throne  of  grace  are  both  solemn  and  bind- 
ing, and  when  response  is  made  to  the  Holy  Name  and  prayer  offered  up, 
unless  all  due  reverence  and  humiUty  are  observed,  it  is  but  taking  the  "  Holy 
Name  in  vain." 

Conclusion.  —  My  task  is  now  ended,  however  imperfectly  done.  In  carefully 
recording  these  portions  of  my  annual  addresses  to  the  Templar  body  of  Canada 
for  the  last  thirty-six  years,  with  such  corrections  as  became  necessary  from 
a  more  extended  and  correct  knowledge  of  the  history  of  Freemasonry  and 


-Q.  BRITISH   TEMPIARY. 

the  Templar  system,  my  whole  aim  and  object  has  been  to  raise  the  status 
of  the  Order  and  point  out  its  true  object  and  meaning.  With  this  view 
for  my  guide,  I  have  fearlessly  exposed  the  mistakes  and  palpable  errors  of 
the  Masonic  system  of  Templary  generally.  Having  passed  through  the 
ordeal  of  "  seeking  for  hidden  treasure,"  I  had  long  been  groping  in  the  dark, 
expecting  to  find  some  occult  science,  the  explanation  of  some  philosophical 
problem,  and  to  bring  to  light  some  wonderful  secrets ;  in  all  of  which  I  have 
been  disappointed,  until  the  true  meaning  of  Masonry  and  Templary  was 
placed  before  me  in  all  its  simplicity,  purity,  and  sublime  beauty :  then  all 
my  anxiety  vanished.  I  had  been  looking  in  a  wrong  direction,  and  for  that 
which  was  not  to  be  found.  For  this  reason,  I  revere  the  degree  of  the 
Temple  as  taught  in  the  British  Dominion,  not  because  it  represents  the  once 
famous  religious  and  military  confraternity  of  that  name  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
but  because  it  holds  up  to  the  view  of  its  members  the  Crucifixion,  Death. 
Resurrection,  and  Ascension  of  Jesus,  Lord  and  King  of  Glory,  and  Prince  of 
Peace,  teaching  the  Divinity  of  Christ  and  Trinity  of  the  Godhead.  Need  I 
add,  the  object,  the  end,  the  result  of  the  great  speculations  of  antiquity  was 
the  ultimate  annihilation  of  evil,  and  the  restoration  of  man  to  his  first  state, 
by  a  Redeemer,  a  Messiah,  a  Christos,  —  the  Incarnate  Word  ? 

My  views  on  this  subject  no  doubt  will  be  looked  upon  as  expressing 
extreme  opinions  and  be  considered  Utopian  by  the  "  wise  "  of  this  advanced 
age,  being  quite  contrary  to  all  preconceived  ideas  of  Masonry.  It  may  be  so  ; 
but  I  have  the  consciousness  of  their  abiding  truth,  and  do  not  flinch  or  swerve 
from  any  criticisms  that  may  be  offered,  or  give  up  the  precious  doctrines  I  hold, 
and  I  am  convinced  that  I  have  laid  down  the  ancient  and  only  true  ground 
upon  which  the  Order  of  the  Temple  should  exist  in  Canada  and  elsewhere. 
Without  a  firm  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  there  never  would  have 
been  any  Order  of  Knights  Templar  in  the  world.  It  was  the  very  basis 
of  the  ancient  Order,  and  continues  to  be  so  up  to  the  present  time.  When 
this  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  expunged  from  the  Templar  code,  all 
my  interest  ceases,  and  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  system  of 
so-called  Templary, 

Vale. 


■:^ 


Part    IV. 

ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED  SCOTTISH  RITE  OF  FREEMASONRY. 


DIVISION     XVIII. 


SCOTTISH  DEGREES,   /    TO  33°,   INCLUSIVE. 


History  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry :  its  Govern- 
f?ient  by  Supreme  Councils,  Consistories,  Chapters  of  Rose  Croix,  Councils 
of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  and  Lodges  of  Perfection. 

By  Josiah  H.  Drummond,  33°, 

Past  Sovereign  Grand  Commander  for  tlie  Northern  Masonic  Jurisdiction  of 

the  United  States  of  America. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Origin,  History,  and  Present  Status. 

Rites  and  their  Signification.  — The  word  Rite,  in  its  application  to  Free- 
masonry, has  come  to  mean  something  more  than  a  ceremony,  or  mode  of 
working.  It  is  now  appHed  to  distinctive  organizations  of  a  Masonic  character, 
or,  more  strictly  speaking,  to  the  Masonry  practised  by  those  organizations, 
as  well  as  to  systems  which  are  assumed  to  be  parts  of  one  whole.  Thus 
we  speak  of  Symbolic  Masonry  as  the  Symbolic  Rite ;  Royal  Arch  Masonry 
as  the  Capitular  Rite  ;  and  Cryptic  Masonry  as  the  Cryptic  Rite ;  and  we 
speak  of  all  three  together  as  the  "York  Rite." 

The  term  "  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  "  is  applied  to  that  system 
which  was  first  definitively  organized  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1801. 
Like  the  Capitular  Rite,  it  is  founded  upon  the  Symbolic  degrees ;  its  postu- 
lants must  be  Master  Masons  of  the  Symbolic  Rite  in  good  standing.      It 

795 


796 


ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 


recognizes  the  first  three  degrees  as  the  foundation  of  all  higher  degrees  of 
whatever  system  or  Rite ;  and  Grand  Lodges  as  the  exclusive,  supreme  gov- 
ernors of  those  degrees,  with  the  absolute  power  to  fix  the  status  of  Master 
Masons  by  laws,  decisions,  and  judgments  conclusively  binding  upon  all  bodies 
and  individuals  practising  any  other  Rite. 

Degrees  of  the  Scottish  Rite.  —  Its  degrees,  conferred  in  a.  series  of 
subordinate  bodies,  number  from  the  Fourth  to  the  Thirty-second  inclusive. 
It  has  an  Official  degree,  the  Thirty-third,  formerly  conferred  only  upon  the 
members  of  its  Supreme  Governing  body  as  a  qualification  for  membership 
therein.  That  body  in  each  jurisdiction  is  composed  of  a  limited  number  of 
members  entitled  to  vote  and  is  termed  the  Supreme  Council.  The  practice 
has  grown  up  of  conferring  the  Thirty-third  degree,  as  an  Honorary  degree,  upon 
those  who  may  be  deemed  to  merit  it  by  distinguished  services  in  the  Rite 
or  in  Freemasonry  :  those  receiving  it  thereby  become  Honorary  members  of 
the  Supreme  Council  with  such  rights,  powers,  and  privileges  as  are  fixed  by 
the  laws  of  the  particular  body  to  which  they  are  attached.  While  all  Supreme 
Councils  recognize  the  rank  of  all  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors-G.eneral  of  the 
Thirty-third  degree,  whether  Active  or  Honorary,  they  have  no  powers  outside 
of  the  jurisdiction  in  which  they  receive  the  rank  and  continue  to  reside, 
except  such  as  may  be  given  to  them  by  the  laws  of  a  Supreme  Council  in 
whose  jurisdiction  they  subsequently  take  up  their  residence.  But  members 
of  this  Rite,  of  whatever  degree,  visiting  in  any  jurisdiction,  are  received  with 
the  same  honors  as  those  of  the  same  rank  and  official  position  in  the 
jurisdiction  visited. 

Organization.  —  There  is  not  entire  uniformity  in  the  organization  of  the 
bodies  subordinate  to  the  Supreme  Councils ;  in  most  jurisdictions,  the 
degrees  from  the  Fourth  to  the  Fourteenth  inclusive  are  conferred  in  "  Lodges 
of  Perfection  "  ;  the  Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth  in  "  Councils  of  Jerusalem  "  ; 
the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth  in  "  Chapters  of  Rose  Croix,"  and  the  Nine- 
teenth to  the  Thirty-second,  inclusive,  in  "  Consistories  of  Sublime  Princes  of 
the  Royal  Secret "  ;  in  one  Jurisdiction  the  degrees  from  the  Nineteenth  to  the 
Thirtieth  are  conferred  in  a  "  Council  of  Kadosh,"  and  only  the  Thirty-first  and 
Thirty-second  in  the  Consistory.  In  some  jurisdictions  there  is  a  Grand 
Consistory  and  in  one,  a  "  Council  of  Deliberation,"  as  governing  bodies  with 
limited  powers,  intermediate  between  the  Supreme  Council  and  the  working 
bodies. 

Historic  Summary.  —  After  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
England,  in  171 7,  Masonry  soon  acquired  a  high  degree  of  popularity. 
Degrees,  almost  numl)erless,  were  invented  and  termed  Masonic ;  there  was 
apparently  no  governing  authority  for  very  many  of  them,  but  they  were  what 
are  now  known  as  "side  degrees."  In  1754  twenty-five  of  them  (including 
the  three  SymboHc  degrees)  were  arranged  in  a  series  called  the  Rite  of 
Perfection;   a  governing  body  was   apparently  formed,   but  it   either   died 


SCOTTISH  CONSTITUTIONS.  y^g 

or  changed  its  name  in  1759,  for  in  that  year  the  same  series  of  degrees  was 
under  the  authority  of  a  body  caUing  itself  "  Council  of  the  Emperors  of  the 
East  and  West."  In  1761  this  body  commissioned  Stephen  Morin  to  intro- 
duce the  Rite  into  America;  he  established  bodies  in  San  Domingo  and 
Jamaica,  in  the  latter  of  which  Henry  Andrew  Francken  was  admitted ;  he  in 
turn  was  commissioned  by  Morin  to  establish  the  Rite  in  the  (now)  United 
States.  Francken  came  to  New  York,  and  in  1767  estabhshed  a  Lodge  of 
Perfection  in  Albany,  in  that  State. 

In  1762  the  Council  of  Emperors  adopted  ''Grand  Constitutions"  (more 
generally  called  "the  Constitutions  of  1762"),  a  copy  of  which  Francken 
brought  with  him  ;  he  left  a  copy  with  the  Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Albany  and 
undoubtedly  gave  out  others. 

Both  Morin  and  Francken  had  power,  not  only  to  organize  bodies  of  the 
Rite,  but  also  to  appoint  Inspectors  possessing  equal  power  with  themselves. 
Francken  apj:^inted  Moses  M.  Hayes  of  Massachusetts,  two  at  Albany  and 
perhaps  others,  as  quite  a  number  were  appointed,  but  by  whom  no  record 
shows,  so  far  as  known.  A  Lodge  of  Perfection  was  organized  in  Philadelphia, 
in  17S1,  a  part  of  the  record  of  which  has  been  preserved.  The  Inspectors, 
Deputies  for  different  States,  held  meetings  there  also.  In  1 783  a  Lodge  of 
Perfection  was  established  in  Charleston,  South  Carohna,  by  Isaac  Da  Costa, 
a  Deputy  Inspector  appointed  by  Hayes ;  but  its  records  were  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1 796,  and  apparently  it  became  extinct.  Evidence  has  recently  been 
discovered  that  a  Lodge  of  Perfection  was  established  at  Baltimore,  in  1792, 
by  Henry  Wilmans  :  he  was  a  Prussian  and,  as  no  connection  has  been  traced 
between  him  and  the  other  Inspectors,  some  have  believed  that  he  brought 
his  authority  with  him;  but  as,  in  1782,  Joseph  M.  Meyers  was  Deputy  for 
Maryland  (appointed  by  Hayes),  the  source  of  the  authority  of  Wilmans  is 
exceedingly  doubtful.  Schultz,  in  his  "  History  of  Masonry  in  Maryland," 
gives  a  hst  of  seventy-six  members  of  this  lodge.  Joseph  M.  Meyers,  on 
February  20,  178S,  established  a  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem  at  Charleston 
and  on  January  13,  1797,  a  Grand  Council  of  Princes  of  the  Royal  Secret  was 
established  at  the  same  place  under  the  authority  of  a  body  of  the  same  grade 
at  Kingston,  in  Jamaica. 

The  Lodges  of  Perfection  at  Albany  and  Philadelphia  were  in  full  accord 
with  the  Symbolic  lodges  ;  they  assumed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  they  had 
no  jurisdiction  over  the  Symbolic  degrees,  and  invariably  commenced  with  the' 
Fourth  degree  :  the  records  of  the  other  two  lodges  are  lost,  but,  judging  from 
their  members,  who  were  active  in  Symbolic  Masonry,  the  same  was  true  of  the 
Charleston  and  Baltimore  lodges. 

The  "  Constitutions."  —  Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  in  this  country  in 
the  closing  years  of  the  last  century.  Early  in  1803  a  circular,  dated  Decem- 
ber 4,  I  So  2,  was  published  announcing  the  organization,  on  May  31,  1 801,  of 
a  new  governing  body  of  a  new  rite,  into  which  the  Rite  of  Perfection  had 


3oo  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

been  transformed.  The  record  of  the  formation  of  this  body  has  not  been 
preserved ;  but  the  circular  very  largely  supplies  the  loss. 

The  name  of  this  new  body  was  "  The  Supreme  Council  of  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspectors-General  of  the  Thirty-third  Degree  for  the  United  States  o\ 
America."  It  was  organized  by  John  Mitchell  and  Frederic  Dalcho,  and  the 
circular  states  that,  during  the  year,  the  full  number  (nine)  of  members  was 
admitted.  It  recognized  the  "Constitutions  of  1762,"  the  "Secret  Constitu- 
tions," and  the  "Constitutions  of  1786." 

The  latter  are  the  supreme  law  of  the  Rite ;  their  origin  has  been  the 
cause  of  much  research  and  discussion.  They  purport  to  have  been  sanc- 
tioned by  Frederic  the  Great,  of  Prussia,  as  the  Supreme  Head  and  Governor 
of  the  Rite  :  their  purpose  was  to  provide  for  the  succession,  after  his  death, 
in  the  government  of  the  Rite  :  by  their  terms,  Frederic's  power  was  vested  in 
a  Council  of  Nine  in  each  nation.  These  Constitutions  were  first  published  in 
1832,  in  French;  another  version,  in  Latin,  was  published  in  1S34;  these  two 
versions,  while  agreeing  in  the  main  features,  are  different  in  some  of  the 
details ;  the  Latin  version  is  more  formal  and  complete,  and  this  fact  has  led 
to  the  opinion  that  this  version  was  the  original  and  that  the  other  version 
was  an  imperfect  translation  of  this  into  French. 

It  has  been  vigorously  asserted  that  these  Constitutions  were  never  sanc- 
tioned by  Frederic,  and  even  that  they  were  "  forged  "  at  Charleston,  and, 
until  quite  recently,  this  has  been  very  generally  accepted.  The  reasons  given 
were  that,  in  1786,  Frederic  was  mentally  and  physically  incapable  of  doing 
business,  and  that  the  names  appended  to  the  Latin  version  were  fictitious. 
But  Brother  Albert  Pike,  in  his  "  Historical  Inquiry,"  has  most  completely 
overthrown  these  assertions.  He  has  shown  conclusively  that,  while  Frederic 
was  suffering  physically,  in  1786,  he  still  administered  affairs  as  usual;  and 
that  the  names  appended  to  the  Constitutions  were  those  of  men  connected 
with  the  court  of  Frederic. 

As  the  result  of  an  extended,  close,  and  impartial  investigation,  Brother 
Pike  reaches  the  conclusion  that  these  Constitutions  were  made  at  Berlin  and 
approved  by  Frederic  ;  and  they  are  recognized  by  the  Southern  Supreme 
Council. 

On  the  other  hand.  Brother  Enoch  T.  Carson,  whose  study  of  the  history 
of  the  Rite  and  matters  connected  with  it,  has  scarcely  been  surpassed  by 
any  one  in  the  world,  is  of  opinion  that  the  French  version  was  the  original : 
and  it  is  the  only  version  which  the  Northern  Supreme  Council  has  ever 
recognized. 

It  is  difficult,  after  closely  studying  Brother  Pike's  presentation  of  his  rea- 
sons, to  avoid  agreeing  with  him  in  his  conclusions. 

It  is  certain  that,  after  Francken  introduced  the  Rite  into  this  country, 
those  practising  it  understood  that  the  supreme  governing  power  was  in 
Berlin:    indeed,  in  1785,  the   Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Philadelphia  had  an 


FIIiST  SUPREME    COUNCIL.  goi 

address  prepared,  to  be  forwarded  to  Frederic  as  the  Head  of  the  Order. 
The  Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Albany  was  directed,  as  early  as  1770,  to  transmit 
reports  to  Berlin ;  while  upon  a  tracing-board,  made  still  earher  by  a  member 
of  that  lodge,  the  double-headed  crowned  eagle  of  Prussia  is  given  as  a  symbol 
of  the  Head  of  the  Order.  It  is  impossible,  in  the  space  allowed  to  this 
sketch,  to  enter  upon  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  interesting  subject. 

But  wheresoever,  whensoever,  or  by  whomsoever  made,  these  Constitutions 
were  adopted  as  the  fundamental  Law  of  the  Rite,  and  have  ever  since  been 
so  held. 

The  First  Supreme  Council.  —  The  first  body  organized  under  them  was 
the  Supreme  Council  established  at  Charleston,  May  31,  1801,  by  John 
Mitchell  and  Frederic  Dalcho. 

While  this  was  a  new  Rite,  although  "fully  developed  and  apparently 
mature  at  its  advent,"  it  still  was  a  transformation  of  the  Rite  of  Perfection. 
Morin  had  commissioned  Francken,  and  he,  Moses  M.  Hayes  ;  Hayes  com- 
missioned Barend  AL  Spitzer,  and  the  latter,  on  April  2,  1795,  granted  to  John 
Mitchell  a  patent  as  Deputy  Lispector-General,  reciting  therein  that  he  does 
so  by  authority  of  the  Convention  of  Lispectors  held  in  Philadelphia,  June  5, 
1 781.  On  May  24,  1801,  IMitchell  issued  to  Frederic  Dalcho  a  patent 
certifying  to  his  possession  of  the  degrees  and  creating  him  a  Deputy  Inspec- 
tor-General. For  a  time,  at  least,  this  title  signified  an  office  and  not  a  degree  : 
later,  they  called  themselves,  in  America,  Deputy  Grand  Inspectors-General ; 
and  Brother  Pike  shows  that  in  the  "  Institutes  "  attached  to  the  "  Constitu- 
tions of  1762,"  as  published  in  France,  it  is  provided  that,  in  a  country  in 
which  there  is  no  Grand  Consistory  or  Grand  Councils  of  Princes  of  Jerusa- 
lem, the  oldest  Grand  Inspector- General  is  invested  with  dogmatic  power,  and 
consequently  with  the  title  of  "Sovereign,"  —  whence  undoubtedly  came  the 
title,  "  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General."  In  1801  the  names  of  the  Deputy 
Inspectors,  who  had  blen  active  previously  to  that  time,  had  disappeared  from 
the  records  and  evidently  John  jMitchell  was  then  the  oldest  Inspector-Gen- 
eral, and,  therefore.  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General.  The  Constitutions 
of  1786  had  apparently  been  brought  from  Europe,  and  Mitchell  proceeded 
to  organize  a  Supreme  Council  in  exact  accordance  with  the  terms  of  that 
document.  He,  as  the  only  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General  in  the  United 
States,  raised  Dalcho  to  the  same  grade  ;  they  two,  a  third ;  and  so  on  until 
the  number  was  complete.  But  the  Rite  of  Perfection  had  only  twenty-five 
degrees,  while  their  Rite  had  thirty-three.  Of  course  it  was  necessary  that 
the  actual  degrees  should  correspond  with  the  mnnber.  Whether  the  new 
scale  of  degrees  was  arranged  when  the  Constitutions  w-ere  framed,  or  whether 
that  was  done  by  the  founders  of  the  Supreme  Council  after  its  organization, 
cannot  be  determined.  From  the  fact,  however,  that  the  list  of  degrees,  as 
given  in  the  circular  of  1802,  was  somewhat  different  from  the  one  finally 
adopted,  it  would  seem  that  the  founders  of  the  Supreme  Council  arranged 


802  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

the  system  :  in  the  circular,  the  "  K  —  H  "  is  given  as  the  Twenty  ninth,  while 
soon  after  the  "Knight  of  St.  Andrew"  took  its  place,  and  the  "K  —  H" 
became  the  Thirtieth,  In  the  register  of  J.  J.  J.  Gourgas,  the  list  was  origi- 
nally recorded  as  given  in  the  aforesaid  circular,  and  afterward  corrected  in  the 
margin. 

By  whomsoever  done,  eight  degrees  (counting  the  Thirty-third),  were  added 
to  the  Rite  of  Perfection  ;  not  at  the  end  of  the  scale,  but  interpolated,  so  that 
the  old  Twenty-fifth  degree  became  the  Thirty-second.  The  Supreme  Council 
assumed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  it  had  jurisdiction  over  all  Masons  of  the 
Rite  of  Perfection,  and  so  far  as  can  be  discovered  no  one  in  this  country 
contested  the  claim.  Subordinate  bodies  of  the  Rite  were  estabhshed  at 
Charleston,  in  1801,  which  pubUshed  a  register  in  the  following  year. 

When  the  revolution  in  San  Domingo  commenced,  in  1791,  and  the  French 
settlers  were  obliged  to  flee,  many  of  them  came  to  Charleston ;  among  them 
were  Count  de  Grasse  and  his  father-in-law,  Delahogue ;  while  they  remained 
there  several  years,  they  did  not  consider  themselves  resident,  but  still  hailed 
from  France.  On  November  12,  1796,  Hyman  Isaac  Long  (who  derived  his 
powers  from  Morin,  through  Francken,  Hayes,  Spitzer,  and  Moses  Cohen), 
created  De  Grasse  and  Delahogue,  Deputy  Grand  Inspectors-General.  The 
French  refugees,  both  in  Charleston  and  New  Orleans,  were,  many  of  them, 
active  Masons ;  although  they  contemplated  a  temporary  sojourn  only  in  this 
country,  they  still  desired  to  continue  Masonic  work  :  at  least  two  lodges 
were  formed  by  them  in  Charleston  before  1800,  both  of  which  soon  after- 
ward became  extinct :  they  also  established  a  "  Grand  Council  of  Princes  of 
the  Royal  Secret,"  under  the  authority  of  Long,  acting  for  the  "  Princes  of 
Masonry  at  Kingston  "  :  this  body,  as  well  as  the  lodges,  was  evidently  quite 
fully,  if  not  entirely,  made  up  of  refugees,  and  expected  to  be  of  a  temporary 
character. 

On  February  21,  1802,  the  Supreme  Council  at  Charleston  granted  to 
De  Grasse  a  patent  as  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General,  33°,  certifying  that 
he  was  "  Grand  Commander  for  life  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  French 
West  India  Islands,"  with  the  usual  powers  under  the  Grand  Constitutions. 

Early  in  1802  the  French  forces  re-conquered  San  Domingo  :  the  insur- 
gents submitted  and  the  pacification  was  considered  complete.  Immediately 
the  refugees  returned  in  great  numbers ;  the  time,  for  which  they  had  been 
looking  for  ten  years,  had  arrived ;  their  lodges  and  other  Masonic  bodies  in 
the  United  States  became  extinct ;  De  Grasse  opened  his  Supreme  Council 
at  Cape  Francois ;  among  others,  it  created  Antoine  Bideaud,  first  a  Deputy 
Grand  Inspector-General,  and  then,  on  September  10,  1802,  a  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspector- General,  But  the  French  rule  was  of  short  duration;  in 
October,  1S02,  there  was  a  new  revolt,  and  in  less  than  six  months  the  insur- 
gents had  become  completely  successful ;  the  French  inhabitants,  despairing 
of  ever  again  returning,  fled  to  France :  as  a  consequence,  this  Supreme 
Council  ceased  to  exist. 


GRAND    ORIENT  OF  FRANCE. 


803 


Among  them  were  De  Grasse  and  other  members  of  the  Cape  Frangois 
Supreme  Council;  on  September  22,  1804,  De  Grasse  and  his  associates 
united  with  some  Scottish  Masons  at  Paris  and  formed  the  Supreme  Council 
of  France.  A  Deputy  Inspector-General,  appointed  by  Du  Plessis,  at  Phila- 
delphia, had  previously  established  in  Paris  bodies  of  the  Scottish  Rite  of 
Heredom,  which,  upon  the  organization  of  the  Supreme  Council,  fused  with 
the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite. 

Controversy  with  Grand  Orient  of  France.  — The  body  thus  formed  had 
a  long  controversy  with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France, — a  body  that  seems  to 
have  always  cared  more  to  increase  its  power  than  to  propagate  Masonry, 
and  which  has  now,  for  some  years,  ceased  to  be  a  Masonic  body,  although 
it  still  claims  that  character.  Space  will  not  allow  a  statement  of  the  details 
of  that  controversy ;  but  a  brief  account  of  the  results  is  necessary  for  a  proper 
understanding  of  subsequent  history. 

The  Supreme  Council  of  France  conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree,  in  1804, 
upon  various  members  of  the  Grand  Orient.  The  latter  had  just  succeeded 
in  absorbing  the  Grand  Lodge  of  France  and  was  looking  around  for  "  new 
worlds  to  conquer."  It  made  overtures  at  once  for  a  union  with  the  Supreme 
Council ;  a  "  Concordat  "  was  agreed  upon  and  ratified  by  the  Grand  Orient, 
December  5,  1804  ;  the  precise  terms  of  this  document  cannot  be  ascertained 
with  absolute  certainty ;  it  was  deposited  with  a  brother  who  published  it 
without  authority ;  the  Grand  Orient  denied  the  accuracy  of  the  copy,  and 
alleged  that  the  original  had  been  tampered  with ;  the  Grand  Orient  claimed 
that  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  it  had  incorporated  into  itself  every  Rite  in 
France  with  the  power  of  absolute  government  over  all  the  Rites  and  their 
members :  but  the  Supreme  Council  claimed  that  it  retained  full  control  over 
all  the  degrees  above  the  Eighteenth. 

There  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  the  Supreme  Council  did  not  intend  to 
commit  suicide,  or  retain  only  "  a  name  to  live  :  "  it  immediately  declared 
that  the  "Concordat"  had  been  broken  by  the  Grand  Orient :  and  it  was  not  till 
1 8 14  that  the  Grand  Orient  made  any  definite  claim  to  control  the  degrees 
of  the  Scottish  Rite  :  but  one  thing  should  be  noted ;  whichever  party  was 
right  in  its  claims,  the  Thirty-third  degree  came  to  the  Grand  Orient  (either 
legitimately  or  by  usurpation), /r(?;«  the  Supreme  Council  at  Charleston  through 
the  Supreme  Council  of  France :  before  making  this  claim,  it  appealed  to  the 
Supreme  Council  to  cooperate  in  consolidating  all  Masonic  Rites  in  France 
"  into  the  Grand  Orient "  ;  the  former  courteously  declining,  the  Grand  Orient 
at  once  issued  a  circular  assuming  the  powers  which  it  had  asked  the  Supreme 
Council  to  accord  to  it :  all  the  powers,  which  it  has  since  undertaken  to  exer- 
cise in  relation  to  this  Rite,  are  usurpations  without  the  color  of  legitimate 
title. 

This  coup  of  the  Grand  Orient  and  the  unsettled  state  of  civil  affairs  were  a 
severe  blow  to  the  Supreme  Council ;  a  spurious  body  was  soon  formed  and 


8o4 


ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 


then  a  second,  whose  controversies  were  published  in  voluminous  documents ; 
in  182 1,  however,  these  had  gone  out  of  existence  and  the  Supreme  Council 
was  reorganized  and  a  complete  union  effected,  except  that  the  Grand  Orient 
still  persisted  in  its  claims ;  it  maintained  a  warfare  with  the  Supreme  Council 
till  1862,  when  peace  between  them  was  effected.  This  Supreme  Council  is 
under  a  cloud,  not  only  because  it  recognizes  another  body  also  as  a  "  Supreme 
Council  for  France  and  the  French  Possessions,"  but  more  especially  because 
it  recognizes  that  body  (the  Grand  Orient)  as  a  Masonic  body.  The  latter, 
in  changing  its  constitutions  so  as  to  admit  atheists,  has  violated  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  Freemasonry  and  ceased  to  be  a  Masonic  body ;  the 
former  has  not  followed  this  example,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  that  of  almost 
all  other  Masonic  Powers  in  declaring  the  status  of  the  Grand  Orient. 

Brother  Carson  has  an  old  register,  from  which  it  appears  that  Count 
de  Grasse  organized  a  Supreme  Council  at  Kingston,  Jamaica,  on  March  15, 
1807,  which  granted  patents  to  numerous  Inspectors-General,  but  which 
figures  little  in  subsequent  history. 

The  Northern  Jurisdiction. — The  Supreme  Council  next  organized  was 
that  for  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States.  The  Latin  version  of 
the  Constitutions  provides  that  there  may  be  only  two  Councils  in  North  Amer- 
ica, while  the  French  version  provides  that  there  may  be  two  in  the  United 
States ;  the  latter  was  undoubtedly  the  version  under  which  the  founders  of 
the  Southern  Supreme  Council  originally  acted  :  but  when  that  was  formed, 
it  claimed  jurisdiction  throughout  the  United  States. 

Under  the  previous  system,  the  power  of  one  Inspector-General  to  appoint 
another  with  equal  powers  and  the  frequent  exercise  of  that  power  created 
great  confusion,  and  the  history  of  the  Rite  in  the  Northern  Jurisdiction 
forcibly  illustrates  this.  By  1800  the  Lodges  of  Perfection  at  Albany  and 
Philadelphia  had  apparently  become  dormant,  and  the  resident  Inspectors 
had  either  died  or  ceased  to  act. 

Antoine  Bideaud  (of  whom  mention  has  already  been  made),  was  in  New 
York  in  1806,  and  on  the  4th  of  August  conferred  the  degrees  up  to  the 
Thirty-second  upon  John  G.  Tardy,  John  B.  Desdoity,  J.  J.  J.  Gourgas,  Lewis 
de  Soulles,  and  Pierre  A.  Du  Peyrot,  the  two  latter  of  Demerara;  and  two 
days  later  they  opened  a  Consistory.  This  action  of  Bideaud  was  in  excess  of 
his  power,  but  it  was  afterward  ratified  by  competent  authority.  In  1807 
Tardy  was  appointed  a  Deputy  Inspector-General  by  Du  Plessis,  of  Philadel- 
phia, who  had  been  appointed  in  1790,  by  Augustine  Prevost,  who  in  turn 
received  his  powers  from  Francken  in  1774,  in  Jamaica.  In  1S04  Abraham 
Jacobs,  appointed,  as  he  says,  a  Grand  Inspector-General ;  but  a  Knight  of  the 
Sun,  as  Gourgas  says,  by  Moses  Cohen  in  1 790,  appeared  in  New  York  and 
commenced  conferring  degrees.  He  says  in  his  register  that  at  Tardy's 
request  a  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem  was  opened  on  November  6,  1808, 
at  which  there  were  present,  besides  himself.  Tardy,  Gourgas,  Desdoity,  Moses 


SECOND   SUPREME    COUNCIL. 


805 


Levy,  and  Maduro  Peixotto ;  that  Tardy  investigated  his  proceedings  and 
approved  them,  and  then  invested  Richard  Riker  with  the  degrees.  Gourgas 
says  that,  on  November  8,  180S,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  Richard  Riker,  and 
Sampson  Simpson  received  the  degrees  up  to  the  Thirty-second,  in  the  Consis- 
tory which  had  been  formed  August  6,  1806  ;  and  that  he  himself  was  made 
a  Deputy  Inspector-General  on  the  12th  of  November,  1808,  and  Peixotto 
on  the  1 6th,  and  Desdoity  on  the  i8th.  Gourgas  also  says  that  Jacobs 
had  exceeded  the  powers  granted  to  him,  having  interlined  words  in  his 
patent  for  the  purpose,  and  was  afterward  expelled  in  consequence.  He  had 
previously  conferred  degrees  on  eighteen  brethren ;  this  work  Gourgas  says 
was  "regularized"  and  the  degrees  up  to  the  Thirty-second  were  conferred 
upon  him  by  Tardy,  Gourgas,  and  others,  before  his  offence  was  discovered. 

In  the  patent  given  by  Bideaud  to  Gourgas  in  1806,  the  degrees  named  are 
the  same  as  those  in  the  patent  granted  by  the  Supreme  Council  at  Charleston 
to  De  Grasse  in  1806.  In  the  original  list,  given  by  Gourgas,  the  Thirty-first 
degree  was  "  Deputy  Inspector-General  "  ;  but  in  a  note  in  the  margin,  Gour- 
gas says,  "  This  is  a  mistake  ;  it  is  not  a  degree,  but  an  office."  The  change 
in  the  scale  of  degrees  seems,  therefore,  to  have  been  made  after  1806. 

Bodies  of  the  various  grades  were  organized  in  the  city  of  New  York  in 
1808,  but  their  records  are  lost,  and  their  history  cannot  be  traced.  A  bitter 
contest  was  waged  with  another  organization  and  the  Rite  did  not  flourish. 
In  181 3  Emmanuel  de  la  Motta,  third  officer  in  the  Supreme  Council  at 
Charleston,  visited  them  and  approved  their  proceedings,  declared  them 
regular  and  gave  a  certificate  to  that  effect. 

On  August  5,  18 13,  De  la  Motta  conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree  on 
Simpson  and  Gourgas ;  they  then  opened  a  provisional  Supreme  Council  and 
conferred  the  degree  on  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  Richard  Riker,  Tardy,  and 
Peixotto. 

De  la  Motta  on  the  same  day  proceeded  to  organize  the  "  second  Grand 
and  Supreme  Council "  for  the  United  States.  Simpson  and  Gourgas  waived 
their  rights  as  Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors-General,  and  Tompkins  was 
appointed  and  installed  Grand  Commander ;  Simpson,  Lieutenant-Grand 
Commander;  Tardy,  Grand  Treasurer-General;  Gourgas,  Grand  Secretary- 
General  ;  and  Riker  and  Piexotto  in  two  other  offices.  These  proceedings 
were  ratified  by  the  Charleston  Supreme  Council  in  December  following. 

The  Southern  Jurisdiction.  —  The  latter  thereby  became  the  Supreme 
Council  for  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States.  At  a  later  date, 
by  a  treaty  made  with  the  Northern  Supreme  Council,  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
latter  was  Hmited  to  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin ;  and  the  rest  of 
the  United  States  was  allowed  to  the  former.  All  additions  to  the  territory  of 
the    United  States  have  become  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Southern 


8o6  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

Supreme  Council,  under  the  law  that  accretions  of  territory  go  with  that  to 
which  they  are  added.     It  received  a  civil  charter  from  the  State  in  1823. 

The  history  of  the  Southern  body  for  years  is  a  record  of  controversies 
exceedingly  bitter ;  the  energies  of  the  members  of  its  obedience  were 
expended  in  disputes,  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  propagation  of  the  Rite.  Then 
came  the  Anti-Masonic  craze,  and  both  parties  were  nearly  swept  out  of  exist- 
ence ;  under  the  law  of  the  Rite,  the  life  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council 
was  preserved  and  its  antagonists  found  "  successors  and  assigns."  Its  records 
were  lost  and  nearly  all  its  archives  shared  the  same  fate.  In  1S57  it  had 
become  active,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  a  spurious  body  in  New  Orleans, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  it  had  fully  reorganized,  with  Brother 
Albert  Pike  as  its  Grand  Commander,  and  was  growing  in  activity  and  useful- 
ness. He  had  edited  and  published  an  edition  of  the  "  Constitutions  of 
1 7S6  "  ;  he  had  revised  and  rewritten  the  rituals  and  made  learned  contribu- 
tions to  the  literature  of  the  Rite.  The  war  intervened  and  labors  in  the  Rite 
were  almost  wholly  suspended.  When  peace  came.  Masonry  resumed  her 
appropriate  work.  Brother  Pike  again  rewrote  the  rituals  (which,  in  many  of 
the  degrees,  had  been  scarcely  a  skeleton),  and  published  many  other  very 
valuable  treatises,  which  raised  the  character  of  Scottish  Masonry  to  a 
philosophical  Institution  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  student,  the  philosopher, 
and  the  statesman.  As  a  consequence,  a  high  degree  of  interest  was  aroused  ; 
bodies  of  the  Rite  were  organized  in  nearly  all  the  States  and  Territories ;  a 
temple  at  Washington  has  been  secured  and  with  it  a  magnificent  library. 
In  a  word,  the  Rite  is  highly  prosperous  now  with  promise  of  still  more  abun- 
dant prosperity  in  the  future. 

The  "  Mother  Supreme  Council  "  ("  Mother  "  in  fact,  but  not  claiming  on 
that  account  to  be  more  than  the  peer  of  her  daughters),  commands  the 
respect  and  affection  of  all  Scottish  Masons,  and,  by  its  publications,  has 
gained  an  immense  influence,  the  world  over,  in  all  matters  relating  to  the 
Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite. 

The  Northern  Supreme  Council  was  also  subjected  to  a  fierce  opposition 
which  repressed  its  energies  and  retarded  its  growth.  The  records  of  its 
early  proceedings  have  been  lost ;  but  it  is  evident  that  the  subordinate  bodies 
ceased  to  work.  In  1822  Giles  Fonda  Yates,  a  comparatively  young  Mason, 
became  interested  in  the  Rite,  and  having  found  the  warrant  of  the  lodge  at 
Albany  granted  by  Francken,  several  patents  issued  by  him,  the  copy  of  the 
Constitutions  of  1762,  and  other  documents  left  by  him  with  the  Albany 
brethren,  he  succeeded  in  reviving  the  lodge,  evidently  taking  the  degrees 
therein.  A  Grand  Council  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem  was  organized  at  Albany, 
which  established  four  other  Lodges  of  Perfection  in  the  neighboring  counties. 
He  corresponded  with  Gourgas  and  Moses  Holbrook,  Grand  Commander  of  the 
Southern  Supreme  Council.  In  1824  a  Consistory  was  organized  at  Albany 
and  bodies  of  the  Rite  established  in  Boston,  all  under  the  authority  of  the 


NORTHERN  JURISDICTION.  807 

Southern  Supreme  Council.  In  1825  the  Thirty-third  degree  was  conferred 
on  Yates  by  McCosh,  as  the  Special  Deputy  of  the  same  body,  and  in  1828,  he 
took  the  oath  of  fealty  to,  and  became  a  member  of,  the  Northern  Supreme 
Council. 

But  the  Anti-Masonic  storm  broke  out  and  swept  all  these  bodies  out  of 
existence.  Gourgas  became  discouraged  and  in  1S32  suspended  his  efforts, 
and  for  ten  years  the  Rite,  in  common  with  Symbolic  Masonry,  lay  almost 
entirely  dormant. 

As  early  as  1841  Gourgas  and  Yates  conferred  together  and  corresponded 
with  others  in  relation  to  resuming  work ;  but  it  was  three  years  before  they 
had  completed  their  preparations  sufificiendy  to  commence  activity. 

The  next  meeting,  of  which  a  record  has  been  preserved,  was  held  June  15, 
1844;  under  the  law  of  the  Rite,  Gourgas  had  then  become  Grand  Com- 
mander, and  Yates  Lieutenant-Grand  Commander  :  there  were  probably  others 
in  the  jurisdiction  who  had  received  the  Thirty-third  degree,  but  they  had  aban- 
doned the  Rite,  if  not  Masonry,  during  the  preceding  years.  Gourgas  and 
Yates  opened  the  Supreme  Council  under  the  law  of  the  Rite,  that  a  Supreme 
Council  once  formed  does  not  cease  to  exist  as  long  as  one  member  survives 
and  lives  within  the  jurisdiction. 

At  the  next  meeting  applications  for  the  Thirty-third  degree  were  received 
from  Edward  A.  Raymond,  who  had  been  advanced  to  the  Thirty-second 
degree  under  the  authority  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  in  1825,  Reuel 
Baker  and  Charles  W.  Moore  (all  of  Massachusetts),  who  had  already  received 
the  Thirty-second  degree,  and  on  November  13,  1844,  they  were  crowned 
Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors -General  and  declared  members  of  the  Supreme 
Council.  "The  Grand  Constitutions  of  the  Order,  Berlin,  May  i,  1786,  in 
eighteen  articles,"  were  read  and  explained  to  them.  Other  meetings  fol- 
lowed and  on  the  3d,  4th,  and  5th  of  April,  1845,  ^'^^  degrees  were  conferred 
on  John  Christie  of  New  Hampshire  and  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Council.  At  this  meeting,  Gourgas  denounced  the  work  of  Clavel, 
then  recently  published,  as  utterly  erroneous  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Rite,  declaring  that  in  1830,  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  struck 
Cerneau's  name  from  its  Tableau  and  wrote  to  him  (Gourgas),  that  its  remain- 
ing there  so  long  was  to  them  "  a  matter  quite  inexplicable^  He  then 
proceeded  to  reorganize  the  Supreme  Council  by  the  appointment  of  the 
officers  according  to  the  law  of  the  Rite.  In  June  following,  Archibald  Bull 
and  Killian  H.  Van  Rensselaer  received  the  degrees  and  were  admitted  mem- 
bers. The  Supreme  Council  was  busy  in  making  the  necessary  preparations 
to  extend  the  Rite.  Lodges  of  Perfection  were  established  at  Boston,  and 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  and  Grand  Councils  of  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  at 
Albany,  Boston,  and  Portsmouth ;  and  soon  after  charters  for  a  Chapter  of 
Rose  Croix  and  a  Consistory  at  Boston  were  authorized,  in  place  of  illegal 
ones  issued  by  John  Barker  in  1825,  acting  for  the  Southern  Supreme  Council. 


8o8 


ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 


On  July  23,  1S46,  the  Supreme  Council  of  England,  organized  under  a 
patent  from  this  Supreme  Council  under  patent  dated  October  26,  1845,  was 
formally  recognized.  But  that  body  opened  relations  and  Masonic  communi- 
cation with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France  ;  much  space  in  the  record  is  given 
to  the  correspondence  in  relation  to  this  matter,  but  the  result  not  being  satis- 
factory, Masonic  communication  with  the  Supreme  Council  of  England  and 
its  Grand  Commander  was  interdicted  until  all  alliance  and  connection  with 
the  Grand  Orient  should  be  abjured.  The  I^aw  of  the  Rite  in  relation  to  con- 
nection with  other  Masonic  powers  was  explicitly  and  forcibly  declared ;  and 
in  addition  it  was  also  declared  that 

"The  'Ancient  York  Rite' — Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow  Craft  and  Master  Mason  —  is  our 
foundation  and  none  but '  Ancient  York  Rite  Master  Masons  '  are  entitled  to  further  advancement 
in  our  '  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Rite.'  " 

This  is  believed  to  be  the  first  authoritative  and  explicit  declaration  of  the 
relation  of  the  two  Rites  to  each  other. 

The  Supreme  Council  "  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  its  way  "  ;  new  bodies 
in  various  parts  of  the  jurisdiction  were  created  and  many  brethren  were 
received  in  them;  on  January  17,  1848,  Reuel  Baker,  an  officer  of  the 
Supreme  Council,  died  ;  and,  on  June  29,  1850,  Frangois  Turner,  of  Con- 
necticut, was  crowned  and  admitted. 

In  1850  the  right  to  confer  the  Royal  and  Select  Master's  degrees,  based 
upon  the  statement  that  Joseph  M.  Myers  committed  these  charges  to  the 
Lodge  of  Perfection  in  Charleston  in  1783,  was  formally  declared;  authority 
to  confer  these  degrees  was  endorsed  upon  the  charters  of  the  Lodges  of 
Perfection  at  Stonington,  Connecticut ;  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire ;  and 
Newport,  Rhode  Island.  The  latter  continued  to  confer  the  degrees  till  about 
twenty  years  since,  when  the  authority  was  revoked  by  the  Supreme  Council. 

Between  June  and  December,  185 1,  several  meetings  of  the  Supreme 
Council  were  held,  but  the  record  has  been  lost ;  up  to  June  of  this  year,  the 
record  had  been  kept  by  Gourgas ;  during  this  interval,  the  Grand  East  was 
removed  from  New  York  to  Boston  and  Robert  P.  Dunlap  of  Maine,  Simon 
W.  Robinson  of  Massachusetts,  and  Nathan  B.  Haswell  of  Vermont  received 
the  Thirty-third  degree  and  became  members  of  the  Supreme  Council,  and 
apparently,  Joseph  K.  Stapleton  of  Baltimore,  as  his  name  is  found  in  an 
official  list. 

The  meeting  held  September  4,  1S51,  was  an  exceedingly  important  one. 
Gourgas  sent  in  his  resignation  as  Grand  Commander  and  his  appointment  of 
Yates  as  his  successor ;  the  communication  of  Gourgas  is  an  important  histor- 
ical document.  Yates  presided ;  the  Thirty-third  degree  was  conferred  on 
Ammi  B.  Young ;  Albert  Case  ■^■^  of  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  was  unani- 
mously "  recognized  by  affiliation  "  ;  the  Sovereign  Grand  Consistory  was 
organized ;  and  the  degrees  in  the  various  bodies  were  conferred  upon  several 
brethren. 


NOR  THERN  JURISDICTION.  30q 

But,  on  the  next  day,  still  more  important  events  occurred.  Yates  delivered 
an  address,  and  at  its  close  resigned  the  oihce  of  Grand  Commander,  and 
appointed  and  installed  Raymond  in  his  place.  Yates'  address  was  a  forcible 
exposition  of  the  laws  of  the  Rite,  and  the  objects  it  has  in  view,  with  histor- 
ical matter  of  great  importance  :  its  length  alone  precludes  its  insertion  in 
this  work. 

On  the  25th  of  the  same  month.  Grand  Commander  Raymond  appointed 
and  installed  the  other  officers.  The  list  gives  Raymond  as  Grand  Com- 
mander ;  Gourgas,  Past  Grand  Commander ;  Dunlap,  Lieutenant-Grand 
Commander;  Robinson,  Grand  Treasurer;  Moore,  Grand  Secretary;  Yates, 
Grand  Chancellor;  Bull  and  Stapleton,  as  members;  Haswell  and  Young,  as 
Captains  of  the  Guard ;  and  Christie,  Van  Rensselaer,  and  Turner  as  Depu- 
ties. No  action  had  been  taken  to  increase  the  number  beyond  nine,  and 
yet  here  were  thirteen  officers  and  members  besides  Case,  who  had  been 
"  recognized  by  affiliation,"  and  was  afterward  included  in  the  published  list 
of  members.  It  is  impossible  to  determine  from  the  record  what  theory  the 
Supreme  Council  acted  upon  as  to  the  number  of  its  members,  or  as  to  the 
status  and  powers  of  those  in  excess  of  nine.  The  same  is  true  as  to  its  claim 
of  jurisdiction :  when  Stapleton  died,  in  1854,  Charles  Gilman  of  Maryland 
was  elected  a  member  and  acted  as  such  until  his  death,  which  occurred, 
however,  before  any  question  arose  as  to  his  rights.  But  the  other  question 
complicated  a  controversy  which  arose  subsequently.  For  this  reason,  a 
detailed  statement  becomes  important:  the  list  for  1S54  is  the  same  as  the 
one  already  given,  except  that  Gilman  is  substituted  for  Stapleton,  and  William 
B.  Hubbard  of  Ohio,  for  Bull,  whose  name  is  dropped  :  under  the  heading 
"  Northern  Supreme  Council,"  ten  names  are  given,  including  that  of  Gourgas, 
who  is  styled  "Honorary"  :  in  1S55  the  Hst  is  the  same,  but  in  a  separate 
group  are  given  Bull,  Case,  and  Paul  Dean  of  Massachusetts,  of  whose  election 
and  reception  of  the  degree  there  is  no  record  :  in  1856  Case  is  substituted 
for  Haswell,  who  had  died  during  the  year,  and  the  name  of  Andres  Cassard 
of  New  York  is  added  to  the  third  group ;  he  received  the  grade  in  some 
other  jurisdiction  :  in  1857  Charles  R.  Starkweather  of  Illinois  was  elected  and 
his  name  inserted  in  the  first  group,  in  place  of  Yates,  whose  name  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  second  group,  in  place  of  Turner,  transferred  to  the  third  :  in 
1858  the  first  group  was  reduced  to  nine  by  the  transfer  of  Gourgas  to  the 
third  group  and  Cassard  was  dropped  :  and,  in  1859,  the  list  is  the  same,  but 
Dunlap  and  Yates  died  before  the  next  session. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  Supreme  Council  had  worked  harmoniously  and  was 
slowly  but  steadily  extending  the  Rite.  The  high  degrees  were  conferred 
upon  several  brethren  at  every  session  of  the  Supreme  Council :  new  bodies 
were  formed  which  were  working  actively.  Harmony  with  the  "  York  Rite  " 
everywhere  prevailed.  In  1853  the  Supreme  Council  expressly  declared: 
"  We  claim  no  control  over  degrees  cultivated  by,  or  belonging  to,  any  other 


8io  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

lawful  authority."  But  when  the  affairs  of  the  Rite  seemed  to  be  in  a  most 
promising  condition,  a  controversy  arose  with  the  Grand  Commander,  which 
ended  in  a  disruption  of  the  Supreme  Council.  Grand  Commander  Raymond 
held  that  the  powers  of  Frederic  were  vested  in  him  as  Grand  Commander, 
and  not  in  the  Council  as  a  body. 

Upon  his  own  motion  and  his  own  authority  he  had  conferred  the  Thirty- 
third  degree  upon  Paul  Dean ;  but  the  Supreme  Council  tacitly  recognized 
Dean  as  one  of  their  number.  At  the  session  in  i860  a  resolution  was 
presented  declaring  that  the  Supreme  Council  consisted  of  only  nine  members, 
but  that  Deputy  Inspectors-General  beyond  that  number  might  be  created, 
and  proposing  to  elect  ten  who  should  be  entitled  to  a  seat  and  a  voice  but 
not  a  vote  in  the  Supreme  Council,  but  it  was  laid  upon  the  table  ;  it  could  not 
well  be  adopted,  since  for  ten  sessions  more  than  nine  had  been  voting  in  the 
Supreme  Council  upon  a  perfect  equality,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  deter- 
mine who  were  the  nine  composing  the  Supreme  Council.  However,  Enoch 
T.  Carson  of  Ohio  was  elected  and  admitted  to  the  Thirty- third  degree  ;  and 
Charles  T.  McClenachan  of  New  York  was  appointed  "  Deputy  Inspector  for 
New  York  "  and  the  Grand  Commander  requested  "  to  qualify  him  according 
to  the  Constitutions."  The  Grand  Commander  was  not  present  the  first  two 
days  of  the  session  :  when  the  Council  closed  on  Friday,  it  was  to  meet  on 
Monday,  but  the  Grand  Commander  not  being  present  on  Monday,  the 
members  separated  to  meet  the  next  morning ;  but  he  not  being  present  then 
nor  on  Wednesday,  they  separated. 

At  this  session  a  Sovereign  Grand  Consistory  was  organized  with  certain 
powers  of  legislation,  but  subject  to  ratification,  by  the  Supreme  Council. 

In  August  an  extra  session  was  held  and  the  controversy  with  the  Grand 
Commander  reached  its  climax.  There  were  present,  Raymond,  Robinson, 
Moore,  Case,  Christie,  Starkweather,  Dean,  Young,  and  Van  Rensselaer. 
Charges  against  Andres  Cassard  for  unlawfully  publishing  parts  of  the  ritual 
were  tried  and  he  was  expelled.  In  the  interval  between  the  sessions,  the 
Grand  Commander  had  conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree  upon  Peter  Lawson  ; 
but  a  resolution  was  introduced  and  temporarily  laid  upon  the  table,  that  the 
Supreme  Council  could  not  recognize  him  as  an  Inspector-General.  On  the 
second  day,  a  discussion  arose  as  to  the  right  of  the  Supreme  Council  to 
appoint  its  committees,  and  the  Grand  Commander  refused  to  put  the  motion. 
A  motion  was  then  made  to  close  the  Council,  to  be  opened  at  four  o'clock  ; 
but  he  refused  to  put  the  motion  and  declared  the  Council  closed  until  the 
next  morning  at  ten.  At  that  time  the  Council  was  opened  and  the  minutes 
read,  whereupon  the  Grand  Commander  declared  the  Council  closed  sine  die : 
Young,  who  was  present  previously,  was  absent  but  the  other  eight  were  present. 

Five  of  the  eight  conferred  together  and,  upon  the  advice  of  Gourgas  who 
was  visiting  in  the  vicinity,  reopened  the  Council  and  proceeded  with  the 
business. 


NOR  THERN  JURISDICTION.  3  j  j 

A  committee  on  rules,  etc.,  previously  appointed  reported,  and  the  "  Con- 
stitutions of  i860"  were  adopted;  the  resolution  in  relation  to  Lawson  was 
amended  by  declaring  that  he  had  been  illegally  and  unconstitutionally  elevated 
to  the  Thirty-third  grade  and,  as  amended,  was  adopted ;  another  resolution 
was  adopted  declaring  that  Case  was  a  member  of  the  Council :  the  vacancies 
in  the  offices  were  filled  by  election  as  provided  in  the  new  constitutions,  Van 
Rensselaer  becoming  Lieutenant-Grand  Commander;  and  a  preamble  and 
resolution  were  adopted,  in  effect  deposing  the  Grand  Commander.  The 
record  was  signed  by  Van  Rensselaer,  Moore,  Christie,  Starkweather,  Young, 
and  Case  :  the  proceedings  were  formally  approved  by  Gourgas,  Hubbard, 
Bull,  and  Turner ;  and,  to  a  qualified  extent,  by  Carson. 

Raymond  entirely  disregarded  the  action  taken  after  he  left  the  Council 
and  both  parties  published  proceedings  for  1 860,  those  for  the  regular  session 
being  almost  precisely  alike.  In  those  published  by  Raymond  is  a  record  of 
his  action  in  conferring  the  Thirty-third  degree  upon  Peter  Lawson,  in  which 
it  is  recited  that  Lawson,  Starkweather,  and  William  Field  were  elected  in 
1857.  But  the  record  of  1857  shows  only  the  election  of  Starkweather;  as 
that  record  was  made  before  any  controversy  arose,  and  was  published  and 
in  the  hands  of  the  members  at  the  next  session,  and  no  suggestion  of  an 
omission  was  made,  and  as  the  admission  of  Lawson  was  at  once  repudiated, 
it  would  seem  that  the  recital  of  his  election  was  erroneous. 

The  two  records  of  the  extra  session  differ,  but  do  not  conflict  in  essential 
matters.  The  Raymond  proceedings  are  signed  by  him  and  Robinson  only : 
and  it  may  be  said  once  for  all  that  Robinson  was  the  only  one  of  the  old 
members  who  adhered  to  Raymond.  But  nevertheless  they  went  on,  as  the 
Supreme  Council,  conferring  the  degree  and  filling  the  offices  with  the  new  mem- 
bers :  they  organized  a  Grand  Consistory  and  adopted  a  Code  of  Regulations 
by  which  the  Supreme  Council  consisted  of  nine  Active  members,  but  might 
have  not  exceeding  fifteen  Honorary  members.  Moore,  Van  Rensselaer, 
Christie,  Case,  and  Starkweather  were  expelled.  At  the  close  of  the  annual 
session  in  1862,  this  body  had  seven  Active  members  and  also  recognized 
Gourgas  and  Hubbard  as  such :  it  had  also  had  three  Deputies  and,  in 
addition,  included  Carson  in  the  list.  By  the  first  of  February,  1863,  the 
Thirty-third  degree  had  been  voted  to  twelve  in  addition  and  conferred  upon 
six  as  the  record  shows,  and  probably  upon  others. 

But  in  the  meantime  the  other  body  had  not  been  idle.  At  the  session 
in  1861,  Van  Rensselaer,  Moore,  Case,  Starkweather,  and  Christie  were  present, 
and  Turner  and  Young  sent  letters  of  excuse.  In  the  Grand  Consistory  there 
was  a  large  attendance  :  thirty  subordinate  bodies  made  returns  and  were 
represented,  showing  that  substantially  all  of  the  subordinate  bodies  adhered 
to  this  organization.  The  constitution  was  amended,  extending  the  number 
of  Active  members  to  thirty-three  and  apportioning  them  to  the  States,  and 
recognizing  the  power  of  the  Supreme  Council  to  confer  the  Thirty-third 


8l2  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

degree  upon  others,  who  should  not  be  Active  members.  Upon  request  the 
Secretary  reported  to  the  Supreme  Council  the  names  of  its  Active  members, 
as  follows :  Active  members,  Raymond,  Robinson,  Moore,  Young,  Case, 
Hubbard,  Oilman,  and  Starkweather ;  Deputies,  with  powers  of  Active  mem- 
bers. Van  Rensselaer  and  Christie ;  Honorary  members  with  full  powers, 
Bull,  Turner,  and  Gourgas.  Cassard  was  restored ;  Raymond  and  Robinson 
deposed  from  their  respective  offices  ;  Winslow  Lewis,  William  Parkman,  and 
William  S.  Gardner  of  Massachusetts,  Abner  B.  Thompson  of  Maine,  Hosmer 
A.  Johnson  and  George  W.  Deering  of  Ilhnois,  Nathan  H.  Gould  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  Anthony  E.  Stocker  of  Pennsylvania,  were  created  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspectors-General  and  admitted  Active  members  of  the  Supreme  Council ; 
and  William  B.  Hubbard,  who  was  not  present,  was  elected  Grand  Commander. 

In  1862  there  was  a  larger  attendance  than  ever  before,  both  in  the 
Supreme  Council  and  in  the  Grand  Consistory.  Van  Rensselaer  presided, 
Hubbard  not  having  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  Grand  Com- 
mander and  not  being  present.  Several  of  the  members  sent  excuses,  some 
of  them  on  account  of  absence  in  the  army.  In  the  Grand  Consistory,  Field, 
Lawson,  Randall,  Wescott,  and  Foster  were  expelled,  and  the  action  confirmed 
by  the  Supreme  Council.  The  Thirty-third  degree  was  conferred  upon  four- 
teen ;  William  P.  Preble  of  Maine  and  D.  Burnham  Tracy  of  Michigan  were 
elected  Active  members,  and  Josiah  H.  Drummond  of  INIaine  and  Benjamin 
Dean  of  Massachusetts  became  Active  members  by  election  and  installation 
into  office  in  the  Supreme  Council.  A  letter  was  received  from  Hubbard 
declining  official  honors.  There  was  a  division  of  opinion  among  the  mem- 
bers as  to  his  successor.  The  majority  favored  the  election  of  one  who  had 
not  been  involved  personally  in  the  controversy,  with  the  view  of  avoiding 
as  much  as  possible  any  personal  animosities  that  had  arisen,  and  elected  him  ; 
but  on  account  of  the  lack  of  unanimity  and  for  other  reasons,  he  declined 
to  accept,  and  Van  Rensselaer  was  elected.  Charges  had  been  seasonably 
filed  against  Raymond  and  Robinson  and  notice  given ;  they  did  not  appear, 
but  were  tried  and  expelled. 

From  this  date  until  1867,  in  spite  of  the  controversies  in  which  it  was 
involved,  this  body  went  on  gaining  in  every  respect.  All  of  the  subordinates 
organized  previously  to  the  schism  adhered  to  it,  except  four  in  New  York  City. 
In  1863  over  fifty  bodies  made  returns  and  the  number  increased  annually. 
It  gradually  filled  its  list  of  Active  members  so  that,  in  1S67,  it  had  twenty- 
eight  on  its  roll.  In  its  Proceedings  were  many  reports  relating  to  the 
pending  controversies  containing  historical  matter  of  great  interest  and  value. 
In  1867  occurred  an  event  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  Rite;  but  in 
order  that  it  may  be  understood,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  and  give  a  sketch 
of  preceding  events  not  yet  noticed. 

Cerneau.  — In  1806  Joseph  Cerneau  appeared  in  New  York  :  he  had  been 
a  member  of  Masonic  bodies  in  the  West  Indies  ;  he  had  a  patent  from  Mathieu 


JOSEPH  CERNEAU.  813 

Dupotet,  certifying  that  he  had  received  the  degrees  of  the  Scottish  Rite  of 
Heredom,  and  authorizing  him  to  confer  the  degrees  up  to  the  Twenty-fourth 
and  organize  bodies  in  the  northern  part  of  Cuba,  and  to  confer  the  Twenty- 
fifth  on  one  person  in  each  year,  the  Twenty-fifth  being  then  the  highest  degree 
of  that  Rite  and  the  highest  Cerneau  had  received,  according  to  his  patent. 
Cerneau  had  his  patent  from  Dupotet,  who  had  his  from  Germain  Hacquet, 
who  had  his  from  Du  Plessis,  who  had  his  from  Prevost  in  1790,  who  had 
his  from  Francken. 

Though  Hmited  by  his  patent  to  certain  territory,  Cerneau  followed  the 
general  example  and  disregarded  the  Hmitation  in  his  patent,  and  proceeded 
to  exercise  his  powers  in  New  York  City;  on  October  28,  1807,  he  issued  a 
warrant  for  a  Consistory  in  New  York  City,  which  was  not  fully  organized 
until  the  autumn  of  1808  ;  it  was  a  Consistory  of  the  Scottish  Rite  of  Here- 
dom of  twenty- five  degrees.  In  a  document  issued  by  it,  dated  May  25,  181 2, 
it  styled  itself  "  The  Grand  Consistory  for  the  United  States  of  America,  their 
Territories  and  Dependencies,  of  Supreme  Chiefs  of  Exalted  Masonry,  accord- 
ing to  the  Ancient  Constitutional  Rite  of  Heredom."  Up  to  this  date  there 
is  not  the  slightest  particle  of  evidence  known,  that  this  body  was  anything 
else  than  what  it  claimed  by  its  title  to  be  —  a  Grand  Consistory  of  the  Rite 
of  Heredom  having  jurisdiction  over  twenty-five  degrees,  and  07tly  twenty-five. 
But  already  a  controversy  had  arisen  with  parties  acting  under,  or  deriving 
their  powers  from,  the  Supreme  Council  at  Charleston ;  we  may  well  believe 
that  Cerneau  and  his  associates  soon  recognized  the  impossibility  of  maintain- 
ing successfully  a  Rite  of  tduenty-five  degrees  against  one  of  thirty-three  degrees. 
It  has  been  claimed  that  he  organized  a  Supreme  Council  May  25,  181 2  ;  but 
that  is  a  manifest  error  as  the  document  issued  on  that  date  clearly  shows. 
The  Thirty- third  degree  as  now  existing  originated  at  Charleston  in  1801  : 
and  no  evidence  has  been  found  that  Cerneau  ever  received  it.  Indeed,  the 
proof  is  plenary  to  the  contrary :  it  is  generally  impossible  to  prove  a  nega- 
tive, but  the  authorizations  to  confer  the  Thirty-third  are  so  fully  known,  that 
it  is  manifest  that  Cerneau  could  not  have  received  it.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
Grand  Orient  of  France  recognized  him  in  after  years  as  possessing  the  degree  ; 
but  the  well-known  usage  of  that  body  to  recognize  any  one  as  possessing  any 
degree  he  claimed  to  possess,  who  in  turn  recognized  it,  prevents  the  fact  of 
recognition  from  having  any  weight  whatever  as  evidence. 

But,  in  1813,  Cerneau  annoimced  the  formation  of  what  was  called  a 
"  Supreme  Council  of  Grand  Inspectors-General  of  the  Thirty-third  Degree," 
etc.,  and  necessarily  revised  his  scale  of  degrees  accordingly ;  how  soon  he 
conformed  to  the  scale  already  adopted  by  the  Charleston  Supreme  Council 
is  not  known.  That  Cerneau  was  his  own  authority  for  these  proceedings, 
and  concocted  his  own  Thirty-third  degree,  no  one,  free  from  prejudice  and 
acquainted  with  the  facts  now  known,  can  doubt.  But  his  Supreme  Council 
was  a  merely  nominal  body;  the  "Sovereign  Grand  Consistory"  (the  title  it 


8i4 


ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 


assumed  in  1813),  continued  to  be  "vested  with  the  sole  power  of  administra- 
tion and  legislation  "  ;  it  held  that  "  The  right  of  granting  constitutional  char- 
ters for  Masonic  Institutions  in  the  United  States  of  America,  their  Territories 
and  Dependencies,  from  Perfect  Master,  Fourth  degree,  to  that  of  Grand 
Inspector-General,  Thirty-third  degree,  both  inclusive,  exists  only  with  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Consistory  of  Supreme  Chiefs  of  Exalted  Masonry  "  ;  the 
sole  office  of  the  Supreme  Council  was  apparently  the  conferring  of  the  Thirty- 
third  degree  ;  it  bore  much  the  same  relation  to  the  Grand  Consistory  as 
the  modern  "  Association  of  Past  Grand  Masters  "  bears  to  the  Grand  Lodge. 

The  Charleston  body  did  not  recognize  the  Cerneau  bodies  even  by  silent 
acquiescence :  after  investigation  by  a  special  Deputy,  it  declared,  early 
in  1 814,  Cerneau  to  be  an  impostor,  and  his  organizations  illegal  and  clearly 
clandestine. 

Bitter  controversies  followed ;  the  Grand  Consistory  represented  the  Cer- 
neau party,  issuing  documents  under  its  seal,  ignoring  the  Supreme  Council, 
that  being  a  merely  nominal  body.  Subordinates  were  established  at  Charles- 
ton and  New  Orleans,  causing  dissensions  in  the  Grand  Lodges  which  were 
not  healed  for  years.  Those  in  Charleston  died  and  disappeared  in  the 
course  of  ten  years ;  but  in  some  form  or  other,  those  in  New  Orleans  have 
had  intermittent  fits  of  existence  to  the  present  day.  After  a  strife  of  nearly 
forty  years,  the  lodges  of  Louisiana  all  united  and  formed  a  Grand  Lodge  in 
1850:  thereupon  the  Supreme  Council  existing  in  that  State,  at  the  head  of 
which  was  James  Foulhouze,  "  resumed  "  its  authority  over  Symbolic  lodges  : 
this  led  to  dissension  in  the  Supreme  Council  itself;  Foulhouze  and  some  of 
his  adherents  withdrew,  and  the  other  members,  becoming  satisfied  that  the 
New  Orleans  Council  was  illegal,  made  a  treaty  with  the  Southern  Supreme 
Council  and  dissolved  their  body;  peace  followed,  but  it  did  not  continue 
long,  for,  on  October  7,  1856,  Foulhouze  and  two  of  his  adherents  organized 
a  new  Supreme  Council,  persuaded  two  lodges  to  revolt  from  the  Grand 
Lodge,  and  chartered  new  ones ;  but  the  old  lodges  soon  returned  to  their 
allegiance  and  the  new  ones  disappeared.  Foulhouze  had  received  the  Thirty- 
third  degree  from  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  which  expelled  him,  February 
4,  1859,  for  a  scurrilous  publication  which  he  issued  in  answer  to  one  of  its 
decrees.  This  Supreme  Council  became  dormant ;  but,  in  1867,  it  was  revived 
with  Eugene  Chassaignac  at  its  head;  in  1868  it  was  recognized  by  the 
Grand  Orient  of  France,  and  unless  it  has  recently  gone  out  of  existence,  the 
Grand  Orient  to-day  recognizes  a  so-called  Supreme  Council  in  New  Orleans 
as  a  lawful  body,  and  its  members  as  possessing  the  Thirty-third  degree  ! 

Returning  now  to  the  Cerneau  bodies  in  New  York ;  the  Grand  Consistory 
was  exceedingly  active  and  kept  itself  before  the  public  by  numerous  publica- 
tions ;  for  some  years  it  published  a  Tableau  annually ;  its  early  records  are 
lost,  but  a  volume  covering  the  years  from  1816  to  1826  is  in  the  archives  of 
the  Northern  Supreme  Council. 


THE   "  UNITED   SUPREME    COUNCIL." 


815 


It  is  stated  in  this  record  that  DeWitt  Chnton  was  first  elected  Deputy 
Grand  Commander  of  the  Sovereign  Grand  Consistory  in  18 ri,  and  continued 
to  hold  the  office  till  1823,  when  he  was  elected  Grand  Commander  and 
installed  /y  proxy ;  he  held  the  same  office  till  1826,  when  this  record  ends, 
but  during  the  ten  years  covered  by  it,  he  did  not  attend  a  single  meeting.  It 
shows  that  the  title  "Deputy  Inspector-General,"  or  "  Deputy  Grand  Inspector- 
General,"  was  given  to  Masons  of  the  Thirty-second  degree  when  they  were 
empowered  to  propagate  the  Rite.  In  this  book  is  pasted  a  leaf  containing 
the  record  of  a  meeting  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Princes  of  the  Royal 
Secret,  held  October  12,   1827. 

There  are  no  records  extant  of  any  proceedings  of  the  Sovereign  Grand 
Consistory  after  1826.  Cerneau  left  for  France  and  the  Anti- Masonic  storm 
broke  out  about  the  same  time.  Whether  Cerneau's  place  was  filled  is  not 
certain :  it  is  not  improbable  that  Clinton  took  his  place  and  Hicks  took 
Chnton's  ;  but  all  this  is  pure  conjecture.  However  this  may  be,  the  "  Sover- 
eign Grand  Consistory,"  with  its  Supreme  Council-annex,  went  out  of  existence 
and  was  never  afterward  revived.  In  a  Tableau  issued  by  Hicks  and  associ- 
ates in  1832,  it  is  stated  that  the  Sovereign  Grand  Consistory  was  formally 
dissolved  (with  its  annex),  November  28,  1827. 

This  body  was  of  a  unique  character :  it  was  based  upon  the  Constitutions 
of  1762  and  ignored  those  of  1786:  it  was  the  supreme  power,  legislative, 
judicial,  and  executive  :  the  "Supreme  Council"  was  subordinate  to  it:  when 
Cerneau  left  for  France  the  governing  body  created  by  him  ceased  to  exist ; 
and  no  similar  body  has  ever  since  existed.  Every  subsequent  body,  which 
has  claimed  to  be  the  successor  of  Cerneau's  body,  has  been  organized  upon  a 
plan  precisely  the  reverse  of  his  plan,  and  upon  the  plan  which  he  had  con- 
stantly repudiated  and  denounced  :  these  later  bodies  have  invariably  been 
organized  upon  the  theory  of  the  Constitutions  of  1786,  and  not  those  of 
1762;  in  a  word,  the  Supreme  Council,  and  not  the  Grand  Consistory,  has 
been  made  the  supreme  governing  body. 

The  Hicks  Body.  —  In  1832  the  Count  de  St.  Laurent  came  to  New  York 
and,  finding  that  the  Cerneau  bodies  had  ceased  to  exist,  with  the  aid  of  some 
of  the  surviving  members,  he  organized  a  new  body,  variously  styled,  but  in 
substance,  "  The  United  Supreme  Council  for  the  Western  Hemisphere  of  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Inspectors-General  of  the  Thirty-third  Degree  of  the  Ancient 
and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,"  etc.  The  old  name  Scottish  Rite  of  Heredom 
was  discarded  and  the  name  used  by  the  Northern  and  Southern  Supreme 
Councils  adopted.  The  1826  Tableau  shows  that  Clinton  was  at  the  head  of 
the  Grand  Consistory  and  Hicks  the  officer  next  in  rank,  while  Cerneau  was 
the  first  officer  of  the  Supreme  Council-annex,  Clinton  the  second,  and  Hicks 
the  sixth:  in  1832  Clinton  had  died  and  Cerneau  had  left  the  country. 
Hicks  became  Grand  Commander  of  the  United  Supreme  Council.  It  pub- 
lished a  Tableau,  giving  the  names  of  all  its  "  effective,"  absent,  and  Honorary 


3i6  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

members,  and  "  subordinate  bodies,"  among  which  were  included  Sovereign 
Grand  Consistories. 

Tliis  "United  Supreme  Council"  was  short  lived.  In  1836  an  alleged 
"  Treaty  "  was  published,  said  to  have  been  made  by  three  Supreme  Councils, 
one  of  which  was  this  United  Council :  it  purported  to  be  signed  by  Hicks  and 
several  of  his  associates.  The  Constitutions  of  1786  were  expressly  recognized 
by  it  and  a  copy  of  them  published  as  a  part  of  it.  This  was  the  Latin  version 
and,  so  far  as  is  known,  this  was  the  first  time  that  version  was  ever  printed  : 
indeed  the  existence  of  the  Latin  version  has  not  been  traced  to  an  earlier 
date.  The  Hicks  Council  was  based  upon  these  Constitutions,  but  this  publi- 
cation, in  1836,  was  the  first  express  recognition  of  the  fact.  The  better 
opinion  is  that  this  so-called  "  Treaty  "  was  never  made  "  except  on  paper." 
Whether  this  Council  had  any  existence  after  1834,  is  not  positively  known; 
nothing  was  afterward  published  by  it :  it  has  been  said  by  one  writer,  not 
very  reliable,  that  it  was  dissolved  October  27,  1846,  and  its  funds  divided 
among  its  four  surviving  members ;  whether  this  is  true  or  not,  it  ceased  to 
exist  and  no  one  of  its  members,  "effective'"  or  Honorary,  as  shown  by  its 
Tableau  or  the  Treats',  ever  took  parr  in  any  of  the  subsequent  bodies. 

The  First  Atwood  Body.  —  At  some  time  between  1837  and  1850 
(undoubtedly  in  1848),  Henry  C.  Atwood  commenced  conferring  the  Thirty- 
third  degree.  It  is  not  certain  when  or  where  he  obtained  it :  in  a 
statement  published  in  1851,  purporting  to  be  signed  by  him  and  others, 
it  is  said  that  he  received  it  from  James  Cushman  :  this  is  perhaps  true  ; 
John  Barker  and  James  Cushman  were  Masonic  lecturers,  and  pupils  and 
disciples  of  Jeremy  L.  Cross :  Barker  acted  as  a  special  Deputy  of  the 
Southern  Supreme  Council  and  conferred  its  degrees  as  a  part  of  his 
business ;  he  conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree  and  issued  patents,  which 
he  had  obtained,  signed  in  blank ;  he  gave  one  to  Cross  which  is  still  in 
existence :  Cushman  also  received  the  Thirty-third  degree  from  him :  he, 
in  turn,  very  likely  conferred  it  upon  Atwood.  Support  is  given  to  this  view 
by  the  fact  that  Atwood's  name  is  not  found  in  any  of  the  Tableaux  or  pre- 
served records  of  the  old  Cerneau  body,  or  in  the  Tableau  or  the  Treaty  of 
the  Hicks  body,  in  which  documents  they  evidently  published  all  their 
Thirty-thirds. 

During  all  the  time  mentioned,  Atwood  was  an  expelled  Mason,  —  expelled 
by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  for  rebellion  against  its  authority  :  but  he 
immediately  organized  another  Grand  Lodge  —  "  St.  John's  " — which  main- 
tained an  existence  from  1837  to  1850,  when  it  was  merged  in  the  regular 
Grand  Lodge,  and  all  its  acts  recognized  as  valid.  Those  upon  whom  Atwood 
conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree  were  all  adherents  of  this  spurious  Grana 
Lodge.  Finally  he  organized  a  Supreme  Council,  but  not  till  as  late  as  1849, 
because,  with  one  exception,  those  of  his  associates,  who  have  given  the  date 
of  their  receiving  the  Thirty-third  degree,  received  it  in  1849  or  later;  Hays 


JEREMY  L.    CROSS.  gj^ 

was  the  exception ;  in  a  memorandum  in  Atwood's  handwriting,  made,  how- 
ever, ten  years  later,  he  says  he  "  appointed  "  Edmund  B.  Hays,  a  "  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspector-General,  ad  vitam,  —  9th  Masonic  month,  1848," 

However,  on  April  7,  185 1,  "the  Supreme  Grand  Council  for  the  State  of 
New  York"  issued  a  manifesto  denouncing  the  "unjust  usurpation"  of  the 
Foulhouze  Supreme  Council  in  Louisiana,  for  constituting  Symbolic  lodges  in 
that  State.  The  committee  to  which  the  matter  had  been  referred,  in  its 
report,  speaking  of  the  "Scottish  or  Accepted  Rite,"  say  :  — 

"  This  Rite  is  a  continuation  or  addition  to  the  '  Ancient  Scottish '  and  was  established  in 
1762,  by  Frederick  II.,  King  of  Prussia,  who  first  added  seven  degrees  to  the  original  twenty-five, 
and  then,  having  discovered  that  there  was  no  provision  for  a  successor  to  his  assumed  rights  and 
prerogatives,  in  1786,  invented  and  instituted  the  Thirty-third  degree,  out  of  the  possessors  of 
which  the  Supreme  Council  is  formed." 

The  same  manifesto  alleges  that  J.  J.  J.  Gourgas  was  conferring  the  Chapter 
degrees  and  Orders  of  Knighthood  and  denounces  him  also.  It  is  signed  by 
Atwood,  John  W.  Timson,  John  W.  Simons,  Edmund  B.  Hays,  Daniel 
Sickels,  and  four  others,  no  one  of  whose  names  had  appeared  in  any  Scottish 
Rite  document  previously  pubHshed  :  they  were  undoubtedly  created  Thirty- 
thirds  by  Atwood  under  the  authority,  such  as  it  was,  derived  by  him  from 
the  Southern  Supreme  Council  through  Barker  and  Cushman.  But  this  mani- 
festo was  the  expiring  effort  of  this  body ;  it  immediately  succumbed  to 
adverse  fate. 

The  Cross  Body.  —  But  it  had  "  successors  "  if  not  "  assigns  "  :  in  June 
following,  Jeremy  L.  Cross,  by  virtue  of  his  patent  from  the  Southern 
Supreme  Council  already  mentioned,  dated  in  1824,  assumed  to  be  Grand 
Commander  and  opened  another  new  Supreme  Council  "  for  the  Northern 
Hemisphere"  ;  in  this  instance  the  Masonic  world  was  notified  of  the  fact,  and 
of  the  authority  under  which  he  acted,  by  a  pamphlet,  —  the  famous  "Document, 
No.  I."  Previously,  however,  notice  had  also  been  given,  in  the  newspapers, 
of  the  formation  of  this  body  "By  virtue  and  under  authority  of  a  regular  com- 
mission duly  granted  to  the  T. •.!.•. Jeremy  L.  Cross,  by  the  Sovereign  Grand 
Commander  of  South  Carolina."  With  the  exception  of  Atwood  and  Simons, 
Cross  took  new  men  for  officers ;  one  of  them  (Haswell  of  Vermont),  at  once 
repudiated  the  concern  and  declared  that  the  use  of  his  name  was  without  the 
slightest  authority.  With  the  two  exceptions  named.  Cross  evidently  selected 
those  upon  whom  he  had  conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree  ;  among  them  was 
Robert  B.  Folger,  who,  for  the  first  time,  comes  into  notice.  The  document 
states  that  Cross's  patent  was  subscribed  by  Holbrook,  Dalcho,  Moultrie,  and 
others. 

It  also  contains  an  "Appeal,"  written  so  much  in  Folger's  style  that  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  he  was  the  author.  He  refers  to  the  Cerneau  body 
from  1813  to  1828,  as  if  the  Supreme  Council  was  the  governing  body! 
Utterly  ignores  the  Hicks  body  !     States  that  it  discontinued  its  labors  for  a 


8l8  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

season,  but  was  revived  again  in  1840,  "since  wliich  it  has  continued  to  per- 
form its  functions  ! "  But  it  did  not  thrive ;  little  had  been  done  for  ten 
years,  and  it  was  now  deemed  that  the  time  had  come  to  reorganize  and 
resume  labor;  and  they  had  proceeded  to  do  so  under  the  express  authority 
of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council.  The  history  of  the  origin  of  Cross's 
powers  is  equally  bewildering  and  ludicrous  :  he  received  the  Thirty-third 
degree  in  the  Grand  Council  in  New  York  in  181 5,  and  was  admitted  a 
member  "with  full  power  to  confer  the  said  degrees  "  !  In  1817  visited  New 
Orleans,  "was  received  and  acknowledged  by  the  Council,  and  was  again 
fully  empowered  to  preside  as  Grand  Commander  of  the  Northern  Hemi- 
sphere in  his  turn  "  !  Barker  and  Cushman  were  associated  with  him  in  his 
Southern  tour.  Barker  received  the  degrees  in  Charleston  in  1823,  and  was 
"  Fully  empowered  by  that  Council  to  act  in  conjunction  7uith  Mr.  Cioss  over 
the  Northern  Hemisphere  "/  And,  moreover,  was  deputed  by  the  full  Council 
in  session,  "  To  bring  on  with  him  to  the  North  and  deliver  in  person  to  Mr. 
Cross  a  patent  and  charter  with  full  and  ample  power  to  preside  over  the 
Northern  Hemisphere  "/  This  document  further  says,  "Mr.  Atwood's  patent 
being  of  later  date,  he,  of  course,  gives  way  to  Mr.  Cross."  Remembering 
that,  at  that  time,  the  Charleston  Council  and  the  Cerneau  bodies  were  at 
bitter  warfare,  each  declaring  the  other  spurious,  that  there  was  no  Supreme 
Council,  or  body  claiming  to  be  one,  in  New  Orleans,  till  over  twenty  years 
after  Cross's  visit  there,  and  that  Cross's  name  is  found  in  no  Tableau  or 
record  of  the  Cerneau  bodies,  no  reliance  whatever  will,  or  can,  be  placed 
upon  the  statements  in  this  document.  It  is  manifest,  also,  that  the  partici- 
pants and  their  historian  were  so  utterly  ignorant  of  the  facts  as  to  assume 
that  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  and  the  Cerneau  bodies  were  in  fraternal 
Masonic  correspondence  with  each  other,  to  the  extent  of  granting  patents 
mutually  and  endorsing  those  granted  by  the  other  ! 

The  documents  mentioned  bear  the  impress  of  seals  :  that  of  the  Hicks 
Council  is  a  substantial  counterpart  of  those  of  the  Northern  and  Southern 
Supreme  Councils,  with  a  change  in  the  name  and  the  addition  of  a  motto 
referring  to  the  Union  :  the  Atwood  document  has  two  seals,  both  bearing 
devices  but  no  words  :  the  Cross  document  has  five  seals ;  one  of  a  "  Supreme 
Council  33°,  1815  "  ;  one  of  a  Grand  Consistory,  "  City  of  New  York,  18 15  "  ; 
one  of  a  "  Sovereign  Chapter  Rose  Croix  de  Heroden,  City  of  New  York, 
1795  "  >  o^^  °^  ^  "Grand  Council  of  Princes  Jerusalem,  City  of  New  York, 
1815  ";  and  one  of  a  "Supreme  Grand  Lodge  of  Perfection,  City  of  New 
York,  18 1 5."  It  seems  wonderful  now,  that,  in  selecting  dates  for  their  seals, 
they  should  not  have  selected  a  date  when  some  body  of  some  Rite  had  been 
organized  !  But  apparently  181 5  had  been  selected  as  the  year  in  which 
it  should  be  claimed  that  Cross  received  the  degrees ;  and,  therefore,  it  was 
deemed  best  to  assume  that  bodies  of  the  Rite  were  organized  the  same  year, 
history  to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding. 


HENRY  C.  AT  WOOD. 


819 


The  irresistible  conclusion  is  that  neither  Cross  nor  Atwood,  nor  any  of 
their  associates  named  in  these  publications,  ever  had  any  connection  what- 
ever with  the  old  Cerneau  bodies  or  the  Hicks  body,  but  received  whatever 
authority  they  had,  from  John  Barker  directly,  or  through  Cushman,  and  that 
whatever  authority  Barker  had,  came  from  the  Southern  Supreme  Council. 
The  statement  that  the  Atwood  body  had  any  existence  before  1849  is 
absolutely  incredible,  because  all  engaged  in  it,  except  Atwood,  received  the 
Thirty-third  degree  after  the  summer  of  1848  and,  moreover,  received  it  from 
Atwood  himself.  Cross  does  not  pretend  that  his  body  had  any  existence 
before  185 1,  as  he  then  first  organized  it,  and  it  is  known  that  none  of  the 
Thirty-thirds  created  by  him  antedate  that  year.  The  attempt  to  connect 
either  with  previous  bodies  is  an  utter  failure. 

The  Second  Atwood  Body.  — The  reign  of  Cross  was  brief,  and  his  Council 
evidently  went  to  pieces  within  about  a  year.  The  cause  is  not  known 
absolutely,  but  may  be  gathered  with  sufficient  certainty  from  surrounding 
circumstances.  Atwood,  though  restored  to  good  standing,  was  as  restless  as 
ever;  he  evidently  was  not  born  to  obey.  In  the  latter  part  of  1852,  he 
again  rebelled  against  the  Grand  Lodge  and  with  some  of  his  adherents 
"revived"  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  and  they  were,  in  1853,  again  expelled 
from  all  Masonic  rights,  by  the  Grand  Lodge.  He  was  never  restored,  but 
died  an  expelled  Mason.  Cross  was  loyal  to  the  "York  Rite,"  and  of  course 
would  not  associate  in  Supreme  Council  with  rebellious  Masons. 

Atwood  really  formed  a  new  Supreme  Council,  although  it  claimed  to  be 
the  same  body  over  which  Cross  had  presided.  The  record  (which  has  been 
preserved),  assumes  this,  but  details  circumstances  sufficient  to  show  that  the 
assumption  was  a  false  one.  Atwood,  Folger,  and  another  brother  met 
December  17,  1852  :  Atwood  took  the  chair  and,  the  record  says,  read  the 
resignation  of  Cross,  "dated  August,  1852":  the  resignation  was  accepted 
and  ordered  to  be  recorded,  but  it  does  not  appear  on  the  record.  It  is  not 
stated  how  Atwood  became  Grand  Commander,  but  he  continued  to  act, 
without,  so  far  as  that  record  discloses,  appointment,  election,  or  installation. 
It  was  announced  that  James  Foulhouze  of  Louisiana  was  in  waiting,  and  after 
his  credentials  were  examined,  he  was  admitted  and  received  with  the  honors. 
As  Foulhouze  was  in  the  same  relation  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Louisiana  as 
Atwood  and  Folger  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  they  were  "  well  met." 
But  how  could  Foulhouze  be  recognized  by  Atwood's  Supreme  Council? 
Because  it  was  not  "  The  Supreme  Council  for  the  United  States,"  not  "  The 
Supreme  Council  for  the  Western  Hemisphere,"  and  not  "The  Supreme 
Council  for  the  Northern  Hemisphere,"  (as  Cross's  was),  but  "The  Supreme 
Council  for  the  State  of  New  York"  !  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that, 
upon  the  same  idea.  Supreme  Councils  for  the  States  of  Connecticut  and 
California  were  created,  lived  a  brief  hour  and  died.  It  is  said  that  Foulhouze 
installed  Atwood  as  Grand  Commander,  but  the  record  does  not  so  state.     At 


820  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

a  session  held  January  21,  1853,  a  letter  was  received  from  Marconnay  of 
Paris,  which  is  spread  upon  the  record.  He  writes  that  the  situation  had  been 
explained  to  him  by  Foulhouze  ;  that  he  wants  his  name  put  on  the  list  as  an 
Honorary  member  of  the  Supreme  Council  as  of  1832  ;  that  he  understands 
(in  substance),  their  relations  with  the  Grand  Lodge  :  and  exhorts  them  not  to 
be  alarmed,  in  effect  counselling  them  to  disregard  the  "  York  Rite  "  entirely. 
His  advice  was  followed  :  a  charter /(?r  a  Symbolic  lodge  was  granted  to  Folger 
and  others,  and  another  to  some  Frenchmen ;  and  the  charter  of  Lafayette 
Chapter  was  "reinstated."  Several  Frenchmen  were  admitted  members. 
March  8, 1853,  it  was  voted  to  issue  a  circular  "  of  our  organization."  In  this 
connection  is  given  a  "  List  of  Patents  "  that  had  been  granted  :  the  list  com- 
prises five  or  six  French  names  and  those  of  Folger,  Hays,  and  three  others. 

There  is  no  record  of  any  meeting  between  April  4,  1853,  and  March  i, 
1855,  when  three  of  the  Frenchmen,  and  one  of  the  three  founders  of  the 
Council  in  1852,  resigned.  A  meeting  was  held  May  2,  1855,  ^o  constitute 
Atlantic  Lodge  of  Perfection  :  evidently  Atwood  had  been  busy  and  had  con- 
ferred the  Thirty-third  degree  upon  a  large  number ;  indeed,  a  memorandum 
in  his  handwriting  names  several  upon  whom  he  had  conferred  that  degree 
for  ^15  each  :  at  this  meeting  were  present  Atwood,  Hopkins  Thompson, 
Charles  W.  Atwood,  Jands,  Bond,  and  Folger,  who  was  secretary. 

On  October  i,  1855,  Seth  Driggs,  who  had  been  admitted  to  the  Con- 
sistory, June  5,  1822,  and  afterward  appointed  Deputy  Inspector-General  for 
some  of  the  West  India  Islands,  was  elected  to  receive  the  Thirty-third  degree 
and  was  introduced  and  "  promoted  "  a  Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General, 
Thirty-third  degree,  —  the  only  instance,  up  to  that  date,  in  which  this  degree 
was  conferred  in  the  body  itself,  as  far  as  this  record  shows.  At  the  same  ses- 
sion, a  petition  for  a  Consistory  was  presented  by  Hays,  Thompson,  Cochran, 
Atwood,  Roberts,  Bond,  Piatt,  Jarvis,  Purdy,  Holden,  Kent,  Ewing,  and 
Fisher,  all  of  whom  are  recorded  on  another  page  with  "  2)'^  "  attached  to 
their  names. 

It  is  recorded,  that,  on  November  19,  1857,  Hays  was  appointed  Deputy 
Grand  Commander,  and  the  same  thing  is  stated  in  Atwood's  memorandum 
already  mentioned.  The  closing  record  in  this  book  is  under  date  of  March 
I,  1858. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  foregoing  utterly  conflicts  with  the  account 
given  by  Folger  in  his  "History,"  and  generally  accepted  as  correct;  the 
evident  purpose  was  to  connect  the  Atwood  body  with  the  Cross  body,  when 
in  reality  the  circumstances  detailed  in  the  record  show  that  there  was  no  such 
connection,  but  that  Atwood  and  his  two  associates  created  the  body  of  their 
own  motion,  but  were  not  skilful  enough  to  make  a  record  which  would  not 
disclose  the  facts.  It  should  be  added,  also,  that  before  1858,  the  "revived" 
St.  John's  Grand  Lodge  had  gone  out  of  existence  and  the  most  of  those 
engaged  in  it,  including  Folger,  restored  by  the  Grand  Lodge. 


UNION   OF    THE   SUPREME    COUNCILS.  32 j 

John  W.  Simons,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Cross  body,  did  not  concur  in 
the  formation  of  the  Atwood  body,  but  issued  a  circular  denouncing  it,  and 
claiming  that  he  was  the  only  lawful  representative  of  the  Cross  body. 

In  the  record  of  this  Atwood  body  is  a  report  made  by  Folger,  in  which 
some  of  the  claims  of  the  body  are  stated ;  it  is  declared  that  under  the  Con- 
stitutions of  1762,  each  independent  State  is,  of  right,  entitled  to  have  a 
Supreme  Council  !  This  record  makes  no  mention  of  any  change  of  name, 
and  there  seems  to  have  been  an  uncertainty  as  to  what  its  name  really  was. 
Folger  says  that,  at  a  meeting  held  November  30,  1854,  Atwood  announced 
that  he  had  changed  the  name  of  the  body  to  "  Supreme  Council  of  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspectors-General,  Thirty-third  and  last  degree.  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Rite  for  the  United  States  of  America,  their  Territories  and  Dependencies,  and 
1-esumed  its  ancient  jurisdiction  "  :  the  record  does  not  show  this,  and  as  the 
New  York  name  was  used  in  a  published  Tableau  in  1859,  the  accuracy  of 
Folger's  statement  is  exceedingly  doubtful.  In  another  document,  issued  by 
Atwood  in  1858,  he  styles  it  the  "  Supreme  Grand  Council  of  the  Thirty-third 
degree,  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  for  the  Northern  Masonic  Juris- 
diction of  the  Western  Hemisphere  "  ;  it  will  be  observed  that  this  was  the 
name  of  the  Boston  body,  substituting  "  Western  Hemisphere  "  for  "  United 
States."  But,  in  1859,  it  issued  its  Regulations,  etc.,  in  which  it  was  declared 
that  every  State  ought  to  have  a  Supreme  Council,  but  that  the  New  York 
Council  had  jurisdiction  over  all  States  in  which  no  council  existed,  until  one 
should  be  formed  therein. 

In  i860  Atwood  died,  and  at  a  meeting  held  October  i,  i860.  Hays  pro- 
duced a  document  dated  May  14,  1858,  signed  by  Atwood,  appointing  Hays 
as  his  successor ;  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  the  8th,  when  three  members 
of  the  Atwood  body  had  signed  a  certificate  admitting  the  genuineness  of  the 
document  and  its  sufficiency  to  create  Hays  Grand  Commander. 

Hays  at  once  commenced  vigorous  measures  to  increase  the  power  of  his 
Supreme  Council.  For  two  years  and  more  he  devoted  much  of  his  time  to 
the  works  of  the  Rite.  He  conferred  the  Thirty-third  degree  at  his  pleasure, 
and  the  Supreme  Council  also  elected  and  received  numerous  candidates. 
At  this  time  commenced  the  practice  of  designating  Honorary  members  as 
"  Deputy  Inspectors-General,"  and  Active  members  as  "  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspectors-General."  During  1861  officers  were  appointed,  but,  in  many 
cases,  no  record  was  made.  In  1862  the  Supreme  Council  conferred  the 
Thirty-third  degree  on  a  large  number  and  established  subordinate  bodies  in 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Massachusetts.  It  published  its  constitutions  in 
which  its  name  is  the  "  Supreme  Council,  etc.,  for  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  its  Territories  and  Dependencies."  The  prospect  was  that  there 
would  be  increased  activity  and  a  corresponding  increase  of  bitterness  between 
the  rival  bodies.  But  events  were  soon  to  happen  which  changed  the  whole 
situation. 


322  ANCIENT  AND   ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

Union  of  the  Supreme  Councils.  —  In  1862  there  were  three  de  facto 
Supreme  Councils  in  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States,  one  of  them 
claiming  jurisdiction  over  the  whole  country,  and  two  of  them  over  the 
Northern  Jurisdiction,  —  each  one  of  them  denying  the  legitimacy  of  both  the 
others. 

As  early  as  April  2,  1862,  according  to  the  record  of  the  Raymond  Council 
of  that  date,  overtures  had  been  made  by  the  Hays  Council  for  a  union  of 
the  two,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  former  to  meet  a  committee 
of  the  latter,  to  "  arrange  a  union,"  "  upon  a  just  and  honorable  basis."  While 
no  further  express  mention  of  this  matter  is  found  in  the  records  of  either 
body  during  the  year,  the  context  shows  that  it  was  discussed  at  different 
times,  undoubtedly  in  communications  between  the  members  of  the  two 
bodies.  On  January  23,  1863,  the  committee  of  the  Raymond  body  reported 
that  there  was  a  reasonable  prospect  of  effecting  a  union ;  whereupon  the 
committee  were  granted  full  power  in  the  premises.  In  the  Hays  body,  on 
December  28,  1862,  a  committee  on  the  state  of  the  Rite  w^as  appointed, 
which  reported  January  19,  1863,  and  were  also  given  full  power  in  the 
premises.  The  committees  agreed  upon  articles  of  union  under  date  of 
February  7,  1863,  by  which  the  two  Councils  were  consolidated,  increasing 
the  number  of  members  to  seventeen  and  requiring  members  and  bodies  to 
take  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  new  body,  and  then  to  have  the  same  status  as 
they  had  respectively  had  under  the  body  of  whose  obedience  they  were. 

The  membership  of  the  new  body  was  made  up  of  Raymond,  Robinson, 
Randall,  Paige,  Hughes,  McClenachan,  Lawson,  and  Field  of  the  Raymond 
body ;  and  Hays,  Thompson,  Leveredge,  Sickels,  Roberts,  Banks,  Seymour, 
Innis,  and  Jarvis  of  the  Hays  body. 

The  articles  were  reported  to  the  Hays  body,  April  15,  1863,  when 
Hays,  who  had  been  agreed  upon  as  Grand  Commander,  proceeded  to  install 
the  officers.  Within  a  few  years,  it  has  been  claimed  that  the  Raymond  body 
was  merged  in  the  Hays  body ;  but  the  facts  that  all  members  of  the  obedi- 
ence of  both  old  bodies  were  required  to  take  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  united 
body ;  that  all  subordinate  bodies  were  required  by  the  articles  of  union  to 
take  new  charters  ;  and  that  the  officers  were  installed  again  into  offices  already 
held  by  them  under  the  ad  vitain  tenure,  most  effectually  show  the  error  of 
this  claim. 

Whether  lists  of  Honorary  members  were  exchanged  or  not  does  not 
appear ;  none  were  recorded,  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  ascertain  who  had 
received  the  Thirty-third  grade,  as  it  is  well  known  that  it  had  been  conferred 
upon  many  whose  names  were  not  reported  to  the  Supreme  Councils  and 
entered  upon  the  general  record  ;  nor  were  any  proceedings  of  the  Hays 
body  published,  nor  any  of  the  Raymond  body  after  1862,  nor  any  of  the 
United  body  until  early  in  1867. 

The  constitution  was  immediately  changed,  increasing  the  number  of  Active 


THE  NEW    YORK   COUNCIL. 


823 


members  to  twenty-four  in  addition  to  nine  officers  :  but  no  action  was  appar- 
ently taken  to  define  the  status  of  members  other  than  the  officers.  Others 
were  present  in  Supreme  Council,  making  motions,  engaging  in  discussions, 
and  serving  upon  committees. 

The  union  gave  a  new  impetus  to  this  body,  and  its  adherents  became 
exceedingly  active;  the  Thirty-third  degree  was  conferred  upon  numerous 
brethren ;  several  were  made  Active  members  and  many  new  bodies  were 
established,  especially  in  States  in  which  neither  of  the  former  bodies  had  a 
foothold ;  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  however,  that  these  operations  were  limited 
to  the  States  under  the  Northern  Jurisdiction,  although  the  body  styled  itself 
"The  Supreme  Council  of  the  United  States,"  etc. 

But,  in  1864,  a  question  arose  which  caused  a  division  of  opinion.  The  ad 
vitam  tenure  of  office  as  well  as  membership  had  heretofore  prevailed,  and 
both  Hays  and  Raymond  had  been  very  tenacious  upon  this  point.  Amend- 
ments were  proposed  for  the  triennial  election  of  officers  and  the  reduction 
of  their  number  to  nine,  by  a  committee  previously  appointed.  Hays  absented 
himself  from  the  meeting  at  which  they  were  to  be  presented  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  wait  upon  him  and  request  his  attendance.  The  considera- 
tion of  the  amendments  was  postponed  till  the  evening  session  ;  the  committee 
reported  that  they  were  unable  to  find  the  Grand  Commander  and  the  vote 
upon  the  amendments  was  taken  in  his  absence.  In  the  morning  session  six 
new  Active  members  had  been  elected;  when  the  vote  was  taken,  the  record 
says  "sixteen  members"  were  present,  and  the  principal  amendment  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  thirteen  to  three,  the  negatives  being  cast  by  Thompson, 
Lawson,  and  Innis.  Among  those  voting  were  Charles  S.  Westcott,  John 
Sheville,  J.  H.  Hobart,  Ward,  and  William  Barrett,  who  apparently  were  not 
Active  members.  The  next  day  having  been  specially  assigned  for  the  election 
of  officers,  the  Supreme  Council  waited  a  while  for  the  appearance  of  the 
Grand  Commander,  but  he  not  arriving,  it  proceeded  with  the  business. 
Grand  Secretary  Daniel  Sickels  and  "  Second  Lieutenant-Grand  Commander  " 
Hopkins  Thompson  resigned  their  respective  offices,  undoubtedly  to  save  any 
question  as  to  the  effect  of  the  new  amendment  upon  the  tenure  of  office  of 
an  officer  already  appointed  and  installed  ad  vitam.  There  were  fourteen 
active  members  present ;  Hays  was  reelected  Grand  Commander,  and  at 
the  evening  session  came  in,  was  installed  by  Robinson,  and  then  installed  the 
other  officers. 

At  a  meeting  in  December,  the  committee  on  condition  of  the  Rite  asked 
for  power  to  act  in  any  sudden  emergency,  but  the  request  was  denied  "  by 
the  casting  vote  "  of  the  Grand  Commander. 

So  far  as  the  record  shows  there  was  no  session  of  the  Supreme  Couiicil 
until  September  11,  1865.  In  the  meantime  the  Civil  War  had  ended  and 
communication  had  been  resumed  with  the  Southern  Supreme  Council;  of 
course  both  bodies  in  the  North  were  anxious  to  secure  the  recognition  of 


824 


ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 


that  body.  The  Hays  Council  was  not  in  a  position  to  seek  recognition 
as  it  stood,  because  its  name  imported  a  claim  of  jurisdiction  over  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  and  because  the  latter  had  always 
denounced  as  spurious  all  the  successive  New  York  bodies.  But,  apparently, 
the  infusion  of  new  blood  gave  that  body  hopes ;  and  it  proceeded  at  once 
to  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  success. 

Before  proceeding  to  this  business  charges  were  filed  against  Henry  J. 
Seymour,  an  officer  until  the  last  election  of  the  United  Council  and  present 
at  that  election  ;  they  were  received  and  a  commission  appointed  to  try  them  ; 
at  a  later  date,  the  commission  reported  and  Seymour  was  unanimously 
expelled. 

Two  important  resolutions  were  adopted,  one  appointing  "  A  committee  to 
take  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  resuming  the  old  name,  'Supreme 
Council  of  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  of  America,'  in  lieu 
of  the  one  at  present  adopted  "  ;  and  the  other,  "  that  the  Grand  Commander 
appoint  one  or  more  delegates  to  repair  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council," 

Subsequently  "  the  names  of  111  .*.  Bros  .•.  Lucius  R.  Paige  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Sickels  of  New  York,"  were  announced  "as  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  M  .*.  P. '.Sovereign  Grand  Commander  to  visit  the  Supreme  Council  of  the 
Southern  Jurisdiction,  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  represent  this  body 
in  said  Supreme  Council."  On  the  same  day  (October  22,  1865),  the  com- 
mittee to  which  the  matter  was  referred  reported  in  favor  of  "  resuming"  the 
name  "  Supreme  Council  for  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  of  the  United  States," 
and  their  report  was  unanimously  adopted. 

Thus  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Southern  Jurisdiction  was  fully  recognized 
with  its  territorial  jurisdiction.  In  view  of  subsequent  events,  it  should  be 
remarked  that  all  this  action  was  taken  while  Hays  was  presiding  and  Hop- 
kins Thompson  was  present.  In  none  of  the  allegations  or  discussions  of 
illegal  proceedings  more  recently  made,  has  there  ever  been  a  question  con- 
cerning the  legality  of  the  action  of  this  Supreme  Council  up  to  and  beyond 
this  point.  The  recognition  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  and  the  con- 
sequent change  of  name  were  absolutely  binding  upon  all  the  members  of 
the  obedience  of  the  bodies  over  which  Hays  ever  presided,  and  over  which 
Raymond  presided  after  the  schism  in  the  Boston  Council  in  i860.  This 
being  so,  the  foundation  of  the  subsequent  action  was  established  and 
consequently  that  action  was  equally  binding. 

As  if  to  confirm  this  action,  at  the  very  next  session  a  member  of  the 
Southern  Supreme  Council  was  admitted  as  a  visitor,  received  with  honors 
and  seated  in  the  East. 

In  the  meantime  Paige  and  McClenachan  (who  had  acted  in  place  of 
Sickels),  had  visited  the  Southern  Supreme  Council ;  their  report  was  made  to 
the  Supreme   Council  December   14,  1865  ;  it  was  apparently  oral  and  no 


THE  NEW    YORK   COUNCIL. 


825 


Statement  of  its  character  was  entered  on  record.  We  can  judge,  however, 
of  its  character  from  what  took  place.  Hays  resigned  his  office  of  Grand 
Commander  and  Simon  W.  Robinson  was  elected  in  his  place.  It  is  evident 
that  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  gave  no  ground  for  hope  that  it  would 
recognize  a  body  at  the  head  of  which  was  one  whom  it  had  always  refused 
to  recognize  a  member  of  the  Rite  j  in  effect,  it  denied  the  legality  of  the 
union  and  held  that,  Raymond  being  dead,  his  successor  was  Robinson,  his 
lieutenant ;  therefore,  it  was  of  the  last  importance  that  Robinson  should  be 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  Council,  so  that  both  by  election  and  succession  his 
title  would  be  perfect.  When  this  election  of  Robinson  took  place,  the  record 
states  :  "  A  majority  of  all  the  officers  and  Active  members  of  the  Supreme 
Council  were  present."  Lucius  R.  Paige  was  appointed  to  visit  the  Southern 
Supreme  Council  to  be  held  in  Washington,  April  16,  1866. 

On  June  5,  1866,  the  New  York  Council  met,  Robinson  presiding.  In  his 
brief  address,  he  states  substantially  that  the  Raymond  Council  was  forced 
into  the  union  for  self-preservation,  but  refers  the  matter  of  securing  friendly 
relations  with  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  to  the  brethren.  Paige  made 
his  report,  —  verbal  like  the  other,  —  and  it  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  five. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  insisted  that  efforts  should 
be  made  for  a  union  of  all  the  elements  in  the  North,  for  a  resolution  was 
adopted  evidently  looking  to  that  end,  and  even  contemplating  a  special  ses- 
sion of  the  Supreme  Council.  The  States  over  which  the  Council  claimed 
jurisdiction  were  specifically  named  in  a  resolution  adopted  without  dissent. 
So  far  as  the  record  discloses,  the  committee  never  reported  in  open  council ; 
but  action  was  taken,  undoubtedly,  with  the  advice  or  concurrence  of  the 
committee. 

The  action  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council  in  April,  1866,  will  throw 
light  upon  subsequent  action.  The  Grand  Commander  discussed  the  occur- 
rences in  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  at  length  ;  the  matter  was  referred  to  an 
able  committee  which  reported  in  accordance  with  his  views ;  the  conclusion 
reached  was  that  Robinson,  appointed  Lieutenant-Grand  Commander  by  Ray- 
mond before  his  deposition,  was  in  any  event  Grand  Commander,  succeeding 
Raymond  even  if  he  had  been  legally  deposed  and,  if  not,  then  at  Raymond's 
death ;  that  Moore,  Case,  Young,  and  Starkweather  were  the  only  legal  Active 
members  of  the  Supreme  Council  at  that  time,  Hubbard  having  recently 
deceased ;  that  the  proceedings  of  both  factions  were  erroneous  and  illegal ; 
and  that  neither  of  the  bodies  then  existing  could  be  recognized. 

The  correctness  of  this  conclusion  was  challenged  on  the  ground  of  error  in 
the  assumption  of  facts,  but  especially  on  the  ground  of  error  in  the  assump- 
tion of  law  that  the  Northern  Supreme  Council  could  have  only  nine  Active 
members;  if  the  last  assumption  was  erroneous,  the  conclusion  of  the  Southern 
Supreme  Council  was  also  erroneous ;  that  the  assumption  was  erroneous, 
the  members  of  Boston  Council  held  with  almost  entire  unanimitv,  and  the 


826  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED    SCOTTISH  RITE. 

probability  is  that  the  point  did  not  occur  to  the  Southern  Grand  Commander 
or  the  committee  :  it  is  beheved,  that,  at  this  time,  few  will  dispute  the  propo- 
sition that  the  Northern  Supreme  Council  had  the  right  to  increase  its  Active 
members  at  its  own  pleasure.  However,  happily,  the  question  soon  ceased  to 
have  any  other  than  historic  interest. 

Acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  Robinson 
issued  a  summons  for  a  meeting  in  Boston  on  December  ii,  1866,  including 
with  the  others  Moore,  Case,  Starkweather,  and  Young  :  of  course  they  did 
not  appear,  and  Robinson  declared  their  seats  vacant,  leaving  himself  as  the 
only  member :  he  proceeded  to  fill  up  the  Council  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Constitutions  of  1 7S6.  Twelve  of  the  Active  and  ten  of  the 
Honorary  members  of  the  United  Council  were  present.  Robinson  stated  that 
he  was  acting  "  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  every  member  "  of  that  Council. 

While  in  form  it  was  a  dissolution  of  the  United  Council  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  new  Council,  or  of  the  old  Northern  Council,  it  was  in  substance  and 
legal  effect  a  mere  reorganization  of  the  United  Council.  The  status  of  each 
member  was  made  the  same ;  every  one  was  recognized  as  a  legal  Sovereign 
Grand  Inspector-General ;  no  new  oath  of  fealty  was  required ;  all  the  acts 
of  the  United  Council  in  chartering  bodies,  appointing  Deputies,  and  of  every 
other  nature,  were  recognized  as  continuing  in  force ;  the  names  of  all  the 
Honorary  members  were  entered  upon  the  roll  as  a  matter  of  course ;  in  a 
word,  as  already  stated,  it  was  the  merest  formal  reorganization  of  an  existing 
body,  to  meet  the  requirements,  in  the  letter,  of  the  Southern  Supreme 
Council.  The  legal  effect  of  this  action  upon  the  United  Council  was  no  more 
than  if  the  officers  and  members  had  seen  fit  to  elect  themselves  over  again. 

But  this  action  did  not  fully  meet  the  object  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Coun- 
cil, which  evidently  was  to  effect  a  complete  union.  That  body  expected,  or 
at  least  hoped,  that  the  five,  whom  it  decided  to  be  Active  members,  would 
unite  in  the  action  to  be  taken.  The  New  York  Council  could  not,  therefore, 
feel  sure  of  recognition,  and  it  was  evidently  anxious  to  secure  a  union  with 
the  Boston  body.  With  this  view,  its  proceedings  in  December,  1866,  were 
immediately  published  and  freely  circulated.  It  had  already  adopted  the 
necessary  resolution,  which,  however,  was  an  exact  copy  of  one  previously 
adopted  by  the  Boston  Council,  many  of  whose  members  had  a  corresponding 
disposition. 

Committees  had  already  been  appointed ;  that  of  the  Boston  Council  was 
Evans  of  New  York,  Woodbury  of  Massachusetts,  Drummond  of  Maine,  Ely 
of  Ohio,  and  Foss  of  lUinois  ;  to  which  Harmon  G.  Reynolds  of  lUinois,  an 
Honorary  member,  was  added,  and  later  Gardner  of  Massachusetts,  who  had 
participated  in  the  deliberations  as  the  proxy  for  one  of  the  other  members, 
who  was  obliged  to  be  absent  a  part  of  the  time ;  that  of  the  New  York 
Council  was  Lewis,  Paige,  McClenachan,  and  Sickels  of  New  York,  Paige  of 
Massachusetts,  Palmer  of  Wisconsin,  and  Barrett  of  New  Hampshire. 


GOVERNMENT  BY  SUPREME    COUNCILS. 


827 


The  committees,  assisted  by  other  brethren,  met  just  before  the  annual 
session  of  the  Boston  Council  in  May,  1867.  The  general  terms  of  union  were 
soon  tacitly  agreed  upon ;  but  local,  and  possibly  personal,  interests  caused 
much  difficulty  in  arranging  the  details.  In  fact,  more  than  once  the  negotia- 
tions were  in  danger  of  being  broken  off  without  result;  at  one  time  this 
danger  was  so  imminent  that  several  started  to  leave,  with  the  idea  that 
nothing  could  be  done,  when  a  brother  invited  all  to  "  break  bread  together," 
and  insisted  that  all  should  accept  the  invitation.  Before  they  returned  to 
the  committee-room,  everything  had  been  arranged  with  mutual  good-will. 

The  Treaty  was  signed  by  all  the  members  of  both  committees  and  the  two 
bodies  at  once  proceeded  to  act  upon  it.  It  was  ratified  by  each  by  unani- 
mous vote  and  by  the  approval  of  all  the  Honorary  members.  The  two 
Councils  came  together  as  equals  and  all  the  acts  of  both  held  to  be  valid, 
except  the  expulsions  on  account  of  former  differences,  and  they  were 
rescinded.  Each  Council  had  twenty-eight  Active  members,  but  the  New 
York  Council  consented  to  the  addition  of  Charles  Levi  Woodbury  of  Massa- 
chusetts, as  a  recognition  of  his  services  in  bringing  about  the  union. 

The  Grand  Commander  was  elected  by  concurrent  vote  of  the  two  Coun- 
cils, and  the  other  officers  designated,  and  when  the  preliminary  arrangements 
had  been  completed,  both  Councils  met  as  one  body ;  the  two  Past  Grand  Com- 
manders of  the  two  Councils,  Killian  H.  Van  Rensselaer  and  John  L.  Lewis, 
conducted  the  Grand  Commander-elect,  Josiah  H.  Drummond,  to  the  altar, 
where  he  took  the  oath  of  fealty  in  presence  of  the  Supreme  Council,  and  then 
administered  it  to  the  brethren  present,  to  the  number  of  eighty.  The  offi- 
cers, as  already  agreed  upon,  were  then  elected  and  installed  :  a  constitution 
was  adopted  and  the  organization  thereunder  fully  completed. 

Peace  was  thus  established ;  the  Supreme  Council  was  everywhere  recog- 
nized ;  it  at  once  entered  upon  a  career  of  unexampled  prosperity ;  the  old 
■  feuds  were  so  completely  buried  that  the  members  forgot  who  were  "  of  the 
other  party  "  in  former  times  :  active  work  was  resumed  :  subordinate  bodies 
furnished  themselves  with  paraphernalia  for  cojiferring  the  degrees,  and  their 
mere  "  communication  "  almost  ceased  :  bodies  attained  such  proficiency  in 
the  work  as  to  command  the  interest  and  attendance  of  more  than  their  halls 
would  accommodate  ;  and  the  growth  of  the  Rite  exceeded  the  expectations 
of  the  most  enthusiastic.  For  five  years  the  peace  was  unbroken ;  but  in 
1872,  Henry  J.  Seymour,  who  had  been  expelled  by  the  Council  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  organized  what  he  called  a  Supreme  Council !  It  made  little 
stir  for  some  years  :  finally  a  dissension  arose  in  it  and  it  divided  into  two 
bodies  and  possibly  three  :  only  one,  however,  retained  life  enough  to  make 
itself  known ;  that  took  advantage  of  some  dissatisfaction  existing  in  the 
Southern  Jurisdiction  and  established  bodies  there  ;  it  even  succeeded  in  gain- 
ing the  adhesion  of  one  Honorary  member  of  that  Supreme  Council  at  whose 
coronation  the  Grand  Commanders  of  both  the  Southern  and  Northern  Juris- 


828  ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED   SCOTTISH  RITE. 

dictions  assisted  :  he  was  made  Grand  Commander,  but,  on  a  visit  to  Europe, 
in  his  eagerness  to  obtain  recognition,  he  unwittingly  held  Masonic  communi- 
cation with  the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  which  created  such  a  storm  that  he 
resigned  his  office,  and  since  but  little  has  been  heard  of  that  Supreme  Council, 
although  it  probably  still  exists. 

In  1 88 1  Hopkins  Thompson,  an  Emeritus  member  of  the  Supreme  Coun- 
cil, assisted  by  a  few  Honorary  members  and  by  a  Sublime  Prince  of  the  Royal 
Secret,  who  is  believed  by  many  to  have  been  the  main- spring  of  the  move- 
ment, all  of  whom  had  taken  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Supreme  Council, 
formed  an  association,  which  they  are  pleased  to  call  the  Cerneau  Supreme 
Council  "revived."  They  base  its  claim  for  existence  upon  the  allegation  that 
in  December,  1866,  the  Union  Council  was  dissolved  and  its  members  freed 
from  their  allegiance  to  it ;  that  their  taking  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Council 
after  the  union  of  1S67  and  remaining  loyal  to  it  for  more  than  a  dozen  years, 
happened  on  account  of  want  of  knowledge  of  the  proceedings  in  1866  ! 
This  body  claims  jurisdiction  over  the  South,  the  claim  to  which  was  aban- 
doned before  1S66,  by  unanimous  vote,  including  Thompson's  !  It  denies 
the  legality  of  the  Southern  Supreme  Council,  from  which  alone  the  Thirty- 
third  degree  came,  and  which  Thompson  by  his  vote  recognized  and  whose 
recognition  and  fraternal  support,  he,  with  his  associates,  sought  to  obtain. 
But  space  does  not  allow  a  full  discussion  of  this  movement.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  it  is  not  recognized  by  any  one  of  the  lawful  Supreme  Councils  :  wher- 
ever it  has  been  introduced,  dissension  in  "  Blue  "  Masonry  has  followed  to 
such  an  extent  that  many  Grand  Lodges  have  prohibited  the  practice  of  that 
Rite  in  their  several  jurisdictions  :  and  the  "signs  of  the  times  "  point  to  its 
speedy  dissolution. 

The  Southern  and  Northern  Supreme  Councils  are  enjoying  a  degree  of 
prosperity  unexampled  in  their  previous  history ;  they  are  in  entire  harmony 
with  the  "York  Rite  "  ;  and  their  prospects  for  the  future  are  bright  with  promise 
of  prosperity  and  usefulness  to  Freemasonry  and  to  mankind. 


DIVISION    XIX. 


THE  ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


By  Wm.  James  Hughan,  R.O.S.,  32°,  etc., 
Masonic  Historiaii,  and  European  Editor. 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  History  and  Government  of  the  Royal  Order  in  Europe, 

AND  America. 

History  of  the  Ceremony.  —  Of  the  many  additional  degrees  worked 
under  the  wing  of  the  Craft,  the  most  exclusive,  and  yet  the  most  popular  of 
all  to  whom  it  is  familiar,  is  the  "  Royal  Order  of  Scotland."  It  is  remark- 
able that  though  so  few  brethren  have  any  knowledge  of  the  Ceremony,  yet 
there  is  a  wide-spread  belief  respecting  its  importance  and  antiquity  ;  and  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  reliable  information  as  to  its  history  and  character, 
as  well  as  the  few  opportunities  there  are  of  obtaining  the  degree,  tend  to 
increase  rather  than  to  diminish  the  feeling  of  curiosity  which  so  widely  prevails. 

My  friend,  D.  Murray  Lyon,  Grand  Secretary  of  Scotland,  wrote  an 
accurate  sketch  of  the  Order  in  1873,  devoting  chapter  xxxii.  to  that  most 
interesting  subject,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Lodge  of  Edinburgh  (Mary's 
Chapel),  No.  i,  embracing  an  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Free- 
masonry in  Scotland,"  a  volume  which  is  *'  head  and  shoulders  "  above  all  its 
contemporaries.  Brother  Lyon  is  now  the  Grand  Secretary  of  the  degree  in 
question ;  and,  as  the  regulations  are  being  revised,  the  present  would  seem 
an  appropriate  time  for  the  publication  of  an  authoritative  History  of  the 
Ceremony,  by  such  a  competent  Craftsman  as  the  Scottish  Masonic  Historian. 

Strictly  speaking,  there  are  two  degrees,  viz. :  those  of  "  Heredom  of  Kil- 
winning," and  the  "  Rosy  Cross,"  the  latter  conferring  the  knighthood.  The 
former  is  declared  to  have  been  started  during  the  reign  of  David  L,  king  of 
Scotland,  and  the  latter,  it  is  affirmed,  was  instituted  by  King  Robert  the 
Bruce,  who  in  a.d.  1314  revived  the  Ceremonies  and  incorporated  the  two 
degrees  under  the  suggestive  tide  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Scotland. 

829 


830 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


The  fabulous  stories  about  its  early  origin  and  royal  patronage  must  be 
taken  for  what  they  are  worth,  which  to  those  who  value  accuracy  means 
nothing;  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  understand  these  legendary  and 
visionary  accounts  of  purely  Masonic  degrees  and  ceremonies  of  last  century 
arrangement,  for  otherwise  it  will  be  impossible  to  rightly  appreciate  much  of 
the  historic  references,  and  statements  promulgated  relating  to  this  Rite, 
which  has  for  so  long  occupied  a  prominent  position  among  the  numerous 
degrees  of  Freemasonry. 

Brother  Lyon  remarks  :  "  The  ritual  of  this  rite  embraces  what  may  be  termed 
a  spiritualization  of  the  supposed  symbols  and  ceremonies  of  the  Christian 
architects  and  builders  of  primitive  times,  and  so  closely  associates  the  sword 
with  the  trowel  as  to  lead  to  the  second  degree  being  denominated  an  Order 
of  Masonic  Knighthood,  which  its  recipients  are  asked  to  believe  was  first 
conferred  on  the  field  of  Banjiockburn  as  a  reward  for  the  valor  that  had 
been  displayed,  by  a  body  of  Teffiplars  who  aided  Bruce,  in  that  memorable 
victory ;  and  that  afterward  a  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Order  was  established  by 
the  king  at  Kilwintiing,  with  reservation  of  the  office  of  Grand  Master  to  him 
and  his  successors  on  the  Scottish  throne.  It  is  further  asserted  that  the 
Royal  Order  and  the  Masonic  Fraternity  of  Kilwinning  were  governed  by 
the  same  head."  ^ 

The  venerable  "  Mother  Lodge  Kilwinning  "  (with  which  I  have  the  honor 
to  be  associated),  has  often  been  credited  with  being  the  original  source  of 
the  "  Hautes  Grades,"  and  of  authorizing  subordinate  chapters  and  other 
bodies  to  assemble,  at  home  and  abroad,  to  work  various  Ceremonies  addi- 
tional to  the  Craft.  Such  notions,  however,  are  wholly  wrong,  and  have  been, 
and  are,  invariably  based  on  misconception  or  misrepresentation.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  proved  over  and  over  again,  by  an  examination  of  the 
records  of  this  ancient  Atelier,  extending  back  some  two  and  a  half  centu- 
ries, the  old  Lodge  has  never  at  any  time,  directly  or  indirectly,  worked  or 
warranted  any  subordinates  save  for  Craft  purposes,  and  these  never  beyond 
the  well-known  "  three  degrees." 

In  "The  Voice  of  Masonry"^  (Chicago,  1876),  I  gave  a  copy  of  the 
original  warrant  granted,  by  the  "  Mother  Kilwinning,"  in  response  to  "  the 
request  of  certain  Masons  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  in  Ireland,  praying  for 
our  authority  to  be  formed  into  a  regular  lodge,  or  society,"  bearing  date 
October  8,  1779,  and  issued  by  authority  of  the  Eari  of  Eglinton,  then  the 
"  M.  W.  G.  M."  Doubtless  the  singular  name  adopted  by  the  members  — 
"  The  High  Knights  Templars  of  Ireland,  Kilzvinning  Lodge  "  —  led  to  mis- 
understandings, and  eventually  to  the  Irish  offshoot,  claiming  powers  which 
they  never  received  under  the  charter,  but  which  they  considered  were  theirs, 
possibly  because  of  the  absurd  stories  told  about  the  Kilwinning  Craft. 

1  History  of  No.  i,  Scotland,  p.  307. 

2  pp.  99-102.  See  also  the  Key-stone  (Philadelphia),  Nov.,  1875,  on  the. subject,  and 
Freemasons"  Chronicle  (London),  Sept.  and  Oct,  1887. 


Q 

o 

LIJ- 

8 
5 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


^33 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  brethren  at  Kilwinning  simply  constituted  a 
Craft  lodge  at  Dublin  in  1779;  and  a  careful  study  of  the  accumulated 
evidence  on  the  subject,  collected  by  Brother  Lyon  and  myself,  should  convince 
the  most  sceptical  that  neither  for  a  lodge  at  Ireland,  nor  for  any  in  America, 
or  in  Scotland,  did  that  venerable  body  ever  exercise  or  claim  any  authority 
beyond  the  three  degrees,  and  has  so  continued  to  this  day,  neither  more  nor 
less  than  a  regular  Masonic  lodge,  knowing  nothing  as  such  beyond  the  "Third 
degree  "  ;  and  only  acquainted  with  that  Ceremony  from  early  in  the  last 
century,  because  unknown  prior  to  that  period. 

These  fratres  at  Dublin  conferred  the  Royal  Arch,  Knight  Templar  and 
Rose  Croix  degrees  in  1782,  and,  in  1806,  petitioned  their  "Mother  lodge 
for  such  documents  as  will  establish  beyond  doubt  the  authority  and  regularity 
of  their  warrant  as  High  Knights  Templars,"  which,  of  course,  was  never 
granted,  because  impossible. 

What  is  true  with  respect  to  the  ancient  lodge  at  Kilwinning  is  in  like 
manner  representative  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  which,  from  its 
institution  in  1 736,  has  never  ofificially  or  generally  countenanced  any  degrees 
beyond  that  of  the  Master  Mason,  and  even  has  objected  at  times  to  any 
support  being  given  to  the  Ceremonies  worked  by  authority  of  the  Supreme 
Grand  Royal  i\rch  Chapter  of  Scotland.  Of  late  years,  a  fraternal  toleration 
has  taken  the  place  of  active  opposition ;  but,  even  now,  the  Grand  Lodge 
continues  steadfast  in  its  recognition  of  but  three  degrees,  —  only  recently  the 
"  Mark  "  has  been  adopted  (because  so  long  favored  by  several  old  Operative 
lodges),  as  a  portion  of  the  "  Fellow  Craft  degree." 

Unfortunately,  not  a  few  historians  of  the  past  have  persistently  and 
confidently  maintained  that  the  "  ancient  Mother  Kilwinning  at  one  time 
poftessed  other  degrees  of  Masonry  besides  that  of  St.  John,"  as  did  Dr. 
James  Burnes  in  1840.'^  Students,  however,  of  Brother  Gould's  valuable 
History  of  Freemasonry  will  be  aware  that  Scotland  was  credited  with  the 
origin  of  very  many  Masonic  degrees  long  back  into  the  last  century,  but  so 
far  the  claims  have  been  found,  on  examination,  to  be  wholly  baseless,  the 
wonder  being  that  they  ever  secured  adherents  in  the  absence  of  any 
corroborative  evidence  whatsoever. 

The  Name.— The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Arnot  declared  that  the  "  Royal  Order" 
owes  its  distinctive  name  to  the  fact  that  "  it  is  the  highest  and  most  sublime 
degree  of  Masonry";  but  that  enthusiastic  and  generally  well-informed 
Craftsman  failed  to  furnish  any  authority  for  his  assertion.  He  likewise  stated 
that  the  "  Rose  Croix  was  got  up  by  the  adherents  of  Prince  Charles 
Edward  Stuart,  and  only  received  the  name  of  Rose  Croix  (a  translation  of 
the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.  of  the  Royal  Order),  in  1 746  or  1 747.  It  was  intended  to  be 
a  Roman  Catholic  version,  or  rather  perversion,  of  the  Royal  Order,  this  last 
being  deemed   for   the  French  too  bigoted ;    in   other  words,  it   was   too 

1  History  of  the  Knights  Templars,  p.  6i. 


834 


J? OVAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


purely  religious  and  Protestant,  although  it  is  Christianity  which  it  really 
promulgates." 

On  this  point  the  Chevalier  Burnes  (1840)  observes:  "The  Royal  Order 
flourishes  in  France,  where  it  was  established  by  charter  from  Scotland,  and 
even  by  the  Pretender  himself,  in  the  course  of  the  last  century,  and  is  now 
conferred  as  the  highest  and  most  distinguished  grade  of  Masonry,  sanctioned 
by  the  Grand  Orient,  under  the  title  of  the  Rose  Croix  de  Heredom  de 
Kilwinning."  ^  He  likewise  states  that  "  the  brethren  of  the  Lodge  of  Con- 
stance at  Arras  still  preserve  with  reverence  an  original  charter  of  the  Order, 
granted  to  the  chapter,  in  1747,  by  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  and  signed  by  that 
unfortunate  Prince  himself  as  the  Representative  of  the  Scottish  Kings,"  and 
terms  the  degree  the  "  Rose  Croix  de  Heredom  de  Kilwinning." 

Catalogue  of  MSS.  and  Books.  —  I  have  a  catalogue  of  an  extraordinary 
number  of  MSS.  and  books,  "  Librairie,  Tross,  Paris,"  of  the  year  i860, 
which  were  to  have  been  sold  early  in  that  year,  but,  for  some  reason  or 
other,  the  auction  was  not  held.  It  is  No.  1 76  in  Brother  Carson's  valuable 
"  Masonic  Bibliography,"  but  I  know  of  no  other  copy  besides.  The  collec- 
tion is  well  named  precieuse,  for  nothing  equal  to  it  of  the  kind  has  ever  been 
catalogued  before  or  since.  Over  one  thousand  articles  are  enumerated, 
many  being  of  the  greatest  rarity  and  importance  relating  to  ^^  Les  Francs 
Masons,''  "  Les  Rose  Croix,'"  ''  Les  Sciences  Occu/tes,'"  etc.,  etc.  (1740  to 
1843) .     The  following  item  immediately  concerns  the  present  inquiry ;  viz. :  — 

"9.  Charles-Edouard  Stuart,  roy  d'Angleterre,  de  France,  d'Ecosse  et  d'Irlande  .  .  .  voulant 
temoigner  aux  magons  art6siens  combien  nous  sommes  reconnaissant  envers  eux  des  preuves  de 
bienfaisance  qu'ils  nous  ont  prodigues,  etc.,  croons  et  erigeons  par  la  pr6sente  bulla  en  la  dite  ville 
d'Arras  un  souv.  chap,  primatial  de  R.  C.  X.,  sous  le  titre  dislinctif  d'Ecosse  Jacobite,  qui  sera  r6gi 
par  les  chevaliers  Lagneau,  de  Robespierre,  avocats.     An  de  I'incarnation  5745." 

A  note  is  appended  that  "  Le  document  anthentique,  siir  VELIN,  est 
revetu  du  grand  sceau,  de  sept  timbres  et  dUin  grand  nombre  de  signatures. 
C est  r expedition  originale  pour  le  chapitre  metropolitan  de  Paris." 

No.  945,  of  the  year  1808,  is  entitled  :  — 

"  Tableau  g6n6ral  des  officiers  et  membres  composant  le  R.  chapitre  du  grand  et  sublime 
ordre  de  H-d-m  de  Kilwinning,  sous  le  titre  distinctif  du  Choix,  constitue  par  la  grande  loge  de 
I'ordre  s6ante  A  Edinbourg,  le  4  Ocfobre  1786.  Sous  les  auspices  de  Mgr.  le  Prince  de  Camba- 
c6r6s,  grand  maltre  d'honneur  en  France." 

Nos.  946  and  953  contain  "tableaux"  of  the  officers  of  the  foregoing,  of 
November  30,  18 10,  and  a.d.  1808,  the  latter  having  another  tableau  '^  du 
meme  ordre  scant  a  Rouen"  1810,  in  the  same  volume. 

Lost  Documents.  —  I  have  failed  to  trace  either  of  these  most  important 
articles,  which  is  much  to  be  regretted,  their  examination  possibly  leading  to 
most  valuable  results  if  they  could  be  found.  Portions  of  the  text  of  the 
charter  to  Arras  have  been  made  known,  and  I  believe  the  original  was  once  in 

1  History  of  the  Knights  Templars,  p.  61. 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


835 


the  possession  of  the  late  Dr.  H.  B.  Leeson,  the  Grand  Commander  33°  of 
England  and  Wales.  According  to  the  lamented  Dr.  Mackey,  the  warrant 
was  authorized  by  the  Prince  as  King  of  England,  etc.,  and  thus  "  S.  G.  M. 
du  chapitre  de  H.,'"  the  statement  made  therein  being  open  to  question  that 
the  H.  R.  D.  M.  was  then  "  connu  sous  le  titre  de  Chevalier  de  V Aigle  et  de 
Pelican,  et  depiiis  nos  malheuTS  et  nos  infortunes,  sous  celui  de  Rose  Croix.'"  ^ 
I  entirely  believe  with  Dr.  Mackey  that  it  is  an  error  to  connect  the  Royal 
Order  with  the  Rose  Croix  of  the  "  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite,"  because  the 
two  Ceremonies  differ  so  in  essentials.  The  former  rite  possesses  a  very  quaint 
ritual  peculiar  to  itself;  the  old  rhythmic  composition  being  one  of  the  several 
special  features  of  the  Ceremony,  and  attests  its  antiquity. 

It  has  been  contended  that  the  Royal  Order  of  H.  R.  D.  M.  formerly  had 
its  chief  seat  in  Kilwinning,  and  that  it  and  the  lodges  generally  were  gov- 
erned by  one  Grand  Lodge.  This  is,  however,  pure  fiction,  and  is  not  worth 
refutation. 

The  Accepted  Tradition. — The  generally  accepted  tradition  is  to  the 
effect  that,  "  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Templars,  many  of  the  Knights 
repaired  to  Scotland  and  placed  themselves  under  the  protection  of  Robert 
Bruce,  and  that,  after  the  battle  of  Bannockburn,  which  took  place  on  St. 
John  the  Baptist's  Day,  13 14,  this  monarch  instituted  the  Royal  Order  of 
H.  R.  D.  M.,  and  Knights  of  the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S."  Thory  substantially  agreed 
with  this  view  of  the  matter  in  his  "  Acta  Latamorum  "  (1815),  but  adds  that 
the  Order  of  the  Thistle,  t/ien  instituted,  was  afterward  united  to  that  of 
H.  R.  D.  M.  —  an  assertion  which  no  one  can  be  in  a  position  to  confirm  in 
any  way. 

I  have  been  particular  as  to  all  these  points  because  of  their  connection 
with  the  chronological  data  employed  during  the  preceding  and  present  cen- 
turies, in  relation  to  the  Knights  Templars  especially,  and  also  concerning  the 
"  Order  "  under  consideration  :  of  which  more  anon. 

The  Word  "Heredom."  — Dr.  Mackey  accepts  the  suggestion  of  a  writer 
in  the  "  Freemasons'  Magazine,"  1858,  that  the  word  "  Heredom  "  is  derived 
from  U^oo's,  hieros,  holy,  and  '^qiko-^,  domos,  house,  hence  the  Holy  House  of 
Masonry.  "  In  this  way  the  title  of  Rose  Croix  of  Heredom  must  signify 
the  Rosy  Cross  of  the  Holy  House  of  Masonry.  This  derivation  is  now  very 
generally  recognized  as  the  true  one." 

It  is  certainly  ingenious,  to  say  the  least,  but  whether  it  is  an  exact  expla- 
nation or  not,  is  open  to  question.  The  Masonic  degree  of  "  Highrodiam  " 
was  conferred  July  i,  1746,  at  Swallwell,  Gateshead,^  and  the  Ceremony  of 
"Scotts  Masons"  was  worked  at  Salisbury,  October  19,  i746,Mn  the  Craft 

1  Encyclopaedia  of  Freemasony,  1874  and  1884,  p.  676.  The  Statutes,  etc.,  of  the  Souv .-. 
Ch.-.  D'Arras,  A  LA  Valine  de  Paris  (1809)  state  (p.  4)  that  the  chapter  was  "  fond6  en  1745  d 
Arras,  par  le  T.-.  III.-.  Prince  Charles  Edouard  Stuart  .  .  .  Souv  .'.du  Chap.-.  d'H6r6dom." 

2  Hughan's  Origin  of  the  Engiish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  1884,  p.  102. 
8  Freemasonry  in  Wilts,  bv  Brother  F.  H.  Goldney,  1880,  p.  loi. 


836 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


lodge,  five  members  obtaining  the  distinction,  whatever  it  may  have  meant. 
On  December  i,  1756,  the  degree  of  "  Harodim  "  was  given  in  a  lodge  at 
Sunderland,  and  many  of  the  meetings  were  held  for  the  same  object  even  so 
late  as  1809.^  Now,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  transition  from  "  Harodim  "  to 
"  Heredom  "  is  so  slight,  that  until  a  better  suggestion  is  offered  it  may  fairly 
be  assumed  that  Harodim  and  Heredom  referred  to  one  and  the  same  word, 
meaning  "  Rulers,  or  Provosts,"  or  literally,  overseers,  corresponding  with 
Menaizchims,  2  Chronicles  ii.  18.  Dr.  James  Anderson  uses  both  words,  viz. : 
Harodim  and  Menatzchim,  in  his  "Book  of  Constitutions,"  1723  (p.  10),  and 
1738  (p.  11)  ;  and  Dr.  Mackey  himself  admits  that  Harodim  is  now  techni- 
cally used  to  i\gr\\{y  " Princes  in  Masonry.''  The  "Harodim"  of  Preston, 
established  in  1787,  was  not  a  degree,  but  the  name  given  to  a  society  of 
Craftsmen  who  worked  the  lectures,  the  presiding  officer  being  called  the 
"  Chief  Harod."  Accordingly  the  adherents  of  the  Rose  Croix,  or  the  Royal 
Order  "^  Heredom''  (though,  in  my  opinion,  separate  degrees),  might 
each  well  have  employed  this  curious  term  by  way  of  preeminence,  adopting 
in  part  the  phraseology  of  the  "  Father  of  English  Masonic  History." 

I  prefer  that  origin  for  this  puzzling  word  (which  etymologically  has  proved 
a  source  of  much  perplexity),  to  the  supposition  that  it  is  derived  from 
"  Heroden,  a  mountain  in  Scotland,"  as  noted  in  some  old  French  Cahiers  ; 
but  as  the  rituals  of  both  degrees,  which  are  so  nearly  allied,  do  not  reveal 
the  secret,  the  subject  apparently  cannot  be  definitely  decided  one  way  or  the 
other. 

In  July,  1867,  I  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Edinburgh  in  order  (as  a  member), 
to  examine  the  records  of  the  Royal  Order  for  myself,  and  had  the  assistance 
of  the  lamented  Grand  Secretary,  Brother  J.  B.  Douglas,  who  did  his  utmost 
to  render  my  visit  as  profitable  as  possible,  in  relation  to  the  particular  points 
I  was  anxious  to  elucidate.  Several  pages  of  my  notes,  taken  on  that  occasion, 
are  now  before  me,  and  will  be  utilized  for  the  present  chapter. 

Chapters  by  Seniority.  —  In  a  "  List  of  Regular  Chapters,  according  to 
seniority,  with  places  and  time  of  forming  and  date  of  constitution "  the 
following  occurs,  and  at  the  time  was  a  great  surprise  to  me  :  — 

SeSty°'                                                   L,ST.  ETC.  Date. 

1.  Grand  Lodge  at  the  Thistle  and  Crown,  Chandos  Street.. Time  Immemorial. 

2.  Grand  Chapter  at  the  Thistle  and  Crown,  Chandos  Street 

3.  Coach  and  Horses,  Welbeck  Street " 

4.  White  Boar's  Head,  Exeter  Road " 

5.  Golden  Horse  Shoe,  in  Cannon  Street,  Southwark Dec.  11,  1743. 

6.  The  Griffin,  in  Deptford,  in  Kent  Dec.  20,  1744. 

7.  Grand  Chapter  at  the  Hague,  empowered  to  act  as  Grand  Lodge.  July  22, 1750. 

8 Oct.  12,  1752. 

9.     (i)  Grand  Chapter  at  Rouen  in  Normandy,  empowered  to  act  as 

a  Grand  Lodge May     i,  1786. 

*  Hughan  on  the  Harodim,  in  Freemason,  May  8,  1886. 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT.  o,- 

i^S?'  L.ST.  ETC.  Date. 

10.  (2)  Choix  i  Paris Oct.  4,  1786. 

11.  (3)  Strasburg  Jan.  4,  1787. 

12.  (4)  L"  Union  Lavall Jan.  4,  1787. 

13-  (5)  Oct.  4,1787, 

14.  (6)  Grand  Lodge,  Chambery April  4,  1788. 

I5>  (7)  Grand  Chapter  at  Chambery  in  Saxony,  empowered  to  act 

as  a  Grand  Lodge  in  the  Dominion  of  King  of  Sardinia.  April    4,  1788. 

16.  (8)  At  Martinique  (?) July      4,    — 

17.  (9)  At  St.  Domingo July      4,    — 

18.  (10)  At  Brest July    14,    — 

This  register  was  partly  given  by  Brother  Lyon  in  1873,  as  also  in  1880/ 
the  latter  article  being  almost  identical  with  chapter  xxxii.  of  his  noble 
history,  already  noted.  The  same  excellent  authority  adds :  "  From  the 
documents  we  have  had  the  privilege  to  examine,  we  have  been  unable  to 
form  any  estimate  of  the  probable  antiquity  of  the  Order.  In  one  of  the  MSS. 
the  Grand  Master  at  London  sets  forth  that  he  had  held  office  since  1741." 

The  Earliest  Records.  —  Singular  to  state,  the  earliest  records  and  refer- 
ences relate  to  England,  and  not  to  Scotland,  the  No.  7  in  the  foregoing  list, 
becoming  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Order  at  Edinburgh.  Of  this  fact  there 
cannot  well  be  a  doubt,  as  in  the  volume,  or  record  book,  prepared  for  the 
use  of  the  "  Brethren  of  H.  R.  D.  M.,  belonging  to  the  Hague,  and  all  the  petty 
Chapters  of  the  Order  of  the  Seven  United  Provinces,"  beyond  the  original 
official  entries,  nothing  whatever  appears  respecting  the  members  aforesaid ; 
but,  as  Brother  Lyon  states,  in  the  middle  of  the  volume,  it  is  described  as 
belonging  to  "  The  Grand  Chapter,  termed  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Royal 
Order  at  Edinburgh,  constituted  July  22d,  1750'' 

It  will,  however,  be  carefully  noted  that  there  was  a  Grand  Lodge  and 
Grand  Chapter  held  in  London,  in  no  sense  whatever  as  subordinate,  but 
then  clearly  the  governing  body  of  the  Order;  having  two  subordinates 
meeting  in  London  (and,  as  with  the  first  two  authorities),  described  as 
of  "time  immemorial"  antiquity;  also  two  others  of  1743  and  1744, 
respectively,  all  being  of  earlier  date  than  the  Scottish  Grand  Lodge  at 
Edinburgh. 

It  will  also  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  not  a  few  Craftsmen  that  the  "  Royal 
Order  of  Scotland"  (in  England),  possesses  veritable  records  of  its  existence 
years  earlier  than  any  other  degree  worked  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  save 
the  "  first  three."  The  "  Royal  Arch  "  is  alluded  to,  in  print,  a.d.  1744,  but 
no  mention  subsequently  is  known  until  1752,  and  actual  minutes  do  not 
begin,  of  those  preserved,  until  ten  years  later  still.  The  position,  therefore, 
of  the  "  Royal  Order,"  as  respects  the  production  of  evidence  of  its  existence 
and  activity  early  last  century,  is  superior  to  all  additional  degrees. 

The  assertion  that  the  degree  is  in  possession  of  minutes  "  more  than  two 

1  Freemason,  Sept.  4th,  1880. 


838  ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 

hundred  years  old  "  cannot  be  proved ;  but  it  will  be  seen  there  is  no  lack  of 
evidence  in  favor  of  a  very  respectable  antiquity,  comparatively  speaking,  even 
if  not  dating  as  far  back  as  some  ardent  spirits  are  inclined  to  claim. 

The  notion  that  the  Chevalier  Ramsay  fabricated  the  "  Royal  Order "  (as 
also  numerous  other  Masonic  degrees),  early  last  century  has  long  been  held 
by  distinguished  Craftsmen ;  but  since  the  publication  of  Brother  Gould's 
history,  and  his  emphatic  demonstration  of  the  entire  absence  of  proof  of 
Ramsay's  proclivities  and  doings  in  such  a  direction,  it  cannot  now  be  enter- 
tained. In  like  manner,  the  traditions  concerning  the  "  Pretender,"  Prince 
Charles  Edward  Stuart,  in  relation  to  the  degree,  cannot  be  substantiated  in 
any  shape  or  form,  save  as  stated,  so  they  must  also  be  relegated  to  the 
prolific  region  of  discredited  statements. 

On  this  point,  chapters  xviv.  and  xxv.  of  Gould's  great  work  should  be 
diligently  read  and  tested,  as  they  contain  the  latest  particulars,  carefully 
sifted,  regarding  the  many  curious  and  interesting  questions  involved.  His 
final  decision  may  well  be  quoted  here  :  — 

"  In  1779  the  Lodge  Constance,  at  Arras,  erected  the  Chapitre  Primordial  de  Rose  Croix.  Its 
patent  is  alleged  lO  have  been  granted  by  the  Pretender,  Charles  Edward,  April  18,  I745.'' 
According  to  Thory's  version  it  commences  :  '  We,  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  King  of  England ' ;  2 
while  Jouast^  gives  it  as  'Pretendant,  roi  d' Angleterre'!  It  will  be  sufficient  to  point  out  that 
Charles  Edward  did  not  call  himself  King  '  during  his  father's  lifetime,  ox  pretender  at  any  time. 
The  use  of  the  latter  term  he  naturally  left  to  others.  Moreover,  no  historian  has  yet  shown  that 
he  was  ever  in  Arras,  where,  according  to  this  legend,  he  remained  for  a  period  of  six  months  ; 
while  we  have  it  on  his  own  authority  that  he  never  was  a  Freemason  at  any  time."  ■* 

Of  course  it  is  just  probable  that  the  Prince's  memory  was  treacherous  late 
in  life,  so  that  he  may  still  have  belonged  to  the  Craft  in  his  earlier  years ; 
but  too  much  caution  cannot  be  exercised  in  accepting  the  assertions  of 
credulous  brethren. 

The  First  "Prov."  Grand  Lodge.  —  A  prominent  member  of  the  "  Royal 
Order,"  in  early  days,  was  Brother  William  Mitchell,  a  Scot,  and  a  teacher  of 
languages  at  the  Hague,  stated  to  have  been  admitted  in  France  a.d.  i  749, 
and  in  England  in  1750.^  He  and  a  Brother  Jonas  Kluck  of  the  Netherlands, 
presented  a  petition  to  the  Prov.  G.  M.  in  "South  Britain,"  stating  (so  Brother 
Lyon  affirms),  that  they  and  other  residents,  members  of  the  R.  O.,  were 
desirous  of  founding  a  Prov.  Grand  Lodge  there.  The  petition  was  granted, 
the  first  mentioned  brother  was  appointed  Prov.  G.  M.,  and  the  Prov.  G.  L., 
etc.,  was  duly  constituted  on  July  22,  1750,  at  London,  according  to  the 
following  certificate,  which  I  copied  from  the  official  Register :  — 

"  I  did  this  day  attend  at  the  house  of  Brother  Lewis,  S.  N.  C.  R.  T.  Y.,  the  sign  of  the  Golden 
Horse  Shoe,  in  Cannon  Street,  in  Southwark  \at  which  the  No.  5  Chapter  and  Lod^e  assembled] , 
and  did  then  and  there  constitute  the  following  brethren  residing  at  the  Hague,  into  a  regular 
Chapter  in  full  form,  and  did  constitute  and  appoint  our  Right  Worshipful  and  highly  honored 

1  Kloss,  Ge^ch.  der  Freim.,  etc..  Vol.  I.  p.  257.  ^  Annales  Originis,  p.  184. 

3  Histoire  du  G.  O.,  p.  84.  ■*  Chapter  xxiv.,  Gould. 

6  The  record  reads  ;  "  In  France  and  England,  the  year  1749  and  1750." 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


839 


Brother  William  Mitchell,  known  and  distinguished  among  the  Brethren  of  the  Order  by  the 
sublime  title  and  characteristic  F.  D.  L.  T.  Y.,  and  Knight  of  the  R.  Y.  C.  S.,  etc.,  T.  R.  S.  T.  A.,  by- 
delivering  the  patent,  etc.,  in  due  form,  as  usual,  for  the  constitution  of  Chapters  in  foreign  parts, 
and  did,  by  virtue  of  my  authority,  exchange  his  characteristic,  etc.,  for  that  of  R.  L.  F." 

The  seal  on  the  diploma,  or  personal  patent,  as  Prov.  G.  M.,  has  been 
destroyed,  but  on  the  charter  granted  to  the  Prov.  Grand  Lodge  and  Chapter, 
the  seal  remains,  which,  however,  is  such  a  simple  affair  as  not  to  call  for 
reproduction.  The  design  includes  a  bridge  of  five  arches,  enlarging  towards 
the  centre  one  and  above,  —  the  letter  Z  is  prominently  depicted.  The  first 
figure  is  suggestive  of  the  bridge,  with  the  letters  "  L.  O.  P.,"  familiar  to  mem- 
bers of  the  16°  of  the  "  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite,"  and  is  certainly  peculiarly 
appropriate  for  the  attesting  of  Royal  Order  documents. 

The  presiding  officer  signed  by  his  characteristic  "  R.  L.  F.,"  the  words 
"Prov'  Gra*^  Mas'""  being  above,  and  those  of  "In  So.  B."  below  the 
seal.  A  facsimile  of  this  seal  may  be  found  in  Brother  Lyon's  history  of 
the  "Lodge  of  Edinburgh  "  (p.  309),  and  is  rather  perplexing  in  character. 
If  the  contraction  does  not  mean  Providonal,  but  Provincial  Grand  Master, 
we  are  face  to  face  with  a  new  difficulty;  for,  if  ^^ Provincial  G.  M.,"  where, 
and  of  what  antiquity,  was  the  governing  body  ?  As  in  most  cases,  so  now,  it 
is  much  easier  to  suggest  queries  than  to  discover  the  needful  solutions.  I  fear 
we  cannot  get  farther  back  than  this  "  6^;-a«^  Lodge  "  and  Grand  Q\i2i-^\.tx  in 
London,  with  three  subordinates  of  ^^  time  immemorial"  antiquity  (so-called), 
and  the  first  dated  constitution  being  of  December  11,  1743.  A  possible  solu- 
tion, without  any  straining  of  the  text,  may  be  that  the  President,  for  the  time 
being,  was  "Provisional"  G.  M.,  or  Grand  Master /w  tempore. 

The  following  prayer  occurs  in  the  oldest  Book  of  Records,  etc.,  and  was 
apparently  written  about  a.d.  1750  :  — 

Prayer.  —  "The  might  of  the  blessed  Father  of  Heaven,  the  wisdom  of  His  glorious  Son, 
and  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  being  the  glorious  and  undivided  Trinity,  three  persons  in 
one  God,  be  with  us  at  this  our  beginning,  and  so  guide  and  govern  our  actions  in  this  life,  that 
at  the  final  conflagration,  when  the  world,  and  all  things  therein,  shall  be  destroyed,  we  may  be 
received  with  joy  and  gladness  into  eternal  happiness,  in  that  Glorious,  Everlasting,  Heavenly 
Kingdom,  which  shall  never  have  an  end." 

The  beginning  reminds  one  of  the  Invocation  peculiar  to  the  "  Old  Charges  " 
of  the  Freemasons  from  the  sixteenth  century ;  both  bodies  being  Christian  in 
origin  and  character  ;  that  basis  of  the  "  Royal  Order"  continuing  to  this  day, 
but  altered  in  the  Universal  Freemasonry,  which  has  become  Cosmopolitan. 

Brother  Lyon  records  a  fact,  unnoticed  by  me,  that  the  condition  on  which 
the  subordinate,  chartered  for  the  Hague  (but  eventually  domiciled  at  Edin- 
burgh), was  to  enjoy  certain  privileges,  depended  on  "an  acknowledgment 
once  a  year  to  the  Grand  Lodge  from  whom  it  derived  its  title,  at  a  quarterly 
Grand  Lodge  meeting,  which  is  held  always  at  London  on  the  fifth  Sunday  in 
the  months  having  so  many."     That  trusty  historian  sagely  remarks  as  to  this  : 


g  .Q  ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 

"  That  the  fact  of  constitutional  meetings  of  the  Order  being  held  on  Sundays, 
militates  against  the  idea  of  its  having  had,  —  as  asserted  by  its  first  promoters 
in  France,  —  a  Scotch  origin,  as  it  is  well  known  that  from  the  time  of  the 
Reformation  the  Sunday  in  Scotland  has  been  carefully  guarded  against  secular 
business." 

On  the  other  hand,  no  such  objection  prevailed  in  England  at  the  period 
in  question,  "  Masters'  "  lodges,  particularly,  being  often  convened  on  Sun- 
days, even  far  on  in  the  last  century,  though  considerately  and  wisely  restricted 
to  week  days  of  late  years. 

The  American  Chapter.  —  It  seems  that  in  1752  a  chapter  was  formed  in 
Virginia,  North  America,  possibly  supplying  the  vacancy,  in  the  foregoing  list, 
of  October  12,  1752  ;  but,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  its  activity 
does  not  appear  to  have  continued  for  any  length  of  time,  if  at  all. 

Brother  William  Mitchell,  evidently,  acted  as  Grand  Master,  or  Gov'  of 
the  "  Royal  Order,"  until  4th  July,  1767  (but  from  when  is  quite  undecided), 
then  Brother  James  "  Secresy  "  Kerr  was  elected,  who  resigned  in  1776,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Brother  William  "Honor"  Baillie,  Advocate  (afterward 
Lord  Polkemmet).  On  his  resignation  in  1778,  the  votes  of  the  members 
were  in  favor  of  Brother  William  Charles  "  Eloquence  "  Little,  Advocate.  In 
1786  Brother  William  "  Worship"  Mason  succeeded  to  the  chair  of  Deputy 
Grand  Master,  who  was  admitted  to  the  degree,  in  Edinburgh,  a.d.  1754. 
This  brother  resigned  in  1789,  when  Dr.  Thomas  "  Activity  "  Hay  was  elected, 
who  died  in  1816.  He  was  governor  in  1805  ;  but  from  that  year  to  18 13 
no  minutes  appear  to  have  been  recorded.  General  Oughton  was  Deputy 
Grand  Master  in  1770,  succeeding  Brother  Mason  in  that  office.  Brother  Little 
holding  that  position  in  1777,  the  Earl  of  Leven  in  1778,  and  Lord  Westhall 
in  1780;  three  out  of  the  four  of  these  high  officials  having  been  Grand 
Masters  of  Scotland,  so  that  the  "  Royal  Order "  must  have  enjoyed  the 
special  favor  of  the  Craft  authorities  at  the  time. 

The  Royal  Order  in  Scotland  and  Elsewhere.  —  The  regularly  kept  min- 
utes of  the  Royal  Order  at  Edinburgh  date  from  October  31,1 766,  and  in  one 
of  July  28,  1769,  it  is  declared,  that  "  after  much  trouble  and  a  great  deal  of 
expense,  they  had  been  able  to  revive  and  establish  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Scots  Masonry  in  the  metropolis  of  their  native  country,  which  would  be 
attested  by  several  members  of  the  Honourable  Council."  An  appeal  to  the 
town  council  for  permission  to  use  a  room,  to  be  fitted  up  at  their  own  charges, 
was  acceded  to,  the  neighborhood  being  selected  because  it  was  "  most 
centrical." 

In  the  early  register  of  members  in  Scotland,  I  counted  only  fifteen  down 
to  1 763,  all  being  of  Edinburgh  but  the  Brother  Mitchell  aforesaid.  Then  a 
large  accession  was  made  to  the  roll,  over  fifty  being  admitted  in  some  three 
years,  and  soon  afterward  charters  were  issued  for  abroad.  After  a  period  of 
great  prosperity  the  Order  again  fell  into  a  state  of  dormancy,  a  revival  taking 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


841 


place  in  1839,  according  to  the  authority  of  Brother  \V.  A.  Laurie,  Grand 
Secretary  of  Scotland.^ 

This  well-known  official  thus  refers  to  the  spread  of  the  degree  abroad  : 
"  Nor  can  anything  indicate  more  strongly  the  high  estimation  in  which  the 
chivalry  of  the  Rosy  Cross  of  Kilwinning  is  held  in  France,  than  the  fact  that 
the  Prince  Cambaceres,  Arch-Chancellor  of  the  Empire,  presided  over  it  as 
Provincial  Grand  Master  (the  office  of  Supreme  Head  being,  as  already 
noticed,  inherent  in  the  crown  of  Scotland),  for  many  years;  and  that  he  was 
succeeded  in  his  dignity  by  the  head  of  the  illustrious  family  of  Choiseul." 

The  Chevalier  Burnes,  LL.D.,  thus  refers  to  the  charters  in  France^ 
(sketch  of  the  K.  T.,  etc.,  1840)  :  "  A  splendid  medal  has  been  struck  at  the 
expense  of  the  Chapitre  du  Choix  at  Paris,  to  celebrate  the  establishment  in 
France  of  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  Heredom  de  Kilwinning  by  a  Charter, 
dated  Edinburgh,  May  i,  1 786,  constituting  Mr.  John  Matthews,  a  distinguished 
merchant  of  Rouen,  Provincial  Chief,  with  very  ample  powers  to  disseminate 
the  Order." 

"  The  Chapitre  du  Choix  was  itself  erected  by  a  charter  from  Edinburgh 
in  the  same  year,  addressed  to  Nicholas  Chabouille,  Avocat  en  Fariement,  and 
other  brethren.  Both  these  documents  bear  the  signatures  of  WiUiam  Charles 
Little,^  Deputy  Grand  Master,  William  Mason,^  and  William  Gibb.  At  a 
later  date,  a  Provincial  Grand  Master  was  also  appointed  for  Spain,  in  the 
person  of  Mr.  James  Gorden,  a  merchant  at  Xeres  de  la  Frartera,  whose 
commission  was  signed  by  Deputy  Grand  Master  Dr.  Thomas  Hay  [Sub. 
G.  M.,  1784-98],  and  Messrs.  Charles  Moor  and  John  Brown,  as  heads  of  the 
Royal  Order." 

"  In  181 1  there  were  no  less  than  twenty-six  chapters  of  Heredom  holding 
allegiance  to  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Order  in  France,  including 
some  in  Belgium  and  Italy."  ^ 

I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  the  whole  of  these  bodies  were  regular,  having 
a  note  to  the  effect  that  fourteen  chapters,  granted  by  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge  of  France  during  the  wars,  were  not  ratified  by  the  Grand  Lodge  at 
Edinburgh,  from  January  10,  1809  to  October  4,  181 1. 

The  medal  is  No.  ccxxxix.  in  Brother  Marvin's  "Masonic  Medals,"^  and 
is  thus  described  by  him  :  — 

"  Obverse,  A  square,  Gothic  building  with  towers  on  each  corner,  perhaps  a  fortress,  from  the 
centre  of  which  rises  a  tall  column,  at  the  top  of  which  is  an  open  book.  On  the  left  of  the  edifice 
is  a  draw-bridge,  open ;  on  the  right,  a  ladder.  On  the  front  are  two  small  square  stones,  on  one 
of  which  are  the  square  and  compasses,  and  on  the  other  the  letter  R.     Legend  :  L'ORDRE  DE 

1  History  of  Freemasonry,  1859,  p.  94. 

2  Also  given  by  Lawrie  (History  of  Freemasonry,  1859,  p.  94),  as  a  translation  from 
Histoire  de  la  Fondation  du  Grand  Orient  de  France,  Paris,  1812. 

3  Substitute  G.  M.  of  Scotland,  1782-3. 

■*  Grand  Secretary  of  Scotland,  1774-1775. 

5  Many  interesting  particulars  will  be  found  as  to  this  period  in  Annales  Macconiques, 
par  Caillot,  R.-.  C.-.  1807-10  (Tome  3). 

6  Boston,  1880. 


842 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


H-D-M.  INTRODUIT  EN  FR.  PAR  J.  MATHEUS.,  G.  M.  P.,  1786.  In  exergue,  in  three 
lines,  the  last  curving,  CHAP .-.  DE  H-D-M.  DU  CHOIX.  A  PARIS,  1809,  JALEY  FECIT 
L.-.A-P-HT-N. 

"Reverse,  Inscription,  in  eleven  lines,  (i)  T-R-S-T-A.  N.  CHADOUILLfe,  1786.  (2)  T-R-S-T-A. 
L.  T.  DORBAN,  17S9.  (3)  T-R-S-T-A.  A.  C.  DURIN.  1806.  (4)  T-R-S-T-A.  C.  A. 
THORY,  1807.  DEPUTfe  T-R-S-T-A.  J.  P.  ROUYER.  Copper  and  probably  other  metals. 
Size  20." 

This  fine  medal  is  engraved  in  "  Tresor  Numismatique  Napoleon  "  (plate 
37,  figure  3),  and  is  now  rarely  to  be  met  with. 

I  see,  from  my  notes,  that  the  following  Provincial  Grand  Lodges  and 
Chapters  have  been  authorized  within  the  last  fifty  years.  Those  which  are 
believed  to  be  dormant  are  in  italics :  — 

The  Netherlands,  at  Amsterdam July  4,  1843. 

Eastern  Provinces,  at  Calcutta,  India July  4,  1845. 

North  of  France 1847. 

Sweden  and  Norway Jan.  5,  1852, 

Sardinia ? 

New  Brunswick,  at  St.  John ? 

Province  of  Quebec ? 

Glasgow  and  neighboring  Counties  or  Isles   Jan.  4,  1859. 

London  (and  "  Royal  Bruce  "  Chapter) 1872. 

Western  India,  at  Bombay ? 

China,  at  Shanghai ? 

United  States,  at  Washington,  D.C Oct.  4,  1877. 

Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  at  Manchester 

Aberdeen ? 

County  of  Yorkshire,  at  York 1886. 

South-east  Africa,  at  Durban ? 

The  Charters.  —  The  charters  on  vellum  are  important-looking  documents, 
17X25  inches,  and  are  always  engrossed  and  prepared  with  special  care. 
The  copy  which  follows  is  reproduced  from  the  warrant  granted  to  the  Provin- 
cial Grand  Lodge  for  the  United  States  (the  esteemed  Brother  General  Albert 
Pike  being  the  first  Provincial  Grand  Master),  which  is  given  in  extenso  in  the 
printed  Records  and  Minutes  of  that  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  (Washington, 
1880).  It  is  the  first  number  of  the  series,  1880-9,  including  full  particulars 
of  the  transactions  of  that  body  from  May,  1878,  to  the  past  year,  the  like  ot 
which,  as  a  complete  record,  has  never  been  published  by  any  other  branch 
of  the  Order,  and  is  a  great  credit  to  all  concerned. 

Charter  for  Eoyal  Order  in  TJ.  S.  A. 

IN    THE   NAME  OF  THE   HOLY  AND   UNDIVIDED   TRINITY. 
We  ,  Sir  John  Whyte  W.  D.  M.,  President  of  the  Judges  and  Council  of  the  Great  S.  N.  D.  R.  M.  : 
Warder  of  the  T.W.  R.   of  R.  F.  R.  S.  M.  N.  T.:    Deputy  Grand  Master  and 
f      SEAL.      )  Governor  of  the  High  and  Honourable  Orders  of  H.  R.  M  of  K.  L.  W.  N.  G.  and 

I  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.  j  the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S. ;    Sir  ALEXANDER  S.  T.  N.  T.  H.,  Senior  Grand  Warden,  Sir 

f      SEAL.      )         William  B.T.Y.,  Junior  Grand  Warden,  and  the  Remanent  Knights  Com- 
(     H.  D.  M.     J  panions  of  the  Royal  Order  of  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.  in  Grand  Lodge  assembled  — 

TO 
Sir  Albert  V.  G.  R.  (Pike),  Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  R.S.Y.  C.S.,  send  greeting  in  God 

Everlasting. 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


843 


By  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  US  from  time  immemorial  we  do  hereby  grant  unto  you 
and  the  rest  of  the  Right  Worthy  and  Worshipful  Brethren  of  the  Royal  Order  of  H.  R.  M.  and  of 
the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.  in  the  United  States  of  America,  full  power,  warrant  and  authority  to  hold  a  Chapter 
of  the  Order  of  H.R.  M.  in  Washington,  or  elsewhere  within  the  United  States  of  America,  so 
long  as  you  and  they  shall  behave  as  becometh  Worthy  Brethren  of  the  said  Order,  or  until  the 
powers  hereby  conferred  shall  be  withdrawn,  which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  our  Order  reserves  full 
power  and  authority  to  do  when  they  consider  proper,  with  full  power  to  you  to  remove  the  same 
from  place  to  place,  but  always  within  the  United  States  of  America,  as  occasion  shall  offer  for  the 
good  and  glory  of  the  Order,  you  and  they  conforming  to  the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  transmitted  to  you  now  or  afterwards,  and  we  do  hereby  appoint  you  T.  R.  S.  T.A.  of  the 
said  Chapter  and  grant  you  full  power,  warrant  and  authority  to  appoint  proper  officers  to  assist 
you  therein,  viz. :  a  Deputy  T.  R.  S.  T.  A.,  a  Senior  Guardian,  a  Junior  Guardian,  a  Secretary,  a 
Treasurer,  a  Marischal,  a  Deputy  Marischal,  and  a  Guarder,  who  shall  act  as  Examiner  and 
Introducer. 

And  further,  know  you  that  for  the  good  and  promotion  of  the  Order  of  H.  R.  M.  in  general 
we  do  hereby  empower  you  to  form  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  the  said  Order,  and  do 
nominate,  constitute  and  appoint  you,  the  said  Sir  Albert  V.  G.  R.,  to  preside  and  rule  over  and 
govern  the  same  and  the  Brethren  thereunto  belonging,  so  long  as  you  shall  act  conformably  to 
the  Laws  and  Rules  of  our  Grand  Lodge,  and  so  long  as  this  Charter  and  the  powers  therein 
conferred  shall  continue  unrecalled ;  and  we  do  hereby  authorize,  empower  and  charge  you  to 
take  upon  yourself  the  title  of  Provincial  Grand  Master  of  the  Order  of  H.  R.  M.  for  the 
United  States  of  America,  being  the  Province  hereby  placed  under  your  superintendence ;  and  we 
do  hereby  grant  you  full  power,  warrant  and  authority  to  appoint  proper  officers  to  assist  you  in 
the  high  office  hereby  on  you  conferred,  to  consist  of  the  following  number  and  denominations  : 
one  Deputy  Provincial  Grand  Master,  a  Senior  Provincial  Grand  Warden,  a  Junior  Provincial 
Grand  Warden,  a  Provincial  Grand  Sword-bearer,  a  Provincial  Grand  Secretary,  a  Provincial 
Grand  Treasurer,  two  Provincial  Grand  Marischals,  a  Senior  Provincial  Grand  Steward,  and  three 
other  Provincial  Grand  Stewards,  and  a  Provincial  Grand  Guarder. 

And  further,  be  it  known  to  all  and  every  one  of  the  Brethren  that  we  hereby  invest 
you  with  full  power,  warrant  and  authority  to  appoint  such  persons  to  be  your  officers  as  you  shall 
think  are  most  proper  and  fit  for  each  respective  post  either  in  your  Chapter  or  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge,  without  consulting  or  asking  the  consent  or  approbation  of  any  Brother  of  the  Order 
whatsoever,  unless  of  your  own  free  will  you  shall  think  proper  to  pay  such  compliment,  which  we 
deem  expedient  and  therefore  recommend. 

And  further,  we  hereby  invest  you  with  full  power,  warrant  and  authority  to  depose  or 
displace  from  his  or  their  offices  any  officer  or  officers  who  shall  be  guilty  of  improper  conduct  or 
indignity  to  your  Worship,  or  to  fine,  mulct  or  amerce  them,  or  any  of  them,  for  the  same  without 
being  obliged  to  bring  them  to  a  formal  trial,  or  asking  the  consent  or  approbation  of  the  Brethren 
for  so  doing,  unless  you  shall  of  your  own  free  will  think  proper  so  to  do.  But  be  it  also  known 
that  if  it  shall  appear  to  your  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  Order  in  your 
Province  that  you  should  relinquish  or  restrict  your  privilege  of  appointing  or  displacing  your 
office-bearers,  either  in  your  Chapter  or  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  or  in  both,  and  if  you  see  proper 
to  consent  to  the  same,  it  shall  be  in  your  power  so  to  do,  notwithstanding  any  existing  general 
law  of  our  Grand  Lodge  appearing  to  the  contrary,  and  to  cause  a  resolution  or  law  to  that  effect 
specifj'ing  how  and  where  the  elections  are  to  be  in  future  conducted,  to  be  endorsed  upon  or 
annexed  to  this  Charter,  and  which  when  signed  by  you  and  registered  in  the  Minute  Book  of 
your  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  and  a  copy  thereof,  certified  by  your  Provincial  Grand  Secretary, 
transmitted  to  and  approved  by  our  Grand  Lodge  shall  thereafter  be  as  good  and  valid  a  law,  so 
far  as  regards  your  Chapter  and  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  as  if  it  had  been  made  by  our  Grand 
Lodge  of  the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S. ;  and  being  entered  in  our  Record  Book  shall  be  irrevocable  by  you  and 
your  successors  in  office  unless  by  application  to  and  with  the  approval  of  our  Grand  Lodge,  it 
being,  however,  declared  that  nothing  shall  affect  your  right  as  Provincial  Grand  Master  or  the 
rights  of  your  successors  in  office  to  appoint  your  or  their  Deputy. 

And  we  further  strictly  require  of  the  Brethren  in  general,  your  Provincial  Grand  Officers 
as  well  as  others,  to  respect,  acknowledge  and  obey  you,  the  said  Sir  Albert  V.  G.  R.,  and  pay  you 
due  respect  as  HEAD  RULER  and  GOVERNOR  over  them  and  their  Chapter  or  Chapters  in 


844 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


your  said  Province  :  And  we  do  hereby  appoint  you  to  hold  quarterly  meetings  of  your  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  for  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  Order  of  H.  R.  M.  in  your  Province. 

And  further,  we  hereby  empower  you  and  your  Chapter  to  advance  to  the  Royal  Order  of 
H.  R.  M.  (on  paying  a  fee  not  less  than  two  guineas,  of  which  ten  shillings  and  sixpence  shall  be 
transmitted  to  our  Grand  Lodge) ,  such  Master  Masons  as  are  Companions  of  the  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  and  as  are  well  known  to  you  and  your  Brethren  to  be  worthy  of  that  High  Honour,  but 
with  this  proviso,  that  you  shall  not  have  it  in  your  power  within  your  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  or 
elsewhere  to  promote  any  Brethren  of  H.  R.  M.  to  the  Sublime  Order  of  the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.,  without 
special  authority  obtained  from  our  Grand  Lodge  for  that  purpose,  nor  even  then,  unless  on 
payment  of  a  fee  of  at  least  one  guinea  (of  which  ten  shillings  and  sixpence  shall  be  transmitted  to 
our  Grand  Lodge). 

And  further,  be  it  known  to  you  that  we  prohibit  and  discharge  you  and  your  Provincial 
Grand  Lodge  or  Chapter  from  granting  any  Patents  or  LETTERS  OF  CONSTITUTION  to 
Chapters,  or  Diplomas  to  the  Brethren  or  Knights,  under  any  pretence  whatever,  all  such  being 
issued  by  us  alone,  and  Diplomas  being  so  issued  free  of  charge,  on  payment  of  the  fees  above 
mentioned,  payable  to  us  on  advancement  to  the  Order  of  H.  R.  M.  and  promotion  to  the  Sublime 
Order  of  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S. 

And  further,  be  it  known  to  the  Brethren  in  general  that  it  is  not,  nor  can  it  be,  in  their 
power  to  depose  or  displace  you  or  your  successors  in  office  from  the  high  office  hereby  on  you 
conferred,  except  for  high  or  enormous  crimes  tending  to  the  scandal  and  detriment  of  the  Order, 
and  not  then  without  bringing  you  to  a  regular  trial,  and  an  account  of  the  proceedings  therein, 
with  the  crime  and  sentence  of  the  Council,  being  first  sent  to  and  approved  by  our  Grand  Lodge 
at  Edinburgh. 

And  further,  we  empower  you  to  relinquish,  give  up,  or  resign  your  said  office  with  the 
powers  and  privileges  attached  thereto  as  aforesaid,  in  case  you  shall  think  proper  or  be  desirous 
so  to  do,  to  any  worthy  qualified  Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.,  and  to  no  person  whatso- 
ever under  that  degree,  but  your  successor  or  successors  in  office,  before  he  or  they  shall  exercise 
any  of  the  powers  connected  with  said  office,  must  be  approved  by  our  Grand  Lodge. 

And  further,  be  it  known  to  you,  that  if  you  or  your  successors  in  office  are  guilty  of 
acting  contrary  to  our  will  and  pleasure  or  any  of  the  Laws,  Rules  aud  Regulations  now  appointed 
by  us,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  appointed  for  your  observance  by  authority  of  our  Grand  Lodge, 
from  which  you  hold  this  Constitution  or  Charter,  These  Presents  and  all  power  thereunder  shall 
forthwith  cease  and  determine  without  any  formal  revocation  on  our  part,  and  you  and  they  shall 
be  rendered  incapable  of  holding  any  Grand  Office  or  authority  in  the  Royal  Order,  and  also  be 
liable  to  be  extruded  for  contempt  and  disobedience. 

That  all  Companions  of  the  Royal  Order  admitted  in  your  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  or 
Chapter  may  be  duly  enrolled  in  our  Record  Book,  we  do  particularly  direct  your  attention  to  the 
twenty-sixth  Article  of  our  Constitution  and  Laws  as  revised  and  approved  on  sixth  January,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two. 

And  for  every  Authority,  Power  and  Privilege  herein  above  mentioned,  this  shall  be  your 
sufficient  Warrant,  Patent  and  Charter. 

In  testimony  whereof,  this,  our  Charter,  written  by  Alexander  Blues  Wyllie,  clerk  to  our 
Grand  Secretary,  is  subscribed  by  JOHN  Whyte  Melville,  of  Bennochie  and  Strathkinnes, 
our  Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Governor;  Alexander  Hay,  our  Senior  Grand  Warden; 
William  Mann,  our  Junior  Grand  Warden;  George  Murray,  our  Grand  Treasurer,  and 
John  Brown  Douglas,  our  Grand  Secretary ;  all  Knights  of  the  R.S.Y.C.S.,  duly  sealed  and 
thereupon  approved  and  issued  by  our  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Royal  Order,  at  Edinburgh,  this  fourth 
day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  and  of  the 
Restoration  of  the  Order  564. 

J.  WHYTE   MELVILLE,   W.  D.  M. 
GEORGE  MURRAY,  G.T.  ALEX.  HAY,  S.T.N.T.H. 

J.  B.  DOUGLAS,  G.S.  W.  MANN,  B.T.Y. 

The  "  charter  members "  were  thirteen  in  number,  including  several  well- 
known  and  eminent  brethren  (whose  labors  for  the  Craft  and  deep  interest 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


845 


in  its  welfare  are  as  familiar  to  English   Masonic   students  as   to   those   in 
America) ,  all  of  whom  are  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Edinburgh  :  — 

Founders'  Names,  A.D.  1877.— 

Brother  Albert  /"ii^.i  Washington,  D.C.  Brother  William  M.  Ireland,  Washington,  D.C. 

"        John  Robin  McDaniel,  Lynchburg,  Va.  "        Robert  McC.  Graham,  New  York,  N.Y. 

"        Henry  L.  Palmer,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  "        Albert  G.  Mackey,  Washington,  D.C. 

"        James  C.  Batchelor,  New  Orleans,  La.  "        Enoch  Terry  Carson,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

"        Vincent  L.  Hurlbut,  Chicago,  111.  "         Charles  Roome,  New  York,  N.Y. 

"        Josiah  H.  Drummond,  Portland,  Maine.  "        Charles  Eugene  Meyer,  Philadelphia,Pa. 
Brother  Samuel  C.  Lawrence,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  Uncrowned  King  and  Other  Officers.  —  The  Uncrowned  King  of  the 
Hautes  Grades,  General  Albert  Pike,  was  nominated  as  the  Provincial  Grand 
Master,  and  has  filled  that  exalted  position  with  conspicuous  ability  from  the 
inauguration  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  to  the  present  time.  Brother 
J.  H.  Drummond  has  occupied  the  chair  of  Deputy  Provincial  Grand  Master, 
1 8 78-1 890,  and  has  done  his  part  with  his  usual  zeal,  thoroughness,  and 
efficiency.  The  remaining  officers,  duly  appointed,  are  as  follows,  being  the 
"  tableau  "  to  latest  date  :  Brothers  James  C.  Batchelor,  Prov.  S.  G.  W. ;  John 
L.  Stettinius,  Prov.  J.  G.  W. ;  William  Oscar  Roome,  Prov.  G.  S. ;  Robert  McC. 
Graham,  Prov.  G.  T. ;  John  Christie,  Prov.  G.  S.  B. ;  Vincent  L.  Hurlbut, 
Prov.  G.  B.  B. ;  Alexander  H.  Holt,  First  Prov.  G.  M. ;  Henry  L.  Palmer, 
Second  Prov.  G.  M. ;  Charles  A.  Nesbitt,  Prov.  G.  G. ;  Charles  Roome, 
Charles  E.  Meyer,  William  S.  Roose  and  Henry  L.  Cranford,  Prov.  G.  Stewards. 

Membership  in  the  U.S.A. — There  are  no  published  by-laws  for  the 
United  States,  but  a  series  of  "standing  resolutions,"  together  with  the  Rules 
of  the  Order,  regulate  all  the  proceedings.  The  number  of  members  are 
appointed  equally  between  the  Southern  and  Northern  Masonic  Jurisdictions 
of  the  United  States ;  the  total  being  fixed  at  one  hundred  and  fifty,  with 
a  margin  of  twenty-five,  but  never  to  exceed  one  hundred  and  seventy-five. 
Election  is  by  ballot,  which  must  be  unanimous.  Practically,  the  roll  has 
been  full  from  the  start,  and  in  the  fist  for  September,  1889,  there  are  nine 
"  founders,"  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  additions,  making  one  hundred 
and  forty-six  in  all,  with  eleven  brethren  accepted  to  await  another  year, 
subject  to  such  vacancies  as  may  then  exist. 

Assemblies  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge.  — The  Provincial  Grand  Lodge 
assembles  alternately  at  Washington  and  New  York  Cities  "  on  the  Monday 
nearest  the  day  fixed  for  the  meetings  of  said  Supreme  Councils,"  at  which 
annual  meetings  the  members  dine  together.  As  respects  the  special  regalia, 
only  the  "  star  and  garter  "  are  obligatory  to  be  worn,  the  aprons  and  cordons 
not  being  required.  Each  member  is  desired  to  furnish  the  Provincial  Secre- 
tary with  "  his  photograph  of  cabinet  size,  together  with  a  sketch  of  his  life 
and  Masonic  history,  for  preservation  in  the  archives  of  the  Provincial  Grand 
Lodge,"  an  album  being  provided  to  contain  these  interesting  and  valuable 
particulars. 

1  Those  in  italics  have  since  died. 


846 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


From  1883  invitations  have  been  cordially  extended  to  the  ladies  of  the 
families  of  the  Knights-companions  to  participate  in  the  annual  banquet ;  an 
arrangement,  doubtless,  much  appreciated  by  those  who  like  family  gatherings, 
and  one  which  must  add  much  to  the  pleasure  of  such  assemblies. 

A  special  feature  of  the  published  proceedings  is  the  "  Allocution "  for 
each  annual  assembly,  deHvered  by  the  gifted  Provincial  Grand  Master. 
I  should  much  like  to  quote  extensively  from  these  most  meritorious  produc- 
tions, were  it  not  that  this  sketch  has  already  extended  beyond  my  original 
estimate  and  plans.  The  following  brief  extracts  are  submitted  as  indicative 
of  the  character,  scope,  and  beauty  of  these  choice  addresses  by  General  Pike. 

Antiquity  of  the  Royal  Order.  —  "  I  value  the  Ancient  Order,  for  it  is  eminently  Masonic. 
It  has  close  kinship  with  the  three  degrees  of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry.  Its  quaint  old  Ritual  has 
throughout  the  old-fashioned  simplicity  of  the  Masonry  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  it  and 
those  degrees  were  all  the  Freemasonry  that  existed  in  the  world.  We  read  it  and  breathe  the 
air  of  the  old  days.  After  having  been  long  conversant  with  the  elaborate  ones  of  the  present  day, 
it  is  like  going  from  the  pomp  and  show  of  cities  into  the  forest  and  the  prairie,  to  live  among  the 
frank  hunters  and  sturdy  husbandmen  who  have  been  the  builders  of  the  States,  to  enjoy  the  long 
days  of  October  in  the  woods,  and  sleep  at  night  under  the  protecting  stars."     [Oct.  16,  1882.] 

JPrimary  Aim  of  the  Rite.  — "  We  represent,  not  altogether  unworthily,  I  hope,  the  intellect 
and  the  scholarship  of  the  Freemasonry  of  the  United  States:  Our  Father  who  is  in  Heaven  has 
given  us  the  opportunity  to  serve  Masonry  worthily,  and  make  it  the  debtor  of  the  Royal  Order, 
by  leading  the  Masons  of  the  '  Blue '  lodges  to  the  living  springs  of  truth,  making  known  to  them 
the  true  meaning  and  profound  significance  of  their  most  ancient  symbols,  and  teaching  them  to 
set  a  higher  value  upon  their  Freemasonry,  and  to  elevate  it  in  the  estimation  of  the  world." 
[Sept.  24,  1883.] 

"To  see  united  into  a  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  our  old  and  venerable  Order  a  certam 
limited  number  of  good  men  and  Masons,  residing  in  all  our  States  and  Territories,  between 
whom  the  new  ties  of  a  more  perfect  Brotherhood  might  be  created,  and  year  by  year  grow  stronger 
and  more  enduring."     [Oct.  20,  1884.] 

Historical  Basis  of  the  Order.  —  "It  was  established,  our  Ritual  declares,  'to  correct  the 
errors  and  reform  the  abuses  which  had  crept  in  among  the  three  degrees  of  St.  John's  Masonry.' 
It  is  '  for  the  preservation  in  its  purity  of  St.  John's  Masonry.'  One  who  comes  to  seek  admission 
here  declares  that  he  is  '  a  Mason  from  a  Lodge  dedicated  to  St.  John  ';  and  he  comes  to  seek  a 
Word  which  was  lost,  and  which  by  our  assistance  he  hopes  to  find. 

"  The  Royal  Order  has  also  the  early  symbolism  of  the  '  Blue '  degrees,  and  not  that  borrowed 
from  the  Alchemical  and  Hermetic  books.  The  column  of  the  Tower  of  Refreshment  has  a 
square  base  or  pedestal,  intended  to  be  a  cube  or  perfect  ashlar.  The  shaft  of  the  column  has 
nme  windows  looking  East,  one  for  each  flight  of  seven  (7)  steps.  On  the  column  is  a  triangular 
entablature ;  on  this  a  book,  and  under  the  letters  upon  its  face,  a  square,  a  level,  and  a  plumb- 
rule  ;  over  these  a  pair  of  compasses  extended  to  a  right  angle.  The  stairway  has  three  landing- 
places  ;  and  the  lowest  flight  of  stairs  is  of  seven  steps,  the  second  of  five,  and  the  '  apex '  of  three." 

"  It  was  an  innovation  to  >inake  the  possession  of  the  Degree  of  the  Royal  Arch^  a  necessary 
qualification  for  admission  into  the  Order ;  for  it  was  at  first  open  to  Master  Masons."  [Oct.  15, 
1888.] 

The  constitution  and  laws  of  the  Royal  Order  remained  substantially,  as 
those  enforced  at  London,  until  January  5,  1767,  when  new  niles  were  agreed 
to,  and  are  still  preserved.  Rule  19  provides  for  fees  being  paid  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Edinburgh  by  members  in  England,  and  it  is  stated  that  "  the  king  of 

1 "  Master  Mason  "  is  now  the  qualification.  —  Laws,  1862,  p.  6. 


HISTORY  AND    GOVERNMENT. 


849 


Scotland  is  perpetual  Grand  Master  of  the  Order,  and  therefore  not  included 
among  the  elective  officers." 

The  Grand  Lodge  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.  — Brother  Lyon  says  that  another  edi- 
tion of  the  laws  was  issued  in  1843;  the  present  code  being  "  as  revised 
and  approved  January  6,  1862  "  :  these,  however,  are  now  under  revision. 

By  the  statutes,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.  and  Grand  Chapter  of 
H.  R.  M.  can  only  be  held  in  Scodand,  and  the  former  reserves  to  itself  the 
right  to  promote  to  the  honor  of  Knighthood  of  the  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S.,  but  usually 
delegates  the  power  to  that  effect  to  the  Provincial  Grand  Masters,  by  per- 
sonal patents,  as  given  herewith.     [See  Plate.] 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers  are  similar  to  those  already  noted  for  the  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Lodge,  only  the  brother  who  rules  that  body,  until  a  king  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  (called  "  of  Scotland  ")  is  able  to  become  Grand 
Master,  is  termed  "Deputy  Grand  Master  and  Governor,"  a  Deputy  Governor 
being  also  appointed,  all  having  corresponding  rank  in  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
H.  D.  M.  The  D.  G.  M.  (and  Governor) ,  and  Deputy  Governor  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  are  ex-officiis  Warder  and  Deputy  Warder  of  the  T.  W.  R.  of 
R.  F.  R.  S.  M.  N.  T.,  and  a  Provincial  Grand  Master  enjoys  a  similar  status  in 
his  Province  ;  as  also  T.  R.  S.  T.  A.  of  his  own  chapter. 

The  4th  of  July  is  election  day  for  the  Grand  Officers  and  also  for  subor- 
dinate chapters  out  of  Scotland,  ov  first  following  lawful  day,  if  the  fourth 
shall  be  a  Saturday  or  Sunday.  The  other  stated  meetings  of  Grand  Lodge 
and  Provincial  Grand  Lodges  are  October  4,  January  4,  and  April  4,  with 
the  same  exceptions. 

It  is  competent  for  any  members  acting  as  Grand  Officers /r^  tem.,  to  sign 
the  diplomas,  charters,  patents.  I  append  a  copy  of  my  certificate  of  the 
year  1867  :  — 

Copy  of  the  Eoyal  Order  Certificate,  A.O.  553.— 


SCOTTISH   ARMS. 


|n  tbc  ^ante  of  i\z  ^olg  anb  ^nbibibcb  STrinitg. 

We,  Sir  John  Whyte,  W.D.M.,  President  of  the  Judges  and  Council  of  the 
Great  S.N.D.R.M.,  and  Warder  of  the  T.W.R.  of  R.F.R.S.M.N.T.,  Deputy  Grand 
Master  and  Governor  of  the  High  and  Honourable  Order  of  H.R.M.  of  K.L.W.N.G. 
and  the  R.S.Y.C.S.  ;  Sir  Alexander,  S.T.N.T.H.,  Senior  Grand  Warden,  and  Sir 
William,  B.T.V.,  Junior  Grand  Warden,  and  the  remanent  Knights  Companions  of 
the  ROYAL  ORDER  of  the  R.S.Y.C.S.  in  Grand  Lodge  assembled. 

Do  hereby  certify  and  declare  that  our  Trusty  and  well  beloved  Brother 
William  James  Hughan,  Master  Mason  of  the  Lodge  Number  954,  holding  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  England,  and  Companion  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  Number  50  in  Scot- 
land, whose  signature  is  on  the  margin,  having  been  advanced  to  the  order  of  H.R.M. 
of  K.L.W.N.G.  at  Glasgow,  in  the  Chapter  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Master  for  the 
County  of  Lanark,  and  others,  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  February,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  by  the  characteristic  of  Geometry,  and  promoted  on 
the  said  twenty-eighth  day  of  February,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven, 
to  the  Honour.able  Order  of  the  R.S.Y.C.S.  in  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge  for  the 
County  of  Lanark,  and  others,  has  been  recorded  in  the  Books  of  our  Grand  Lodge 
here,  and  therefore  we  recommend  him  as  a  lawful  member  of  the  ROYAL  ORDER, 
Brother  of  H.R.M.,  and  Knight  of  the  R.S.Y.C.S.,  to  all  Knights  and  Brethren  of 
the  Order  wherever  found  and  established. 

Given  under  our  hands  and  seals  of  the  Royal  Order,  at  Edinburgh,  this 
sixth  day  of  March,  a.d.  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  and  of  the 
Restoration  of  the  Order  553. 


J.  D.  Portcous,  Prov.  Grand  Sec'y. 

y.  B.  Douglas,  Grand  Secretary. 


GustavHS  K.  Flindt,  P.T.,  W.D.M. 
David  Sutherland,  P  T.,  S.T.N.T.H. 
G.  L.  Brodie,  P.T.,  B.T.Y. 


[Size,  93/4  X  143/4  in.] 


8^0  ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 

The  minimum  fee  for  the  H.  D.  M.  and  Knighthood  is  three  guineas ;  sub- 
ject in  all  cases  to  the  approval  of  the  presiding  officer  as  respects  promotion 
to  the  "  R.  S.  Y.  C.  S."  Conviction  of  crime  by  any  court  of  justice  involves 
permanent  extrusion. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1855,  the  Supreme  Council  33°  of  Scotland,  and  on 
the  nth  of  May  following,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Royal  Order  agreed  to  a 
reciprocal  treaty,  by  which  only  members  of  the  Royal  Order  can  be  admitted 
to  the  18°,  and  all  Knights  of  the  Royal  Order,  provided  they  are  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  have  special  privileges  as  to  fees  in  joining  the  A.".A.\S/.Rite. 

M.  W.  Brother  John  Whyte-Melville  was  the  Deputy  Grand  Master  and 
Governor  for  many  years,  and  on  his  decease  was  succeeded  by  the  Right 
Honorable,  the  Earl  of  Rosslyn,  in  1885,  who  died  September  6,  1890.  The 
Grand  Secretary  is  the  Scottish  Masonic  historian.  Brother  D.  Murray  Lyon. 

The  "Year  of  the  Restoration  of  the  Order"  dates  from  1314,  so  that  a.d. 
1890  or  AX.  5890  would  be  "Anjw  Ordinis  "  576  to  St.  John  the  Baptist  Day; 
but  after  that  Festival  it  would  be  5  77.  A  similar  mode  has  long  been  followed 
by  the  Knights  Templars  (which,  doubtless,  refers  to  De  MolaVs  martyrdoni) , 
in  relation  to  the  same  year,  only  termed  ^^  Anno  Ccedis,'"  thus  suggesting  an 
intimate  connection  between  the  two  Bodies. 


HEREDOM  OF  KIL  WINNING. 


CHAPTER  II. 


851 


The  Royal  Order  of  Heredom  of  Kilwinning,  or  Rose  Croix  de 
Heredom  of  Kilwinning. 


By  Edward  T.  Schultz,  32°, 
Masonic  Historian  of  Maryland. 


The  Order  of  Heredom.  —  The  ritual  of  the  Order  of  Heredom  claimed 
that  it  was  established  by  Robert  Bruce,  king  of  Scotland,  after  the  battle 
of  Bannockburn,  in  the  year  1311  ;  but  this  has  been  denied  by  many  writers, 
and  its  real  origin  and  history  is  enveloped  in  the  same  mystery  and  confusion 
that  surrounds  most  of  the  high  degrees  of  Freemasonry. 

It  is  claimed  that,  in  the  year  1 740,  there  was  at  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  a 
body  known  as  "  The  Royal  Grand  Lodge  and  Chapter  of  the  Order  of 
Heredom  of  Kilwinning,"  and  that  this  body  established  at  Rouen,  France, 
May  I,  1786,  a  Provincial  Grand  Chapter,  of  which  M.  Mattheus,  an  emi- 
nent merchant  of  that  city,  was  Provincial  Grand  Master,  and  Louis  Clavel, 
Deputy  Grand  Master. 

The  writer  has  been  informed  by  a  communication  from  the  secretary  of 
the  "  Chapter  Arts  Reunis  "  at  Rouen,  that  these  two  brethren  were  arrested 
during  the  Revolution  in  France  "  as  suspects,"  and  barely  escaped  with  their 
lives.  It  is  also  learned  by  the  same  communication  that  nearly  all  of  the 
records  of  the  Grand  Chapter  were  destroyed  during  the  "  troublous  times 
of  the  Revolution."  This  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  ;  for,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  last  century,  there  were  organized  at  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New 
York,  bodies  of  this  rite,  which  were  indirectly  connected  with  the  Grand 
Chapter  at  Rouen. 

An  Insurrection  leads  to  Important  Results.  —  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century,  prior  to  and  during  the  French  Revolution,  the  subject  of  slavery 
in  the  French  colonies  became  an  intensely  interesting  and  exciting  one, 
especially  to  those  living  on  the  Island  of  Saint  Domingo.  This  excitement 
continued  to  increase  till  it  finally  resulted  in  an  insurrection  of  the  slaves  on 
that  island,  which,  through  the  skill,  bravery,  and  generalship  of  the  celebrated 
negro  general,  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  finally  resulted  in  the  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence of  his  race  on  the  Island.  The  cruel  treatment  of  this  person  at 
a  later  period  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte  deserves  the  condemnation  of  men  of 
all  civilized  races. 


852 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


Toussaint,  we  are  informed,  held  the  insurrection  in  check  for  some  thirty 
days,  till  a  vessel  could  be  had  for  the  transportation  of  the  overseer  of  his 
master's  plantation,  M.  de  Libertas,  and  his  family,  to  the  United  States.  A 
Baltimore  vessel  was  finally  procured,  and  loaded  with  a  cargo  of  the  products 
of  the  plantation,  then  the  whites  were  put  on  board  and  the  vessel  sailed 
for  Baltimore.  The  insurrection  commenced  immediately  afterward,  and  quite 
near  the  plantation  of  Toussaint's  master.  Count  de  Breda,  who  resided  in 
France.  During  the  continuance  of  the  insurrection,  Toussaint  continued  to 
ship  succeeding  crops  from  the  plantation  to  M.  de  Libertas  at  Baltimore. 

Before  any  outbreak  on  the  Island  had  ensued,  a  number  of  colonists,  — 
apprehending  that  living  in  a  colony  composed  of  five  hundred  thousand 
slaves,  twenty  thousand  mulattoes,  most  of  whom  were  highly  educated  as 
well  as  possessed  of  wealth  (for  the  mulattoes  on  that  island  followed  the 
condition  of  the  father,  and  not,  as  in  this  country,  the  condition  of  the 
mother),  and  only  thirty  thousand  whites,  —  foresaw  what  must  be  the  final 
result,  and  emigrated  to  various  parts  of  the  United  States  before  the  com- 
mencement of  actual  hostilities. 

The  Baltimore  "Rose  Croix  de  Heredom." — Among  these  earher  emi- 
grants to  Baltimore  was  a  band  of  Masons  from  Cape  Francois,  a  town  on  the 
east  coast  of  the  Island,  bringing  with  them  a  chartered  chapter  of  the  Rite 
"  Rose  Croix  de  Heredom,"  under  the  distinctive  title,  "  La  Verite."  They 
brought  with  them  also  their  records  and  jewels,  and  continued  their  labors 
in  Baltimore,  as  they  had  formerly  done  on  the  Island  of  Saint  Domingo. 

They  applied  to  Henry  Wilmans,  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Maryland,  for  a  dispensation  to  open  a  lodge  for  working  the 
Symbolic  degrees  (their  mode  of  working  these  degrees  not  being  recognized 
by  the  brethren  here),  which  he  granted;  and,  at  the  1794  session  of  the 
Grand  Lodge,  they  received  a  warrant  to  work  according  to  the  "Ancient 
York  Rite,"  under  the  distinctive  title,  "Veritas  Sancti  Johannes,"  No  16 
(The  True  Saint  John's) . 

The  Chapter  "  La  Verite  "  continued  its  labors  as  a  separate  organization 
until  about  the  year  1802,  when  it  "  fell  asleep."  There  are  no  records  of 
the  chapter  known  to  be  existing,  but  it  is  referred  to  by  several  writers  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  the  Royal  Order  of  Heredom.  Such  extracts, 
therefore,  as  relate  directly  or  indirectly  to  it  will  be  quoted  from  these  writers. 

Oliver,  in  his  "  Landmarks,"  says  :  "  Lodges  and  chapters  of  the  Royal 
Order  of  Robert  Bruce  were  also  established  in  Saint  Domingo  by  Brother 
Achille  Huet  de  Lachelle,  who  styled  himself  the  Royal  Grand  Master  of  the 
*  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Order  of  Heredom.'  He  himself  furnished  the  follow- 
ing account,  which  is  interesting,  although  it  occurred  at  a  much  later  period. 
He  says  he  derived  his  authority  from  the  Most  Sublime  Chief  of  the  Order 
in  France.  He  established  in  Baltimore,  a  Sovereign  Chapter  under  the  title 
of  *  Truth,'  at  the  request  of  the  potent  brothers  Knights  of  the  Cape,  who  had 


HEREDOM   OF  KILWINNING. 


853 


sought  refuge  in  Baltimore,  in  consequence  of  the  revolution  in  Saint  Domingo. 
The  Sovereign  Chief  of  the  Order  for  France  had  been  first  applied  to,  but 
he  referred  them  back  to  the  Provincial  Chapter.  Huet  de  Lachelle  the 
Grand  Master,  was  himself  driven  to  the  United  States  by  the  troubles  in  the 
colony,  and  passed  eight  months  there.  During  his  residence  he  established 
at  New  York  an  Anglo-American  Sovereign  Grand  Chapter  under  the  title, 
'  Chosen  Friends,'  of  which  Brother  Vanden  Brock  was  president,  and  in  the 
same  city  a  Sovereign  Chapter  of  France,  under  the  denomination  of  the 
'  Triple  Unity,'  of  which  Challon  Dayral  was  president.  At  the  Orient  of 
Philadelphia  he  established  two  more  Sovereign  Chapters,  one  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  'Chapter  of  Truth'  of  the  Cape,  under  the  name  'Truth  and 
Union,'  Bizouard,  president ;  and  the  other  for  the  Lodge  of  *  Amenity  and 
Candour,'  Gauvin,  president.  All  these  Sovereign  Chapters  appointed  Lachelle 
ambassador,  by  letters  of  delegation,  to  the  Sovereign  Chief  of  the  Order  of 
Kilwinning  at  Edinburgh ;  to  the  Sovereign  Grand  Provincial  Chapter  of 
France,  sitting  at  Rouen ;  and  to  the  Grand  Orient  of  France.  He  went  to 
France  on  his  mission  in  1798,  and  delivered  the  documents  to  M.  Mattheus, 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  Rouen."  The  French  Masonic  writers 
Thory  and  Clavel  both  give  substantially  the  same  account  as  Oliver. 

Documentary  Testimony.  —  Brother  Albert  Pike  has  in  his  possession  a 
document  written  by  Lachelle  ^  himself,  in  which  occurs  the  following  in 
reference  to  the  Chapter  "  La  Verite  "  :  — 

"  On  the  29th  day  of  the  5th  Month  5796, 1  also  regularized,  at  Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  the 
Chapter  La  Verite.  It  had  been  founded  long  before  by  a  Brother  Martin,  and  had  worked  during 
the  time,  under  the  belief  that  it  was  regular,  but  becoming  convinced  of  its  error,  as  that  of 
the  Petit  Goave  had,  it  made  application,  after  we  had  done  so,  to  the  Chief  of  the  Order,  to 
obtain  letters  of  constitution.  The  Chief  of  the  Order,  by  one  of  his  columns,  had  advised  us 
of  this,  and  requested  us  to  regularize  that  chapter.  The  brother  Knight  Teaveau,  Second  Light 
of  that  Temple,  was  affiliated  by  us  in  our  chapter,  and  was  empowered  by  us  to  take  the  oath  of 
these  Officer-Knights  and  to  regularize  them  for  us  in  the  name  of  the  Chief  of  the  Order." 

The  Evidence  Reviewed. — These  several  accounts  are  to  some  extent 
conflicting,  and  it  is  therefore  somewhat  difficult  to  learn  the  exact  date  of 
the  establishment  of  the  Chapter  "  La  Verite  "  at  Baltimore.  Oliver,  Clavel, 
and  Thory  state  that  Lachelle  constituted  the  chapter  himself,  while  from  the 
document  in  the  possession  of  Brother  Pike,  in  Lachelle's  own  writing,  it 
would  appear  that  it  had  been  organized  by  a  brother  named  Martin  "  many 
years  before." 

In  1 8 1 9  the  Chapter  "  La  Verite  "  was  resuscitated  and  reorganized  under  the 
title  of  "  Triple  Unity,"  by  authority  of  "  The  Sovereign  Grand  Consistory  of 

1  Achille  Huet  de  Lachelle,  who  regularized  the  Chapter  "  La  Verite  "  at  Baltimore,  in 
1796,  and  organized  those  at  Philadelphia  and  New  York  a  year  or  two  later,  died  in  Baltimore 
about  the  vear  1835,  leaving  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  is  still  living.  Brother  Carson  thinks  it 
probable  that  Lachelle  had  no  legal  authority  from  any  organization  of  the  Royal  Order  for  the 
establishment  of  these  bodies.  I  think,  on  the  contrary,  the  evidence  furnished  by  Oliver,  Claval, 
and  Thory,  as  well  as  by  the  document  in  the  possession  of  Brother  Pike,  quoted  above,  prove 
that  he  had  authority  to  act  from  the  Provincial  Grand  Chapter  at  Rouen. 


854 


ROYAL    ORDER    OF  SCOTLAND. 


Supreme  Chiefs  of  Exalted  Masonry,"  organized  by  Joseph  Cerneau  at  New 
York,  in  1807.  It  ceased  labor  about  the  year  1825.  Its  records,  now  in 
possession  of  the  writer,  indicate  that  it  was  a  live,  active  body.  Among  its 
membership  were  a  number  of  prominent  brethren  of  Baltimore,  one  of  whom, 
the  venerable  brother,  Past  Grand  Master  John  H.  B.  Latrobe,  is  still  living. 

There  is  nothing  known  regarding  the  Chapters  established  by  Lachelle  at 
Philadelphia,  but  one  of  those  established  by  him  at  New  York,  "  La  Triple 
Unity,"  was  resuscitated  and  reorganized  in  1809  by  the  Cerneau  Consistory. 

Rite  of  Heredom  Distinct  from  that  of  Perfection.  — Thory  says  the  Rite 
of  Heredom  was  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  Perfection,  and  consisted  of  the 
three  degrees  of  Ancient  Masonry  as  its  basis,  and  the  Rose  Croix  degree, 
known  as  the  chapter.  The  chapter  conferred  four  degrees :  Master  of 
Heredom,  Knight  of  the  Tower,  Knight  Rose  Croix,  and  Knight  Rose  Croix 
de  H.  R.  D.  M.  Brother  Carson,  referring  to  this  Rite,  says :  "  The  rituahstic 
ceremonies  were  entirely  different  from  those  of  the  Rose  Croix  eighteenth 
degree  of  Sublime  Masonry,  Rite  of  Perfection  series,  or  the  Rose  Croix 
eighteenth  degree  of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite."  ^ 


1  Am.  Ed.  Gould's  History,  Vol.  IV.  p.  636. 


CHILDREN'S    PROCESSIONAL    DURING    THE   CRUSADES. 


Part    V. 


MISCELLANEOUS   RITES   AND   ORDERS.  —  STATISTICAL 

DIVISION. 


DIVISION   XX. 


OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 


By  Rev.  Willis  D.  Engle,  P.G.P. 
Past  Right  Worthy  Grand  Secretary,  General  Grand  Chapter. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

Introductory.  —  Various  systems  of  Adoptive  Masonry  have  been  practised, 
both  in  Europe  and  this  country,  since  its  conception,  which,  according  to  the 
best  authorities,  was  in  France,  about  the  year  1730.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  thirty  years  later  that  what  was  formally  known  as  lodges  of  Adoption 
were  organized,  the  first  being  in  Paris  in  1 760,  by  the  Count  de  Bernonville. 
The  gallant  Frenchman  seems,  from  this  time,  to  have  taken  great  interest  in 
this  androgynous  society,  as  it  spread  rapidly,  and  in  1774  had  gained  such 
character  and  influence  that  it  was  able  to  command  the  official  recognition  of 
the  Grand  Orient  of  France,  which  took  it  under  its  official  protection,  where 
it  still  remains,  although  it  has  not  flourished  in  the  last  half-century  as  it  had 
done  previously. 

The  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  extensively  known  in  the  United  States, 
can  hardly  be  said  to  be  connected  with  any  similar  body  that  has  preceded 
it,  although,  as  will  be  seen  under  the  head  of  "  Ritual,"  the  basis  of  its 
ceremonies  and  teachings  is  derived  from  one  of  them. 

Previous  to  the  year  1855,  and  subsequently  also,  there  were  in  use  in  the 

857 


858  OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS 

United  States  several  ''  side  "  degrees,  which  could  be  conferred  upon  the 
female  relatives  of  Masons,  among  which  were  the  following  :  — 

"  The  Mason's  Daughter,"  which  had  for  its  foundation  a  legend  con- 
necting Mary,  the  sister  of  Lazarus,  with  Jesus'  triumphal  entrance  into 
Jerusalem,  and  which  had  certain  modes  of  recognition,  and  a  signet  in  which 
the  letters  AMRY  were  encircled  by  the  letters  F.  N.D.O.Z.B.T.K.C. 

"  The  Kindred  Degree,"  based  upon  the  Biblical  history  of  Ruth,  particu- 
larly concerning  her  gleaning  in  the  field  of  Boaz.  The  recognition  signet 
consisted  of  the  letters  A.  H.  R.H.  P.C.  A.S.D.  E.  encircUng  the  letters 

U 

T      H 

R 

These  were  conferred  upon  Master  Masons  and  their  female  relatives, 
while  those  named  below  were  only  to  be  conferred  upon  Royal  Arch  Masons 
and  their  wives  and  daughters. 

"  The  Heroine  of  Jericho,"  founded  upon  the  Scripture  account  of  the 
fall  of  Jericho,  the  faithfulness  of  Rahab,  and  its  reward.  The  recognition 
signet  had  the  word  ARHAB  within  a  heart,  with  the  letters  ML  FY  lYUN 
TOB  within  a  circle,  which  contained  the  letters  BF  R  PNWTTBN. 

"  The  Good  Samaritan,"  which  presented  "  as  a  pattern  for  imitaiion  the 
Good  Samaritan,  who  stopped  at  the  wayside  to  relieve  the  distressed ;  who 
walked  that  a  stranger  might  ride  his  beast ;  who,  with  his  own  money,  paid 
others  for  providing  for  the  wants  of  the  distressed."  The  signet  included 
an  eight-pointed  star  with  the  letters  GS  in  its  centre,  while  the  letters 
EFIWSTOL  formed  a  circle  within  the  star. 

First  Era,  1850-1866. — The  degrees  of  the  Eastern  Star  were  arranged 
by  Robert  Morris,  LL.D.,  subsequently  Grand  Master  of  Masons  of  Kentucky, 
in  1850,  who  communicated  them  first  to  his  wife,  and  subsequently  to  many 
thousands  of  Masons  and  their  female  relatives  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 
The  degrees  were  thus  communicated  by  Robert  Morris  only,  as  they  were 
not  printed  in  this  form  until  i860. 

From  the  first,  the  work  contained  the  same  characters  as  now,  and  the 
signs  and  passes  remain  unaltered  ;  but  when  they  were  presented  in  a  lecture 
to  a  roomful  of  people  at  once,  no  obligation  was  imposed  but  that  of 
secrecy,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  organize  a  society,  so  that  substantial 
good  could  not  result  therefrom.  It  was  a  means  of  recreation  and  of  social 
enjo>Tnent,  Masons  and  their  families  coming  together  in  the  lodge-room  for 
an  evening  of  pleasure  and  banqueting. 

In  1855  Brother  Morris  recast  the  work,  and  it  was  first  printed  under  the 
name  of  "The  Mosaic  Book."  A  self-constituted  body  known  as  "The 
Supreme  Constellation  of  the  American  Adoptive  Rite,"  of  which  he  was  the 
Most  Enlightened  Grand  Luminar)',  was  organized  with  headquarters  in  New 


THE   EASTERN  STAR. 


859 


York  City,  and  subordinate  constellations  were  organized  in  different  States. 
By  reason  of  the  elaborateness  of  the  ritual  work,  and  the  expense  of 
necessary  paraphernalia,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  high  dramatic  talent 
required  to  exempUfy  the  degrees  properly,  none  of  them  were  a  success,  and 
all  soon  ceased  to  exist. 

Finding  this  effort  a  failure,  recourse  was  again  had  to  conferring  the 
degrees  by  communication,  and  in  i860  Brother  Morris  revised  the  work  and 
published  it,  and  it  was  extensively  used  for  ten  years  and  is  still  in  use, 
although  without  lawful  authority,  in  some  portions  of  our  country.  This 
work  was  sometimes  used  in  a  slightly  elaborated  manner,  and  in  rather 
informal  but  regular  meetings  of  what  were  known  as  "  Families  of  the  Eastern 
Star." 

Second  Era,  1866-1876.  —  In  1866  Robert  Macoy,  subsequently  Grand 
Patron  of  the  Grand  Chapter  of  New  York,  arranged  a  manual  which  was 
more  widely  used  than  any  that  had  preceded  it,  and  upon  his  departure  for 
the  Holy  Land,  in  1868,  Brother  Morris  transferred  to  Brother  Macoy  all  the 
authority  he  had  assumed  and  exercised  in  regard  to  the  Order.  Brother 
Macoy  immediately  set  about  arranging  the  work  more  systematically,  and 
succeeded  in  casting  it  for  use  in  duly  organized  chapters,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  ultimately  insure  the  success  of  the  Order.  Under  his  guiding  hand  the 
Supreme  Grand  Chapter,  a  self- constituted  body,  was  organized  in  December, 
1868,  and  under  its  vigorous  management  deputies  were  appointed  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  in  the  next  eight  years  over  six  hundred  chapters 
were  organized  in  thirty-four  States  and  Territories,  and  movements  were 
inaugurated  by  chapters  so  organized,  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of 
Grand  Chapters  as  follows  :  — 

1.  New  Jersey,  October  20,  1870. 

2.  New  York,  November  3,  1870. 

3.  Mississippi,  December  15,  1870. 

4.  California,  May  9,  1873. 

5.  Vermont,  November  12,  1873. 

6.  Indiana,  May  6,  1874. 

7.  Connecticut,  August  11,  1874. 

8.  Nebraska,  June  22,  1875. 

9.  Illinois,  October  6, 1875. 

In  1867  John  H.  Tatem,  of  Michigan,  taking  "The  Mosaic  Book"  as  a  basis, 
arranged  a  monitor  for  the  work  of  lodges  of  the  Adoptive  Rite,  which  was  the 
first  successful  attempt  to  arrange  the  "  work  "  for  popular  use  by  organized 
bodies,  and  on  October  31,  1867,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Adoptive  Masonry  of 
Michigan  was  organized  with  fifteen  subordinate  lodges,  which  is  by  nearly 
three  years  the  senior  Grand  body  of  the  Order. 

A  Grand  Lodge  of  Adoptive  Masonry  for  Indiana  was  organized  by  dele- 
gates from  five  lodges  on  January  27,  1869,  but  its  initial  meeting  was  its  only 


86o  OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 

one,  and  the  lodges  for  the  most  part  ceased  to  be,  while  one  was  absorbed 
by  the  Grand  Chapter  of  Indiana,  after  its  organization  in  1874. 

Third  Era,  1876. — By  this  time  the  Order  numbered  some  hundreds  of 
chapters  and  several  thousand  members,  and  began  to  feel  the  need  of  a 
more  thorough  organization ;  that  the  unauthorized  conferring  of  the  degrees, 
a  practice  that  still  prevailed  in  the  States  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
several  Grand  Chapters,  might  be  stopped ;  that  permanency  in  and  control 
of  the  ritual  work  might  be  had ;  and  that  the  jurisprudence  of  the  Order 
might  be  reduced  to  a  system.  In  some  of  the  States  the  practice  prevailed 
of  admitting  to  chapter  meetings  all  Master  Masons,  upon  a  pledge  of  secrecy, 
while  in  most  they  could  gain  admission  only  by  ballot  and  initiation ;  in 
some  jurisdictions  even  the  Patron  needed  not  to  be  a  member  of  the  chap- 
ter, but  only  a  contributing  member  of  a  Masonic  lodge.  In  another 
jurisdiction,  while  the  brethren  were  admitted  to  full  membership,  they  were 
without  any  written  law  upon  the  subject,  but  by  a  "tradition  "  deprived  of 
the  right  to  vote  in  the  chapter.  It  was  this  latter  injustice  that  induced  the 
writer  to  investigate  the  organization  and  laws  of  the  Order,  in  1874  and  1875, 
which  he  found  in  a  chaotic  condition,  and  the  fact  was  developed  that  the 
ritual  of  the  Order,  as  then  used,  was  entirely  beyond  its  control,  being  pub- 
lished by  individual  enterprise,  and  was  revised  and  altered  according  to  the 
varying  taste  of  the  publisher,  so  that  different  editions  of  these  were  in 
concurrent  use  ;  and  not  only  did  the  "work  "  vary  as  between  chapters,  but  it 
was  impossible  for  chapters  using  the  earlier  editions  of  "work"  to  obtain 
additional  copies  of  the  same,  as  it  was  out  of  print.  Nor  was  the  ritual  in 
its  latest  revision  at  all  complete.  These  facts  led  him  to  a  realization  of  the 
need  of  uniformity  of  ritual  under  the  authority  of  the  Order,  and  the  crystal- 
lization of  its  jurisprudence  and  customs,  which  could  only  be  brought  about 
by  a  unity  of  action  which  would  lead  to  increased  zeal,  and  the  promotion 
of  the  growth  of  the  Order  upon  permanent  and  substantial  lines.  In  conse- 
quence he  began,  both  by  private  correspondence  and  through  the  press,  to 
agitate  the  subject  of  organizing  a  supreme  governing  body,  which  resulted  in 
the  Grand  Chapter  of  Mississippi,  on  July  15,  1875,  declaring  in  favor  of  such 
a  body,  and  electing  delegates  to  a  convention  to  organize  one.  The  Grand 
Chapter  of  New  Jersey  followed,  with  similar  action,  on  October  13,  1875,  ^^"^ 
CaUfornia  on  October  19th,  while  on  April  6,  1876,  the  Grand  Chapter  of 
Indiana  did  likewise,  and  called  upon  the  several  Grand  Chapters  to  send 
delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  held  at  Indianapolis,  November  Sth,  following. 
Owing  to  the  proximity  of  that  day  to  the  day  of  the  National  election,  the 
date  was  afterward  changed  to  November  15  th. 

Illinois,  on  October  4th,  and  Missouri,  October  9, 1876,  fell  into  line,  so  that 
six  of  the  twelve  then  existing  Grand  Chapters  were  committed  to  the  organi- 
zation of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  which  was  completed  on  November  16, 
1876.     From  that  date,  by  virtue  of  its  Constitution,  it  assumed  immediate 


THE  EASTERN  STAR. 


86l 


jurisdiction  over  all  territory  not  included  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  Grand 
Chapter,  and  also  entire  control  over  the  ritual  work  of  the  Order,  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  its  constituent  Grand  Chapters.  The  action  thus  had  was 
subsequently  approved  by  the  Grand  Chapters  of  Arkansas,  Kansas,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  Nebraska,  while  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Adoptive  Masonry  of 
Michigan  conformed  its  organization  to  that  of  the  rest  of  the  Order,  ana 
became  an  integral  part  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter. 

There  have  been  organized,  since  the  organization  of  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  the  following  Grand  Chapters  :  — 

1.  Massachusetts,  December  ii,  1876. 

2.  Minnesota,  June  27,  1878. 

3.  Iowa,  July  30,  1878. 

4.  Texas,  May  5,  1884. 

5.  Washington,  June  12,  1889. 

6.  South  Dakota,  July  10,  1889. 

7.  Indian  Territory,  July  ii,  1889. 

8.  Ohio,  July  24,  1889. 

9.  Oregon,  October  3,  1889. 

The  Grand  Chapter  of  Mississippi  did  not  meet  subsequently  to  1877,  and 
the  General  Grand  Chapter  assumed  jurisdiction  over  that  State,  April  23,  1885. 

[The  statistics  of  the  Order  are  given  in  Division  XXI.] 

Eecapitulation.  —  From  1850  to  1855  the  Order  was  entirely  without  formal 
organization,  the  degrees  being  communicated. 

From  1855  to  i860,  where  there  were  any  organizations,  they  were  known 
as  constellations,  which  were  under  the  control  of  a  Supreme  Constellation. 

From  i860  to  1868,  an  era  of  communicating  the  degrees  by  Master 
Masons  prevailed. 

From  1868  to  1876,  chapters  were  organized  and  worked  under  the  authority 
of  a  Supreme  Grand  Chapter. 

Since  1876  the  Order  (with  the  exception  of  those  portions  of  it  in  New 
York,  Vermont,  Connecticut,  and,  periodically.  New  Jersey),  has  been  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  while  the  Order  in  Connecticut 
and  New  Jersey  has  used  the  ritual  set  forth  by  that  body. 

Objects  and  Teachings  of  the  Order.  —  In  its  inception,  the  object  of  the 
Order  was  merely  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  female  relatives  of  Masons 
means  whereby  they  could  make  themselves  known  to  Masons  as  such,  and 
every  competent  Master  Mason  had  authority  to  communicate  the  degrees 
to  the  wives,  the  widows,  sisters,  and  daughters  of  Master  Masons.  Subse- 
quently, but  at  a  time  difficult  to  locate,  mothers  were  also  included  among 
the  eligibles.  During  its  early  history,  and  until  its  transition  state,  beginning, 
say,  in  1868  and  ending  in  1876,  the  Order  had  no  permanency,  and  was  of 
Uttle  real  benefit  to  its  members,  because  it  was  in  the  attitude  of  receiving 
everything  at  the  hands  of  the  Masonic  Brotherhood  and  giving  nothing.  But 
when  it  was  realized  that  with  privileges  came  responsibihties,  and  the  Order 


862  OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 

began  to  demonstrate  the  need  of  its  being,  and  that  woman's  heart  beats 
responsive  to  man's  in  noble  deeds,  it  took  on  new  hfe  and  energy,  and  has 
since  grown  not  only  in  numbers  but  in  real  strength. 

Among  the  lessons  inculcated,  in  the  teachings  of  the  Order,  are :  — 

(a)  Fidelity  to  convictions ; 

(*)  Obedience  to  the  demands  of  honor  and  justice ; 

(ir)  Fidelity  to  kindred  and  friends ; 

(rf)  Trustful  faith  and  hope  of  immortal  life ; 

(u)  Heroic  endurance  of  the  wrongs  of  persecution  when  demanded  in  defence  of  truth. 

Heroines  of  the  Order.  —  The  first  four  characters  portrayed  in  the  degrees 
are  Scriptural  ones  :  the  first,  or  "  Daughter's  "  point  of  the  Star,  being  repre- 
sented by  Jephthah's  daughter,  to  whom  the  name  of  Adah  is  given.  The 
scene  is,  of  course,  the  return  to  Mizpeh  of  Jephthah,  after  his  victory  over  the 
children  of  Ammon,  as  recounted  in  Judges  xi.  34-39.  The  color  of  the  point 
is  blue,  and  is  represented  in  the  Signet  of  the  Order  by  blue  violets,  while 
the  emblems  that  adorn  the  first  point  are  a  veil  entwining  a  sword. 

The  second,  or  "  Widow's  "  point,  is  represented  by  Ruth,  and  presents 
the  sweet  pastoral  scene  described  in  Ruth  ii.  1-17,  —  Ruth  gleaning  in  the 
fields  of  Boaz.  The  color  is  yellow,  and  is  represented  by  the  yellow  jessamine, 
the  emblem  being  a  sheaf  of  golden  grain. 

At  the  third,  or  "  Wife's  "  point,  Esther  is  presented,  risking  her  crown 
and  life  to  save  her  captive  people,  the  picture  being  a  somewhat  liberal 
rendering  of  the  leading  incidents  described  in  the  Book  of  Esther,  as  they 
relate  to  the  rescuing  of  the  Jews  from  their  impending  doom,  Haman  and 
the  gallows  being  omitted.  This  point  is  white,  while  the  floral  token  is  the 
white  lily,  and  the  emblems  are  a  crown  and  sceptre. 

The  fourth,  or  "  Sister's  "  point,  presents  Martha  upon  the  coming  of  Jesus 
to  Bethany,  after  the  death  of  Lazarus,  as  recorded  in  St.  John  xi.  20-26. 
Green  is  the  color  selected,  the  floral  type  being  a  bunch  of  ferns,  while  a 
broken  column  supphes  the  emblem. 

The  fifth,  or  "  Mother's  "  point,  is  red,  and  is  represented  by  a  red  rose, 
the  emblem  being  a  cup.  The  character  portrayed  is  a  purely  fictitious  one, 
to  which  the  name  of  Electa  is  given ;  and  an  attempt  was  made  in  the  earlier 
rituals  to  identify  her  not  only  with  the  "  elect  lady  "  of  St.  John's  second 
Epistle,  but  to  make  her  an  incarnation  of  the  virtues  of  the  early  Christian 
martyrs.  In  the  later  rituals  she  is  presented  as  a  type  of  the  many  noble 
women  of  all  the  ages,  who  for  loyalty  to  truth  have  suffered. 

In  "The  Mosaic  Book,"  and  other  early  systems,  every  noble  male  character 
mentioned  from  Jephthah  to  Gains,  from  Boaz  to  St.  John,  was  represented 
as  a  Mason  of  high  degree,  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  the  traditions  and 
principles  of  their  Solomonian  heritage. 

As,  upon  the  Signet,  the  Star  is  surrounded  by  flowers  and  the  legend  "  We 
have  seen  His  Star  in  the  East,  and  are  come  to  worship  Him,"  so  within  the 


THE  EASTERN  STAR. 


863 


central  block  there  are  the  letters  FATAL,  and  the  emblems  :  i,  open  Bible  • 
2,  lilies  of  the  valley  ;  3,  an  effulgent  sun  ;  4,  a  lamb  ;  5,  a  Hon  ;  whose  appro- 
priateness and  significance  are  explained  in  the  secret  work. 

Government.  —  The  General  Grand  Chapter  has  absolute  jurisdiction  in 
all  territory  not  within  the  prescribed  limits  of  any  of  the  Grand  Chapters ; 
and,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Grand  Chapters  which  are  constituent 
members  thereof,  it  has  control  of  the  ritual  work,  and  has  authority  in  the 
adjustment  of  differences  between  Grand  Chapters,  and  is  a  court  of  reference 
and  appeal  for  Grand  Chapters,  but  not  for  their  subordinates  or  members. 
Through  recognition  by  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  or  its  executive  head, 
Grand  Chapters  organized  gain  jurisdiction  over  their  territory. 

The  various  Grand  Chapters  have  absolute  and  exclusive  jurisdiction  within 
the  State  or  Territory  in  which  they  exist,  except  that  those  which  are  con- 
stituent members  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  are  subject  to  the  authority 
of  that  body,  as  is  prescribed  by  its  constitution  and  other  laws. 

A  subordinate  chapter  has  exclusive  jurisdiction,  according  to  the  laws  of 
the  Grand  Chapter  by  whose  authority  it  works,  and  can  confer  the  degrees 
and  perform  any  other  acts  subject  to  such  laws. 

In  a  general  way,  the  Order  is  governed  by  the  jurisprudence  and  customs 
of  Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  although  it  has  authority  to  make  such  laws  as  it 
chooses,  and  is  not  slow  in  striking  out  into  new  paths  when  occasion  seems 
to  require  it. 

Usually  the  executive  head  of  a  Grand  Chapter  is  the  Grand  Matron,  while 
the  authority  to  grant  dispensations  for  and  organization  of  chapters  is  usually 
vested  in  the  Grand  Patron,  although  in  some  jurisdictions  the  Grand  Matron 
has  this  authority,  and  confers  the  degrees,  in  spite  of  the  early  but  now  some- 
what neglected  regulation  that,  on  such  occasions,  a  Master  Mason  must 
preside. 

Officers.  —  The  officers  of  a  chapter  are  :  — 

1.  Worthy  Matron, — the  executive  head,  whose  station  is  in  the  East,  and  whose  badge  is 

the  gavel  within  the  star. 

2.  Worthy  Patron,  —  an  advisory  officer,  but  who  invariably  presides  during  the  conferring 

of  the  degrees,  and  whose  station  is  at  the  left  of  the  Matron.     His  badge  is  the  square 
and  compasses  within  the  star. 

3.  Associate  Matron,  —  ranks  next  to  the  Matron,  and  her  station  is  in  the  West,  while  her 

badge  is  the  sun  within  the  star. 

4.  Secretary,  —  has  the  usual  duties,  and  is  stationed  in  the  South-East,  her  badge  being  the 

cross-pens  within  the  star. 

5.  Treasurer,  —  has  the  usual  duties,  and  is  stationed  in  the  North-East,  her  badge  being  the 

cross-keys  within  the  star. 

6.  Conductress,  —  whose  duties  are  signified  by  the   name  of  her   office,  is  stationed  in  the 

South,  and  has  for  her  badge  the  scroll  and  baton  within  the  star. 

7.  Associate  Conductress,  —  who  assists  the  Conductress,  is  stationed  in  the  North,  and  has 

for  a  badge  the  baton  within  the  star. 

8.  1  Chaplain,  —  whose  station  is  at  the  right  of  the  Matron,  and  whose  badge  is  the  open 

Bible  within  the  star. 

lA  chapter  can  have  any  or  all  of  these  three  officers,  as  it  may  choose. 


864 


OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS 


at  five  points  of  the  Star,  have  for  badges  their  point's  emblems  within  a  triangle 


9.   1  OfgaNIST,  —  whose  station  is  at  the  organ,  and  whose  badge  is  a  lyre  within  the  star. 

10.  1  Marshal,  —  whose  station  is  in  the  North,  the  badge  being  the  cross-batons  within  the  star. 

11.  Adah, 

12.  Ruth, 

13.  Esther, 

14.  Martha, 

15.  Electa, 
i6.   Warder,  —  within  the  door,  has  for  a  badge  the  dove  within  the  star. 

17.  Sentinel,  —  without  the  door,  has  for  a  badge  the  cross-swords  within  the  star. 

The  General  Grand  Chapter  and  the  various  Grand  Chapters  have  similar 
officers,  with  the  addition,  usually,  of  an  Associate  Grand  Patron,  who  is 
stationed  at  the  left  of  the  Associate  Grand  Matron,  and  a  Grand  Lecturer, 
whose  station  is  in  the  South. 

The  jewels  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  and  of  the  Grand  Chapters  are 
similar  to  those  of  a  subordinate,  with  the  addition  that  those  of  a  Grand 
Chapter  are  within  a  pentagon,  and  those  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter 
are  within  a  circle.  The  badge  of  the  Associate  Grand  Patron  is  a  star  witliin 
the  star,  and  of  the  Grand  Lecturer,  a  closed  book  within  the  star. 

Ritual.  — ■  The  origin  of  the  ritual  —  although  generally  attributed  to  Brother 
Robert  Morris,  to  whom  all  credit  for  its  American  production  is  due  —  was 
probably  in  France  or  Sweden,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  present  name  was  given  it,  and  the  five  characters  portrayed  in  the 
degrees  were  first  presented  for  the  emulation  of  Masons  and  their  female 
relatives.  In  its  earher  years,  Brother  Morris  and  his  co-workers  freely 
claimed  the  antiquity  of  the  Order. 

The  first  ritual  published  in  this  country,  as  far  as  known,  was  "  The 
Mosaic  Book  of  the  American  Adoptive  Rite,  published  under  the  authority  of 
the  Supreme  Constellation"  in  1855,  Robert  Morris  being  "Most  Enlightened 
Grand  Luminary,"  in  which  it  was  stated,  that 

"  In  selecting  some  Androgynous  Degree,  extensively  known,  ancient  in  date,  and  ample  in 
scope  for  the  basis  of  this  Rite,  the  choice  falls,  without  controversy,  upon  '  The  Eastern  Star.' 
For  this  is  a  degree  familiar  to  thousands  of  the  most  enlightened  York  Masons  and  their  female 
relatives ;  established  in  this  country  at  least  before  1778,  and  one  which  popularly  bears  the  palm 
in  point  of  doctrine  and  elegance  over  all  others." 

And  in  the  official  organ  of  the  Supreme  Constellation,  The  Adopted 
Mason,  page  5,  number  i,  volume  i,  it  is  stated  that 

"  The  degree  upon  which  the  American  Adoptive  Rite  is  built  is  very  ancient,  more  so  by  far 
than  any  other  save  the  York  Rite,  and  one  that  carries  in  its  very  face  the  indubitable  marks  of 
antiquity.  It  exhibits  all  the  furrows  of  age.  Its  voice,  solemn  and  impressive  comes  up  like  the 
deep  tones  of  the  veteran,  who,  from  the  treasures  of  four-score,  enriches  the  lap  of  youth." 

In  1866  G.  W.  Brown,  of  Michigan,  published  a  volume  entitled  "The 
Ladies'  Friend,"  which  embraced  the  Eastern  Star  and  several  other  degrees, 
arranged  so  that  they  might  be  communicated. 


THE  EASTERN  STAR.  35- 

In  1867  John  H.  Tatem,  also  of  Michigan,  issued  "The  Monitor  of  the 
Eastern  Star,"  designed  for  the  use  of  lodges  of  Adopted  Masons,  the  officers 
of  which  were  entitled  President,  Vice-President,  etc.  This  book  contained 
ceremonies  for  opening  and  closing  lodges,  and  conferring  the  degrees  therein, 
and  was  the  first  successful  effort  to  adapt  the  ritual  for  use  in  regularly 
organized  bodies.  It  was  extensively  used  throughout  the  State,  and  became 
the  work  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Adoptive  Masonry,  of  Michigan,  organized 
in  1867. 

The  same  year  Robert  Macoy,  of  New  York,  published  "  The  Manual  of 
the  Eastern  Star,"  arranged  for  the  communication  of  the  degrees ;  and,  in 
1868,  the  "Adoptive  Rite,"  embracing  ceremonies  for  opening  and  closing 
chapters,  conferring  degrees  therein,  and  installing  the  officers  thereof,  which, 
with  the  revised  editions  published,  under  the  name  of  "  Ritual  of  the  Order 
of  the  Eastern  Star,"  in  187^  and  1876,  was  the  basis  of  the  work  used  by 
most  of  the  chapters  organized  between  1868  and  1878,  additions  and  altera- 
tions thereto  being  made  by  individual  workers  and  several  Grand  Chapters. 
Both  the  "Manual  "  and  "Adoptive  Rite  "  contained  the  following :  — 

"  Many  systems  of  Adoptive  Masonry  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  introduced  into  the  United 
States  with  varied  success,  none  of  which,  however,  seemed  to  possess  the  elements  of  perma- 
nency, except  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  which  was  established  in  this  country  during  the 
year  1778." 

In  1873  the  Grand  Chapter  of  California  pubhshed  a  ritual  for  the  use  of 
the  Order  in  its  jurisdiction,  which  was  the  first  ritual  published  by  an  organ- 
ized body  of  the  Order. 

In  1878  the  General  Grand  Chapter  published  a  ritual  for  the  use  of  the 
subordinate  chapters  in  its  own  jurisdiction,  and  the  jurisdictions  of  its  con- 
stituent Grand  Chapters.  This  was  revised  in  1889,  and  is  now  the  official 
work  in  all  Grand  and  subordinate  chapters,  except  in  the  States  of  New  York 
and  Vermont. 

In  addition  to  the  opening,  closing,  and  initiation  ceremonies,  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  provides  a  funeral  ceremony,  and  ceremonies  for  installing 
officers  of  Grand  and  subordinate  chapters,  and  has  authorized  the  use  of  the 
Floral  Addenda,  which  was  written  by  Alonzo  J.  Burton  of  New  York,  and  by 
him  presented  to  the  Grand  Chapter  of  that  State,  which  adopted  and  pub- 
lished it.  J.  N.  Bunnell,  formerly  of  New  Jersey,  now  of  Illinois,  has 
re-arranged  this  work.  The  General  Grand  Chapter  has  also  recommended 
the  use  of  the  "  Chapter  of  Sorrow,"  written  by  Mrs.  Addie  C.  S.  Engle,  of 
Indiana. 

In  addition  to  these  ceremonies,  several  Grand  Chapters  have  set  forth 
forms  for  opening  and  closing  their  respective  bodies. 

The  Signet.  —  This  has  borne  an  important  part  in  the  workings  of  the 
Order,  although  none  has  ever  been  officially  adopted  or  pubhshed.     During 


g66  OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 

the  First  Era  the  one  used  was  quite  elaborate,  being  lithographed  in  six  colors, 
on  a  sheet  14  X  18  inches.  The  central  figure  was  the  five-pointed  Star, 
having  a  central  pentagonal  block,  on  which  were  represented  the  open  Bible, 
lily  of  the  valley,  sun,  lamb,  and  lion,  and  the  letters  FATAL.  The  points 
were  divided  lengthwise,  one-half  being  of  the  proper  color,  in  which  was 
printed  the  name  of  the  heroine,  while  on  the  other  half  was  the  five-pointed 
Star  and  the  emblems  respectively :  a  naked  svyord,  sheaf,  crown  and  sceptre, 
broken  column,  and  joined  hands.  Between  the  points  outside  this  star  were 
an  emblematic  apron,  a  glove,  a  belt,  a  five-pointed  star,  and  a  collar.  From 
point  to  point  were  stretched  wreaths  of  flowers,  each  having  a  different 
variety,  including  violets,  sunflowers,  lilies,  pine  cones,  and  roses.  Concerning 
this  portion,  the  poet  of  the  day,  probably  Brother  Morris,  sang :  — 

"  Gleaned  from  plain  and  hill  and  valley, 

Grouped  in  Mystic-tie, 
Maidens  read  we,  —  gladness,  sadness, — 

Ev'ry  tongue  have  I ;  — 
Violet, 

Sun-leaf, 
Lily  white. 

Pine  eternal,  —  Rose  delight. 
By  that  Form  of  innocence. 

By  that  Bud  of  peace, 
By  that  Word  unbroken,  spoken, 

By  that  Sun  of  Grace, 
Judah's  terror,  — 

Emblems  five,  — 
Read  we  Him,  and  reading,  live !  " 

The  border  surrounding  the  Star  was  very  elaborately  decorated  with  a 
large  variety  of  flowers.  Below  were  the  words,  in  inch-and-a-half  letters, 
"The  Eastern  Star,"  while  throughout  the  border  were  inserted  sentences  :  — 

We  have  seen  His  Star  in  the  East,  and  are  come  to  worship  Him ; 

The  Day  Star ; 

The  Bright  and  Morning  Star; 

The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah ; 

The  Prince  of  Peace ; 

The  Rose  of  Sharon,  and  the  Lily  of  the  Valley; 

The  Star  out  of  Jacob ; 

The  Sun  of  Righteousness ; 

The  Lamb  of  God ; 

The  Word. 

During  the  Second  Era  the  Signet  used  was  about  one -third  smaller,  and 
much  plainer,  having  no  floral  decorations  and  no  sentences.  The  emblems 
were  the  same,  with  the  addition  of  a  veil  in  the  first  point,  and  a  cup  in  the 
fifth  point. 

In  the  Third  Era  the  Signet,  which  the  writer  designed  and  copyrighted, 
is  24  X  33  inches,  lithographed  in  colors,  the  floral  emblems  are  in  clusters 


THE  EASTERN  STAR. 


m7 


between  the  points  ;  the  joined  hands  are  dropped  from  the  fifth  point,  while 
the  sentence,  "  We  have  seen  His  Star  in  the  East,  and  are  come  to  worship 
Him,"  is  the  only  one  retained  in  it. 

Biographical.  —  In  the  history  of  the  Order  the  First  Era  presents,  as  its 
leading  character,  the  Founder  and  Patriarch,  Robert  Morris,  widely  known  as 
a  Masonic  poet,  and  later  as  Poet  Laureate  of  Freemasonry.  He  was  born 
August  31,  1 818,  and  first  saw  Masonic  light  in  Oxford  (now  Gathright) 
Lodge,  No.  -^.T,,  in  Oxford,  Miss.,  March  5,  1846,  he  being  at  that  time  prin- 
cipal of  Mount  Sylvan  Academy.  Thenceforward  until  his  death,  July  31, 
1888,  he  was  a  seeker  for  further  light,  and  all  branches  of  Freemasonry  felt 
the  touch  of  his  master-hand.  He  will  live  longest  in  Ancient  Craft  Masonry 
as  the  author  of  "We  meet  upon  the  Level  and  we  part  upon  the  Square," 
while  his  labors  in  the  Eastern  Star  have  been  those  of  Architect  and  Master 
Builder.  In  the  earlier  days  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter,  Brother  Morris 
did  not  receive  the  courtesies  to  which  he  thought,  and  probably  justly,  he 
was  entitled  ;  but  the  General  Grand  Chapter  made  suitable  reparation,  in 
1880,  by  electing  him  an  honorary  member,  and  setting  apart  his  birthday  as 
the  Festal  Day  of  the  Order.  His  large  and  forgiving  nature  accepted  the 
fraternal  treatment,  in  the  kindly  spirit  in  which  it  was  extended,  and  in 
addressing  the  body  he  said  :  — 

"  When  I  was  informed  of  the  unexpected  honor  you  conferred  upon  me,  by  electing  me  an 
honorary  member  of  your  Body,  I  felt  very  much  complimented.  I  knew  how  such  a  motion 
was  rather  outside  the  law,  and  I  appreciate  the  delicateness  which  must  have  been  felt  about 
electing  a  non-affiliate  to  honorary  membership.  In  the  future  you  can  command  me  to  the 
extent  of  my  ability.  ...  If  any  Grand  Chapter  has  any  idea  of  withdrawing  from  your  Body,  as 
Grand  Commanderies  did  from  the  Grand  Encampment,  K.  T.,  I  would  say  to  them.  Don't  do 
it,  I  beg  of  you.  Wait  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  and  let  the  General  Grand  Chapter  have  a  chance 
to  demonstrate  the  good  that  I  am  sure  is  in  it,  and  which  will  result  in  such  a  grand  success  that 
the  Masonic  Fraternity  will  accept  it  as  a  helpmeet  for  it,  and  be  surprised  that  it  did  not  take  it 
up  sooner ;  for,  properly  worked  out,  it  will  form  a  grand  attachment  to  Freemasonry.  This  I  felt 
years  ago,  and  I  trust  that  the  day  will  come  when  every  lodge  will  have  in  connection  with  it  a 
chapter  of  this  Order." 

In  the  Second  Era,  the  most  prominent  character  was  Robert  Macoy,  of 
New  York,  whose  life  has  been  full  of  devoted  work  for  Freemasonry,  and 
who  did  successful  work  in  laying  the  foundations  for  the  Order's  present 
prosperity.     He  still  lives,  at  a  ripe  age. 

Although  the  Third  Era  has  abounded,  and  still  abounds,  with  men  and 
women  who  stood  or  stand  high  in  the  social,  moral,  and  intellectual  world, 
perhaps  no  one  is  more  worthy  of  mention  than  Thomas  M.  Lamb,  whose 
labors  in  connection  with  the  ritual,  as  promulgated  by  the  General  Grand 
Chapter,  have  left  their  impress  on  that  document,  and,  consequently,  upon 
the  work  of  the  Order  for  long  years  to  come.  He  was  born  in  Worcester, 
Mass.,  June  26,  1S30,  was  made  a  Mason  in  Morning  Star  Lodge,  of  Worcester, 
November   i,  1859,  and  was  Knighted  in  Worcester  County  Commandery, 


868 


OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 


April  21,  1865.  He  received  the  Eastern  Star  degrees  in  September,  1869, 
was  Patron  of  Stella  Chapter  from  1876  to  1880,  Grand  Secretary  of  the 
Grand  Chapter  of  Massachusetts  from  its  organization,  December  11,  1876, 
to  May  13,  1879,  Grand  Patron  of  Massachusetts  1879  ^'^^  1880,  Most 
Worthy  Grand  Patron  of  the  General  Grand  Chapter  1878  to  1880.  He 
died  in  Worcester,  December  29,  1881.  One  who  knew  him  well  has  said, 
and  the  writer,  from  intimate  intercourse  with  him,  can  heartily  endorse  it :  — 

"  He  was  one  of  the  few  men  who  never  assumed  a  false  position  for  gain,  nor  could  he  be 
persuaded  by  sophistry  or  logic,  or  compelled  by  any  human  authority  to  forget  or  surrender  the 
title  Nature  gave  him  to  the  highest  type  of  manhood." 


6^ 


L/(a^^C^^iT>\^ 


THE  ROSICRUCIAN  SOCIETY. 


THE  ROSICRUCIAN  SOCIETY. 


869 


By  Charles  T.  McClenachan,  j^-^, 
Historian,   Grand  Lodge,  State  of  New   York. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Origin  and  History  of  the  Rosicrucuns. 

Origin  and  History.  —  Like  many  secret  fraternities,  that  of  the  Rosi- 
crucians  had  a  mystic  beginning.  Its  connection  with  the  Institution  of 
Freemasonry  is  entertained  by  few;  nor  were  the  societies  known  as  the 
Rosy  Cross,  the  Royal  Order  of  Scotland,  and  the  Rose  Croix  of  common 
origin. 

There  are  two  prominent  derivations  of  the  word  Rosicrucian.  Peter 
Gassendi,  in  his  celebrated  work  "  Examinations,  Phil.  Fludd,"  and  Mosheim, 
in  his  "  Ecclesiastical  History,"  give  as  the  root,  the  words  Ros,  dew,  and  Crux, 
cross,  interpreting  them  thus  :  that  dew  in  its  purity  was  the  menstruiim  or 
solvent  of  gold,  and  that  Crux  was  philosophically  Light,  or  LVX,  which 
three  letters  exhibit  the  Cross.  A  more  natural  derivation  of  the  word 
Rosicrucian  is  from  Rosece  Crucis  referring  to  the  strong  religious  belief  of 
the  founder  of  the  society,  exemplified  by  the  Rose  on  the  Cross. 

Reference  to  the  society  does  not  appear  in  any  work  earlier  than  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  then  through  the  writings  of  a  scholar  by  the  name 
of  Raymond  LuUy,  a  metaphysical  chemist,  an  adept  of  German  hermeticism, 
who  died  13 15.  We  there  find  the  legend,  familiar  to  all  readers  on  this 
pleasing  subject,  said  to  have  been  written  by  a  theologian  of  Wurtemberg, 
John  Valentine  Andreas, -but  which  was  not  published  until  16 14. 

For  authority  of  the  formal  organization  of  the  Brotherhood,  we  must 
depend  upon  the  works  of  such  eminent  men  as  the  philosopher,  John  Picus 
di  Mirandola;  the  orientalist,  John  Reuchlin ;  the  distinguished  divine, 
Cornelius  Henry  Agrippa,  —  all  of  whom  wrote  between  the  years  1490  and 
1530.  Then,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  we  turn  to  the 
writings  of  those  chemists  and  philosophers,  Robert  Fludd  and  John  Baptist 
von  Helmont.  So  enticing  were  the  representations  of  what  had  been 
discovered  in  the  chemic  and  philosophic  world  that  excitement  among  the 
monks  and  scholars  was  illy  held  under  control. 


870 


OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 


The  history  and  legends  of  the  society  are  infatuating.  To  one  who  could 
bring  himself  to  believe  in  its  wonder  stories,  the  subject  would  be  all- 
absorbing.  That  its  seductive  doctrines  swept  over  portions  of  Europe,  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  is  not  surprising. 

The  subjects  for  research  and  discussion,  embraced  within  its  scope,  were 
numerous  and  diversified.  Among  them  were  :  the  ability  to  produce  silver, 
gold,  and  platinum  from  baser  metals ;  to  dissolve  gold  into  an  oleaginous  or 
liquid  substance  that  would  produce  a  never-failing  light ;  and  to  exercise 
other  similar  occult  powers  in  the  material  world.  These  were  the  physical 
objects  held  in  view.  The  higher  search  was  to  discover  that  which  would 
cure  the  ailments  of  the  body,  reUeve  its  pains,  renew  and  make  more 
enjoyable  the  powers  possessed  by  mankind ;  and  further,  the  attainment  of 
the  universal  medicine  known  as  the  Elixir  Vita,  or  potable  form  of  the 
preternatural  menstruum,  which  if  discovered  might  prolong  life  indefinitely. 

Within  the  boundary  of  the  abstruse  sciences,  common  to  the  Rosicrucians, 
were  hermeticism,  magnetism,  chemistry,  astrology,  astronomy,  and  philos- 
ophy :  to  which,  by  the  evil-minded,  was  added  magic,  or  the  "  Black  Art." 

By  the  powers  obtained  through  these  discoveries,  if  definitely  known  to 
man,  nature  would  be  placed  at  defiance  by  him,  or  rather,  should  it  not  be 
said,  it  would  be  so  assisted  as  to  approximate  perfection,  and  mortahty  would 
put  on  immortality.  Who  can  well  conceive  a  community  fully  believing  in 
the  power  of  avoiding  all  physical  pains  and  "  ills  that  life  is  heir  to,"  and  the 
penalties  of  nature,  and  of  an  indefinite  prolongation  of  life  ?  Granted  such  a 
power,  and  grasp,  if  possible,  the  consequences. 

Birth  of  the  Fraternity.  —  It  is  claimed,  with  much  reason,  that  the  four- 
teenth century  saw  the  birth  of  the  Fraternity.  As  writers,  scarcely  with 
exception,  quote  the  publication  of  a  legend  as  the  novel  commencement  to 
so  learned  a  society,  we  will  give  in  brief  the  legend  here,  taken  from 
"Aligemeitie  unci  General  Reformation  der  ganzen  taeiten  IVelt.  Beuchen  der 
Fama  Fraternitatis  des  Lobliclien  Ordens  des  Rosenkreiitzes  an  alle  gelehrte 
und  Haupters  Europ'd  geschrieben"  Cassel.  1614.  Several  editions  were 
published.  Finally  it  was  translated  into  English,  in  1652,  by  Thomas 
Vaughan,  a  scholar  of  Oxford,  under  the  name  "  Eugerius  Philalethes,"  who 
designated  his  work,  "  Fame  and  Confession  of  Rosie  Cross."  It  is  as 
follows  :  — 

A  young  student  of  remarkable  talents,  poor,  but  of  good  family,  entered  a  Monastery,  and 
making  unparalleled  progress  in  the  sciences,  accompanied  one  of  the  monks,  in  1388,  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land.  This  sjudent  was  Christian  Rosenkreuz.  Upon  arrival  at 
Damascus  the  monk  died.  Nevertheless,  the  young  nobleman  determined  to  pursue  his  studies. 
Remaining  at  Damascus  and  Jerusalem,  and  learning  the  sciences  of  the  Arabians,  he  visited 
Egypt,  and  there  devoted  himself  to  the  occult  studies  of  the  sages  of  that  land.  He  then 
journeyed  to  Fez,  in  Morocco,  and  after  several  years  crossed  over  to  Spain,  where  he  found  he 
was  not  favorably  received,  so  he  returned  to  his  native  town  in  Germany,  and  commenced  the 
construction  of  an  edifice  to  be  devoted  to  the  sciences,  and  to  be  designated,  "  Sancti  Spiriius." 

Father  Rosenkreuz  took  to  his  confidence,  and  for  instruction,  three  selected  monks.    To 


THE  ROSICRUCIAN  SOCIETY. 


871 


them  he  imparted  the  results  of  his  studies  and  researches  among  the  Arabs,  Egyptians,  and 
Moors ;  and  subsequently  added  four  more  to  their  number,  and  established  a  brotherhood  under 
certain  rules  and  requirements,  which  were  accompanied  by  solemn  oaths  of  secrecy.  The  first 
six  rules  embodied  these  essentials :  gratuitous  service  to  the  sick ;  to  adopt  no  peculiarity  of 
attire ;  that  each  member  should  present  himself  at  a  given  date  annually  at  the  House  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  that  each  should  select  his  successor ;  that  the  letters  R.  C.  should  be  their  pass-word  and 
seal ;  and  that  the  brotherhood  should  be  a  secret  for  one  hundred  years. 

The  eight  being  thoroughly  educated  in  Father  Rosenkreuz's  mystic  arts  and  occult  sciences, 
six  were  selected  to  travel  while  two  remained  at  the  home,  and  so  annually  was  a  selection  made, 
the  two  who  had  not  travelled  being  required  to  go  abroad. 

Rosenkreuz  died  when  106  years  old,  and  the  place  of  his  burial  was  kept  secret  by  the  Adepts. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  brotherhooa  were  about  to  move  to  another  habitation,  and  the  two 
brothers  who  had  known  and  buried  the  founder  of  the  order  had  carried  the  secret  of  the  burial 
to  their  grave.  It  was  a  tradition  among  them,  that  at  the  end  of  the  120  years  the  burial  place  of 
Father  Rosenkreuz  would  be  revealed,  and  it  so  happened,  that  about  that  period  the  brethren, 
who  then  composed  the  Order,  were  removing  the  memorial  tablet  on  which  had  been  inscribed 
the  names  of  the  original  eight  and  the  date  of  foundation,  when  the  lengthy  centre-pin  dragged 
some  of  the  plastering  from  the  wall  and  thereby  revealed  a  secret  door,  which,  when  opened, 
disclosed  a  heptagonal  room,  each  of  its  seven  sides  being  five  feet  wide,  and  eight  feet  high. 
This  room  was  lighted  by  an  artificial  sun  in  the  centre  of  the  ceiling.  In  the  middle  of  the  room 
was  a  circular  altar,  on  which  was  an  inscription  stating  that  it  was  constructed  by  Christian 
Rosenkreuz.  On  each  of  the  seven  sides  of  the  room  was  a  door  opening  into  a  closet;  these 
were  filled  with  MSS.  on  various  sciences,  and  innumerable  instruments,  utensils,  and  requirements 
for  chemical  and  other  uses,  and  many  simples  and  compounds,  with  directions  and  instructions. 
Under  the  altar,  and  a  brass-plate  beneath,  was  found  a  cavity,  in  which  reposed,  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation,  the  body  of  Brother  Rosenkreuz. 

An  examination  of  the  various  Latin  inscriptions  showed  the  Christian  tendency  of  the 
institution,  reciting  as  some  of  them  did,  "  Jesus  is  my  all,"  "  The  Yoke  of  the  Law,"  "  The  Liberty 
of  the  Gospel."  The  inscription  on  the  main  entrance  door  was,  "  Post  CXX.  Annas  Pateho" 
(after  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  I  will  appear). 

This  is  the  singular  myth  which  gave  rise  to  much  inquiry  and  controversy 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  claimed  that  the  history  and  legend  were 
written  by  John  Valentine  Andreas  of  Herrenberg.  In  161 6  appeared  a  work 
titled  "  Chemische  Hochzeit  Christian!  Rosenkreuz,"  which  is  also  attributed 
to  Andreas.  And  about  the  same  year  appeared  a  tract,  also  in  German, 
entitled  "Coiifessio,"  or  Confession  of  the  Society  and  Brotherhood  R.  C, 
which  purported  to  be  a  defence  of  the  society  from  the  calumnies  in  circu- 
lation. The  absurdities  and  fanaticism  apparent  in  these  works,  caused  some 
to  venture  the  opinion  that  they  were  intended  as  a  satire  on  the  philosophical 
follies  of  the  times,  and  without  intent  of  serious  acceptance. 

Before  closing  the  subject  of  mystical  legends  it  may  be  interesting  to  quote 
briefly  from  Dr.  Plot's  History  of  Staffordshire,  published  in  the  time  of 
Charles  II. :  — 

The  Staffordshire  Legend.  —  A  countryman  was  digging  a  trench  in  a  valley,  after  sunsec: 
the  pick  with  which  he  was  working  struck  a  spark  on  something  flinty,  which  he  found  to  be  a 
flat  stone  or  slab,  in  which  was  fixed  an  immense  iron  ring,  by  the  aid  of  which  and  a  rope,  he 
finally,  with  much  toil,  removed  from  its  bed,  disclosing  a  deep  hollow  buried  in  darkness.  Shortly, 
as  his  eyes  grew  more  accustomed  to  the  thick  darkness,  he  became  aware  of  a  stone  staircase 
leading  into  a  cavern  of  extraordinary  depth.  Being  a  rustic  of  courage  and  urged  by  a  hope  of 
hidden  treasure,  he  descended  some  hundred  feet  beneath  the  ground,  when  his  path  changed  at 
a  right  angle,  and  from  a  platform.     He  then  beheld  a  further  long  staircase,  which  apparently 


872 


OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 


ended  in  darkness.  In  silence  and  with  careful  tread  he  resolutely  continued  his  descent,  count- 
ing  two  hundred  and  twenty  steps,  and  gradually  became  aware  of  an  aromatic  smell  of  incense. 
In  making  his  further  descent  he  came  upon  an  opposing  wall,  but  turning  sharply  to  his  right, 
the  explorer  continued  on  and  down  until  he  perceived,  at  a  vast  distance,  a  steady  though  a  pale 
light;  this  was  shining  up  as  though  from  a  star  or  the  centre  of  the  earth.  Astounded  at  the  dis- 
covered light  in  the  deep  bowels  of  the  earth,  he  recovered  himself  and  still  descended.  He 
thought  he  now  heard  a  murmur  overhead  as  of  the  uncertain  rumble  of  horses  and  of  heavy 
wagons :  and  then  all  was  suddenly  still,  but  the  distant  light  was  yet  there.  No  sound  seemed  to 
interpret  the  meaning  of  that  light,  or  to  display  the  character  of  this  mysterious  place,  and  the 
imagination  was  allowed  full  play  as  to  whether  his  position  was  not  in  the  midst  of  some 
enchanted  world. 

Overcoming  his  fear  and  summoning  his  courage,  noisily  with  his  feet  he  descended  the 
remainder  of  the  stairs;  the  light  grew  brighter,  until  at  last,  at  another  turn,  he  came  upon  a 
square  chamber,  built  of  large  hewn  ancient  stones.  The  pavement  was  flagged,  the  roof  lofty, 
and  in  the  centre  of  the  groin,  was  a  rose  exquisitely  carved  in  some  dark  stone.  Making  another 
turn  from  under  the  large  archivolt  of  a  Gothic  stone  portal,  light  streamed  out  over  him  with 
inexpressible  brilliancy,  and  lighting  up  the  place  with  peculiar  radiance,  like  an  intense  golden 
sunset.  With  terror,  he  then  gazed  at  the  figure  of  a  man  whose  face  was  hidden,  as  he  sat  in  a 
studious  attitude  in  a  stone  chair  reading,  with  his  elbow  resting  on  a  table  like  a  rectangular  altar, 
in  the  light  of  a  large  ancient  iron  lamp,  suspended  by  a  thick  chain  to  the  middle  of  the  roof. 
His  excitement  overcame  him  and  the  rustic,  making  a  cry  of  alarm,  advanced  a  single  step.  As 
his  foot  fell  on  the  stone,  the  figure  started  bolt  upright  from  his  seated  position,  as  if  in  awful 
astonishment.  He  erected  his  hooded  head,  and  appeared,  in  anger,  about  to  question  the 
intruder.  The  countryman  advanced,  without  being  aware  of  his  act,  another  step.  The  hooded 
figure  thrust  forward  a  long  arm,  and  in  his  hand  was  an  iron  baton;  with  this,  apparently,  he 
forbade  approach  ;  but  the  poor  rustic,  unable  to  control  himself,  with  another  cry,  in  a  passion  of 
fear,  took  a  final  and  fatal  step,  when  in  a  moment  the  dreadful  image  raised  his  arm  and  baton 
high  in  air,  and  struck  with  a  prodigious  blow  the  burning  lamp,  shattering  it  to  atoms  and 
leaving  the  vault  in  utter  darkness. 

For  a  long  period  this  farm,  in  Staffordshire,  was  famed  as  the  sepulchre 
of  the  Rosicrucians,  and  the  legend  of  the  broken  lamp  was  often  told  as  the 
loss  of  one  of  the  ever  burning  lamps  that,  it  is  claimed,  have  existed  at  dif- 
ferent times  in  several  lands.  It  is  stated  that  one  of  these  was  found  at 
Edessa  over  a  gateway,  elaborately  inclosed,  and  which  had  burned  for  five 
hundred  years.  Another,  that  of  Constantius  Chlorus,  in  an  English  monas- 
tery, which  had  burned  for  three  hundred  years.  Another,  that  in  a  tomb  of 
a  Roman,  on  the  island  of  Nesis,  in  the  Bay  of  Naples,  which  Baptista  Porta 
relates  in  his  treatise  on  "  Natural  Magic,"  about  1550,  had  been  placed  there 
before  the  present  Era. 

In  these  instances  it  has  been  alleged  that  the  lamps  were  fed  by  an  essence, 
or  oil,  obtained  from  liquid  gold,  the  manufacture  of  which  was  proclaimed  to 
be  a  process  rediscovered  by  the  Rosicrucians. 

Mystic  Lore.  —  Interesting  fables  and  myths  founded  on  magic,  magnetism, 
sorcery,  and  the  "  Black  Art,"  have  been  numerous,  some  creditable  and 
others  not.  Most  of  these,  during  the  seventeenth  century  especially,  if  of 
evil  import,  were  attributed  to  the  Rosicrucians.  This  was  followed  by  loss 
of  respect  and  regard  for  their  philanthropy  and  charitable  doings,  and  a 
discredit  of  their  wealth  of  knowledge  which  they  possessed  in  chemistry, 
mineralogy,  and  astronomy.     It  is,  however,  well  known  in  the  present  day, 


THE  ROSICRUCIAN  SOCIETY.  8/3 

that  gold  is   readily  soluble    in   nitro-muriatic   acid,    and    that   potters   and 
manufacturers  apply  the  solution  for  staining,  gilding,  etc. 

We  add  the  names  of  a  few  works  of  reference  to  those  herein  above  quoted.  "  Apologia 
Compendiaria  Frateinitatis  de  Rosea  Cruce,"  by  Dr.  Robert  Fludd,  at  Leyden,  in  1616;  followed 
in  the  same  year,  by  "  Appendix  Necessaria";  also  at  the  same  time  "  Verae  Sapientias  Filiis"; 
"  Fama  Remissa,"  also  in  1616  ;  "Secretions  PhilosopliiEe  Consideratio,"  etc. ;  "  Cum  Confessione 
Fraternitatis,"  by  Phillip  A.  Gabella,  Cassel,  1615 ;  "  De  Quinta  Essentia  Philosophorum,"  by 
Dr.  Edmund  Dickinson,  Oxford,  1686;  "  Uber  Ursprung  und  Schicksale  des  Ordens  der  Rosen- 
kreuzer,"  Buhle,  Gott,  1803;  "  Instauratio  Magna,"  by  Lord  Bacon;  "Chemical  Nuptials";  and 
the  "  Way  to  Bliss,"  by  Ashmole. 

The  Modern  Society.  —  The  modern  and  present  existing  Society  of 
Rosicrucians  was  instituted  through  the  inception  and  influence  of  Robert 
Wentworth  Little,  of  England,  who,  in  his  searches  in  Germany,  came  upon 
the  remnants  and  outline  of  an  old  association,  which  he  resurrected  and 
rehabilitated  in  order  to  create  a  literary  organization,  retaining  the  forms, 
titles,  and  numbers  of  the  degrees,  so  far  as  might  be  subservient  to  his 
purposes,  which  were  defined  to  be  as  follows  :  to  create  "  a  base  for  the 
collection  and  deposit  of  archaeological  and  historical  subjects  pertaining  to 
Freemasonry,  secret  societies  in  general,  and  interesting  provincial  matter ;  to 
inspire  a  greater  disposition  to  obtain  historical  truth  and  to  displace  error ; 
to  bring  to  light  much  in  relation  to  a  certain  class  of  scientists  and  scholars, 
and  the  result  of  their  life  labors,  that  were  gradually  dying  away  in  the 
memories  of  men." 

The  title  of  a  supreme  organization,  in  a  nation,  is  that  of  High  Council ; 
the  subordinate  bodies  are  known  as  colleges. 

High  Councils  exist  in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  Greece,  Africa,  China, 
India,  Canada,  and  the  United  States.  The  officers  of  the  "  High  Council," 
or  governing  body,  include  a  Supreme  Magus  (or  Grand  Master),  a  Senior 
and  Junior  Substitute  Magi,  a  Secretary-General,  and  other  officers.  There 
are  six  colleges  in  the  United  States,  subordinate  to  the  Society,  the  presiding 
officer  of  each  being  termed  "Chief  Adept."  The  Rosicrucian  Society,  under 
modern  auspices,  and  working  nine  degrees,  was  formed  in  the  year  1867,  at 
London,  England. 


874 


OTHER  RITES  AND    ORDERS. 


MASONIC   DATES   AND   ABBREVIATIONS 

USED  IN  THIS  WORK. 


A  /.  A .'.  S  /.  R  .*.    Ancient  and  Accepted  Scot- 
tish Rite. 
A.  Dep.    An?to  Depositionis  ;  in  the  year  of  the 

aeposit ;  date  used  by  Royal  and  Select 

Masters. 
A.  F.  and  A.M.    Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 

Masons. 
A.  F.  M.    Ancient  Freemasons. 
A.  I.     Anno    Itiventionis ;    in  the   year  of  the 

discovery ;  date  of  Royal  Arch  Masonry. 
A.  L.    Anno  Lucis ;   in  the  year  of  light ;    the 

date  used  in  Ancient  Craft  Masonry. 
A.M.    Anno   Mundi,   or   in   the  year   of  the 

world ;  the  date  used  in  the  Ancient  and 

Accepted  Scottish  Rite. 
A.  O.    Anno    Ordinls,  or  in   the  year  of  the 

Order ;  date  used  by  Knights  Templars. 
A.Y.  M.    Ancient  York  Masons. 

C.  E.     Canada  East. 
C.W.    Canada  West. 

D.  D.  G.  M.    District  Deputy  Grand  Master. 

D.  G.  M.     Deputy  Grand  Master. 

E.  A.    Entered  Apprentice. 
E.  C.    English  Constitution. 

E.  G.  M.     Eminent  Grand  Master. 

E.  R.     English  Registry. 

F.A.A.  M.      Free,     Ancient     and     Accepted 
Masons. 

F.  and  A.  M.     Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 
F.  A.  T.  A.  L.    Cabalistic  motto,  O.  E.  S. 

F.  C.     Fellow  Craft. 

G .-.  A .-.  O .-.  T .-.  U .-.    Great  (or  Grand)  Archi- 
tect of  the  Universe. 

G.  C.  T.    Grand  Cross  of  the  Temple. 

G.  G.  C.    General    Grand    Council ;     General 

Grand  Chapter. 
G.  G.  H.  P.    General  Grand  High  Priest. 
G.  H.  P.     Grand  High  Priest. 
G  .•.  M  .*.    Grand  Master. 
G.  S.     Grand  Secretary. 
G.  T.     Grand  Treasurer. 
H.P.    High  Priest. 
I.R.     Irish  Registry. 
J.  G.  W.    Junior  Grand  Warden. 
J.  W.    Junior  Warden. 
K.    King. 
K. T.    Knights  Templars;  Knights  Templar. 


M.  E.     Most  Eminent ;  Most  Excellent. 

M.  E.  H.  P.     Most  Excellent  High  Priest. 

M.  M.    Master  Mason. 

M.  P.  G.  M.     Most  Puissant  Grand  Master. 

Mr-    Master. 

M .'.  W .-.    Most  Worshipful, 

M.R.    Manitoba  Registry. 

M.  W.  G.  M.    Most  Worshipful  Grand  Master. 

N.  S.  W.  C.     New  South  Wales  Constitution. 

O.C.     Old  Charges  of  British  Freemasons. 

O.  E.  S.    Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

P.  D.  D.  G.  M.     Past    District    Deputy    Grand 

Master. 
P.  D.  G.  M.     Past  Deputy  Grand  Master. 
P.  E.  C.     Past  Eminent  Commander. 
P.  G.  G.  H.  P.     Past  General  Grand  High  Priest. 
P.  G.  M.     Past  Grand  Master. 
P.  G.  P.     Past  Grand  Patron,  O.  E.  S. 
P.  M.     Past  Master. 
Pro  G.  M.    Acting  (for)  Grand  Master. 
Prov.  G.  M.    Provincial  (or  Provisional) ,  Grand 

Master. 
P.T.  I.  M.     Past  Thrice  Illustrious  Master. 
Q.  C.    Quatuor  Coronati. 
Q.  R.    Quebec  Registry. 
R.  A.  M.    Royal  Arch  Masons. 
R.  C.     Rosy  Cross ;  Registry  of  Canada. 
R.  E.     Registry  of  England ;  Right  Eminent. 
R.  I.    Registry  of  Ireland. 
R.  N.S.     Registry  of  Nova  Scotia. 
R.  and  S.  M.    Royal  and  Select  Masters. 
R.  O.  S.     Royal  Order  of  Scotland. 
R.  S.     Registry  of  Scotland. 
R.S.andS.  E.  M.     Royal,   Select,   and   Super- 

Excellent  Masters. 
R .-.  W .-.    Right  Worshipful. 
S.    Scribe. 

S.  C.    Scottish  Constitution. 
S.  G.  I.  G.    Sovereign  Grand  Inspector-General. 
S.  G.  W.    Senior  Grand  Warden. 
S.  W.    Senior  W'arden. 
T.'.Ill.-.    Thrice  Illustrious. 
U.  D.    Under  Dispensation. 
V.  W.    Very  Worshipful. 
W.    Worshipful. 
W.  M.    Worshipful  Master. 


DIVISION   XXI. 


STATISTICS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


GREAT    BRITAIN    AND    IRELAND. 
Contributed  by  Wm.  James  Hughan,  32°. 


The  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  first  of  its  kind,  was  inaugurated  in  171 7,  and  since 
December,  1813,  has  been  called  the  "United  Grand  Lodge  of  England,"  the  rival  Grand 
Lodge  ("Athol"  Masons  or  "Ancients,"  started  in  1 751),  having  then  united  with  its 
senior  ("  Moderns,"  or  regular  Masons).  At  the  end  of  1814  there  were  648  lodges  on  its 
roll,  but  down  to  1 841  the  fluctuation  was  considerable  from  year  to  year,  for  that  period. 
The  minimum  reached  was  in  1832,  when  the  number  was  so  low  as  591,  the  maximum  being 
736  in  1825,  The  renumerations  took  place  in  1832  and  1863,  the  latter  being  continuous 
to  now. 

The  variation  from  year  to  year  of  the  original,  and  the  schismatic  Grand  Lodges  to  181 3, 
and  from  that  year  to  1888,  are  all  given  in  Brother  John  Lane's  "  Handy-Book  to  the  Lists 
of  Lodges,"  1  but  the  elaborate  tables  are  too  numerous  for  use  in  the  present  sketch.  A  net 
total  of  1004  was  reached  in  1861,  and  2006  in  1886,  notwithstanding  the  large  reductions 
in  the  roll  from  time  to  time,  owing  to  the  formation  of  new  Grand  Lodges,  particularly  from 
1857,  when  41  were  removed  from  the  English  jurisdiction  for  "  Canada  West";  in  1862 
for  Canada  East,  and  West,  and  Nova  Scotia,  36;  22  for  Nova  Scotia,  and  20  for  New  Bruns- 
wick in  1S69;  ^ri"^)  ill  more  recent  times,  still  larger  reductions  for  South  Australia,  New  South 
Wales,  Victoria,  etc.  The  number  of  lodges,  however,  for  London  and  the  Provinces  of 
England  have  so  increased  that  they  have  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  losses  from  1864, 
save  during  the  year  1889,  when  the  net  total  of  1961  shows  a  decrease  of  61  from  the  previ- 
ous return.  The  register  in  1888  exhibited  2022  active  lodges,  being  the  next  to  the  largest 
number  so  far  reached  in  any  year. 

These  particulars  are  not  derived  from  the  official  calendars,  useful  as  they  are,  —  made 
up  for  issue  in  November,  —  but  from  the  registers. 

According  to  Brother  John  Lane,  and  verified  by  myself,  the  highest  number  reached  by 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  England  was  in  1887,  viz.  :  2050,  and  from  1717  the  enormous  number 
of  3983  lodges  have  been  authorized  or  chartered  by  \\\e.  fotir  Grand  Lodges  of  England,  or 
the  United  Grand  Lodge,  down  to  the  end  of  1891.  London  begins  1892  with  387,  the 
Provinces  (counties,  etc.),  1182,  and  Abroad  445  inclusive  of  the  Channel  Isles  (12),  and 
Military  (3).     Grand  total,  2014. 

1  Torquay  (John  Lane),  or  London  {George  Kenning). 


%j6 


S  TA  TIS  TICS   OF  FREEMA  S  ONR  Y. 


The  largest  "Province,"  in  England,  is  ^'■Western  Division  of  Lancashire,"  with  105 
lodges;  the  Eastern  Division  being  nearly  as  many,  viz. :  103  ;  the  total  for  that  county, 
December  31,  1891,  being  208.  The  largest  "  district  "  (abroad)  is  Queensland,  with  40 
lodges,  Bengal  coming  next  with  37  lodges,  the  districts,  generally,  since  the  formation  of  so 
many  Colonial  Grand  Lodges  being  much  smaller  than  formerly. 

The  exact  number  of  active  chapters  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree  on  the  roll  of  the 
"Supreme  Grand  Chapter"  of  England  on  December  31,  1891,  is  744,  of  which  153  are  in 
London  (Metropolitan  District),  475  in  the  provinces,  and  116  abroad,  all  of  which,  by  the 
laws  of  the  governing  body,  are  attached  to  lodges.  The  numbers  of  the  chapters  are  the  same 
as  those  distinguishing  their  Masonic  protectors,  hence  are  not  indicative  of  ttie  antiquity 
of  the  chapters  themselves,  some  old  lodges  having  very  modern  chapters,  and  vice  versa. 
There  have  been  many  deductions  of  late,  through  the  formation  of  the  new  Grand  Chapters, 
but  even  with  all  these  drawbacks  the  Grand  Chapter  of  England  was  never  so  prosperous 
and  the  degree  never  better  supported  than  at  the  present  time. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland,  started  in  1736  by  the  cooperation  of  very  many 
old  lodges,  is  now  especially  vigorous,  and  has  been  so  since  the  advent  of  Brother  D.  Murray 
Lyon,  the  Grand  Secretary,  who  is  also  the  Scottish  Masonic  historian.  There  are  four  parts 
or  transactions  of  the  Grand  Lodge  published  in  each  year,  but  it  is  simply  impracticable  to 
tabulate  the  particulars,  according  to  the  excellent  system  that  prevails  in  the  United  States, 
either  statistically  or  generally.  "Annual "  dues  from  brethren  may  or  may  not  be  paid,  as 
the  by-laws  of  the  lodges  require,  so  there  are  no  annual  returns  of  members  made  as  in 
England  and  in  most  Grand  Lodges,  it  being  simply  impossible  to  calculate  exactly  what  the 
precise  active  membership  of  that  body  is  ;  and,  as  the  proxy  voting  prevails  under  most 
stringent  regulations,  the  officials  do  not  apparently  see  the  need  of  making  any  changes. 

My  analysis  of  the  reports  enables  me  to  present  the  following  statistics  y^r /(?9/ .•  Lodges 
in  Edinburgh,  Leith,  etc.  (Metropolitan  District),  29  ;  in  the  Provinces,  365  ;  and  Abroad, 
156  ;  grand  total,  550.  Of  these,  43  are  not  represented  by  proxies,  but  have  the  necessary 
"  annual  certificates  "  of  regularity,  and  46  are  more  or  less  in  arrears.  About  400  regularly 
appoint  proxies.  Fifty-five  lodges  were  removed  from  the  roll,  in  1889,  by  the  formation  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  South  Wales,  and  12,  in  lilce  manner,  in  consequence  of  the  inau- 
guration of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Victoria.  The  Grand  Master  has  appointed  Captain  Henry 
]\Iorland  as  "  Grand  l^Iaster  oi  zS\.  Scottish  Freemasonry  in  India,"  consisting  of  37  lodges, — 
a  title  that  is  unique,  and  is  scarcely  subordinate  in  character.  In  New  Zealand  there  are 
now  only  34  lodges,  under  this  jurisdiction,  grouped  in  three  provinces.  Under  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  England  for  the  same  country,  however,  there  are  still  87  lodges  and  five 
Districts,  notwithstanding  a  minority  Grand  Lodge  was  recently  started.  In  Queensland, 
Scotland  has  17  lodges,  England  40,  and  Ireland  17:  total,  74.  This  will  serve  to  indicate 
the  happy  union  subsisting  between  these  three  bodies  working  together  in  British  Colonies 
and  Possessions.  The  Grand  Chapter  of  Royal  Arch  Masons  is  independent  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  and  has  some  175  chapters  on  its  roll,  the  numbers  remaining  pretty  much  at  a  stand- 
still of  recent  years.  The  Mark  is  a  sine  qua  non  for  exaltation,  as  in  Ireland  and  America, 
but  the  Grand  Lodge  also  recognizes  and  works  the  Mark  Ceremony. 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland  started  in  1729,  but  there  was  a  previous  grand  body 
for  North  Munster.  For  1892,  there  are  366  active  lodges  on  the  register.  These  are  dis- 
tributed as  follows :  Dublin,  y];  Provinces,  2Z();  Colonies,  etc.,  ^S'y  and  Military,  5 :  grand 
total,  366.  "  Provinces  "  are  constituted  for  New  Zealand  and  Queensland;  those  for  Ceylon, 
Tasmania,  and  Victoria  being  now  omitted.  It  must  be  remembered  that  though  no  Grand 
Lodge  is  more  efficiently  controlled  than  that  of  Ireland,  owing  to  the  large  number  of  its 
inhabitants  being  Roman  Catholics,  it  does  not  progress  at  the  same  rate  as  its  neighbors. 
No.  159,  Canada,  started  in  1844,  has  only  quite  recently  elected  to  join  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Canada,  and  is  the  last  to  join  that  flourishing  organization  from  the  old  country. 


GRAND  LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


877 


The  Grand  Chapter  has  143  subordinates  under  its  charge,  and  is  recognized  by  the 
Grand  Lodge,  as  are  also  the  Knights  Templars  and  the  degrees  of  the  "  Ancient  and  Accepted 
Rite."  These  are  the  only  Masonic  degrees  allowed  to  be  worked  in  Ireland,  and  they 
mutually  recognize  and  support  each  other,  the  numbers  distinguishing  the  chapters  and 
preceptories  being  those  of  the  lodges  under  whose  wings  they  work. 

The  number  of  members,  owing  to  brethren  being  allowed  to  join  one  or  more  lodges, 
cannot  be  precisely  estimated  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  do 
so.  According  to  the  Grand  Secretary's  estimate  (Brother  D.  M.  Lyon),  there  are  1 10,000 
members  on  the  Scottish  roll.  At  this  rate  and  method  of  computation,  the  total  member- 
ship under  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  would  run  up  to  400,000;  but  it 
is  not  likely  that  there  are  more  than  one-half  that  number  who  are  rezWy  dona /ide  subscrib- 
ing and  active  members,  the  probability  being  that  even  the  approximate  estimate  of  200,000 
is  too  large.  The  year,  1890,  as  respects  the  three  Grand  Lodges,  has  witnessed  considerable  reduc- 
trons  m  the  Ko/Is  of  Lodges  of  these  Grand  Lodges,  consequent  on  the  formation  of  more 
new  Grand  Lodges :  Tasmania,  etc. 


cr:^ 


>t- 


UNITED   STATES   AND   OTHER  JURISDICTIONS. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY,  F.  axd  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  M  .-.  W.-.  Henry  R.  Cannon,  Past  Grand  Master. 


Year. 


^^ 


0--  n 
a. 


'Oh   a 

>  c  ►"  "  " 


n  o 


Notes. 


1770 

1780 

i79ot 

iSoo 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1840 

1850 

i860 

1S70 

1880 


4* 

8 
16 
16 
37 
43 

9 
12 

51 

97 
149 
164 
164 


3 

6 

21 

I 

I 
I 


2 
I 

8 
13 
14 
34 
43 

9 
12 

51 

96 

148 

162 

162 


2,723 

8,343 
11,467 

13,392 
13,610 


1,669 


^364-53 
1,044.57 

2,191-73 
12,477.60 
1 1,905. 81 
11,952.29 


t  Grand  Lodge  organized  Jan.  30,  1787. 


*  Lodges  constituted  before  the 
Grand  Lodge  was  organized 
in  1787:  St.  John's,  No.  i,  at 
Newark,  warranted  May  13, 
1761,  extinct  Jan.,  1772; 
Temple,  No.  i,  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  war.  Jan.  24,  1762,  ext. 
not  known;  St.  John's,  at 
Princeton,  war.  Dec.  27,  1763, 
ext.  not  known;  Lodge  No. 
10,  at  Baskingridge,  war. 
1767,  ext.  Jan.,  1787;  Lodge 
No.  23,  at  ^liddletown,  war. 
Dec.  29,1779,  ext.  not  known ; 
Army  Lodge,  No.  31,  war. 
1781,  ext.  not  known:  Lodge 
No.  32,  at  Burlington,  war. 
March  30,  1781,  ext.  Dec. 
1786;  Army  Lodge,  No.  36, 
war.  Sep.  2,  1782,  ext.  Dec., 
1784. 


X  In  1795  ^114,  IS.  -id. 


878 


STATISTICS    OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  NEW  YORK,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W  /.  Edward  M.  L.  Ehlers,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 

•6 

WIO 

-0  >- 
0  c 

c 

"So       '' 

Total 
Membership. 

p. 

0) 

^« 

Died  during 
past  10  years. 

Value  of 
Grand  Lodge 
Investments 
and  Funds 
on  hand. 

Notes. 

1781* 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1840 

1850 

i860 

1870 

1880 

91 
172 

295 
82 

79 
172 

432 
649 

715 
718 

91      • 
172     . 

295      • 
82     . 

79    • 
172    . 
432     2 
649     I 

715 
718 

•     5>ooo 

.       8,600 
.     15,000 
■       3.000 
.       5,000 
.     12,000 

6    30,265 
0    75,262 
2    70.332 
2    74.065 

55 
50 
51 
37 
63 
69 
70 

ii6 
98 

103 

5.334 
7.935 
8,602 

\ 

*  Organized  this  year,  but  statis- 
tics up  to  1800  are  necessarily 
omitted. 

t  Property  comer  Twenty-third 
Street     and     Sixth   Avenue, 
New  York,  known  as  Masonic 
Hall,  valued  at.  . .  $1,750,000 
170  acres  of  land  in 
Utica,  N.Y.,  for 
Masonic  Home..         75,000 
Cash  in  Trust  Go's.      140,000 
Cash  in  Bank 10,000 

1889 

78 

Total  (1889) $1,975,000 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   CONNECTICUT,   A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .*.  W  .•.  Joseph  K.  Wheeler,  Grand  Secretary. 


1789 

12 

12* 

t 

1790 

12 

12 

...      1    . 

1800 

44 

44 

+ 

i8io 

50 

50 

1820 

59 

59§ 

1830 

75 

7S§ 

1840 

30 

II 

1S50 

30 

27 

1S60 

64 

60 

7 

5,858 

91 

461 

$629 

.00 

1870 

100 

100 

6 

13,072      I 

31 

1,230 

«59 

•44 

1880 

112 

112 

14,660      I 

31 

1.523 

4,140 

.20 

1889 

110 

no 

14,731      I 

34 

1,800 

14,636 

■.36 

1890 

III 

in 

15.4: 

54      I 

39 

I 

«7ll 

11,885 

•9  III 

*  5  lodges  took  no  part  in 
organizing. 

t  Blanks  indicate  no  record. 

X  No  lodges  organized  U.  D. 
until  after  Anti-Masonic  time. 

§  Lodges  to  this  time  assumed 
to  be  working,  but  no  report 
of  work. 
I  One  year. 

IT  Includes  Masonic  Charity 
Fund.  Decrease  due  to  Cen- 
tennial celebration. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  VERMONT,   F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  W  .•.  Warren  G.  Reynolds,  Grand  Secretary. 


1794 

6 

6    . 

■  1     •  ■  • 

1800 

10 

9    • 

iSio 

29 

28    . 

1820 

52 

52    • 

1830 

73 

73    • 

1840* 

1850 

17 

17    • 

464 

27 

i860 

53 

53    • 

■     2,683 

51 

1870 

91 

91    . 

•     7.747 

8S 

707 

1880 

lOI 

99    • 

.     8,006 

81 

79S 

1889 

103 

100    . 

.}    8,524 

«5 

I, 

014 

^332.52 
332-52 
369.84 

't' 
1,344.21 

4,049.00 

1,141.49 
4,404.99 


*  Did  not  work   from   1834  to 

1S46. 
t  Cannot  be  stated. 


GRAND   LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


879 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND    LODGE   OF   MAINE,   F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  M  .-.  W.*.  Josiah  H.  Drummond,  Past  Grand  Master. 


Year. 


HS 


3"=  \^  « 


Notes. 


1770 
1780 
1790 
1800 
1810 
l820t 

1 830  J 

1840 

1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 


I^ 

2 
2 

5 
20 

31 
58 
58 
60 
96 
151 
183 

193 
194 


5 
20 

31 

58 
58 
60 

98 
154 
182 


i9in 


23 
73 


i.45o§ 
4,319 
14,726 

19.303 

20,340 

20,675 


1,408 
2,066 

o**  ' 

2,289  \ 


2,607 


*  For  many  years  the   returns 
were  not  published,  and  the 
originals  have  been  lost. 
t  Grand   Lodge  of  Maine.  — 
Maine  being  a  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts till   1820,  the  lodges 
in  Maine  up  to  that  date  were 
chartered  by  the  Grand  Lodge 
of    that    State.      On    March 
20,  1762,  a  charter  (called  a 
"Constitution")  was  granted, 
under    the    authority   of   St, 
John's  Grand  Lodge  at  Bos- 
ton, for  a  lodge  at  Falmouth, 
now    Portland  ;     it    was    not 
organized  :     on     March    30, 
1769,     a     new     charter    was 
granted,  and  the   first   lodge 
ever    opened    in   Maine   was 
held    ftlay   8,    1769  :    it    still 
exists    as    Portland,    No.    i. 
The  second  lodge,  Warren,  at 
Machias,  was  chartered  September  10,  1778,  by  Massachusetts  Grand  Lodge.     The  third  lodge,  Lincoln, 
at  Wiscasset,  was  chartered  June  i,  1792,  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachu.-;etts.     When  Maine  became  a 
State,  there  were  thirty-one  lodges,  all  active,  to  which  two  were  added  in  1820,  by  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine. 
\  No  new  lodges  were  chartered  from  1829  to  1847  inclusive.     During  the  Anti-Masonic  excitement  many 
of  the  lodges  ceased  working,  and  a  few  surrendered  their  charters  temporarily;    the  plan  adopted  was  to 
cease  work,  but  hold  the  charters,  etc.,  and  be  ready  to  resume  work  when  the   storm  had  passed  over. 
Accordingly  lodges  commenced  work  years  after  their  next  previous  meeting  precisely  as  if  there  had  been 
no  interruption. 
§  In  40  lodges.  ;|  Not  given.  IT  Charity  Fund.  **  Nine  years.  ft  General  Fund. 

J|One  of  the  missing  charters  was  revoked  for  violation  of  Masonic  law:  the  event  proved  that  the  other  four 
were  not  needed:  two  of  the  lodges  consolidated  with  others  (one  of  the  two  surrendering  the  charter 
formally),  and  the  other  two  surrendered  their  charters  from  inability  to  maintain  the  lodge.  The  191 
lodges  made  returns  and  paid  dues  in  1890,  and  179  of  them  had  done  work  during  the  year.  No  old 
numbers  have  been  given  to  new  lodges:  but  in  every  case  in  which  a  charter  has  been  surrendered  and  a 
lodge  organized  in  the  same  place,  the  old  charter  has  been  restored  to  the  old  lodge. 


44 

96 

106 

108 

108 


$5,100.00 
4,500.00 
4, 1 50.00 

i5,6oo.ooT[ 
18,800.00^ 
23,30o.oo1[ 

6,989-33tt 
33,074.46 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE  OF   RHODE   ISLAND,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Edwin  Baker,  Grand  Secretary. 


I79I 

2* 

2 

23s 

1800 

.S 

.S 

814 

163 

I8I0 

13 

13 

3 

1.445 

144 

1820 

IS 

14 

2,152 

143 

1830 

19 

18 

2,866 

ISO 

1840 

19 

18 

95ot 

79 

1850 

19 

4 

IS 

1,150 

9S 

i860 

20 

4 

16 

i.5i7§ 

92 

1870 

28 

2 

26 

3.335 

128 

312 

1880 

37 

2 

35 

4.039 

114 

443 

1889 

37 

2 

3S 

3.917 

no 

493 

1890 

37 

2 

35 

4,062 

114 

557t 

^lOO.OOf 

150.00 

314-58 
19.84 
18.84 
69.86 

13-9711 
558.01 
1,392.48 

3,477-85 
3,212.93 


*  Under  lodges  enrolled  I  give 
the  gross  number  of  charters 
issued. 

t  Where  there  are  no  data  I 
have  made  careful  estimates. 

X  There  are  no  means  by  which 
we  can  account  for  loss  of 
membership  from  1830  to 
i860:  it  must  have  occurred 
during  the  Anti-Masonic 
times.  Very  meagre  returns 
were  made  for  30  years. 

§  These  figures  include  al' 
Masons. 

II  This  sum  was  due  the  Grand 
Treasurer. 

IT  The  deaths  in  1890  were  64. 


88o 


STATISTICS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   IDAHO,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W.-.  James  H.  Wickersham,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


H«5 


V  -a 


.5.t  =  c  c 


Notes. 


1867 
1870 
1880 
1889 


10 
19 


5 

8 

10 

19 


200 

288 

384 
748 


40 

38 
39 


36 
70 


^14,303.101 


'  We  have  a  Grand  Lodge 
Orphan  and  Indigent  Fund, 
which  is  irreducible:  it  is  de- 
rived from  a  per  capita  tax 
of  $1.00  for  each  Master 
Mason  borne  upon  our  rolls 
in  this  jurisdiction.  The 
amount  on  hand  September 
16,  1889,  $14,303.10.  It  is  invested  in  State  and  Court-House  bonds,  the  interest  of  which  is  paid  semi- 
annually. It  is  to  be  applied  to  the  support  and  education  of  the  orphans  of  deceased  brothers,  or  the 
children  of  deceased  Masons,  or  for  the  support  and  clothing  of  poor  and  indigent  Masons  whom  this  Grand 
Lodge  may  deem  worthy  of  such  Masonic  assistance.  It  cannot  be  used  or  diverted  from  the  purposes  or 
objects  herein  stated,  but  shall  be  kept  sacred  and  inviolate  for  such  relief  alone.  It  is  under  the  control 
of  three  Past  Grand  Masters.  They  are  designated  as  "  Trustees  of  the  Grand  Lodge  Orphan  Fund,"  and 
are  elected  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  of  each  and  every  session  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  Applications  for 
the  funds  are  made  by  each  lodge  under  seal  to  the  Trustees.  Evidence  is  then  duly  taken  before  them  and 
filed  in  their  office—  if  the  necessity  exists,  an  order  is  directed  to  issue  upon  the  Grand  Secretary'  for  the 
amaunt,  and  the  draft  is  drawn  upon  the  Grand  Treasurer,  who  honors  the  same,  and  report  is  duly  made  to 
our  Grand  Lodge  at  each  session  thereof.  It  is  increasing  very  fast,  principal  and  interest  being  constantly 
invested  in  the  "  most  approved  and  gilt-edge  securities"  in  the  State. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  OHIO,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  J.  H.  Bromwell,  Grand  Secretary. 


1808 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 
i860 
1870 


5 

5 

7 

7 

S7 

19 

3« 

94 

10 

84 

7 

104 

40 

64 

9 

197 

31 

1 66 

5 

332 

37 

295 

420 

4b 

3«4 

IS 

S17 

S9 

45« 

552 

64 

488 

2 

6,148 
13.961 

24,087 

28,387 
34.184 


37 

295 

47 

1,089 

63 

2,473 

62 

3.157 

70 

3.987 

^2,235.65 

2,302.02 
2,000.63 

4,403.65 

11,800.96 

2,225.31 

16,784.46 


*  The     blanks     indicate 
record." 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE  OF  CALIFORNIA,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W  .-.  Alexander  Gurdon  Abell,  Grand  Secretary'.* 


iSsot 

3 

I 

i8i;o 

II 

II 

0 

i860 

142 

S 

128 

3 

1870 

209 

26 

175 

2 

1880 

261 

34 

213 

0 

1889 

297 

39t 

236 

0 

258 

23 

5.055 

39 

9.528 

54 

12,313 

58 

15,407 

65 

299 
928 

1.443 
1.974 


;$7o6.2i 

2,272.67 

10,911.12 

36,912.04 

69.735-08 


Lodges  extinct 
by  consolida- 
tion with 
others. 


Lodges  which 
have  become 

subordinate 
to  another 

jurisdiction. 


10 


13 


*  These  figures  are  up  to  the  annual  communications  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in  each  year. 

t  At  organization  of  Grand  Lodge,  .^pril  19,  1850. 

t  39  lodges  extinct,  of  which  33  surrendered  their  charters  and  6  had  them  revoked:  2  lodges  are  now  under 
Grand  Lodge  of  Oregon;  8  lodges  are  now  under  Grand  Lodge  of  Nevada;  3  lodges  are  now  under  Grand 
Lodge  of  Arizona;  9  lodges  have  consolidated  with  another  —  61  out  of  297  off  our  register,  leaving  236. 


GRAND  LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


88 1 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE  OF  NEVADA,  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Chauncey  N.  Noteware,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


•d 

ti 

U)'o 

6J0.S 

V.,2. 

o  c 

O    X 

hJW 

hJW 

i86s 

8 

8 

1870 

14 

14 

1S80 

20 

I 

20 

1889 

19 

5 

19 

2  c 

o  *; 


410 

977 
1,426 
1,024 


51 

(39 

71 

54 


■a  ^ 

Q  k 


173 
125 


u 


Mf 


"  ^  -,  c  c 
I  rt  o 


Notes. 


^,077.95 

2,708.06 

760.60 


*  Our  Grand  Lodge  has  no  in- 
vestments of  any  kind,  hence 
its  only  revenue  is  derived 
from  dues  of  subordinate 
lodges. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE   OF  ALABAMA,  A.  F.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W  .-.  Myles  J.  Greene,  M.D.,  Grand  Secretary. 


I82I* 

14 

0 

14 

2 

*  Date   of  organization.      Re- 

i83ot 
1840! 

15 

38 

I 
18 

15 

38 

I 
6 

332 
844 

22 
22 

^1,590.50 

port  meagre, 
t  Report  not  full. 

1850 

133 

II 

133 

28 

3-857 

29 

347 

2,018.23 

i860 

250 

44 

250 

17 

8,454 

34 

684 

8,413-57 

1870 

264 

69 

264 

4 

10,905 

45 

1,488 

3,201.77 

1880 

2S2 

I2S 

282 

6 

7.477 

28 

1,648 

8,275.60 

1889 

285 

193 

285 

18 

8,501 

29 

1,386 

20,874.42 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   MICHIGAN,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  William  P.  Innes,  Grand  Secretary. 


T826 

4 

*  Estimated.     Grand  Lodge  re- 

I84I 

i844t 

3 

4 

3 

5 

50* 

17 

organized  January  24,  1841. 

I 

t  Reorganized  first  Wednesday 
in  June,  1844. 

1850 

22 

8 

27 

13 

1,480 

55 

84 

i860 

89 

9 

117 

4 

5,816 

49 

228 

1870 

157 

3 

271 

20,346 

75 

1,115 

1880 

71 

3 

.341 

25,827 

75 

2,223 

1890 

43 

21 

Z^Z 

I 

30,685 

84 

3.049 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND    LODGE   OF   WISCONSIN,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-.J.  W.  Laflin,  Grand  Secretary. 


1850 

27 

29 

2 

* 

i860 

III 

II 

122 

II 

3,666 

5ot 

1870 

170 

16 

174 

4 

8,944 

73t 

1880 

188 

16 

190 

2 

",433 

ii3t 

1889 

213 

29 

213 

13.387 

i5ot 

*  Returns  are  meagre. 

t  In  the  years  i860,  1870,  1880, 


882 


STATISTICS  OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE  OF  TENNESSEE,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  John  Frizzell,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


His 


'^  In 
P   Q. 


V 


Ml  « 

■a  c  "1 
>0^  rt  o 


Notes. 


1840" 
1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 
1890 


45 
123 
216 

410 
405 


i,8oot 

5.050 
11,000 

18,936 
16,170 

16,155 


J  *  The  Grand  Lodge  was  organ- 

ized Dec.  27,  1813,  in  pursu- 
ance of  a  charter  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  North  Caro- 
lina, dated  Sep.  30,  1813, 
relinquishing  all  authority 
over  the  several  lodges  in 
this    State,    and     giving     its 

assent   to   the   erection   of   a 

Grand  Lodge  in  Tennessee. 

t  Our  statistics  go  no  further  back,  and  much  that  is  given,  prior  to  1870,  is  approximate. 

X  There  are  no  investments,  and  the  Grand  Lodge  avoids  accumulating  a  surplus. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   ILLINOIS,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .•.  W .-.  L.  L.  Munn,  Grand  Secretary. 


1840" 
1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 


6 

157 

68 

1.797 

320 

12,052 

606 

33.996 

691 

36,374 

4,102 

681 

41.479 

4.551 

$1,058.65 
8,756.80 
6,471.95 

26,529.38 

49,266.54 


*  Blanks  indicate  the  silence  of 

the  records. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GR.\ND   LODGE   OF   INDIANA,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  William  H.  Smythe,  Grand  Secretary. 


*  Cannot  get  the  figures. 
t  Estimated. 


1820 

13  • 

329 

25 

1830* 

1840 

20  . 

•   589 

29 

i8so 

112  . 

•  3.151 

28 

i860 

263  . 

•  9.727 

36 

1870 

421  . 

•  22,333 

53 

1,909 

1880 

513  • 

.  24,066 

46 

3.005 

.  t 

1889 

5« 

2 

I 

2 

470  • 

1    23,890 

51 

2,941 

;^2oo,o 

00.00 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   MINNESOTA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Thomas  Montgomery,  Grand  Secretary. 


i8s3 

3 

lOO* 

33 

i860 

35 

3 

32 

1,600 

50 

60 

1870 

83 

7 

76 

4,560 

60 

250 

1880 

141 

10 

131 

8,647 

66 

481 

1890 

188 

14 

174 

11,441 

66 

867 

$620.00 

5,ooo.oot 

5,610.00 

13,320.00+ 


*  Membership     estimated     for 

1853,  i860,  and  1870. 
t  Includes  $2000  in  Reprint  of 

Proceedings. 
X  Includes   .$10,000  in   Widow 

and  Orphan  Fund. 


GRAND  LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


883 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE  OF   LOUISIANA,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W  .*.  Richard  Lambert,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


Q 

bi) 

C3 

Qj.S 

60 

^^ 

hJW 

1-1 

_J3 

s  s 


Mii 


13    c 


^      S  §-a 

H"?  "fan    « 

—  re   >-o'^ 

>6^S  s  o 


Notes. 


1812* 

i86ot 
1870 
1S80 
1S90 


5 
165 
200 
227 
229 


0 

5 

54J 

in 

2 

13 

137 

4 

13 

147 

30§ 

lOQ 

6 

4,661 

7.I3I 

5.'^7 
4.259 


41 
51 

35 

27 


1,621 

1.457 
992 


*  I  have  no  means  of  filling 
the  remaining  blanks  in  this 
line. 

t  Eight  years,  1852  to  1859.  An- 
terior to  the  formation  of  the 
Grand  Lodge,  and  from  that 
time  down  to  the  adoption  of 

, the  constitution  of  1850,  each 

lodge  published  an  annual 
"tableau"  sending  a  copy  to  the  Grand  Lodge  and  also  to  the  other  lodges  in  the  jurisdiction.  These 
"tableaux"  gave  the  name  and  number  of  the  lodge,  the  date  of  its  charter  and  by  whom  granted,  and 
contained  the  names  of  the  officers  and  members,  with  the  age,  place  of  birth.  Masonic  grades  chronologically 
arranged,  and  occupation  of  each.  This  practice  has  become  obsolete,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  these 
"  tableaux  "  were  not  more  carefully  preserved,  as  they  contain  much  valuable  information. 
\  From  organization. §  Several  lodges  consolidated. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   NEBRASKA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  William  R.  Bowen,  Grand  Secretary. 


1857 

3 

3 

97 

32 

i860 

6 

6 

176 

29 

1870 

25 

I 

24 

1,056 

44 

1880 

76 

6 

70 

7 

3.469 

49 

1889 

189 

10 

179 

13 

8,643 

48* 

30 
180 

402 


^37545 

2,634.21 

11,279.68 

25,350.25! 


*  The  death  rate  for  33  years  is 
about  two-thirds  of  one  pet 
cent  per  annum, 
t  Orphan      Educa- 
tional Fund     .     $15,547.85 
Nebraska  M  asonic 

Home      .     .     .  5,000.00 

Cash      ....         4,802.40 

$25,350.25 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND  LODGE  OF  DAKOTA,*  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  W.  H.  Holt,  Secretary  of  Minnehaha  Lodge,  No.  5, 

Sioux  Falls. 


i875t 

6 

6 

1880 

16 

1889 

107 

2 

I 

i889§ 

76 

2 

74 

200 

7>2, 

541 

34 

10 

4,595 

44 

164 

3.273 

I6I9.I7J 

7,671.40 

3.060.53  II 


*  The  word  "  South  "  has  not 
been  prefixed  to  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Dakota,  but  I  sup- 
pose it  will  be  done  at  the 
next  communication.  The 
lodges  are  to   vote  upon  the 

question  of  name. 

t  Constituted  July  21,  1875. 

X  Funds  on  hand. 

§  These  are  the  statistics  for  1S89  after  North  Dakota  was  erected  into  a  separate  jurisdiction. 

II  This  is  the  net  amount  after  deducting  debts  and  appropriations,  and  $1,530.26  paid  to  North  Dakota. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  NORTH   DAKOTA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  W.  H.  Holt,  Secretary  of  Minnehaha  Lodge,  No.  5, 
Sioux  Falls,  South  D.\kota. 


31 


31 


43 


51,530.26 


*  Constituted  June  13,  18 


884 


STATISTICS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .'.W/.  Donald  W.  Bain,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 

-6 

•0  ^ 

M.2 

c 

%%       - 

21  I 

i         .e- 

3         0  >i 

a. 

Died  during 
past  ID  years. 

Value  of 
Grand  Lodge 
Investments 
and  Funds 
on  hand. 

Notes. 

1787* 

i79ot 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1S40 

1850 

i860 

1870 

1880 

1889 

10 
31 

34 
37 
50 
42 

65 
124 
220 
221 
225 

10  . 
34  • 

42  . 

49  • 
124  . 

220  . 

221  . 
225  . 

300 

900 
1,050 

•  1,150 
1,500 
1,400 
2,000 

•  5.900 

.     9,200 

7,000 

.     7,100 

30 
30 
31 
31 
30 

33 
30 
44 
42 

30 
31 

. 

*  Grand  Lodge  organized  De- 
cember 9th,  electing  Hon. 
Samuel  Johnston,  Grand 
Master. 

t  The  statistics  for  the  years 
1790,  iSoo,  1810,  1820,  1830, 
and  1840  are  estimates.  The 
Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee 
was  formed  in  i8ii.  See 
body  of  this  work,  and  Ten- 
nessee statistics. 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  NEW  MEXICO,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Alpheus  A.  Keen,  Grand  Secretary. 


1877* 

4 

4 

i6s 

42 

1880 

4 

4 

2 

184 

46 

1889 

15 

2 

15 

2 

629 

42 

49 

?  1 50.00 

215.14 

544.00 


'  Organized  August  7th. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE  OF  WASHINGTON,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Thomas  M.  Reed,  Grand  Secretary. 


1858 

4 

4 

102 

25 

3 

i860 

9 

9 

217 

24 

3 

1870 

13 

3 

13 

I 

400 

31 

38 

1880 

31 

4 

31 

I 

1,089 

35 

88 

1889 

55 

6 

55 

3 

2,389 

44 

169 

$261.00* 
387.00* 

991.50* 

764.54! 
467.90! 


*  Cash  receipts  only. 
t  Balance;  cash  on  hand 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   OREGON,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.  W.-.  F.  J.  Babcock,  Fast  Grand  Secretary. 


1848 

I 

I 

57 

57 

1850 

I 

2 

I 

69 

34 

i860 

22 

2 

28 

6 

783 

28 

27 

1870 

33 

1,3* 

36 

3 

1,441 

40 

102 

1880 

62 

66 

4 

2,656 

40 

180 

1889 

78 

... 

81 

3 

3,564 

44 

$2,788.50 
4,403-32 

31,115.00! 

46,642.25! 


*  Constituents  of  Grand  Lodge 

of  Washington. 
+  Educational  Funds. 


GRAND  LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


885 


STATISTICS   OF   THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   ARKANSAS,    F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Fay  Hempstead,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


bi 

M'o 

M  5 

M^ 

0  a 

^^ 

hJW 

hJW 

T3  ^ 


002 

-a  c  " 


Notes. 


iSsS* 

1840! 

1850 

i860 

. . . 

IS70 

262 

234 

1880 

344 

3.36 

1889 

414 

395 

28 


19 


9.324 

8,863 

12,323 


^.795 


■  The  Grand  Lodge  was  or- 
ganized at  Little  Rock,  Nov- 
ember 21,  1838,  by  four 
lodges:  Washington  Lodge, 
No.  82,  under  charter  from 
Grand  Lodge  of  Tennessee; 
Western  Star  Lodge,  No.  43, 
under  charter  from  Grand 
Lodge  of  Louisiana;  Morning 
Star  Lodge,  No.  42,  under 
charter  from  Grand  Lodge  of 
Louisiana  ;  Mount  Horeb 
Lodge,  U.  D.,  under  dispensation  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Alabama.  The  combined  membership  of  these 
four  lodges  is  estimated  to  have  been  100.  On  the  organization  the  said  lodges  took  new  charters, 
Washmgton  becoming  No.  i,  Western  Star  No.  2,  both  lodges  being  now  alive  and  vigorous:  Morning  Star 
became  No.  3,  is  now  defunct;  Mount  Horeb  No.  4,  now  defunct, 
■f  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas  has  experienced  two  fires  which  destroyed  all  its  records  and  effects.  The 
first  was  in  1864,  which  swept  everything  to  that  date.  Again,  in  1876,  a  second  fire  swept  the  accumulation 
gathered  since  1864. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   GEORGIA,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .■.  W .-.  Andrew  M.  Wolihin,  Grand  Secretary. 


1786 

5 

5  ••• 

1790 

10 

10  ... 

1800 

15 

15  ... 

I8I0 

25 

22  ... 

1820 

31 

23  ... 

1830 

40 

l>li    •  •  • 

1840 

34 

34  ■•• 

i8so 

114 

114  ... 

i860 

242 

242  ... 

1870 

271 

• 

260  . . . 

1880 

280 

270  ... 

1889 

293 

290  . . . 

200 

40 

400 

40 

500 

Zl, 

900 

40 

900 

39 

1,000 

30 

1,200 

35 

5,000 

3S 

9,680 

40 

13,000 

50 

10,500 

40 

12,448 

41 

50 
60 

55 

75 

200 

400 

2,100 

1,000 

1,100 


$2,500.00 
19,928.00 
19,610.67 
40,000.00 
40,000.00 


*  Blanks  indicate  that  it  was 
impossible  to  furnish  the  in- 
formation. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   FLORIDA,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-.  D.  C.  Dawkins  (P.  G.  M.),  Grand  Secretary. 


1830^ 
1840 
1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 
1889 


3 

3  • 

lOt 

6t. 

23 

15  • 

48 

5 

34  • 

58 

53  • 

«5 

71  • 

107 

107  . 

95 
181 

497 
1.439 
1.544 
2,379 
3,261 


30 


42 
26 
32 
30 


*  Organized  this  year,  July  6th. 

t  Under  the  heading  of"  Lodges 
Enrolled  "  I  have  put  down  all 
that  appear  in  the  reports ;  and 
under  "  Working  Lodges  " 
appear  only  those  making  re- 
turns: only  in  that  way  could 
I  re.adily  give  the  average 
membership,  — it  is,  therefore, 
in  this  respect,  not  literally 
correct,  but  approximately  it 
is  accurate. 


886 


STATISTICS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   VIRGINIA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  ^iZ^,  Librarian  Masonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


Year. 


o  c 


jfS 


Q  a. 


Notes. 


1777 

1780 

1790 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830* 

1840 

1850 

i860 

1870 

1880 


6 
10 

28 
61 
69 


233 
225 
226 


18 

29§ 


64 
88 
166 
204 
225 
214 


1,809 
3,000 
7,000 

9.035 
9,900 
9,400 


28 

34 
42 

44 
44 
44 


1,115 
1,340 


$252.22 
481.31 

1 2,000.00 
1 3,6oo.oot 
2,286.8oJ 
26,600.00 
39,762.65 
4.044  il 


*  I  have  no  copy  of  Proceedings 

for  1830. 
t  Bonds. 
X  Cash. 
§  Seventeen  lodges  united  with 

the    Grand    Lodge  of   West 

Virginia. 
II  Shares  of  stock  in  Masonic 

Temple  Association. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Dec.\des,  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  T^-f,  Librarla.n  Masonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


1865* 

17 

1870 

43 

43 

I 

2,126 

49 

82t 

1880 

81 

81 

3.415 

42 

355 

1889 

89 

«9 

4.074 

4b 

412 

$585.84 

3,210.26 

1,581.95 


*  Convention  assembled  .April 
I2th,  and  adjourned  to  Nlay 
loth,  when  the  Grand  Lodge 
was  formed. 

t  Died  during  last  five  years. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE  OF   PENN.SVLVANIA,*  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  W.'.  Charles  E.  Meyer,  Past  Master. 


i73ot 

I 

*  As   complete   as   it  has  been 

possible  to  compile  statistics. 

1740 

t  Lodges    from    1730   to   1750, 

1750 

3 

-  •              "  Modern." 

1760! 
17701 

7. 

•  •  • 

.   •  • 

t  "  Ancients.  ' 

3 

§  Anti-Masonic  excitement. 

1780 

3b 

17 

1790 

S« 

1800 

95 

1810 

134 

24 

no 

.  . 

1820 

185 

$45,333-05 

iS^oij 

224 

48 

75.132-0011 

i83S§ 

44 

2,054 

i840§ 

226 

i8^o§ 

262 

i860 

35° 

163 

159 

160,108.07 

1870 

496 

1,173,812.58 

1880 

567 

186 

3«i 

35.879 

2,125,301.58 

1889 

390 

41,170 

105 

2,500,000.00 

GRAND  LODGE  JURISDICTIONS, 


^?>7 


STATISTICS   OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE  OF  ANCIENT   FREEMASONS   OF 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  Charles  Inglesby,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


Q 

•a 

tJO 

t3 

Sjc 

M^ 

•u  ■-• 

■^o 

-o 

H-IW 

H-IW 

1-1?= 

J 

HS 


1870* 


146 
207 
224 


17 

146 

10 

27 

180 

42 

172 

4 

6,200 

5.946 

4,982 


WT3 

>   O 


30 
29 

30 


-a  o 


957 
800 


^20,000.00t 

5o,ooo.ooJ 
5o,ooo.ooJ 


Notes. 


*In  the  year  1736  the  Earl  of 
Loudoun,  Grand  Master  of 
England,  issued  a  Deputation 
to  John  Hammerton,  Esq., 
as  Provincial  Grand  Master 
of  South  Carolina,  and  on  the 
27th  December,  1737,  a  Pro- 
vincial Grand  Lodge  was  organized.  At  that  time  there  was  only  one  lodge  in  the  Province  (Solomon's, 
No.  i),  and  it  held  its  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England,  but  within  a  year  a  second  lodge  was 
chartered  by  the  "  St.  John's  Grand  Lodge"  of  Boston,  Massachusetts;  this  lodge,  however,  soon  became 
extinct.  The  entire  records  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and,  in  fact,  of  Masonry  in  South  Carolina,  were  removed 
from  Charleston  during  the  siege  of  this  city,  1863-65,  for  safe  keeping,  to  Columbia,  the  capital  of  the  State, 
and  were  burned  in  Columbia  in  1865,  when  that  city  was  burned  in  1865  by  General  Sherman's  army.  In 
consequence  of  this  I  am  unable  to  give  any  statistical  information  prior  to  the  year  1865,  except  the 
following:  That  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1762,  there  were  six  lodges  in  South  Carohna  working  under  the 
Provincial  Grand  Lodge  of  South  Carolina;  as  to  the  membership,  I  am  without  data  even  to  estimate  it. 
Immediately  after  the  Revolution  the  Grand  Lodge  threw  off  its  allegiance  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England, 
and  elected  its  own  Grand  Master.  From  the  year  1787  to  1817  there  were  two  Grand  Lodges  in  South 
Carolina  (Ancients  and  Moderns),  the  former  composed  of  about  35  lodges,  the  latter  of  about  one-third  that 
number.  On  the  30th  May,  1817,  these  bodies  united  and  formed  the  present  Grand  Lodge  of  Ancient 
Freemasons  of  South  Carolina.  On  November  16,  1858,  there  were  79  chartered  lodges  on  the  registry  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  I  have  the  records  from  1870,  and  they  answer  as  given  in  the  table, 
t  Masonic  Hall.  J  Masonic  Temple. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE  OF  MARYLAND,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W.-.  Edward  T.  Schultz,  Past  Grand  Senior  Warden. 


1800* 

29 

16 

13 

iSio 

44 

30 

14 

1820 

67 

42 

2S 

18.SO 

84 

SO 

36 

1840 

86 

71 

13 

1850 

92 

69 

23 

i860 

III 

74 

37 

1870 

141 

76 

65 

1880 

176 

94 

82 

18S9 

187 

99 

88 

400 

33 

474 

34 

890 

35 

998 

29 

.303 

22 

956 

41 

2,480 

66 

4,609 

69 

4,890 

60 

5.450 

62 

*  The  first  lodge  of  which  there 
is  knowledge  in  this  State 
was  located  at  Annapolis, 
certainly  as  early  as  Decem- 
ber 27,  1749.  It  is  not  known 
under  what  authority  it  was 
held,  but  on  August  12th  it 
obtained  a  warrant  from 
Thomas  Oxnard  of  Boston, 
Provincial  Grand  Master  01 
North  America.  A  lodge  was 
existing  at  Leonardtown,  St. 
Mary's  County,  from  June  6, 
1759,  to  December  28,  1764. 

Lord  Blaney,  Grand  Master 

of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Eng- 
land, issued  a  warrant,  August  8,  1765,  for  a  lodge  at  Joppa,  Baltimore  County,  which  in  1782  obtained  a 
charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  (Ancients)  of  Pennsylvania.  The  latter  body  warranted  eight  other  lodges  in 
Maryland  beside  an  army  lodge  for  the  benefit  of  the  Maryland  Line  in  the  Revolution.  Seven  of  these 
nine  lodges,  located  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  organized,  June  17,  1783,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maryland.  For 
nearly  or  over  four  years  this  body  was  in  a  dormant  condition,  but  it  was  reorganized  April  17,  1787,  and 
has  since  had  a  continuous  existence. 


STATISTICS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   DISTRICT   OF   COLUMBIA, 

F.-.A.-.A.-.M.-. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  ,-.  W .-.  William  R.  Singleton,  Gr.a.nd  Secretary. 


-6 

Year. 

u  " 

M  O 

a'A 

ja 

iSio* 

5 

1820 

8 

1830 

10 

1840 

10 

2 

1850 

9 

4 

i860 

"t 

4 

1870 

19 

4 

1880 

21 

4 

1889 

21 

4 

"§1 


M 

IM 

c 

3 

>^ 

-c 

^ 

C 

0, 

re  i«  ^ 


Notes. 


9 
II 

19 
21 


294t 

840 

2,420 

2,752 

3.496 


76 
127 

131 

166 


*77§ 

248 

462 

$3,000. 

430 

3,000. 

*  Grand  Lodge  Convention, 
December  II,  i8io;  instituted 
by  election  of  Grand  Officers, 
February  19,  181 1;  5  lodges 
chartered,  February  19,  1811. 
Extinct  lodges,  Nos.  2,  6,  8. 
Brooke,  No.  2,  Alexandria, 
Virginia;  Evangelical,  No.  8, 
Alexandria,  Virginia;  Union, 
No.  6,  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia;  Federal  Lodge, 
No.  I ;  Columbia  Lodge,  No. 
3;  Naval  Lodge,  No.  4;  Poto- 
mac Lodge,  No.  5. 


t  No  continued  records  earlier  than  1845.     There  are  no  continuous  records  from  iSii  to  1832. 

X  Lodge  13  became  No.  i,  San  Francisco,  California.  §  No  records  available. 

11  Cannot  be  ascertained  prior  to  this  date. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE  OF  MISSISSIPPI,  A.  F.  and  A.  M, 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  C.  E.  GiLLErr,  2,^,  Librarian  INIasonic  Libr.a.ry, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


I8I8 

3 

*  For   the  year   1879, 

in   the 

1820 

3 

Proceedings  of  1880. 

t  For   the   year   1888, 

in  the 

1830 

i7 

'7 

I 

Proceedings  of  1889. 

1840 

3« 

3« 

3 

1850 

105 

lOi 

8 

i860 

238 

23^ 

9.445 

39 

$1^7-12 

1870 

278 

3 

1 1 ,004 

40 

I8S0* 

304 

304 

9,240 

30       1,7' 

ib 

3.597-99 

i889t 

263 

263 

7.423 

28       1,5 

6 

966.84 

STATISTICS   OF   THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   MISSOURI,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  33°,  Librarian  ISIasonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


I82I 

3 

3 

100 

1830 

15 

12 

3 

73 

24 

1840 

29 

20 

9 

4 

♦ 

1850 

no 

74 

36 

16 

1,060 

29 

i860 

205 

64 

141 

20 

* 

1870 

368 

II 

357 

18,493 

S2 

886t 

1880 

494 

47 

447 

21,414 

48 

2,761 

1889 

542 

3 

539 

26,945 

50 

3.035 

$12,451.76 
12,457.82 

8,820.01  J 


*  Can  find  no  report  of  the 
membership  of  the  lodges  in 
either  1840  or  i860. 

t  These  figures  show  the  num- 
ber of  deaths  reported  from 
1866  to  1870  inclusive.  Prior 
to  1866  I  can  find  no  tabulated 
statement  of  the  number  of 
deaths  annually. 

X  Cash,  and  "  Masonic  Home" 
located  in  St.  Louis. 


GRAND   LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


889 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  UTAH,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W  /.  Christopher  Diehl,  Gr.a.nd  Secretary. 


Year. 

•0 

t».S 

.2" 

0. 

bJD   . 
2  & 

c  g 

•§2 

je  of 

nd  Lodge 

istments 

Funds 

and. 

Notes. 

•a  t. 

•a  - 

•0  5 

^'A 

h-^W 

^^ 

^ 

h:s 

<J 

S  2, 

^.■^   =   C  13 
>-C—  n  0 

1872 

3* 

*  From  1872  to  1880  inclusive 

3 

124 

41 

this  Grand   Lodge  chartered 

1880 

6 

7 

I 

392 

Sb 

17 

5i.537-65t 

three  lodges,  and  from    1881 

1890 

7 

I 

7 

475 

68 

52 

2,222. 1 3t 

to  1890  one  lodge, 
t  Funds  on  hand. 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  MONTANA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decides,  by  R  .-.  W.-.  Cornelius  Hedges,  Gr.\nd  Secretary. 


1866* 

3 

3 

108 

36 

1870 

14 

14 

541 

3« 

lof 

1880 

2S 

3 

22| 

762 

3S 

43 

1889 

39 

5 

34 

1,670 

5o§ 

121 

$300.00 

3578 

2,000.00 


*  Organized  Jan.  24,  1866. 

t  Only  for  six  years. 

X  One    working    lodge    joined 

jurisdiction  of  Utah. 
§  Average   membership   of   33 

lodges  in  this  jurisdiction. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   ARIZONA,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  R  .-.  W  .•.  George  J.  Roskruge,  Grand  Secretary. 

*  There  are  no  traces  or  legends 

1880*        I  ...  ...  ^959-55tj     of  Masonry- among  the  Abo- 

i88q  8  ...  8        ...        424  qi  4^  I,I2Q.i;ot       rigines.        f  General  Fund. 

^  o        ...        4^^  ij  ^j  .      y5    + 1  J  Widow  and  Orphan  Fund. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  COLORADO,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-.  Ed.  C.  Parmelee,  Grand  Secretary. 


I86I* 

3 

3 

51 

17 

1870 

19 

4 

IS 

854 

57 

38 

1880 

37 

9t 

28 

I 

1,857 

66 

126 

1889 

77 

9 

68 

I 

4.754 

70 

303 

*  The  Grand   Lodge   was    or- 

'     ganized  in  August,  1861.     Of 

the  original  3  lodges,  No.   i 

I     was  chartered  by  the  Grand 

Lodge  of  Kansas,  and  Nos.  2 

and  3  by  the  Grand  Lodge  of 

\     Nebraska. 

t  Of  the  9  extinct,  Nos.  2,  3, 
and  8  have  surrendered  their  charters.  Nos.  9  and  10  are  now  Nos.  2  and  3  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Montana.  Nos.  16,  18,  and  24  are  now  Nos.  i,  3,  and  4  under  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Wyomii.g,  and  No.  21  is 
now  No.  2  under  Grand  Lodge  of  Utah. 


$2,698.56 

1,945-63 
12,819.29 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   WYOMING,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-.  W.  L.  Kuykendall,  Gp^nd  Secretary. 


1874* 

4 

4 

1880 

5 

5 

345 

69 

7 

1889 

12 

12 

631 

52 

39 

$1,500.00 


*  Grand  Lodge  was  instituted 
December  15,  1874,  at  Lara- 
mie City. 


890 


STATISTICS    OF  FREExMASONRY. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   IOWA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  T.  S.  Parvin,  Grand  Secretary. 


•0 

bi 

Year. 

tlD  0 

&f 

0  B 

JW 

►JW 

1844* 

4 

0 

4 

1850 

18 

0 

22 

i860 

IS8 

7 

I  S3 

1870 

281 

19 

262 

1880 

398 

36 

363 

1889 

495 

60 

435 

HS 


■p  0. 


Notes. 


100 

500 
4,670 

12,550 
18,207 
19,066 


25 
25 
30 
47 
50 
50 


t 


30 
225 
694 

1.247 
1,672 


$1,450.00 

9,450.00 

17,996.00 

68,ooo.ooJ 


Masons  of  Cedar  Rapids.  The  Investments  and 
of  lot,  $4,000;  of  building,  $33,000;  of  furniture 
Charity  Fund),  $1,063  —  total,  $68,000. 


*  Organized  January  8,  1844. 

t  Not  a  cent. 

X  'I'he  Grand  Lodge  had  in 
"Funds"  in  1884,  $22,000. 
In  1884-85  the  Grand  Lodge 
erected  and  furnished  its  fire- 
proof Library  Building  [see 
illustration  in  body  of  this 
work]  —  lot  and  $10,000  in 
cash  contributed  by  the 
Fund  amount  to  $63,ooo,  divided  as  follows:  Value 
$5,000;    of  library,  $25,000;    of  cash  (Grand  Lodge 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  TEXAS,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  William  F.  Swain,  Grand  Secretary. 


'  For  income,  etc.,  see  body  of 
this  work. 


1840 

13 

13 

* 

1850 

6S 

5 

60 

i85o 

252 

28 

224 

8,215 

37 

1870 

339 

90 

249 

16 

12,770 

SI 

1880 

525 

129 

356 

4 

17.055 

48 

1889 

686 

166 

520 

4 

22,000 

42 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  INDIAN  TERRITORY,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W  .-.  Joseph  S.  jNIurrow,  Grand  Secretary, 


874* 

3 

880 

13 

13 

362 

27 

22 

889 

29 

29 

7 

992 

34 

104 

*The  proceedings  of  1874,  or 
the  Convention,  etc.,  give  no 
statistics.  There  were  six 
chartered  lodges  at  that  time 
in  the  Territory.  Three  en- 
tered into  the  organization  of 
the  Grand  Lodge  and  three  refused.  This  would  have  been  fatal  to  legal  organization,  but  one  other 
repented  and  afterward  gave  in  its  allegiance.     The  others  followed  in  a  year  or  two. 


$277.81 
2,542.00 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   KANSAS,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-. John  H.  Brown,  Gr.\nd  Secretary. 


i860* 

29 

2 

29 

2 

1870 

93 

3 

93 

S 

1880 

190 

S 

190 

17 

1889 

321 

321 

17 

741 

27 

3.730 

40 

8,562 

43 

16,661 

52 

♦Organized  December,  1855. 

t  In  regard  to  Grand  Lodge 
investments,  etc.,  it  is  not 
possible  to  give  reliable 
figures,  as  I  have  nothing  in 
my  office  showing  the  facts. 


GRAND   LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


891 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   DELAWARE,  A.  F.  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  t,-^.  Librarian  Masonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


ri 

D. 

u 

Year. 

-i 

M- 

nil 

&■ 

J3 

1^ 

of 
iLod 
tment 
unds 
nd. 

Notes. 

M  0 

21 

^•2 
•0  *- 

0  X 

-§1 

_tfi 

0 

h4 

2  S 

H<5 

2  M 

■a  „ 

C   D. 

Value 
Gran 
Inves 
and  F 
on  ha 

1 8  SO* 

17 

8 

9 

250 

28 

*  Impossible,  at  present,  to  get 

i860 
1870 

19 

24 

7 
6 

12 

18 

533 
967 

44 
53 

;j5i3i.6o 
529.30 

a  complete  file  of  the  proceed- 
ings,  Grand  Lodge  of  Dela- 
ware,  prior   to   1850.     J,   W. 

1880 

29 

8 

21 

1,290 

61 

129 

1,109.24 

Staton,       Brooksville,      Ken- 

1889 

29 

8 

21 

1,645 

78 

178 

3,274.60 

tucky,  7nay  reprint  them. 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND    LODGE   OF   KENTUCKY,  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-.  H.  B.  Grant,  Gr.a.nd  Secretary.* 


i8oot 

i8o2t 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1840 

1850 

i860 

1870 

1880+ 

1889 


45 
67 
37 

320 

413 

491 

435 


62 

86 

122 

217 


150 
188 
300 

1,451 
2,600 
1,300 

11,704 

20,328 
15.737 
15,974 


*  I  dare  not  go  beyond  this,  as 
it  would  be  uncertain,  if  not 
doubtful, 
f  Convention   met   in    Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky,  September  8, 
1800;   Grand  Lodge  organized 
October  16,  1800,  4  chartered 
and  I  U.D.  (of  Grand  Lodge 
of  Virginia)  participating. 
X  In    1877   a    per    annum   per 
capita    "assessment"  of  $1 
for  the  Widows'  and  Orphans' 
Home,  con  tinned  for  fiveyears, 
has  been  50  cts.  from  that  time. 
In  1874.  30  per  cent  of  dues 
was  donated  to  "  the  Home." 
In  1877,  $78,500,  8  per  cent 
interest  bonds  were  donated  to  the  Masonic  Widows' and  Orphans'  Home.     In  1879,  $3,700  (per  annum), 
was  donated  in  addition  to  the  assessment.     In  1890,  $19,950  stock  (market  value  near  $50,000),  was  given 
to  the  Home. 


683 

463 
200 


$28,131.42 

93,773-64 
22,524.37 
32,497.24 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  NEW   HAMPSHIRE,   F.  and   A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  33°,  Librarian  Masonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


1789 
1790 

3 
3 

-I 

*  Number  of  deaths  reported  for 

3 

1878-80.     No  report  of  deaths 
prior  to  187S. 

iSoo 

9 

8 

t  Number  of  deaths  reported, 

1810 

19 

15 

1S50. 

1820 

35 

32 

1830 

55 

40 

1840 

S5 

22 

i8so 

56 

30 

2& 

1S60 

67 

24 

43 

2 

2,377 

53 

1S70 

88 

17 

71 

6,473 

91 

18S0 

93 

18 

75 

I 

7-758      1 

02 

285* 

^780 

99 

1889 

94 

18 

76 

8,280      ] 

09       I 

,009 

4,181 

39 

1890 

94 

18 

76 

2 

^,7,Zl      J 

07 

i4ot 

3,955-39 

892 


STATISTICS  OF  FREEMASONRY. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   MASSACHUSETTS,   F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W.-.  Sereno  D.  Nickerson,  Grand  Secretary.* 


Year. 


6J3  o 

o  c 


hS 


a. 


m2 
o  S'o   . 

«  "-  c  c  C 


Notes. 


1740! 

1750 
1760 
1770 
1780 
1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 
i860 
1870 
1880 
1889 


7 
13 

22 

37 
48 

56 
69 

100 
86 

108 

56 
66 
116 
200 
226 
230 


■> 

56 
66 
116 
200 
226 
230 


20,253 

25.343 
30,110 


2,735 
3.047 


^5  50,000  J 


*  When  we  consider  the  petty 
salines  paid  toworkingGrand 
Officers  until  within  twenty 
years,  the  numerous  destruc- 
tive fires  by  which  we  have 
suffered,  the  violence  of  the 
Anti-Masonic  furor,  and  the 
many  other  ruthless  influ- 
ences to  which  our  Institution 
has  been  subjected,  in  this 
jurisdiction,  during  the  last 
160  years,  it  will  be  readily 
understood  that  it  is  utterly 
impossible  to  furnish  accurate 
and  reliable  statistics  on  most 
of  the  subjects  herein  speci- 
fied. 

t  Organized  July  30,  1733. 

j  Real  estate,  $500,000;  per- 
sonal estate,  $50,000. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  CANADA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 

IN  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ONTARIO. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R.-.W  .-.J.  J.  Mason,  Grand  Secret.\ry. 


1855 

41 

1,080* 

26 

i860 

140 

140 

4,410 

31 

1870 

239 

10 

229 

9,991 

43 

1880 

389 

49t 

340 

17.474 

51 

1.356 

1889 

425 

71 

354 

19,818 

5b 

1,896 

$4,487.36 
41,177.27 
62,49495 

68,444.11 


*  About. 

t  In  1874,  38  lodges  were  ceded 
to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Quebec; 
and  in  1875,  4  were  ceded  to 
the  Grand  Lodge  of  Manitoba. 
These  42  are  included  in  the 
49  marked  as  extinct  in  1880, 
and  in  the  71  marked  as  ex- 
tinct in  i83q. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF   MANITOBA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  V.-.  W  .-.  Willi.ui  G.  Scott,  Grand  Secretary. 


187s* 

3 

3 

203 

68 

1880 

15 

15 

488 

32 

13 

1889 

42 

3 

39 

2 

1,674 

45 

95 

$475.29 

2,500.00 


'■  Organized  May  12th. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE  GRAND   LODGE   OF   QUEBEC,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.W.-.  John  H.  Isaacson,  Grand  Secretary. 


1869* 

21 

21 

1.379 

1870 

30 

30 

1.379 

1880 

58 

57 

I 

2,343 

41 

212 

1889 

61 

59 

2 

3.050 

50 

312 

$9,489.58 


'  The  Grand  Lodge  was  organ- 
ized October  20th. 


GRAND  LODGE  JURISDICTIONS. 


893 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  PRINCE   EDWARD   ISLAND, 

A.  F.  AND  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  R  .-.  W .-.  B.  Wilson  Higgs,  Grand  Secretary. 


Year. 


Q 

d 

ti 

::3 

X. 

1/1    B 

M.S 

M-2 

U) 

_  J3 

)=!,° 

JW 

^ 

HS 

8 

496 

II 

530 

12 

507 

M 

Ih 

13 

^ 

a 

a 

o>-l  S  §13 


Notes. 


1875*  8        ...  8     ...        496  ...  *  The  Grand  Lodge  of  Prince 

1880  II         ...  II      ...         C30  ...  ...  ...  Edward  Island  was  organized 

1889  12        ...  12      ...         507  .".  .  S5  ^Ss'o-OO         J""e  24,  1875;  at  the  time  7 

-^  J    I  J  J  ^JD  lodges   were    working   under 

charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  England,  and  i  lodge  under 
charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland.  Since  its  formation  5  charters  for  new  lodges  have  been  issued, 
and  one  charter  surrendered. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  BRITISH  COLUMBIA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  V  .*.  W.  Hy.  Brown,  Grand  Secretary. 


I87I 

8 

0 

8 

295 

^7 

*  These  figures  include  a  Char- 

1880 

6 

2 

6 

306 

51 

41 

ity  Fund  of  $5,293.45. 

1890 

10 

I 

10 

678 

68 

51 

^6,077.54* 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   GRAND   LODGE   OF  NOVA   SCOTIA,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. 

Compiled  by  Decades,  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  ;i;i°,  Librarian  Masonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


1866 

II 

333 

30 

1870 

^^ 

S 

SO 

2,011 

40 

1880 

69 

4 

6S 

3.046 

47 

346 

1889 

79 

13 

66 

2,887 

43 

329t 

^1,342.79 

1,200.00* 
2,500.00* 


*  About. 

t  For  last  nine  years. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  GRAND  LODGE  OF  FREEMASONS  OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 
Compiled  by  Decades,  by  C.  E.  Gillett,  ;i^°,  Librarian  Masonic  Library, 

Oakland,  Cal. 


1867 

19 

1870 

26 

2^ 

1.593 

64 

1880 

34 

34 

2,176 

64 

249 

1889 

34 

34 

1,880 

55 

183* 

$1,039-35 
4,187.65 
1,563.76 


*  For  last  nine  years. 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   UNITED   GRAND  LODGE   OF  NEW   SOUTH   WALES, 

A.  F.  and  a.  M. 
Compiled  by  R  .-.W.-.  Arthur  H.  Bray,  Grand  Secretary. 


188. 

...    118 

9.654 

51 

;^4,i66* 


*  There  is  also  an  Orphan  Fund 
that  belonged  to  the  late 
English  Constitution  in  the 
Colony,  but   which  is  likely 


to  be  under  the  control  of  the  Grand  Lodge.     The  amount  to  the  credit  of  this  fund  is  ;ii6,ooo. 


894 


STATISTICS   OF  FREEMASONRY. 


CAPITULAR   STATISTICS   FOR  THE  YEARS   NAMED.* 
Compiled  by  Alfred  F.  Chapman,  P.-.G.-.G.-. H.-. P.-. 


Grand 
Chapters. 


1874. 


1877. 


Alabama 

Arkansas  

California    .... 

Colorado 

Connecticut  .  . . 

Dakota 

Delaware 

Dist.  Columbia 

Florida 

Georgia ,10 

Illinois jii 

Indiana  ji2 

Iowa 13 

Kansas 14 

Kentucky 15 

Louisiana '16 

Maine 17 

Maryland '18 

Massachusetts  .19 

Michigan 20 

Minnesota  ....  21 
Mississippi    ...  22 

Missouri    23 

Nebraska 24 

Nevada   25 

N.  Hampshire.  26 
New  Jersey  . .  .J27 
New  York  ...  .'28 
North  Carolina  29 

Ohio 30 

Oregon I31 

Rhode  Island  .  32 
South  Carolina  33 
Tennessee  ....  34 

Texas 35 

Vermont    36 

Washington  .  .  37 
Wisconsin  ....  38 
Sub.  to  G.  G.  C.  .  . 


23 

49 
147 
88 

75 
26 
106 
29 
St- 
14 
64 

91 
30 
80 

83 
9 

18 

33 
190 

17 
132 

9 
10 

30 

94 

III 

25 

43 
15 


1,691 
1.442 
2,268 

3.962 

296 
1,099 

288 
1.952 
9.515 
4.567 
3.587 

912 

3.88s 
1,528 
3.562 
1,291 
8,268 
6,791 

1.471 

2,462 

4,014 

392 

1.973 

2.833 

18,331 

492 
8,298 

264 
1,609 

938 
4,168 
3.958 
1,752 

2,633 


7 

44 

161 

86 

82 

24 
88 

27 


68 

95 
27 
69 
81 
17 
7 
19 
33 
191 

15 
141 

13 
10 
29 
81 

94 
24 

51 
19 


1.059 
1.273 

2.883 

350 

3.837 

310 

1,091 

281 

1.724 
10,671 

4.875 
4.253 
1.149 
3.509 
1,428 

4.139 

1,258 

9.237 

7.310 

1,623 

2,130 

4.289 

683 

402 

2.157 

2.834 

18,539 

852 

8,464 

415 
1,617 

951 
3.403 

3.946 
1,867 

3.067 
608 


32 
152 
81 
90 
41 
73 
23 
41 
II 
68 

99 

28 

.  SO 

79 

19 

8 

20 

35 
190 

15 

144 

16 
10 
22 

67 
84 
24 

51 


821 

1.254 

2,904 

462 

4,027 

320 
1,085 

233 
1,176 

9,791 
4.435 
4,533 
1.582 
2,676 
996 
4,091 
1,176 
9,027 
6,873 
1.744 
1.425 
3.750 
841 
411 
2,209 

2.597 
16,078 

527 
8,746 

520 
1,620 

654 
2,975 
3,176 
1.934 

3,166 
799 


26 
43 

57 
12 

37 

5 
8 

7 
25 

160 
81 

103 

51 
69 

19 
44 
12 
69 
105 
35 
49 
92 
25 
9 
21 

35 
190 

14 
143 
18 
10 
13 
54 
87 
24 

51 
37 


570 
1,412 

3.552 

903 

4,027 

343 
1,166 

214 

865 
11.743 
4.749 
5.944 
2,196 
2,615 

826 
4,107 
1,122 

9.387 
7.625 
2,501 

1. 391 
4,600 
1,180 

391 

2.348 

2.519 

15.159 

566 
10,085 

706 
1,640 

369 
2.378 
3,340 
2,010 

3.420 
1,422 


19 
41 
62 
20 
37 
19 
3 
8 

9 

29 

166 

83 
105 
45 
58 
12 
46 
13 
72 
107 

45 
40 

92 

39 

8 

21 

34 

185 
II 

142 
20 
10 
12 

47 
102 

25 

8 

60 

31 


464 
1.235 
4.044 
1,264 

4.237 
725 
275 

1,259 
228 

952 
12,341 
4.912 
6.375 
2,714 
2,260 

666 
4.265 
1,202 

9.897 

8,528 
2,866 

1,195 
4,786 
1,706 

358 

2.517 

2,491 

15.288 

488 
10,584 

706 
1.758 

354 
1,391 
3,882 
2,090 

232 
3.988 
1,2161 


23 

49 
6; 

2< 
36 
25 

3 
8 

13 
32 
166 

83 
107 

55 
53 
17 
48 
15 
72 

"3 

48 

35 
94 


34 
187 
10 
141 
21 
10 
10 

45 
100 

25 
II 
61 
33 


636 

1,565 

4,292 

1.403 
4,286 

1,07s 
292 

1,394 

364 

1,141 

12,614 

5.099 
6,500 

3,377 
2,188 

625 
4,438 
1,297 
10,411 
9,020 
3.278 
1,120 
5.086 
2,176 

364 

2,579 

2.533 

15.332 

568 
11,200 

825 
1,836 

264 
1,888 
3.942 
2,205 

410 
4,220 
1.482 


Totals 38  I 


Pennsylvania  . 

Virginia 

West  Virginia. 

Canada  

Nova  Scotia. . . 


112,492  1,834  118,493 


9,926  103 

1,627!  31 

4511  14 

2,492  69 

250  II 


1,755  120,339 


10,339 
3,332 

534 
3.28s 

446 


1,840  119,400 


109 
34 
II 
76 


1 1. 317 

1.230 

402 

3.480 

469 


1.915 


108 
30 
13 
79 
12 


126,239  1,942  133,325 


11,99s 
1.323 

529 

3.658 

519 


III 

29 

15 
82 


12,467 

1.383 

652 

3.636 

523 


*  These  Statistics  are  taken  from  returns,  as  reported  to  the  General  Grand  Chipter  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  except  those  of  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  W«st  Virginia,  Canada,  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  these  are 
from  their  own  reports. 


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«       1 

896  OTHER   RTTES  A.VD    ORDERS. 

STATISTICS   OF  THE   ORDER   EASTERN   STAR. 


Grand  Chapter. 


Arkansas  

California    

Connecticut 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Indian  Territory  . 

Iowa    

Kansas    

Massachusetts  .  . . 
Michigan 

Minnesota 


....{ 


Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

New  Jersey 

New  York 

Ohio 

Oregon 

South  Dakota  .  .  . 

Texas 

Vermont. 

Washington 

Gen.  Vjx.  Chapter 


Total 


Organized. 


Oct 
May 
Aug. 
Oct. 
May 

July 

July 

Oct.  18, 
Dec.  II,, 
Oct.  31 , 
June  27, 
May  26, 
Dec.  15, 
Oct.  13, 
June  22, 
Oct.    20, 


Nov. 
July 
Oct. 
July 
May 
Nov. 
June  12, 
Nov.  i6„ 


876.. 

873.. 
874.. 

875-- 
874.. 


878.- 

876.. 

876.. 

867.. 

878  1 

886/ 

870.. 

S75-- 

875  ■• 

870.. 

870.. 

889.. 

889.. 

889.. 

884.. 

873- • 
8S9.. 
876.. 


1S70. 


47 


1,040 

150 

200 
520 


1,910 


1875. 


1,026 
1498 
1,671 


1. 135 

650 
1,846 

319 

277 
2,117 


400 


12,094 


240 
2,227 

1,893 
1,862 
1,600 


468 
7S6 
544 

519 
729 
^147 
385 
277 

1.367 


453 
413 


1,184 

4-512 
1,489 
3.089 
1,618 


1,647 
1,434 
1,134 
1,073 


8        500 


1,052 
400 
426 

1,247 


680 

574 

2',58o 


16,246458,  24,639 


1890. 


9 
86 

24 

127 

64 

10 

55 
68 

23 
52 

31 


874 


3,194 
5,565 
1,675 
5,802 

3,673 

435 
2,679 

3,594 
2,412 
3,coo 

1,156 


1,902 
683 
528 

2,448 
344 

557 

401 

2,000 

1,012 

4?4 

1,957 


45-541 


UNDER   JURISDICTION   OF  GENERAL   GRAND   CHAPTER. 


1880. 

i88s. 

i8go. 

State:. 

18S0. 

1885. 

1890. 

State. 

U 

.0 

£ 

0. 
a 

U 

1 

u 

0. 
a 

0 

s 

u 

u 

D. 
« 

a 

'i. 

6 

.a 
S 

u 

0 

a. 

U 

Arizona 

2 

4 
5 

I 

4 

I 
I 

77 
270 

213 

27 

193 
40 

47 

4 

4 

I 

4 

2 
2 

4 

I 

5 
3 
4 

150 

348 

20 
123 

'89 

57 
153 

53 

300 
220 
106 

New  Mexico  . . 
North  Carolina 
North  Dakota  . 
Ohio 

I 

I 
9 

4 

32 
"65 

543 
124 

I 

I 
2 

2 
2 

I 

I 

39 
25 
62 

Colorado 

Dakota 

Florida 

36 

36 

21 

Idaho  

Oregon 

Pennsylvania  .  . 
Tennessee  .... 

Texas  

Washington    . . 
Wisconsin  .... 

4 

I 

154 

55 
15 

Indian  Territory 
Kentuclvy    

123 
40 

Louisiana    

Maine    

Maryland 

41 

I 
I 
2 
3 

46 

30 

195 

108 

■?o 

Mississippi 

.  Wyoming    .... 

I 

26 

19 

Montana 

Nevada 

New  Hampshire 

29 

Total 

13 

413 

40 

2,010 

44 

1-557 

896a  NORTH  AMERICAN  LODGE   STATISTICS. 

DRUMMOND'S   NORTH   AMERICAN   LODGE   STATISTICS,  1892. 


Grand  Lodges. 


Members. 


Raised. 


Died. 


Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas  

British  Columbia 

California 

Canada 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

District  of  Columbia 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho  

Illinois 

Indiana 

Indian  Territory 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky , 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Manitoba 

Maryland , 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi  (the  figures  for  last  year) , 

Missouri 

Montana , 

Nebraska 

Nevada , 

New  Brunswick , 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

New  Mexico , 

New  York , 

North  Carolina 

North  Dakota 

Nova  Scotia , 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Prince  Edward  Island 

Quebec ,  . , 

Rhode  Island , 

South  Carolina 

South  Dakota 

Tennessee , 

Texas , 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia , 

Washington 

West  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 


Total. 


10,448 
451 

726 
16,262 
20,892 

5.719 
15,641 

1,787 

4,202 

3.910 

14.703 

740 

43,930 

24.776 

1,570 

22,525 

18,426 

16,465 

4,590 

21,177 

1,878 

5,868 

31.786 

33.098 

12,832 

8,390 

28,816 

2,007 

9,717 

991 

1,851 

8,542 

14.320 

692 

77,923 
8,792 

1,594 
2,904 

35.603 
3.918 

42,412 
509 
3.141 
4.177 
4.944 
3.505 

17.329 

23.193 

544 

8,658 

10,574 
3.419 
4.528 

13.899 
708 

695.193 


944 
30 

951 
55 

691 

1.548 
480 
628 
125 
374 
350 

1. 179 
44 

2.715 

1.350 
142 

1.179 

1,239 

1,364 

352 

839 

167 

170 

1,683 

2,096 

921 

630 

1,692 

198 

695 
32 
82 

792 

59 

4.825 

899 

185 

201 

1,972 

211 

2,482 

17 

196 

237 
456 
256 

985 

1,534 

39 

442 

313 

372 
731 


42,417 


194 

7 

232 

6 

329 

255 
64 

278 
18 
72 
70 

329 
12 

610 

343 
12 

259 
164 

273 
no 

367 
14 
47 
431 
433 
131 
190 

386 
32 
86 
26 
27 
136 
228 

17 
1,260 

163 
10 

38 

448 

51 

716 

3 

49 

49 

108 

38 
327 
418 

4 
"3 
169 

43 

64 

202 


10,46: 


And  God  said.,  Let  there  be  light :   and  there  was  light. 

/Iftasonic  1Recor6 

AND    HISTORY  OF 


Craft* 

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898 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abbreviations,  874. 

Adonis,  66. 

Agnosticism,  469. 

Ahiman  Rezon,  159. 

Alabama,  333,  603,  661,  730,  881. 

Alaska,  435. 

American  Lodges  under  English  Constitution: 
Quebec,  200  ;  Ontario,  201 ;  British  Columbia,  204  ; 
New  Brunswick,  205  ;  Nova  Scotia,  206  ;  Prince 
Edward  Island,  208  ;  Connecticut,  209  ;  Florida, 
ib.  ;  Georgia,  ib.  ;  Maryland,  ib.  ;  Massachusetts, 
lb.  ;  Michigan,  210  ;  New  York,  ib.  ;  North  Caro- 
lina, 213  ;  Pennsylvania,  214  ;  Rhode  Island,  ib.  ; 
South  Carolina,  ib.  ;  Virginia,  ib.  ;  Central  Amer- 
ica, 215  ;  Argentine  Republic,  ib.  ;  Brazil,  ib.  ; 
British  Guiana,  ib.  ;  United  States  of  Columbia, 
216  ;  Chili,  ib.  ;  Uruguay,  ib.  ;  Venezuela,  ib, 

American  Rite,  the, 197,  755,  757,  840. 

American  Templary,  699,  779,  790. 

Ancient  : 

Craft's  eulogium,  673. 
MSS.,  destruction  of,  159. 
Masonry,  37. 
Mysteries,  56. 
Preceptories,  155. 
Systems  of  Philosophy,  49. 

"  Ancients  "  and"  Moderns,"  554. 

Anderson,  Rev.  James,  D.D.,  157,  158,  545,  556,  754. 

Anti-Masonic  : 
Political  party,  527. 
Conventions,  528. 

Antinomies,  table  of,  44. 

"  Apprentice  Charges,"  Roberts  and  Watson  Ver- 
sions, 196. 

Argentine  Republic,  215. 

Arizona,  421,  603,  889. 

Arkansas,  347,  603,  661,  885. 

Ashtaroth,  Syrian,  64. 

Assembly,  Mythical,  157. 

Astarte,  64. 

Atwood,  Henry  C,  262,  816,  819. 

Austria,  490. 

Australia,  501,  502. 

Avatars  of  Hindoostan,  79. 


Baal,  63,  no. 

Bacchus,  72. 

Baier  Memorial  Temple,  35a 

Barker,  John,  656. 


Beauseant,  135,  736,  784. 

Belgium,  490. 

Benedictine,  Order  of,  749. 

Bibliography  : 

Documentary  history,  158  ;  Kalendar  of  Old 
Charges,  161-163  ;  Grand  Secretaries,  data,  198  ; 
Division  V.  and  I.  of  Division  VI.,  340  ;  Second 
meridian,  II.,  341;  Cryptic  degrees,  643  ;  British 
Templary,  741  ;  Royal  Order  of  Scotland,  829  ; 
The  Order  of  Rosicrucians,  869-873. 

Bishops'  Bible,  a.d.  1600,  354. 

Black  Masonry,  770. 

Bohemia,  490. 

Book  of  Constitutions,  158. 

Brazil,  215. 

British  Columbia,  204,  487,  893. 

British  Guiana,  215. 

British  Templary  : 
The  origin  of  Speculative  or  Symbolic  Freemasonry, 
747  ;  evolution  in  the  original  plan  of  Speculative 
Freemasonry  since  the  Revival,  a.d.  1717-23,  753  ; 
the  Masonic  high  degrees,  757  ;  Religious  and 
military  orders  of  the  Knights  Templars  of  the 
Crusades,  and  that  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  and 
Knights  of  Malta,  762  ;  modern,  or  Masonic  Tem- 
plary, 769  ;  ritual  and  costume,  771 ;  changes 
consequent  upon  the  reformed  ritual  of  Convent 
General,  780  ;   in  various  countries,  789-794. 

Brotherhoods,  primeval,  39. 

C. 

California,  387,  604,  661,  730,  859,  880. 

Canada  in  Ontario,  201,  457,  516,  573,  604,  667,  792, 
892. 

Campannell,  Mordecai,  250,  445. 

Central  America,  215,  436. 

Cerneau,  Joseph,  718,  812. 

Chili,  216,  638. 

Chivalry,  religion  of,  124. 

Chinese  mysteries,  85. 

Chronological  chart,  61. 

Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Period  ; 

Freemasonry's  introduction  into  the  American 
Colonies,  218  ;  deputations  of  Daniel  Coxe  and 
Henry  Price,  219  ;  Masonic  acts  and  evidences, 
221-227. 

The   First  Glimpses  of  Freemasonry  in  North 
America,  439-454. 

Colorado,  423,  604,  730,  889. 

Columbian  Grand  Council,  652. 

Companion,  the  term,  561. 


900 


INDEX. 


Congress,  a.d.  1782,  767. 

Connecticut,  209,  252,  605,  661,  710,  730,  859,  878. 

Conservator  of  Liberty,  696. 

Contents,  Table  of,  9-12. 

Convent  General,  775. 

Coxe,  Daniel,  219. 

Craftsmen's  Rights,  552. 

Cross,  Jeremy  L.,  253,  654,  709,  817. 

Crusades: 

and  Freemasonry,  98. 

History  of,  131,  762. 

D. 

Dagon,  no. 

Dakota,  369,  606,  730,  861,  883. 

Dates,  Masonic,  874. 

Decisions,  Grand  Masters',  550. 

Declaration,  Anti-Masonic,  249,  521. 

Degrees  : 
Relation  to  Ancient  Masonry,  98,  105,  106  ;  the 
Templar  Order  to  the  Ancient  Templars,  140  ; 
"  Old  Charges,"  177;  of  the  American  Rite,  198  ; 
Mark,  561,  578,  596  ;  Past,  572,  597  ;  Most  Excel- 
lent, 598,  600  ;  Royal  Arch,  556,  601,  754  ;  Order 
of  High  Priesthood,  638-642  ;  the  Royal,  669  : 
Select  Master,  ib.\  Super-Excellent  Master,  ib.\ 
scale  of,  701,  755  ;  Red  Cross,  Order  of  the  Temple, 
and  Malta  Ritual,  73'-733  ;  Unknown,  753  ;  high 
degrees,  757  ;  33'^,  759  ;  side,  760  ;  Order  of  Malta, 
769  ;  Rose  Croix  and  Kadosh,  773  ;  Templar 
Priest  or  Holy  Wisdom,  774  ;  Scottish  Rite,  796  ; 
R.  S.  Y.C.  S.  and  H.  R.  M.,  829;  Heredom  of 
Kilwinning,  835,  851  ;  Ordfci  Eastern  Star,  862  ; 
Rosicrucians,  869. 

Delaware,  286,  607,  661,  891. 

Denary  of  Pythagoras,  100. 

Denmark,  490. 

Dermott,  Laurence,  556,  557,  754. 

Dispersion  of  the  Templars,  136,  152,  765,  766. 

District  of  Columbia,  297,  607,  667,  888. 

Division  of  Dakota,  371,  372. 

Dualisms  of  man,  43. 

Duelling  forbidden,  328. 

Early  organization  of  the  craft,  217. 

Ecossais,  342,  436,  650,  760. 

Edicts  of  non-intercourse,  465,  476. 

Editors,  board  of,  3,  4. 

Egyptian  hall,  286. 

Eliot's,  John  ("  Apostle  to  the  Indians"),  Mark,  444. 

England,  29,  190,  453,  561,  670,  756,  774,  789,  875. 

English  "  Langue  "  of  Malta,  767. 

England's  recognition  of  Canada  conditional,  461. 

Ethics  : 

of  the  mysteries,  95. 
of  Knighthood,  119,  733. 
of  Templary,  733. 

EULOGIUM  : 

The  dream  of  dawn,  674  ;  the  awakening,  677  ;  the 
morning  blessing,  678  ;  preparing  for  inspection, 
679  ;  the  royal  inspection,  680;   the  destruction  of 


EuLOGiUM  —  Continued. 

the  temple,  684  ;   the  essential  unity  of  three,  6S6  ; 

the  revival,   690  ;    Freemasonry,    the   conservatot 

of  liberty  and  of  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man, 

692-698. 
Evolution  : 

of  Masonry,  39. 

theory  of,  165. 

cryptic  government,  657. 

the  original  plan,  753. 


F. 

Famous  old  Bible,  478. 
Farnell  Memorial,  506. 
Fiji  Islands,  501. 
First  : 

American  Chartered  Grand  Lodge,  331. 

Copy  of  petition,  233. 

Grand  Encampment,  708,  710. 
Florida,  209,  305,  610,  661,  885. 
Four  : 

Crowned  martyrs,  175. 

Old  lodges,  31. 
Freemasonry,  definition  of,  88. 
Franxe  : 

Grand  Lodge,  491. 

Grand  Orient,  ib.^  803. 

Grande  Loge  Generale  Ecossaise,  ib. 

Templars,  790. 


General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  history  of,  583- 

601. 
Genius  of  Masonry,  687. 
Georgia,  209,  303,  610,  662,  730,  885. 
Germany : 

Three  Globes  in  Berlin,  492. 

National  Grand  Lodge,  493. 

Grand  Lodge  York  of  Friendship,  ih. 

Grand  Lodge  of  Hamburg,  ib. 

Grand  Lodge  of  the  Sun,  ib. 

Dresden,  ib. 

Eclectic  Union,  ib. 

Ztir  Einstracki,  ib. 

Free  Union,  494. 
Girard  bequest,  282. 
"Good  enough,  Morgan,  until  after  election,"  524, 

525- 

Grand  Lodge : 
Manuscript  of,  187. 
of  England,  opened  on  American  soil,  256. 

Grand  Lodges : 
First,  31  ;  all  England,  32,  753,  755  ;  union  of,  756. 
First  Meridian  and  Atlantic  Slope.  —  Maine, 
227  ;  New  Hampshire,  230  ;  Vermont,  234  ;  Mas- 
sachusetts, 239  ;  Rhode  Island,  250  ;  Connecticut, 
252  ;  New  York,  254  ;  New  Jersey,  269  ;  Penn- 
sylvania, 271  ;  Delaware,  286  ;  Maryland,  290  ; 
District  of  Columbia,  297  ;  Virginia,  298  ;  West 
Virginia,  299  ;  North  Carolina,  300  ;  South  Caro- 
lina, 301  ;  Georgia,  303  ;  Florida,  305. 


INDEX. 


901 


Grand  Lodges — Coniimied. 

Second  Meridian.  —  Ohio,  307  ;  Indiana,  312  ; 
Michigan,  315  ;  Illinois,  320  ;  Wisconsin,  324; 
Kentucky,  327  ;  Tennessee,  328  ;  Alabama,  333  ; 
Mississippi,  334;  Louisiana,  ib.\  Texas,  342; 
Arkansas,  347  ;  Minnesota,  350  ;  Missouri,  357  ; 
Iowa,  364  ;  Dakota,  369  ;  North  Dakota,  372  ;  Ne- 
braska, 374;   Kansas,  378  ;  Indian  Territory,  382. 

Third  Meridian.  — Q.A\\^arm-3.,  387;  Oregon, 
394  ;  Washington,  396  ;  Idaho,  399  ;  Montana, 
402  ;  Nevada,  406  ;  Utah,  413  ;  Wyoming,  418  ; 
Arizona,  421  ;  Colorado,  423  ;  New  Mexico,  430  ; 
Hawaiian  Islands,  433  ;  Alaska,  435  ;  Mexico, 
435  ;  Central  America,  436. 

British  ,-J/«^rzVa.  —  Canada  ;  Ontario,  457; 
Quebec,  472  ;  Nova  Scotia,  479  ;  New  Brunswick, 
483  ;  Prince  Edward  Island,  486  ;  Manitoba,  486  ; 
British  Columbia,  487. 

Other  CoHfttries.  —  Austria,  490  ;  Belgium,  ib. ; 
Bohemia,  ib.  ;  Denmark,  ib.  ;  France,  491  ;  Ger- 
many, 492. 

Of  the  Southern  Sun.  —  K\\^\XT^.7s.%i7i.;  South  Aus- 
tralia, Victoria,  Queensland,  and  New  South  Wales, 
498-506  ;  Tasmania,  501 ;  New  Zealand,  502. 

Statist{cs.  —  V>W\?:wx<i  XXL,  875-896. 
Great  Masonic  Congress,  770. 
Green  Dragon  Tavern,  247. 
Greece,  495. 

H. 

Hanmer,  John,  600. 

Hawaiian  Islands,  433,  638. 

Heraldry  of  knighthood,  782-785. 

High  Priesthood,  Order  of,  638-642. 

Hindoo  mysteries,  74. 

Holland,  495. 

Holy  : 

Pentagram,  loi. 
Cross  Mountain,  423. 
Royal  Arch,  553. 

Homes,  Charities,  Colleges,  and  Schools: 

Maine,  229  ;  New  Hampshire,  234  ;  Vermont, 
237  ;  Massachusetts,  243,  250  ;  Connecticut,  253, 
254  ;  New  York,  265,  266  ;  Pennsylvania,  2S2, 
285  ;  Maryland,  295  ;  North  Carolina,  301  ;  Geor- 
gia, 305  ;   Florida,  306. 

Ohio,  312  ;  Indiana,  315  ;  Michigan,  319,  320  ; 
Illinois,  323  ;  Kentucky,  327,  328  ;  Tennessee,  332, 
333  ;  Louisiana,  340  ;  Texas,  346  ;  Arkansas,  349  ; 
Missouri,  360-364  ;  Nebraska,  378  ;  Kansas,  382  ; 
Indian  Territory,  384. 

California,  393  ;  Oregon,  396  ;  Idaho,  401  ;  Mon- 
tana, 406  ;  Arizona,  423  ;  Colorado,  429,  430  ; 
Canada  in  Ontario,  463,  466  ;  Quebec,  473  ;  New 
South  Wales,  504  ;  General  Grand  R.  A.  Chapter, 

595- 
Hungary,  495. 
Hospitallers,  766. 


Idaho,  399,  611,  880. 

Illinois,  320,  611,662,  730,  859, 


Illustrations,  List  of,  13,  14. 

Independence  Rock,  420. 

Indiana,  312,  612,  662,  730,  859,  882. 

Indian  Territory,  382,  612,  667,  861,  890. 

Initiation,  origin  of,  73. 

In  ISIemoriajn,  MacLeod  Moore,  737. 

Interregnum  of  four  centuries,  143,  768. 

Introduction: 

General,  15  ;  Ancient  Masonry,  37  ;  the  Mysteries, 
41  ;  documentary  history,  157  ;  cosmopolitan 
Freemasonry,  197  ;  lodges  in  America,  199  ; 
First  meridian,  217  ;  Third  meridian,  385  ;  conti- 
nental Europe,  489  ;  Morgan  excitement,  507  ; 
eulogium  of  the  Ancient  Craft,  673  ;  British  Tem- 
plary,  741  ;  Order  Eastern  Star,  857. 

Iowa,  364,  613,  662,  730,  861,  890. 

Ireland^  29,  478,  481,  499,  505,  563,  757,  790,  793,  876. 

Italy,  495. 

J. 

Japanese  mysteries,  86. 

Jurisdiction,  Cryptic  : 
Grand  Chapters,  648. 
A.-.A.-.S.-.  Rite,  649. 

Jurisprudence,  Masonic  : 

Foundation  of  Masonic  law,  537  ;  the  relation  of 
governing  bodies  with  one  another,  538  ;  relation 
of  Grand  bodies  to  their  constituents  and  to  indi- 
vidual members,  540  ;  the  relation  of  lodges  to  one 
another  and  to  individuals,  544  ;  Grand  Masters' 
decisions,  550  ;  treatises  on  jurisprudence,  ib.  ; 
Masonic  principles  unchangeable,  551. 

K. 

Kabalism  and  Masonic  degrees,  105. 

Kansas,  378,  613,  663,  730,  890. 

Kentucky,  327,  614,  663,  730,  89r. 

King's  Chapel,  tradition  of,  447. 

Knights  of  Rhodes,  767. 

Knights  Templar  succession,  140,  747,  766,  770. 


Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  248,  332,  360-363. 

Legend,  Degrees: 

Origin  of  Third,  Fifth,  and  Thirty-first,  73. 

Libraries  : 
Roman  Catholic,  145  ;  Bishop  Perry's,  156  ;  me- 
diaeval, 160  :  Alexandrian,  ib.  ;  Massachusetts, 
250  ;  New  York,  266  ;  Pennsylvania,  286  ;  Mary- 
land, 295  ;  Florida,  306  ;  Illinois,  323  ;  Arkansas, 
349  ;  Minnesota,  354,  357:  Iowa,  366  ;  North  Da- 
kota, 374  ;  Nebraska,  377  ;  Kansas,  382  ;  Indian 
Territory,  384  ;  Montana,  406  ;  Utah,  418  ;  Wyo- 
ming, 419. 

Lodge: 

of  Edinburgh,  No.  i,  22. 

of  Social  and  Military  Virtues,  No.  327,  R.I.,  478, 

50s- 
of  Antiquity,  481. 
Louisiana,  334,  615,  663,  730,  883. 
Luxemburg,  496. 


902 


INDEX. 


M. 

Maine,  227,  616,  663,  730,  879. 

Manitoba,  486,  892. 

Marj-land,  209,  290,  617,  653,  663,  706,  730,  887. 

Masonic: 

Regius  Poem,  167. 
Funeral  in  California,  387. 
Jurisprudence,  537. 
Record,  897. 

Masons'  Marks,  568. 

Massachusetts,  209,  239,  446-454,  521,  619,  663,  707, 
713,  730,  861,  892. 

Mesouraneo  Waiters,  748. 

Mexico,  435. 

Michigan,  210,  315,  619,  664,  730,  881. 

Millennial  Delusion,  749. 

Minnesota,  350,  620,  664,  730,  861,  882. 

Mississippi,  334,  620,  664,  730,  859,  888. 

Missouri,  357,  621,  664,  730,  888. 

Mithras,  68. 

Montana,  402,  621,  730,  889. 

Monumental  remains  in  Nova  Scotia,  440. 

Moore,  Sir  John,  481. 

Morgan  Excitement  : 

The  account  in  detail,  508  ;  was  Morgan  a  Mason, 
508  ;  arrest  and  subsidiary  events,  509  ;  docu- 
mentary evidence,  510  ;  conventions  and  public 
meetings,  511 ;  governmental  action,  disappearance 
and  trials,  two  theories,  512;  rise  of  Anti-Masonry, 
513;  progress  of  Anti-Masonry,  515;  Lewiston  con- 
vention, 516  ;  Masonic  aspect  and  action  thereon, 
517;  political  aspect,  523;  alleged  body  of  Morgan, 
524  ;  Thurlow  Weed's  last  fulmination,  526  ;  John 
Whitney's  version,  527,  531 ;  eflfect  on  Masonic 
bodies,  etc.,  529  ;  the  New  York  "  Roll  of  Honor," 
530  ;  Morgan's  fate,  531 ;  as  told  by  one  of  his 
alleged  murderers,  533. 

Mount  Davidson,  410,  413. 

Mother  Lodge  of  Kilwinning,  No.  o,  25. 

Mysteries,  Ancient  : 

Six  theories,  37  ;  the  divine  plan,  42  ;  antinomies 
of  the  spirituality  of  man,  44  ;  triple  synthesis  of 
thought  and  sentiment,  45  ;  foundation  of  all  an- 
cient religions,  46  ;  ib.,  ^t,  48  ;  various  systems 
of  philosophy  and  religion,  49  ;  advent  of  mythol- 
ogy, 53  ;  map  of  the  world  following  the  Noachian 
period,  59  (explanation,  58) ;  chronological  chart, 
61 ;  Ormuzd,  supreme  deiiy  of  the  Persians,  63  ;  the 
Syrian  Ashtaroth,  64  ;  Baal,  65  ;  Adonis,  66  ; 
Mithras,  63  ;  Osiris,  Asiris,  or  Hysiris,  69  ;  Or- 
pheus, supposed  to  be  the  Vedic  Ribhu,  70  ;  Bac- 
chus, the  god  of  wine,  72  ;  origin  of  initiation,  73  ; 
Hindoostan,  74  ;  Avatars,  79  ;  rites  of  Masonry, 
origin,  etc.,  81;  Avatars  of  Vishnu,  84  ;  China,  85  ; 
Japan,  86  ;  Persia,  87  ;  definition  of  Freemasonry, 
88  ;  ib.,  89  ;  Persian  Mithras,  90  ;  Therapeutx, 
92  ;  Essenes,  93  ;  Eleusinian,  94  ;  occultism  of  the 
Orient  and  Occident,  96  ;  specimen  of  occultism 
by  Albert  Pike,  99  ;  the  holy  and  mysterious  Pen- 
tagram, loi ;  Theory  of  Masonic  Degrees,  and  their 
relation  to  the  mysteries,  105  ;  conclusions  by  the 
author,  107  ;   Scriptural  references,  109  ;  descrip- 


MvsTERiES,  Ancient —  Continued. 

tion   of  plates,  and    plates,   110-117;    the   sacred 

mysteries,  747. 
Mythology,  advent  of,  53. 

N= 
Nebraska,  374,  622,  664,  730,  859,  883, 
Nevada,  406,  622,  881. 
'■  New  Articles,"  Roberts  version,  195. 
New  Brunswick,  205,  483,  582,  667,  893. 
New  Caledonia,  501. 
Newfoundland,  206. 

New  Hampshire,  230,  622,  665,  730,  891. 
Northern  jurisdiction,  804. 
New  Jersey,  269,  622,  665,  730,  859,  877. 
New  Mexico,  430,  624,  667,  884. 
New  South  Wales,  499,  503,  893. 
New  York,  210,  254,  516,  518,  522,  530,  6^4,  665,  711, 

718,  727,  730,  859,  878. 
New  Zealand,  502,  793. 

North  Carolina,  213,  300,  625,  665,  730,  884. 
North  Dakota,  372,  607,  667,  883. 
Neva  Scotia,  206,  442,  479,  576,  893. 

O. 

Occultism,  96. 

Ohio,  307,  625,  665,  730,  861,  880. 

"Old  Charges"  of  British  Freemasons: 

The  early  historians,  157  ;  the  mythical  assembly 
of  ."^.D.  926,  ib.  ;  first  and  second  "  Book  of  Con- 
stitutions," 158  ;  the  Ahiman  Rezon,  159  ;  the 
destruction  of  ancient  MSS.,  ib.  ;  the  Kalendar, 
161-163;  grouped  as  families,  164;  the  Regius  MS., 
or  Halliwell  poem,  164  ;  reproduction  of,  167-173  ; 
the  evolution  theory,  165  ;  the  Matthew  Cooke 
MS.,  178-185  ;  characteristics  of  the  two  oldest 
MSS.  and  summary,  185  ;  various  readings  of, 
based  upon  Grand  Lodge  MS.,  a.d.  1583,  186-195  ■ 
the  "New  Articles,"  195;  ".\pprentice  Charges," 
Roberts  and  Watson  versions,  196. 

Old  Lodges: 
In  England,  29. 
In  Scotland,  27. 
In  .America,  200-216. 

Operative  stone-masons,  748. 

Orders: 

Connate.  —  The  crusades  and  Freemasonry,  98  ; 
Ethicsof  Christian  Knighthood,  119;  Templar  song 
of  triumph,  123;  religion  of  chivalry,  124  ;  the  Or- 
der of  the  Temple  and  history  of  the  crusades,  127  ; 
Templar  endowments  and  possessions,  136  ;  perse- 
cution and  dispersion,  ib.  ;  the  Papal  bull  Ad 
Providam,  139  ;  connection  with  the  present  de- 
grees of  Knights  Templar,  140  ;  the  interregnum 
of  four  centuries,  143  ;  Roman  Catholic  admis- 
sions, 144  ;  the  dogmatic  teachings  of  Templary, 
145  ;  execution  of  Jacques  de  Molai,  146,  765  ;  the 
Templar  organization,  151,  764  ;  the  suppression 
of  the  Templars  in  England,  152  ;  "  Soldiers  of  the 
Temple,"  763  ;  St.  John  the  Almoner,  ib. 

Concordant.  —  The  American  Masonic  system, 


INDEX. 


903 


Orders —  Continued. 

699  ;  the  ante-revolutionary  period,  702  ;  the  post- 
revolutionary  period  until  the  organization  of  the 
Grand  Encampment,  703  ;  the  oldest  commanding, 
704  ;  South  Carolina  Encampment,  705  ;  Mary- 
land Encampment,  706  ;  Boston  Commandery, 
707  ;  St.  John's  Commandery,  No.  i,  ib.  ;  a"  First 
Grand  Encampment,"  708  ;  Washington  Command- 
ery, No.  I,  710  ;  early  Templary  in  New  York, 
711  ;  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  713  ; 
Pennsylvania,  716  ;  New  York,  718  ;  the  Grand 
Encampment,  722  ;  the  first  constitution  with 
amendments,  723  ;  Grand  Commanderies,  730  ; 
Ethics  and  Ritual,  731-737- 

Royal,  of  Scotland.  —  History  of  the  Ceremony 
and  its  relation  to   Ancient  Craft  Masonry,  829  ; 
chapters  by  seniority,  836  ;    the   earliest   records, 
837  ;  the  American  Chapter,  840  ;  in  Scotland  and 
elsewhere,  ib.  ;  U.  S.  A.  Charter,  842  ;  founders' 
names,  a.d.  1877,  845  ;  membership,  patents,  and 
other  particulars,  845-S50. 
Royal,  of  Heredom,  851-854. 
Eastern  Star,  857-868. 
The  Rosicrucians,  869-873. 

Oregon,  394,  626,  666,  730,  861,  884. 

Origin  of  name,  21,  750. 

Ormuzd  (Ahura-Mazda),  63. 

Orpheus,  70. 

Osiris,  Asiris,  or  Hysiris,  69. 


P. 

Papal  Bulls: 

Ad  Providain,  139. 

Considerantes  Ditdutn,  ib. 

Instigated  by  Le  Bel,  y6$. 
Past  degree,  572. 
Patton  Memorial,  282,  283. 
Pennsylvania,  214,  218-226,  271,  627,  666,  717,  730, 

886. 
Persian  : 

Mysteries,  87. 

Mithras,  90. 
Pioneer  : 

Lodge  room,  374. 

Bible,  388. 
Poland,  496. 

Polygamy  un-Masonic,  416. 
Portugal,  496. 
Preceptories,  Ancient,  155. 
Pref.\ce  : 

General,  7  ;  to  Ancient  mysteries,  41 ;  to  execution 

of  Jacques  de  Molai,  146  ;   Second  meridian,  II., 

341  ;    Grand  Lodge  of  Canada  in  Ontario,  457  ; 

Cryptic  Degrees,  643  ;    British  Templary,  741. 
Price,  Henry,  219. 
Prince  Edward  Island,  208,  486,  893. 
Protectorship  of  Kaiser  Wilhelm,  495. 
Provincial  Grand  Masters,   219,  224,  225,   443,  458, 

459.  477>  838. 
Putnam,  General  Rufus,  311. 


Quebec : 

Grand  Lodge,  200,  472,  580,  667,  792,  892. 
Question  of  sovereignty,  473,  477. 


R. 

Records  : 
Early  Massachusetts,  453. 
Masonic,  897. 

Regius  MS.,  167-178. 

Religion,  synthesis  of,  45. 

Republic  of  Texas,  343. 

Revere,  Paul,  252. 

Revival,  the,  16,  690,  692,  773. 

Rhode  Island,  214,  250,  445,  629,  666,  707,  •^13,  730, 
879. 

Ring  of  Gyges,  81. 

Rise  of  Anti-Masonry,  513. 

Rites  : 

Capitular.  —  The  General  Grand  Royal  Arch 
Chapter  and  the  Morgan  excitement,  523  ;  the 
Holy  Royal  Arch,  553  ;  "Ancients"  and  "Mod- 
erns," 554  ;  first  titles  of  presiding  officers,  560  ; 
first  known  rules  and  orders,  561  ;  the  term  "  Com- 
panion," ib.  ;  the  Mark  Degree  in  England,  ib.  ; 
the  Royal  Arch  system  of  Ireland,  563  ;  the  Royal 
Arch  system  of  Scotland,  566  ;  Mark  Masonry, 
567  ;  Mason's  Marks,  568-571  ;  Past  Degree,  572  ; 
Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Canada,  573  ;  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Nova  Scotia,  576  ;  Grand 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Quebec,  580  ;  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  New  Brunswick,  582  ;  organiza- 
tion of  the  General  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter, 
583-601  ;  Grand  Chapters  of  the  United  States, 
602.     (  Vide  titles  of  States  for  detail  of  pages.) 

Cryptic.  —  The  Legend  of  the  "  Secret  Vault," 
643  ;  rise  of  the  rite,  645  ;  early  government,  648; 
jurisdiction  of  Grand  Chapters,  648  ;  Scottish  Rite 
jurisdiction,  649;  Vermont's  claim  of  priority,  650; 
Ecossais,  ib.  ;  French  origin  and  organization  of 
Councils  and  Grand  Councils,  651  ;  the  First  Coun- 
cil's records,  652  ;  Grand  Council  of  Maryland, 
653 ;  Jeremy  L.  Cross  and  the  Cryptic  Degrees,  654 ; 
Cross's  Councils  and  Charters,  655 ;  Barker's  Cryp- 
tic Mission,  656 ;  the  formative  period  of  fifty  years, 
656  ;  governmental  evolution,  657  ;  General  Grand 
Council,  history  of,  658-660  ;  by  grand  jurisdic- 
tions, 66i-66g  ;   its  three  degrees,  669-671. 

Scottish.  —  First  introduction,  757-759;  General 
Pike  and  the  Thirtj'-third  Degree,  761  ;  interfer- 
ence with  other  Masonic  bodies,  ib.  ;  Templar 
Order  of,  772  ;  rites  and  their  signification,  795; 
origin,  history,  and  present  status,  795-828. 

Roman  Catholic,  admissions  of,  144. 

Roumania  and. Bulgaria,  496. 

Royal  Arch  Masonry  : 
Advent  of  degree,  556. 
Early  reliable  history,  559. 

Russia,  496.     Royal  Order  of  Scotland,  829-854. 


904 


INDEX. 


Schisms  : 

Lodge  of  Edinburgh,  25. 

Grand  Lodge  of  England,  32, 198, 199,  243,  554,  754. 

Massachusetts,  243. 

New  York,  261-266. 

South  Carolina,  302,  303. 

Georgia,  304. 

Manitoba,  487. 
Scottish  Rite,  804-828. 

Scotland,  27,  566,  775,  789,  793,  829,  840,  851,  876. 
"  Secret  Vault,"  643. 
Shames  Harness,  568. 
Six  theories  of  the  mysteries,  37. 
Smith,  Noah,  236. 

South  Carolina,  214,  301,  629,  666,  705,  887. 
Southern  jurisdiction,  805. 
Spain,  496. 

St.  John  Baptist's  Day  at  Spokane  Falls,  399. 
Statistics  : 

Grand  Lodge,  875-893. 

Capitular,  594,  894. 

Cryptic,  895. 

Templar,  730. 

Order  Eastern  Star,  861,  896. 

Royal  Order  of  Scotland,  845. 

Rosicnicians,  873. 
Succoth  Benoth,  114. 
Sweden  and  Norway,  497,  790* 
Switzerland,  497. 
Symbolism,  early,  177. 
Systems  : 

Of  the  mysteries,  92. 

English,  American,  757. 


T. 


Tasmania,  501. 
Templar : 

Song,  123,  784. 

Endowments,  136,  765. 

Organization,  151. 

Constitutions,  723,  776. 

Costume,  785. 

Ritual,  731-733,  780-784- 
Temple : 

Order  of  the,  127,  762. 

Church,  786. 

Symbolism  of,  678-690. 


Temples  and  Halls: 

Massachusetts,  248,  249 ;  Connecticut,  254  ;  New 
York,  266  ;  Pennsylvania,  285,  286  ;  Maryland, 
295  ;  Virginia,  299  ;  South  Carolina,  303  ;  Georgia, 
305  ;  Florida,  306. 

Ohio,  312  ;  Indiana,  315  ;  Illinois,  324  ;  Ken- 
tucky, 328;  Tennessee,  333;  Mississippi,  334; 
Louisiana,  340  ;  Texas,  347  ;  Arkansas,  349,  350  ; 
Minnesota,  357  ;  Missouri,  363  ;  Iowa,  366-369  ; 
Kansas,  382  ;   Indian  Territory,  384. 

Idaho,  401  ;  Montana,  406  ;  Wyoming,  421  ; 
Colorado,  429  ;  Nova  Scotia,  480  ;  British  Col- 
umbia, 488  ;    New  South  Wales,  500,  503. 

Tennessee,  328,  630,  666,  730,  882. 

Texas,  342,  630,  666,  730,  861,  890. 

Trio  of  Grand  Lodges,  original,  32. 

True  Universal  Brotherhood,  697. 

Turkey,  638. 

u. 

United: 

States  of  Columbia,  216. 

Orders'  Crosses,  783. 
Utah,  413,  632,  889. 
Urbanitatis,  a.d.  1390,  176. 
Uruguay,  216. 


Venezuela,  216. 

Vermont,  234,  521,  529,  632,  650,  655,  666,  730,  859, 

878. 
Victoria,  499. 

Virginia,  214,  298,  634,  667,  730,  886. 
Vishnu,  Avatars  of,  84. 
"Vitum  t  Dirigat,"  n\. 

W. 

Warren,  General  Joseph,  244. 

Washington,  George,  277,  296,  298,  299,  332,  478,  709. 

Washington,  396,  636,  667,  730,  861,  884. 

Webb,  Thomas  Smith,  251,  328,  584,  599,  612,  641, 

715,  722. 
West  Virginia,  299,  636,  730,  886. 
Wisconsin,  324,  637,  667,  730,  881. 
Wyoming,  418,  638,  730,  889. 


"  Yankee  Flat "  Masonry,  408. 
York  Legend,  190. 


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